"Well, this is strange," Leorio peered at the map on the wall.

"Why?" Gon stood on his toes to get a better look.

"Well, according to the notice I received, the exam is supposedly being held somewhere in Zaban city." He pointed to a spot on the map. "We're here, and the Cedar tree the captain told you about is in the complete opposite direction of Zaban city."

"Maybe you misheard the captain," Kurapika suggested to Gon, who shook his head.

"No, he said to head towards the Cedar tree," He pointed to the said tree's place on the map.

"Perhaps this is another trap to trim the fat. Is it possible he was trying to trick you?" Riven suggested. Her shoulder felt bare and naked. Karasu had gone out hunting the moment the shore was reachable and hadn't returned. He would be fine, she knew, intelligent even for a raven, but she couldn't help worrying.

"He wouldn't do that," Gon adjusted the straps of his backpack. Riven wasn't so sure about that; but she wasn't about to say so aloud, since he seemed so convinced.

"Our task is to find the exam site, with a limited amount of information. I agree with Riven. This is most likely just another test. However, if that is that case, then I believe that we should take the shortcut," Kurapika reasoned. Gon nodded happily, turning down the left road.

"I'll go have a look. There must be a reason the captain told me about it."

"H-hey," Leorio called.

"You're serious," Riven realized with wonder.

"The bus to Zaban City is about to leave! We should just take it."

Gon waved his hand in farewell. Smirking for what seemed to be no reason, Kurapika began to follow him. Of course, Kurapika never did anything without a reason, Riven had quickly discovered. His decision made her pause.

"Not you, too," Leorio sighed.

"Gon's behavior interests me more than the captain's advice. I'm going with him," he explained. Leorio dropped his shoulders in annoyance.

"Jeez. It wasn't for very long, but it was nice knowing you," Leorio shrugged.

Riven, who planned to go with Leorio, waved at the departing duo. "I hope to see you at the exam," she nodded at them with a small smile.

She and Leorio turned right, heading down the road. Not three steps after she had averted her eyes from the young boys, she heard a familiar caw. She whipped around.

"Karasu!" She exclaimed, immediately taking off after her bird. He had flown in from the direction of the forest. She watched him land on Gon's shoulder. He was perched away from her, but Riven knew he had seen her. She felt a pang of hurt. But within moments she had caught up with Gon and Kurapika, her decision made for her.

Leorio snorted. "Fine, I'll just go by myself." It wasn't like she had been devoted to taking the right road.

Casually, Riven sang a kulning and held out her arm. Obediently, Karasu fluttered to her perch and nuzzled her cheek. Like he hadn't just landed on a stranger.

"That's amazing." Gon's eyes were wide.

"What kind of bird is he?" Kurapika asked curiously. "I've never seen anything like him." Riven stroked his white feathers.

"He's a raven," Gon answered for her, "you can tell from the shape of his beak."

"A white raven?".

Riven nodded. "A spirit raven."

"What is that?" Kurapika surprised her with his interest. Not that she could answer him.

"It's an old story. He's just white from a birth defect."

It didn't take long before Leorio had caught up with them. "W-well, I thought you'd be lonely without me, so..." he explained at their expectant and amused faces.

As complicated as others could be, Riven was glad she wasn't traveling alone.

She wasn't sure how long they group walked before they found themselves in a ghost town. She saw a crow sitting atop one of the buildings, and Karasu puffed his chest and feathers. It cawed. She had grown to recognize certain calls the raven made and a warning call was one she could easily decipher. It was definitely a warning call. The crow flew off.

"Geez. This place is creepy. There isn't a single person here," Leorio noted.

"No," Gon glanced behind him. "There are plenty of people here."

The group jumped in shock when one of the buildings opened by the wall. A group of women emerged from the doors, dressed in white robes and masks. They swiftly and professionally carried a dais and set it down in the path of the four teens. The whole thing was slightly ridiculous and over the top.

White robes. Riven narrowed her eyes, but relaxed she saw whacky fur protruding from their masks. It wasn't them.

The women filed in a row behind a large chair, which was occupied by an elderly woman. One of the masked women had the crow perched on her arm. Riven realized that they had used the bird to warn them when examinees approached.

The old women in the front, who had gapped teeth and gray hair, opened her withered mouth.

"Exciting..." she croaked repeatedly.

