In a dense and foreboding forest, where sunlight tiptoed through the veil of thick leaves, a young girl with ocean blue eyes named Luna cautiously prowled. With the grace of a predator, she darted through the undergrowth, her wolf ears twitching at every rustle. Luna was a Shifter, only five years old but she knew a lot for her age. Her tail swayed in the wind as she navigated the bumpy terrain.

It was then Luna's blue eyes caught a flicker of movement in the tree just below her. It was a Squirrel with a fluffy tail, hopping around and climbing higher. The squirrel moves, its claws climbing and pulling its fat body further up the tree. Closer and closer to where Luna is posed. She bides her time on the above branch hidden by the dense leaves. Then it stops, the squirrel lifts its head, paused and its tail lifts up on alert.

Letting instinct drive, Luna pounces with grace. Her legs lifting her out of the leaves, that clung to her brown matted hair. Gravity taking her weight, she falls to the ground, snatching the squirrel from the tree trunk in the process. Her ears fall back on her head, her tail swishes around behind her. Her body propelling closer to the ground, and her legs instinctively bracing for impact. She lands gracefully with a thud, the squirrel dead in her hand from a brief snap to its neck.

She felt happy that she caught some food. It would make her tummy less hungry. She used her teeth and nails to take off the squirrel's skin. The inside parts were yummy. The entrails are a rich source of nutrition, as Luna tears open and removes the kidneys. Biting into it, the blood and juice drips down her face and onto her dirty top. Luna eats up the kidneys, followed by the liver.

Lunas eyes dilate as the smell of human blood carries in the breeze. In the distance a faint child like cry reaches her ears. Luna pauses torn, her own survival instincts telling her to run in the opposite direction, but the more curious side of her is driven further towards the smell and sound. Lonely and haunted by the memories of her family being torn apart in front of her eyes, Luna's ears twitch at the faint cry again and moves towards it, the scent of human blood stronger and more enticing. Her nose tickles with the smell, as her feet carry her over the leaves and grass. Her footfalls are light on the ground her predator instincts still on high.

It was then, amidst the whispering trees and leaves, that a timid and lost girl named Sophia stumbles straight into Lunas path and right into Luna herself. Her small body is slammed in to and then knocked onto her back. Lunas head flinging back hitting the hard earth and tree roots with a thud. The young Shifter is surprised by the girl's sudden appearance. Laid under the older child, her senses go into overdrive, her eyes scan the surrounding woodland area, expecting an attack, her hands are clenched underneath the older child and her teeth are bared in defence, but there is nothing.

Sophia clumsily moves to kneel to get up, her movements hasty and uncertain. A raggedy doll clutched in her right hand, with her dirty blonde hair and her doe eyes wide with fear, Sophia seemed like a fragile fawn, lost far from her pack. She hugged herself tightly, as if to ward off the encroaching gloom. She is crying and scared, her knees are grazed and bleeding her lips trembles. The human girl, Sophia, looks down at Luna with a terrified expression and Luna is momentarily thrown.

"I'm sorry" the girl Sophia cries out and takes a couple footsteps back before lifting her hand out. The two meet. Sophia takes a sharp intake of breath at the hot touch of Luna, who is taken aback by the coldness of the small girl's hand in hers.

Sophia helping Luna to her feet, the two girls stand.

Luna's eyes flit up and down the older child, her body tense with uncertainty and slight throbbing sensation in the back of head.

The blonde girl couldn't have been more than 11.

"What you doin? You ok?" Luna asked, her voice a low growl laced with concern having not spoken out loud much since the walkers over run her pack.

"I got separated from my group," Sophia replied, her voice trembling like a leaf in fall.

"I-I don't know how to get back to the road. There were walkers." Sophia points back in the direction she ran from.

A sense of understanding washed over Luna, having gone through something similar, Luna smiles a wolfish grin brushing off her cut shorts and picking up the rest of the dead squirrel off the ground. Her ears flickered but she couldn't hear anything that was off concern. Luna turns back to the human child, and takes in the older girl's appearance. It's been a while since she's had any contact with another human who did not want to hurt her.

"Hi, I'm Luna" the young child gestured towards herself, a small feeling of self-consciousness brushes her mind, when she realises that she probably looks like a feral mess. It had been days since she last had a wash and too long since her hair had been brushed. She had no doubt that she still had the blood of her kill on her face and clothes.

"I'm Sophia," the human child states in a small voice. Their eyes meet, and an unspoken connection forms between them, as they both understood the ruthlessness of this new world, they have found themselves in.

With determination, the Shifter studied the ground and sees the trial that Sophia had taken.

"Where were you?" Luna asks, hoping that it may provide some help to get Sophia back to her group.

The older child shakes her head, the doll still firmly gripped and a hand gripped in Lunas. Sophias eyes kept jolting around from Lunas to the surrounding area, as if waiting for something to jump out.

