Chapter XVIII

Note: Oh my. This chapter would have been finished sooner, because I only had a few sentences left till it was finished, but something happened and when I went to open it the next day, it was gone. grah grah grah. I suppose it could've been worse, but still..

And on top of that I was realreal busy. Sorry it took so long o-o

This chapter wasn't going anywhere so it's pretty short xx;

The next day when Evra and I woke up, Ariel had left. We weren't worried- she was an earlier riser then us, and went outside all the time.

Today we would have to start hunting, so Evra and I left the tent to go find Ariel.

She was in the usual field with the child we had seen before.

"Arie, can you do my buttons?" Valinty asked, holding her white jacket.

"Yep." Ariel replied, kneeled down, and then started to button up her jacket. When she was finished, the child looked up in fear.

Ariel turned around to see us.

"Oh," She motioned to the girl. "Darren, Evra, this is my friend, Valinty."

She then turned back around.

"Don't worry, these are my friends."

The child looked up at us with big, curious eyes.

"Hiya!" Evra smiled.

"Hey," I added, then nodded to Ariel.

She nodded back, then hugged Valinty, and got to her feet. "Hey, we have to go-"

"Can I come?" She asked.

"Uh-" Ariel considered it, but after picturing a crumpled up animal being thrown into a garbage bag..

"I think its best you wait for us."

"Aw.." The child looked down with disappointment glinting in her eyes.

"We'll be back later, okay?" Ariel asked, frowning.

"I promise."

The child nodded.

Evra handed Ariel her bag, and we all split up, running toward the forest.

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Walking toward the stream, I saw a few white-furred rabbits washing their ears. Slowly I crept up behind them, and when the time was right, my nails found their way deep into the skin of the younger rabbits. Their blue eyes had widened with fear before they simply died- An easy catch- leaving the rest to sprint away.

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Pushing a tree branch out of her face, Ariel continued through the woods. She grumbled as a vine of thorns scratched her legs, but then froze.

She had heard the very slightest sound, a rustle in the leaves made by a small animal. It was running toward her, so positioning herself quietly, slowly placeing her bag besides her, and with the right timing Ariel leaned down, and-

The animal- a rabbit- had ran right into her hands on accident. Ariel held the rabbit close, feeling its heart beat thump against her chest rapidly.

She raised one of her hands off of the rabbit's fur, still cradling it with the other hand, and slowly ran her finger tips through the white coat.

As she did this, Ariel could feel the animal's heart beat slow back to a normal rate. She was careful not to penetrate the skin with her razor like nails, but as her hand stroked the fur..

It.. It changed. The pure, snow white colored fur changed to a jet black color. Ariel didn't seem to take much notice- She was holding the calmed rabbit in her arms now, and using one hand she picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder, then continued to walk past the rest of the trees, shielding her friend from the thorns as they swept her own face.

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I threw the catch into my bag, and was about to look for one last animal, like a fox or something- when I heard footsteps coming toward me from my right. Instantly I spun toward the shadowy trees in which the sound had come from.

Ariel walked out, a few nicks on her skin, with something bundled in her arms, one hand clutching the bag that hung over her shoulder.

I squinted closer to see she was holding a rabbit. At first I thought it was one of the rabbits I had chased away, but then I remembered the others had white fur. Not black.

Ariel smiled at me, and then sat down on a large stone by the stream. I watched as she nuzzled the rabbit up against the side of her face after placing her bag down besides her.

I took a step closer, but the rabbit raised its head and stared at me with disturbing, red eyes. I decided to stay still.

Ariel then slowly placed the bunny on the ground, allowing it to hop away. She sighed and stood, picking up her bag.

She started to take a few steps forward, but almost fell. I speed up behind to catch her. Her face was pale, I could tell she didn't have much time..