Chapter 1

"Mom! Can you hand me the arrows?" Eve shouted from outside their den, grabbing her bow on the log. Brenna grimaced, her smoky fur ruffling in the wind as she passed a sack to Eve.

Eve waved goodbye, sprinting away into the forest. She strolled down the pathway, opening her jaws as she tasted the fresh air. Something shivered the tree, leaves fell down one after another as a cat peeked out of the branches. His tortoise-shell fur stood straight as a chill passed through the forest, swaying the branches.

"Chris?" She asked. "Are you stuck again?" She giggled as the tom struggled against the branches. After some time, he finally got down and brushed the green leaves out of his chest fur.

"Really, kitty? You really gonna just stand there? I thought the hunting has already started," Chris rolled his eyes. Then, he tossed an apple to Eve and pushed her forward. "Be quick, sweetheart!"

"Bye!" She called out, dashing down the pathway. "And don't get stuck again!"

When she finally got to the Tree, the sun was already high in the sky. Eve faked a sneeze as she felt angry glares staring at her. She yelped as a tom growled at her, his tail swishing back and forth angrily.

"You're late... At least you're not absent..." He groaned, his shoulders slumping.

"I was busy, Apollo!" She retorted. "And you knew that!"

"Do you know how much trouble I went through to convince the Elders to let you stay as an advancer?" The black tom spat. "And busy my a**, you do nothing but run around anyways. I wonder how you got assigned to me."

"And I wonder how I ended up here..." Eve mumbled lazily.

"No one would understand anything at all if you mumble..." Apollo grumbled. "Y'know, you're really starting to get on my nerves."

"Oh, I really do hope so," She snapped back. "And when will this damn hunt sta-"

A deafening blare rumbled through the forest, swaying the trees. The hunt has started. Cats from all directions took off into the forest, their eyes darting across the grassy ground, trying to find decent game for the clan. Eve scampered off into the shadows, getting away from the stampeding crowd. Taking a step back, she flinched as she heard a snarl behind her. She whipped around, finding a slim tabby, her chocolate brown eyes staring into her own. The she-cat hissed, pulling out a gleaming dagger out of her boots.

"Freya... you're not supposed to be here," Eve whispered, her tense muscles relaxing as the stampede passed her. "And why are you dressed like this, dummy?"

"Shush. Being a seer novice is so boring!" Freya moaned, sitting down. "I'd give anything to be you!"

"Nope. Never in a million years will I do that," Eve chuckled. "Now scramble. Or I'll snitch on you... with your dad. Y'know I don't like doin' that."

"You won't even dare!" Her friend meowed smugly. "You're terrified of seers."

"Then how am I talking to you so casually, huh?"

"Um... well... because I'm not a seer of course," The she-cat stammered. "And... what do you plan to be? You've been leaping around at the job options for moons now!"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll become a huntress," Eve replied calmly, using a pebble to sharpen her arrows. "It actually makes me feel challenged."

"What about Apollo? I thought you hated him."

"That's the fun part!"

"You're a masochist," Freya said, scrunching her nose. Peeking over her friend's shoulders, she yelped. "And I gotta go! To do the seer thing!"

"Huh?" Eve asked, confusion clouding her mind as she turned around. A sleek black tom came closer to her, in his amber eyes flickered a small black flame. Apollo walked over, two fat sparrows slung over his shoulder.

"She only gonna get lost if she goes that way. Go with her," He muttered, flicking his tail at Freya's direction. "And hunt something on the way."

"... Okay," Eve mewed, then rushed towards her friend.

***

"Ackkk!!!!" The tabby shrieked when she felt paws holding her shoulders.

"It's only me, scaredy-cat," Eve whispered, putting a paw over the she-cat's mouth. "Freya, keep yourself together."

"You're sho cweepy..." Freya hissed, her voice inaudible. "That its cweepy!"

"Whelp, one of a kind, I guess," laughed Eve, taking her paw off her friend's muzzle. "We gotta get back. Quick, too. I have to hunt."

Pulling the wheezing Freya, she ran through the forest as if she was gliding, sweeping up the fallen leaves. After a while, she halted to a stop by a towering tree, creeping vines warped the bark. A small nest resided peacefully up in the branches.

"So... now is the part we kill?" Her friend gulped, her fur standing up.

"Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong," Eve insisted. "And they look like there are eggs too!"

"But the vines-" Freya stammered as a vine sprung alive, wrapping its way around Eve's body. "Look like they're Letharian vines..."

"Shoot. Well something had to go wrong," Eve grimaced, clawing the vines with all her might. "You have a dagger, right?"

"Y-yeah," Freya whimpered. "But... I am not taking a step closer to that thing. I'll go get Apollo."

"No!" Eve shouted. "I mean, well, how are you planning to -ow- GIVE ME THE DAGGER!"

The she-cat fumbled, reaching for the dagger in her boots. With a swift throw, the weapon was in Eve's paws.

"Now go get help..." She choked, the vines slowly crushing her bones. Her friend nodded and ran off. Eve wheezed, her paws slowly going numb as she tried to move her arms. Clank. Her eyes widened in horror as the dagger fell out of her hands. She stretched out her free arm, trying her best to get it back but nothing was working. Her body has already started to go limp. Despite her dying efforts, nothing was in control anymore. Gasping for air, she felt the darkness overwhelming her, consuming her mind. Then, everything was black.