"We were up on a highway, and then suddenly there was lots of walkers. I hid under a car, but then one saw me. I ran. Rick said to keep the sun on my left shoulder" Sophia rambles. "I.. I think he said left...or may be right?" She looks at Luna again, nearly double her small height. "I don't know now, I panicked!" Sophia exclaims. The smell of panic emanating from the older child is strong. Luna moves her hand from Sophias to pinch her nose, before the urge to attack takes over. Weak, the shifters mind growls to Luna.

A moment passes, as the young shifter removes hand and takes a breath and then two.

"s'ok," she replies in a soft tone. Her eyes already following the faint path Sophia had taken.

"C'mon", she encourages and starts making her way in the direction Sophia had travelled. The older girl despite the obvious age difference clung to the Shifter like a lifeline. With Lunas guidance they moved through the forest retracing Sophias movements. What breeze there was provided little relief from the heat of the setting sun, as they continued through the forest, an eerie silence settled over them. Neither child knowing what to say.

Until Sophias stomach rumbles and the shifters mind lets out a Hungry snarl. Luna keeps her eyes open and cautious.

"You hungry? I have a little bit of the squirrel. S'not much alright?" Luna says, trying to sound cheerful. The squirrel itself had past the stage of appealing, but it's still food.

"Imma keep my eye for squirrel and rabbits, I like me some rabbit." Luna finishes, holding out the dead carcass to Sophia.

Sophia timidly looks at the mess of blood and raw squirrel intestines, a queasiness settled in her stomach.

Luna, noticing the expression, giggles.

"Silly, do this." She uses one hand to pull apart a piece of the intestine and rips it using her teeth, placing it in her mouth.

"See, s'not so bad."

Sophia, with a bit of reluctance, reaches forward and takes a part of the squirrel that Luna held towards her. She brings it to her nose and sniffs, before slowly putting it into her mouth and chewing. A grimace setting on Sophia face at the iron taste, her mouth chewing as fast as possible to get it into a small enough bunch to swallow.

Luna smiles and nods, watching her.

"It would be better cooked", Sophia says after a few moments.

"But better than nothing".

Sophia takes a deep breath, her eyes closed, and then exhales slowly. She does this a few times and the nauseas feeling in her tummy begins to pass.

"I'll find us a rabbit" Luna says, the sounding of r had a notifiable 'wuh' sound. Her eyes back to firmly being on the ground.

After a while, a smile appears on her face and she points.

"Look? A rabbit's." Sophia squints, looking over Lunas head.

"I don't see anything." Sophia says. She watches as Luna begins to set up some form of contraption.

"The leaves are bent. These shapes on da'floor are same. Little bunny hops." She says, gesturing to the ground. Luna stands up and wipes her hands on her pants, before doing a little bunny hop. Before smiling back to Sophia.

"You gotta be quite, and slow, okay? You will scared it off, okay?" Luna whispers. Sophia nods and the two girls continue walking through the brush. They follow the trial for several minutes until Luna spots movement ahead of them.

She puts her hand out, stopping Sophia. "Wait," she whispers. She crouches and moves closer, her blue eyes glued to the movement. Her ears flicks towards the soft sound. Luna catches Sophias attention and nods in the direction. The rabbit continues munching on the grass, unaware of the approaching predator.

Luna creeps up and, without hesitating, pounces.

The rabbit lets out a high pitched squeal and tries to bolt away, but she is too fast. She grabs it by the ears and snaps its neck, killing it instantly.

"Wow!" Sophia says. "That was amazing!"

"Fanks," Luna says with a grin. "Done it lot."

"I'm cold, we should try build a fire," Sophia says. Her eyes looking at her younger friend, and back towards the dead rabbit in her hand. As hungry as Sophia was, the idea of eating raw rabbit was unappealing, especially after the iron taste that linger in her mouth from the small bite Luna offered her earlier. Sophia's mind also swirled with a range of thoughts, wanting to as quickly as possible to get back to her Mom, but knew it wasn't feasible as of yet.

"I was never learned how to start a fire." Luna says, her eyes squinting up at Sophia, as the last of the light filters through the branches. Lunas eyebrows scrunch together, as a faint memory crosses her mind.

"I try, I watched Daddy do it." Luna says after a moment's thought.

Sophia's eyes widen and she shrugs.

"Okay."

The dark and dreary forest seemed to stretch endlessly, its twisted branches reaching out like gnarled fingers. Luna, her long dark hair flowing behind her and her tail swishing and flicking when something catches her eye. Sophia had yet to comment on her new friend's appearance. The idea of walkers existing, made the possibility of other supernatural creatures possible. Although Sophia had to admit she was slightly scared of her new friend she also found her ears and tail completely adorable. Reminding her of some fairytale book her Mom used to read to her before bed. A longing for her Mom washed over Sophia. She hoped her mother was ok.

As they walked, Luna's wolf ears perked up, tilting towards Sophia as she spoke. "I'm glad I met you" Sophia confessed. Luna's tail wagged slightly, a sign of happiness at Sophias words.

"I'm glad I met you too," Luna said with a grin. And she was.

They continued on, the sounds of the forest becoming silent with the nightfall. A small shard of dread however set in Lunas stomach. It has been around half hour of walking since Luna found the rabbit, and her stomach was gurgling in anticipation of having something to eat.