"What's with the freak show?" the brunet broke the pattern.

"Exciting Two-choice Quiz! You four are heading to the tree on the hilltop, correct?" Kurapika nodded respectfully. Riven understood now that his outburst with Leorio on the ship had been very unlike him. What had set him off? "And to reach the tree, you must pass this town. I shall administer a single-question quiz," the woman explained, ignoring Leorio's attempts at interjecting. "You'll have five seconds to state your answer. Answer wrong, and you're disqualified. You'll have to give up on taking the hunter's exam this year."

Kurapika closed his eyes. "I see, then this is part of the Hunter exam."

Riven was more or less confident that she could answer correctly, especially if the nature of the question was scientific; she spent hours upon hours simply reading on whatever could possibly come in handy, and she rarely forgot something once she learned.

"You will answer either one or two. Any other answers will be considered incorrect."

"Hold on; so if one of them answers incorrect, I'm disqualified, too?" Leorio asked.

"Exactly."

"Damn! I just know you three aren't going to get it!" Leorio cried in despair.

Riven shot him an incredulous look. "Excuse me?"

"What I'm afraid of is the high likelihood of the vice versa happening," Kurapika muttered. The two engaged into a glaring contest.

"I actually think it's easier this way, because only one of us has to get it right." Gon scratched the back of his head like he was embarrassed. "I'm no good at quizzes."

Truly this boy was something else. She tensed slightly when she heard a footstep that belonged to none of her companions.

Someone was behind them?

"Hurry it up," the new comer smirked, appearing confident. It was a man, another applicant. Riven grimaced to herself. She had been so occupied with the task at hand that she hadn't noticed this guy until he was close enough to kill her. She should have least been aware of him since he entered the ghost town. His presence was loud and obnoxious, not faint or cautious. Maybe she had let her guard down because she had company. That was concerning.

"Who the hell are you?" Leorio asked, unimpressed.

"He followed us here, all the way from port," Gon explained, like it was obvious.

Riven's eyes widened. Gon had noticed him? Was he that observant? Or had she just messed up that badly? This newcomer was no more powerful than Leorio; scratch that, Leorio had a knife.

"Let's let him go first," Gon suggested, "that way, we'll know what to expect."

"No objections here."

Smirking, the man approached the dais.

"Evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one. Select one to save you mother, and two to save you lover," the old women recited. "Which will you choose?"

"How is that even a quiz?" Leorio exclaimed.

Confidently, the man said, "the answer is one."

"Why would you say that?" The woman prompted, her voice even and unbiased.

"Because you can't replace your mother, but you can find another lover." The man smirked when he noticed the sour looks of the four teenagers.

"What? All you gotta do is say what the old hag wants to hear, it's that simple."

After many torturous seconds, the women closed her eyes. "You may pass." The doorway through the pathway slid open, revealing the blocked road. The man entered, and the door slid to a close behind him.

"That's bull!" Leorio argued. "How is that the right answer? We're supposed to say what the old lady wants to hear? And that's considered correct? I'm not putting up with this sham!" he began to turn around.

"It's too late." He stopped in mid step. "If you turn back now, you'll be disqualified.

"That's just ridiculous! Different people would expect different answers! There is no right answer!" He exploded, furious.

"No right answer," Kurapika muttered. His eyes widened. He turned to the brunet. "Leorio, t-"

"Wait." The old women interrupted. "Not another word from you. If you attempt to speak again, you will be disqualified." She sat back against her back rest.

"Here is your question. Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. Which do you save? Choose one for your son, and two for your daughter."

Leorio clenched his fists. Gon looked confused. Kurapika stayed silent.

"Five..." the woman counted.

Who would Riven rescue? If she answered what she wanted to, she wouldn't answer at all. Her rules were blood. You chose blood over lovers. But son and daughter were no different. Riven looked at her feet.

"Four..."

Her mind went somewhere she would rather it didn't. She substituted the daughter and son with her sisters. Choose one for Rene, choose two for Senette. She shook her head.

Leorio retrieved a piece of scrap metal and give a few practice swings. Her daughter or son. She needed to concentrate; if this woman had no access to your personal background or history, this answer would have to do with common sense.

"Three…"

A son would be the best choice. In ancient civilizations, daughters were killed because boys were more desirable. In her homeland, she saw girls sold. But, if she had to choose what the woman wanted to hear, it would be the daughter, hands down.

