The air was crisp but lightly stung the bare cheeks of a young girl. Shallow puffs of white that escaped her shielded lips kept them from being as cold as the winter chill. Sharp, blue eyes scoured the area, unbothered by the light dusting of snow upon her lashes.

These where the only parts of her laid bare to the elements. The rest of her body was wrapped tightly in warm skins to keep warm. Suddenly, she crouched, making it difficult to tell her from a beast in the wild.

She approached a bare thicket of bushes, seeing movement just beyond. If she were to move too quickly, whatever stood beyond it would notice her as well. But unlike her, they avoided confrontation. It would be bothersome to follow their tracks again until they dropped awareness again.

The girl paused as she noticed a glob of snow fall beside her, creating a splat that echoed through the woods. There was no way the others wouldn’t hear it.

“Grooowr!”

The sharp cry of a buck followed, testing the surroundings for any life. But even after minutes of staring left and right, it could not feel any. The beast was ever so cautious still, convinced that nature was not merely playing tricks on it.

Its feeding spot was one of the rare bounties in a snow-capped forest. Surely, other creatures would vie for it. If not, there were also predators that knew of them, waiting for some easy snack to cross its path.

The buck moved closer to where the noise sounded, brandishing its mighty antlers, just in case. It gingerly moved around the bushes, making no noise as its weapon stabbed the air with each sway of the head.

The moment it lifted its head was when the pangs of hunger reminded it of hunger. That desire overrode the instinct to be cautious, leading it to turn its head back to where a few juicy morsels of green remained.

But then, the ground shook.

By the time, it turned back, a sudden glint of metal reflecting the sun’s glow graced its vision, so unnatural that it realized right away that danger was upon it. A sharp pain sliced into its neck, and a splash of red dyed the snow.

It was too late. The assailant had been right below it, unnoticed. Camouflaged by the snow, the girl had made herself small and dug into it in one swift motion. Where it had been disturbed looked nothing more than snow tumbled from the branches above. The attacker knew to make it look as natural as possible, to deceive the eyes of one that knew the forest.

That could only happen for one that thrived in such a place as well. As the buck weakly took a few steps back, it acknowledged the form that had leapt out from the snow, smelling of deer hides to disguise her scent. It was a human, full of trickery to hide its lesser brute strength.

With a gritty howl, the buck made a final attempt to charge forward, hoping to skewer her. It knew that it wouldn’t get far at this rate, so it had no choice. But surprisingly, the human girl didn’t dive away. She stared intently as it charged and gave her own battle cry.

“Hiyaaaaa!”

The single blade of metal versus a swarm of bony thorns. It seemed obvious which was more dangerous. That was why the buck was so surprised when the flash happened so suddenly, blinding its vision just enough for the human girl before it to disappear.

It realized that it couldn’t breathe the next moment, a wave of pain lagging behind the blocked airway that had been punctured. The time it took to react was long enough for the sharp knife to drag halfway around its neck, cutting the connection of its brain to the rest of the body. With a loud thud, it crashed into the nearby snowy ground.

The girl approached it, finally pulling the deer skin down from her lower face. The air was filled with puffs of pure white, vigorous as a result of the battle. But the forest was still silent, all but the gentle pattering of limbs that had not realized its death yet.

Only after a silent prayer was given did the girl sheath her knife and pull out some rope to tie up the creature. With it properly captured, she finally let out a whistle that cut through the forest. It didn’t take even a minute for others to come running.

“Ludmila! Excellent work! We will have a feast tonight!”

The buck was much too heavy for a single girl to pull back, so a hunting team was required. Normally, they would work in groups to subdue their hunt, but Ludmila’s skill was so swift that they knew to hang back and let her take the lead. Bows had been drawn in the distance in case the buck got away, but they had been half-cocked. Ludmila had never failed them before.

She rarely minded going on hunts, favoring such a task. It was where she was most useful. Pulling back her hood, she smiled to greet them. The hands of those on her team went up to stroke her hair as they passed by. It was now their turn to work, to bring the hunt back to the village.

It was a short trek back. Long enough to make one’s toes numb from the cold if standing still. They kept moving to keep themselves warm. And soon, the hum of activity sounded in the distance.

Ever the eager one, Ludmila waved to the crew as they nodded back to her. It was permission to leave the rest to them. She bounded away in a sprint, feeling fluffy like the snow. But she had spent enough time in the cold. All she wanted now was to be melted in another’s embrace.

There was only one target for that in her mind, and her legs took her there even faster than a hunt needed. Skimming through the shoveled paths around her village, minutes passed like seconds before she spotted him by a large bonfire.