"Sleep here?" Luna says. Looking around, some of the trees had low handing branches which would be perfect for them both to climb. She looks around her, gathering twigs and dried leaves, they set about starting a small fire. Having seen her pack start a fire before, Lunas hands tried to recreate what she remembered. Her hands worked clumsily, a spark igniting and then going out. By now another half hour has passed, she could feel Sophias frustration seeping through, as Sophia sat a little away from where Luna tried the fire.

She let out a sigh before trying again and before long sparks ignited form the dried materials, creating a form of light in the dark. It was small, extremely small, but she blew on it slightly and then the fire crackled to life more. Starting out small before growing. A little dot of panic set into the girls at the thought that walkers would follow. Sophia and Luna both smiled at a job well done, and both moved closer to the fire for warmth.

"We better eat and put out the fire" Luna says to Sophia who nods her head.

She takes the rabbit carcass and following a similar principle she uses her teeth and fingers to skin it. Tearing off part of her top, she wraps part of the rabbit on to a stick and places it over the fire.

"How old are you?" Sophia asks after a moment of silence. The piece of rabbit slowly cooking, while Luna eats some of the entrails raw. Luna holds up her whole hand, showcasing 5 fingers.

"5" she says.

"I'm 11" Sophia carries on afterwards. Her stomach beginning to ache from the smell of rabbit cooking. The forest was eerily silent, the air thick with melancholic tension.

"Do you have a family" Sophia asks. Luna pauses, her fingers and hands covered in rabbit blood and juice. Her eyes stare blankly into the crackling fire, while her mind wanders, remembering the events that had brought her to this point.

"I did, there was lots of us. I have a pack. Me, my brothers, my sisters, my mummy, daddy and uncles and aunts. Daddy heard about monsters from some humans, but we didn't worry. We live on the res..reserv..reservaton and it's safe. But den it wasn't. A big group of dead came. There was lots. Killed mummy and daddy, and I dunno where others are. Daddy told me to run. " Luna paused, her hands gripping into the dirt beneath her. Her ears flat to her head and her tail curls around her torso. Sophia's face fell and tears formed in her eyes.

"Oh," she says, her voice trembling.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers.

"S'ok, not your fault. I fink some of my pack are alive...they gotta be right?"

"Right," Sophia says, trying to sound confident. Sophias hands playing with the hair on the doll. Wrapping it around her fingers.

"Anyway," Luna says, trying to change the subject, "What about you?"

"There is a lot of us," Sophia says quietly.

As they sat by the fire, the dancing flames casting flickering shadows on their faces, Sophia shares her story of the Quarry, her dad being eaten, Jim and the CDC. Luna reaches forward and removes the rabbit from the crackling fire and passes it to Sophia.

Sophia gratefully takes it, blowing on the rabbit meat to cool it down before taking bites.

Suddenly, Luna's ears twitched, catching Sophias attention. The rabbit carcass long being devoured by them both. Detecting faint sounds in the distance. Shadows moved, barely visible to Luna's eyes, and would be undetectable to Sophias. Walkers, their moans and growls carried in the wind. Lunas tail stands to detection and alert. A sense of duty to protect her new fragile human friend takes over.

Without hesitation, they extinguished the fire, their movements swift and precise. Luna and Sophia retreated into the trees. Lunas shifter ability to see in the dark, allows her to guide Sophia up into a tree, and climb up the branches, allowing them a safe haven amidst the greenery.

The night wrapped them in its chilling embrace, Walkers moans echoing through the forest. Luna and Sophia clung to the safety of their hidden perch, their bodies pressed to the bark of the tree.

Sophia lets out a giggle, taking Luna by surprise.

"You have a wolf tail and ears." Luna, in response, sticks out her tongue and Sophia laughs again.

"I'mma shifter" Luna states.

Sophia's curiosity is piqued. "What's a shifter?"

"I can turn into animals sometimes, like a wolf." Luna says.

"Like a werewolf." Sophia states.

Luna shakes her head. "Erm.. I mean. I. Not really. We can change into any animal, but as my pack we have a wolf. I'm still the baby of the group." She struggles to explain. She was the baby of the group, as a result not a lot of the information on shifting was shared.

But she remembered some common knowledge that her parents were telling her about.

"I don't know a lot about you, apart from you can't hear as well, and your ears are different and you don't have a tail!" Luna exclaims. The idea of not having an extra set of ears or tail seems somewhat foreign.

Sophia giggles.

"Yes, its very pretty. You're very cute" Sophia states, running her hand over Lunas tail. Taking in the texture, the fluffiness that reminds her of a dog. The hand stroking her tail, puts Luna in a relaxed state. Too relaxed, her head rolls to the side and a purr works itself in her chest.

The walkers, continue to moan around them, causing Sophia to pause her hand. Luna reaches out, sensing her distress, her arms wrapping under Sophias, comforting her, whispering reassuring word to her new friend.

"S'okay. They can't reach us."

Her words seem to comfort Sophia, her distress subsiding.

The two sit in the tree for what seems like forever, neither being able to drift off. But eventually the walkers move on.