The forest was no longer quiet as invaders stepped through its lands. A team of modern-dressed men, equipped with rifles and gadgets, waded through the wintry woods to get the drop on their prey. Their technological superiority gave them confidence. The tactical gear that read heat signatures allowed them to keep track of those around them and any new signals to keep an eye out for.

A chilly wind blew against their backs as they moved forward, thinking that they had the advantage in gear and expertise. After all, they were veteran bounty hunters, experienced in finding their targets in an urban jungle.

It should have been easy against the savages that lived upon these lands. A team of fifty mercenaries was more than enough to clear out entire towns if needed. But that complacency was what demolished the invaders before them, time and time again.

A silent arrow flew and lodged itself into the skull of one man, instantly killing him. The others instantly trained their guns along the slopes as soon as the body crashed to the ground. They searched for any red dots among the cold surface. But finding none only made them more frantic. A fired arrow couldn’t possibly outfly a bullet in distance, so the attacker had to be close by.

“Ugyahh!”

“SHIT!”

The sounds of more men in panic sounded around them. This time, their cries came from above as they were flung by ropes ensnaring them by the leg. Shrill voices of panic abruptly ended, followed by blood dripping upon the ground. They were silenced by sharp spears skewing them in the trees like a slab of meat ready to be roasted. Someone had set up traps.

Immediately, everyone looked down to check for signs of trickery upon the ground. No one wanted to be the next person strung up to bleed out like the spoils of a hunt. With eyes at the snow, some failed to notice a peppering of dust in the air as it drifted towards them.

Sounds of coughing caught everyone’s attention next, as weapons were dropped in favor of covering mouths with hands. The ones affected were hacking and wheezing until something red spurted around their palms and dripped down their sleeves. In an instant, they understood that more of them were going to die. Caution would no longer serve them well. They had to charge in right away!

Fear was said to give off a smell for those attuned to it. Unfortunately, they were standing upwind from their foes.

“ATTACK!!!”

Several people emerged from the snowbanks at the same time as that cry. One wielded a large mallet that caught a mercenary in the chest, sending him into the nearest tree trunk. His back snapped with an unsightly sound. He would move no longer.

Ahead of the charge, a man wielded short knives, making quick and efficient cuts that left no room to avoid. No defense was needed if the mercenaries were prevented from firing. The surprise attack had given the hunters the moments needed to mount an advantage.

Even with an advantage in equipment, the body was still flesh. A precise cut where the neck was exposed became a fatal weakness, one that the man with knives never failed to miss.

Behind him, another woman with white hair fired more arrows, downing a mercenary with every shot. Any who came upon her red eyes was greeted with an arrow in their vision, too fast for them to pull the trigger on their guns.

The sounds of war cries echoed throughout the forest as if barking back at those that dared to enter.

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‘They are so amazing!’

Ludmila stared in wonder as she watched Claude and his wives demolish the invaders. The Master of their tribe had been known for his deadly attacks behind a gentle demeanor, and now, she watched in awe as he cut down all those that threatened to so much as raise his gun in response.

Eryn and Saki were combat experts in their own right, skillful and powerful enough to take down any beast of the wild, no matter how fierce. And the traps from before were laid out by Katalina and Cornelius.

If there was danger to their family, these beloved brothers and sisters became ruthless destroyers that offered no mercy. Ludmila wanted to be brave, to fight as they did, and take her place beside them.

“There’s one! Fire! Fire!”

Ludmila leapt to one side quickly, mostly out of fear. The bullet hit more than 10 meters away from her, a testament to her speediness. Her feet quickly took her to the mercenary in question. Drawing the knife from her sheath, she plunged it into the shoulder of that man, causing him to drop the rifle. Another swing of the knife caught him in the neck, expelling the light from his eyes.

She could do it. She could fight like them, kill like them. It was all for the sake of family.

Ludmila turned around and spotted another, disoriented by the confusion, lost in the chaos. His gun fired at invisible enemies, unsure where they would pop up. Within moments, Ludmila dashed right up to him, a knife to the gut and her other hand holding the gun away from her. The mercenary dropped to his knees as he turned toward her, fear in his eyes. The gun continued to fire harmlessly until Ludmila sliced upwards to filet her foe.

Blood splashed upon her, a decoration of her kill. The scent made her smile; the adrenaline rush pushed her onwards to the next opponent.

It was what she lived for. A hunter was trained to be a killer, nothing more or less. The only difference was who it was for. And in this case, it was all for her family.

“N-No, please! I-I surrender! I haven’t hurt anyone! I promise I won’t ever come again!”

‘A coward on the wrong side.’