"Two..."

She thought back to Kurapika; he must have had figured it out.

"One..."

Riven snapped her eyes open. She had lost. She hadn't even made it to the actual exam. Where would she go from here? Where could she start her search with no money, no experience in this strange place?

Then she noticed what Leorio was doing.

"Time's up."

The brunet leaped in the air, the scrap metal cocked above his head.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Kurapika leap forward, weapon in hand. Everything seemed to stop. The next thing she knew, Leorio had brought the metal down on Kurapika's wooden swords. Riven gaped. He had moved so quickly.

"Don't stop me, Kurapika! I won't be satisfied until I've taught this old had a lesson!"

"Calm down, Leorio!" The blond continued to brace himself against the swing. "You'll waste our correct response."

Leorio finally seemed to back off.

"You were right before," Riven realized, her eyes wide with relief. "There is no correct answer."

"But... That guy from before..."

"He answered wrong." Kurapika slipped his weapons into his messenger bag.

"But they let him go on!" Leorio pointed out.

The blond shook his head. "That wasn't the correct path.

"What do you mean?" Riven tried to peer through the dais.

"She didn't say he was correct. The path that he took is the wrong one." Kurapika nodded, crossing his arms. The woman began to cackle, showing off her severely gapped teeth. Riven unconsciously stiffened; it was quite a sight.

"You are very keen. Yes, that was not the correct passage," she replied, pointing to the open side of the building she and her followers had emerged from. "That is."

Leorio blanched. "So what happened to that guy?"

"Him? He was most likely eaten by now." She grinned. "Never the less, you may not pass. Take this path straight up to the tree." The door widened in diameter to reveal a dark, plain path.

"Darn it!" Everyone jumped and looked at Gon in question. He was rubbing his head like he had head-butted cement. "I can't choose! My daughter or my son..."

"Gon," Leorio frowned, "you don't have to answer anymore. There is no correct answer."

The boy shook his head. "Yes, but I wanted to see what I would do if I would come to make that decision."

This boy blew her away. He was so optimistic and honest. She had only read about people like him in her books at the library.

And she hoped he would never have to make that decision.

Not ten minutes in, Leorio couldn't keep his mouth shut. "I wonder what I would do if it ever came to that; rescuing your son or your daughter."

Kurapika nodded, also taking his personal answer into consideration. "It is a very difficult decision."

"I can't even imagine the right answer." Gon shook his head.

"I could..." Riven piped up. Honestly, the topic left a sour taste in her mouth and she wanted to forget about it.

All three boys blinked, leaning in to hear what she had to say. "What would you do?" Leorio wondered.

Riven shrugged. "Just don't have any children."

No one could tell if she was joking or not. Leorio attempted to change the subject.

"Say, Riven," He looked at said girl. "Is your pal there a pigeon?"

He held his arms in defense when Kurapika and Riven gave him exasperated expressions.

"Hey, hey! Sorry, I'm not a bird doctor!" Leorio rubbed the back of his head.

"Karasu is a raven," She finally told him. He scrunched his face in confusion.

"How can a raven be white!?" He extended his arm to stroke the bird, just as he had seen Riven do before.

"He bites," she warned. Leorio retracted his hand

Riven's homeland was always grey; the clouds were grey, the water was grey, and the people were grey. Her village technically didn't have a specific name, but natives from surrounding acres referred to it as 'The Dark Place'. The people from farther places just called it the harbor. The buildings were crafted from stone, and the windows seemed to be made from obsidian. There were more rats than people. Even the moon was grey.

At one time, The Dark Place was not such a bad place to live, despite its lack of color. People could get plenty of business down by the docks, and it used to be a very popular port. There were plenty of fish on the sea, and plenty of game and merchandise on land. Then the power traded hands and the prosperity was stolen. This was all before she was born. She never saw the harbor's former glory.

Many fled the capital in the mainland. The coasts became overpopulated, and an epidemic broke out, something the locals referred to as the Witch's Fever. It claimed so many lives that it scared off all of the tourists, business, and inlanders. Eventually, not a single person in the whole town was to leave, or escape. The other villages feared the fever would spread, so it was quarantined. The government, which had already blockaded the docks, built a fence around the village. Yet the epidemic only slowed, never vanishing completely, and the population dwindled rapidly. The entire town was sure to die out.

