Sakura's Journey Chapter 22 Hunting?
I woke-up, sighing in joy as I felt the warm blankets around me. It felt so good to sleep in a tent, even though I was still on the hard and lumpy ground in a way. Juan was already up, I noticed and I sat up. Squible woke-up about the same time I did, padding over to me, sticking his upper body in my pockets and grabing an acorn, which he started to eat. I chuckled and stroked his back. The squirrel looked up to me with shining black eyes. I was surprised at how loyal he was. We were in this forest that stretched for miles, full of squirrels and other wildlife, yet, he chose to stay with me. It made me feel special. I clung to my scarf again. I'm more than just an ordinary person.
I walked out of the tent after doing my best to flatten my hair down, knowing it probably didn't do anything. Squible was riding proudly on my shoulder. Daemon and Johnny were sitting by the newly lit fire, cooking some soup. My stomach growled just looking at it. I only now realized how empty my stomach was, and we weren't even eating full meals now! How did I even survive back then? I weakly poked at my side, feeling my ribs and wincing when my fingers brushed up against my bruise. I was much worst off than the others... Johnny noticed my obvious pain. "Hey Kura, you ok kid?" I smirked, trying to keep back laughter. "It's nothing. Just the results of a bear attack." His eyes went wide. "You're kidding, right?" Me and Daemon laughed a bit and he spoke next. "Yeah, it's true! She saved that French girl!" Johnny raised a brow again and looked me from head to toe. "You slenders, you're so...powerful. It's scary in a way, but cool." I grinned and looked down to my feet. "Not just slenders...I'd have died without your son." I looked away, feeling uncomfortable. Johnny's back straightened up and he looked to his kid. His twelve year old little kid that got picked on often for not being as fit as the others. "What?" Daemon also looked to his feet. "No big deal, I just threw a rock. You used your weird mind static power thingy to get the bear to leave!" There was something about praising each other like this that just felt so...good.
I knew Daemon's dad could have pulled off an other joke about us, but he instead carried on speaking, just as Juan returned from a nearby stream. "Anyway Sakura, that slender that traveled with me, he'd catch animals sometimes for food. We need meat in our diet, but I think you need it especially. You look...sick." My eyes widened. "You want me to...hunt? We could be out of here in two days you said!" He looked at me worried again. "Will you make it two days? Kura, you may not have noticed it yourself, but you don't look good at all. And it's not just because of your hair. Slenders need more meat than humans do. I know that as a fact. Go look at your teeth if you want proof!" I looked down again. He was right. I was weakened a lot and slenders did need meat. I looked to Squible, who still sat innocently on my shoulder. Could I really go out and kill an animal? I wasn't a vegetarian, no, far from it. Slenders need meat in their diet. It's just... I don't even know. It felt wrong for me to kill an animal, even if I knew it was to survive. Finally, I sighed. "I...I guess I can try."
I gently took Squible from my shoulder and placed him in Juan's hands. "You take good care of him for now, ok?" The small boy looked up to me, smiling brightly. I looked to the father and son, sighing again as I allowed my already somewhat sickly colored skin to turn pure white. Soon, the world was tinted grey and blurred at the edges, also viewed from a much higher perspective. I extended my aura around, feeling for any signs of life. Finding a hare somewhere at my left, I headed that way, in silence. I was shocked, stunned, silenced. My footsteps, they made no sound. I had noticed I was quietter when I walked ever since that bear attack, but this was ridiculous! I guess I was starting to unlock my instincts. The wind blew by, pushing a turmoil of leaves and blowing my scarf. I shuddered as the cold wind hit my mostly bare legs. I focused once more, finding the hare's aura. He was hiding in a burrow, not far from where I stood. I walked over to it. I knew he wouldn't see it coming. I extened one of my tendrills and held my breath as I sunk it into the burrow, coiling it on the first thing I could get a hold of. I winced when I heard a startled cry and managed to pull a rather large brown and fuzzy animal from the den. The hare was panicking. Could I really do this? Two days away from rescue? I could always go back and tell them I didn't find anything...