A mischievous smile crept on her face as she went back into ‘hunter mode’, hoping to catch him off-guard. The broad back that was in her sights made her determined. She pounced right upon it like scaling a mountain.

However, that mountain moved suddenly, arms swinging around to scoop Ludmila up into an embrace. He had sensed her coming from behind, a feat that no one else in the village could normally do.

“Ludmila, you’ve returned! And so quickly too! Did you have fun?”

“Yes, Master!”

The ‘Master’ gave her a skeptical look. He set her down and patted her head.

“You know that it feels super weird for everyone to call me that. I don’t really like the title for some reason. ‘Leader’ or ‘Chief’ sounds more like what this position should be….”

“Claude is now Master! It is tradition and a great honor!”

“I know, I know. It’s not what I see myself as just yet. Not when I’ve only started not long ago.”

Ludmila’s lips curled into an impish smile.

“Long enough to take on multiple wives.”

“You make it sound like I had a choice in rejecting them. It’s all for the sake of the village’s harmony.”

Regardless, Ludmila let out a giggle. The Master of the village was the most important person. It was natural for many suitors to target him for strong progeny. And that was exactly what happened, the moment that Claude was chosen for the role.

No less than twenty women got into a competition the day after, with four reigning at the top in the end. A commanding but prideful leader, a genius but whimsical crafter, a strong but shy warrior, and a charismatic but wily shaman – they were the ones left standing in the aftermath.

But seeing as there would be no easy way to settle things without causing deep rifts, Claude relented and asked for them all to stop their challenges. Placing a blue feather in each woman’s hair, the gesture was a sign that he would accept them all.

Ludmila pulled on Claude as she tiptoed to stretch herself toward his ear for a whisper.

“You won’t have a choice for Ludmila when I become of age next year. I’ll be expecting a feather from you.”

“I guess I don’t. You’ve always been so fervent about ‘family’. It makes sense that you want to become family of the most important role. Your achievements lately have made that point ever so clear.”

“I am a hunter. It is the only thing that I, Ludmila, can do. So I will be the best, so that everyone will acknowledge me.”

Ludmila was the fastest and the swiftest. The sneakiest and cunning of the hunters. She had never failed to take down a prey, regardless of how much it dwarfed her in strength. Her eyes kept on her target’s trail, her persistence never grew cold, and she would always be the first to find it again.

It was a position that she would never give up, just to be by the Master’s side.

“I see. I see. You just keep being the great hunter you are. Just don’t overreach. There are always others to depend on. Family is this entire village, even if blood doesn’t connect us all.”

Ludmilla nodded with a smile. Claude was not the strongest one, nor was he the bravest or most useful. But he knew what he had, and his awareness of the others made him the favorite to be the next Master. It was natural for him to be selected, despite what he thought of himself.

His partners had not become victorious simply by wishing to be in a powerful role. They had long suspected that he would be elected, and thus, trained themselves to suit his tastes. Claude would not have accepted them otherwise, as he could sense when something was off about one’s intentions.

Ludmila didn’t mind it. She was friends with all of them. They were like older sisters to her, and nothing would make her happier than to be able to stand next to them as equals.

Very soon. Her lone goal would be achieved…

“INTRUDERS!!!”

A group of villagers rushed between the dwellings, pale expressions on their faces. All at once, the people within earshot stiffened. They knew what to expect. Ludmila’s fingers trembled, and she drew a sharp breath.

Foreigners, wearing and brandishing gear that did not suit nature, had been spotted recently. They came to kidnap members of their village, to sell their bodies off for reasons that they could not fathom.

A cold echo of metal unsheathing caught everyone’s attention. They all turned to look at their Master drawing a small knife, one used for cooking. He had a somber expression, but standing next to the bonfire, flames reflected from his eyes.

“Gather the others! We will take care of them ourselves and make them regret that they decided to test our boundaries!”

Seeing Claude brandish the small knife in the face of firearms was laughable to most. But that was the point. These evil men had underestimated him last time.

It wasn’t until several of their men had been cut in half by Claude that they realized that even guns were no match for someone chosen to protect his family. The others soon followed suit – smashed, beheaded, trapped and poisoned – the skills of the Master and his wives gave others courage.

Ludmila regained her composure. She drew a deep breath to calm herself, just like before a hunt.

“You too, Ludmila. It’s time for you to show off your skills as well. You want to impress the others, right?”

“Yes. I want to be their equals. To Big Sisters Eryn, Katalina, Saki, and Corny. I will fight too!”

Claude smiled. He reached over and gave Ludmila a hug.

“Don’t worry. Family is strong. It can never be broken. We stick together, and no one will be lost.”