To Riven, It seemed everyone who lived in the Dark Place was forever in poverty. She never knew anything but grey.

When her mother caught the fever, she was dead within days. Riven remembered holding her hand as she shivered and whispered her father's name over and over. Her mother's hand was cold for three days before someone thought to check on them.

Finding orphans wasn't surprising anymore, so Riven, Senette, and Rene were sent to the crowded orphanage without a second thought. There was no attempt to find their distant relatives. Just 'off you go'.

Riven was ten, Senette was seven, and Rene was four when the sisters first arrived at the Orphanage. The first thing Riven thought of all the other children there was 'grey'. They were all as dark and gloomy as the sky. The second thought she had was, 'There are so many.' No one really became friends at the orphanage.

There were many things Riven did not understand about the orphanage. She didn't understand why Diana was in charge when she was so old herself. She didn't understand why they only bought oates for their meals. She didn't understand why they released kids when they turned eleven instead of eighteen. And she didn't understand why, every week, six or seven women knocked at the wooden door. Riven never got a very good look at them from behind filthy windows, where was where she perched herself to people-watch while her sisters played. She could tell they were gorgeous. They all seemed to have the same willowy figure, with dainty white hands. But she never saw their faces. Each one wore the exact same simple, white dress with a low v-neck, which was still somehow modest, and a cowl of the same color over their heads.

They were the only source of color other than grey, so at the time Riven had liked them and the color white very much.

She avoided approaching them, but she still found looking at them entertaining. It had been before she discovered a love for reading, since the orphanage didn't have any books, and it gave her racing mind something to wonder about.

Every visit, Diana handed over at least four children. They never went willingly, but that was because the last time they were taken, they ended up at the orphanage.

After a few visits, Riven saw the patten. It wasn't difficult, or even complicated. It wasn't by age, or gender, but by the length of time they had spent at the orphanage.

Riven calculated that if she and her sisters were ever to be taken, it wouldn't be for another two years. There were just so many children.

So she really didn't worry about the woman. She had other fish to fry. Riven would be turning eleven soon, and that meant she would be separated from Senette and Rene. You weren't allowed to adopt unless you were eighteen. But eleven was apparently old enough to live on your own.

She tried not to show her worry on her face. Her sisters were young but susceptible. Diana was a busy woman, so it was up to Riven to answer their numerous inquiries on their mother's whereabouts. Sometimes she felt like the world was on her shoulders, and other times she wished she could just scream and cry.

When Diana caught the Witch's Fever, nobody cried. She hadn't been mean, or unkind, but she never loved any of them. Riven had heard that she lost all of her children in miscarriages. She felt a little bad for her when none of the children comforted her in her delirious states. No one fed her after they broke into the cabinets and made supper for themselves.

She was dead within a week.

Not a single child cried, not even the young ones. All of the infants under a year died within three days of her death, since no one could properly care for them. Riven had been among the few older children who at least tried to feed and clean them, along with a brown haired boy and a red haired girl, but there just wasn't enough formula. They tried broth instead, but it didn't take. thirteen babies died within three days.

Riven, instead of following her usual schedule of chores, spent the day with her sisters. She tried to see the bright side of losing Diana. At least she didn't have to leave them.

It was three weeks after the death that the women in white came. In the dead of night, they woke every child up, forced them to scurry outside, and instructed them to follow.

Riven was too groggy to remember everything vividly, but she remembered holding her sister's hands and stumbling to continue on. They were the only ones on the streets. Just two hundred and some kids and seven women in glowing white dresses. They were carrying long torches, each one positioned evenly around the herded children. The torches had long, beaded wires connecting them.

Up close, Riven could the insignia embroidered on their cowls. The government's symbol.

Several children tried to run. Riven was too sleepy to think about escape.

The moment children crossed the wire, even those who never touched it, cried out and jumped back. They had an electrical charge. Where the energy was coming from, she had no clue.

After the shocks, the other children who had just been confused and cranky began to feel afraid. They were all led out of town. The barricades that restricted any from escaping the village were opened, and they left the Dark Place for the first time in their lives.

A/N: WOW! THREE REVIEWS? YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Thanks again for reading!

(This chapter was edited/proofread a little more thoroughly on 4/24/16. Please let me know if there are any major mistakes or inconsistencies that I missed =D).

Lin