No. I was a slender. I was a hunter. I wasn't just doing this for me, I was doing this for the others too. They needed food too. We were on our last two cans of soup. We wouldn't have food anymore by the time we got out. I ground my fangs together again, looking back down to the small hare that was still struggling in the grip of my single tendrill. I focused, sending it calming static. I stood there, calming it and whispering to it until it was almost asleep, and then, I looked away. I looked away as I brought an other tendrill to his neck. I pretended not to hear it when I heard that snap. I wasn't even fourteen yet and I had claimed a life. Though the life of a rodent, and for my survival, the fact still stood. I dared to look back to the lifeless limp body. Would Squible be able to tell what I had done? I nearly screamed when I heard a voice rise up from behind me. "Nicely done." It was Johnny. The man, who wasn't even as tall as I was now, smiled at me sadly. I looked to the ground, unwounding my second tendrill from the animal's neck and handing the body to the man. I didn't speak on the way back. I didn't speak as it cooked. I didn't speak as I ate. I felt like the monster the Internet made my kind out to be.
Juan tried to cheer me up. "It's ok, Kura. As a janitor, I killed mice like...every single day. You did this to survive. You did nothing wrong." I gave him a brave smile, though I winced internally at the thought of this little kid carelessly killing dozens of mice. I only now noticed I was still in slender form, but I didn't bother changing back. Daemon scooted over to me, hugging me. I wrapped a few tendrills around him, feeling glad I had a friend. Squible climbed up on my shoulder and licked my white cheek. He didn't hate me for it either, even if I had bassically just murdered and eaten his cousin. Johnny set his food down, looking to me again. "Kura...I know this is hard on you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you do this." "No...it's ok. I'm just shocked." Those were the first words I had spoken in a good two hours. Daemon hugged me again and I looked down to him. His emerald eyes showed so much acceptance. I knew his father was watching us intently, I knew Juan was looking at us somewhat stunned, I knew Squible was still on my shoulder, I plucked him off with a tendrill. Still, we kissed again. It was longer this time. I felt comforted by him and coiled my tendrills tighter around his waist, bringing him closer to me. Johnny just looked at us for a few seconds of silence before speaking again. "I knew it." We both blushed and looked away, yet I'm pretty sure my aura showed that I was happy with this.
(Sarah's P.O.V.)
We were currently at the mall. And by we, I mean me, Angie, Tom, Dill, Leo, and my mom. Yeah, it was weird having my mom here. Fred and Sandra were both working. They'd have come too otherwise. My mom dropped by right as we were leaving, so she decided to tag along. We were currently trying to find good Halloween costumes. We always had a Halloween party. We also wanted to find birthday presents for Kura. Some people looked to us strangely, giving us gentle smiles. I guess they recognized us from the news. I tried to ignore them. The kids are coming back! I smiled and felt an aura of joy radiate from the back of my mind as Tom smiled too. Dill was out looking for his traditional Disney Princess themed costumes. We had made it a joke since 9th grade to have him dress like that every year. Leo was at a game store, looking for something to get for Kura. "Oh, uh. Let me help you there!" Those were Tom's words as he went chassing after his younger brother.
I smirked and shook my head. He'll never change, and I liked him that way. As I kept walking, by my mom and Angie, my mom brought up an interesting point. "So, what are you going to say when the kids come back? How do we hide the fact your daughter is a supernatural being?" I smilled. It was funny how she wouldn't say that my daughter was also her grandaughter. "We already have a cover story planned. We'll say she got abducted along with Daemon, they faught the abductor and escaped, but the abductor had already gone to the forest near Pinemount, which is where she actually was and actually will have escaped." My mom seemed satisfied with the answer, but she still hummed sceptically. It didn't matter. My mom was here. I hadn't been close to her in, well, forever. Poor kids... I wish they could be with their moms. Well, Daemon could be with his dad, but still.