That was what Ludmila thought as she tackled the mercenary to the ground. The tears and begging didn’t deter her at all. In her eyes, these men were not people but demons hellbent on destroying them. Her knife came down mercilessly.

All of a sudden, the bark of a beast interrupted her. The scent of fur, damp from the snow, crossed her nose. She leapt back just in time to see a wolf bite down upon her knife and tear it away from her grip. It was huge, the largest she had ever seen. Surprised, Ludmila fell into a defensive pose. She wouldn’t lose to a beast of nature in a one-on-one fight.

But wolves traveled in packs. Ludmila scanned the entire area, wondering where the others were, but her senses only picked up the white, furry one before her. A lone wolf was strange indeed. It had put itself between her and the mercenary, growling with the knife in its mouth.

‘Did this man train it as a guard?’

Ludmila had heard of such possibilities in her village, of members becoming animal tamers for various purposes. But one look at the mercenary’s eyes spoke otherwise. They contained the fear of unfamiliarity. He didn’t know this wolf at all.

No one knew how to move in the face of this new combatant. But perhaps out of inexperience, the man was the first to back away. The wolf immediately turned to headbutt him in the chin, sending him crashing to the ground unconscious.

It looked back toward Ludmila before looking off in the distance, giving a low howl to direct her attention.

Immediately, Ludmila noticed that the sounds of fighting had ceased. Only a few abrupt hoots traveled through the forest, a call that her village used to quickly check on their members. She responded with a similar one, signifying that all was well on her end.

As she walked forward toward the wolf and mercenary, she bent down to retrieve her knife, only to receive a snarl that cause her to pull back.

“Okay, okay, no knife!” she responded, placating the beast who almost seemed to nod in acknowledgement.

The wolf turned back around and licked the man on the ground once before turning back to her.

“You, you want me to come over?”

The wolf sat in response, seemingly obedient. Ludmila took several steps forward, seeing no objection this time, until she stood right before the mercenary. Now that the heat of battle had settled, she noticed that the mercenary was more a boy than a man. She flipped him over, noticing that his gear was less distinguished than the others. Its uniqueness to her had initially deceived her perception of it.

But just like every hunter, this man also had his differences.

Ludmila peeled off the protective gear, checking to see if he had anything hidden but finding nothing but poor fabrics. The wolf had taken the gun and buried it into the snow. Strangely, it took neither her side nor his, merely spectating as she inspected her enemy.

Without the weapon and armor, he seemed frailer than even the children in her village. His arms were thin, his cheeks sunken. It was like he had barely eaten his fill. Such a person was out here, looking to take away the livelihood of her people.

Footsteps sounded from behind her. She turned to see Claude approaching. And the wolf looked between them, a hint of curiosity in its eyes.

“I see that you didn’t kill this one.”

“I couldn’t. This wolf had something to say about it,” Ludmila responded.

“Animals in nature are more attuned with the true character of those they encounter, far more than we ever can. The reasonings of man can sometimes get in the way of that.”

“You are telling me that the wolf thinks that he is a good man?”

“Or perhaps, it believes that there is no need to kill him.”

“But, he is an enemy?!”

“Did he raise a weapon toward you? If not, then perhaps, his very intention of doing so is as flimsy as his reason to be here. Not everyone has the strength to stand on their own, seek their own path. Regardless, we must respect life.”

Ludmila stepped back in surprise. She clutched her head as something echoed in her mind.

“Treat your prey with respect, but do not hesitate to take what is needed.”

“That is how we respect life, my child.”

She looked toward Claude, but the image of another man, tough as the mountain and gentle as a warm breeze, overlapped.

Claude walked over and checked the mercenary, sighing.

“It’s not uncommon to see something like this. A boy sent away for the sake of his starving family, with no choice but to earn some money to keep them fed. The world is not always a bountiful place. People often have to give themselves up for the sake of others.”

Ludmila couldn’t imagine such a thing. She had always been with family. It was the one thing she took pride in, so much that she wanted to stand at the pinnacle of it.

“That is why, it is important to show others that they aren’t alone. A ‘family’ is what keeps a person going, even if they are separated from them. Let’s take him back for now.”

Ludmila watched as Claude scooped the unconscious man up. The wolf perked up and followed after him, seeming content with the decision. All this happened while Ludmila stood frozen in her spot.

Never had she realized that her enemies had families too. She had grown up with a single perspective – family was good, and those seeking to disrupt it were bad. And she had chased after every opportunity to prove that this was the case.

“Uwroo?”

Ludmila looked down to see the wolf rubbing against her leg. It had come back to check on her. She reached down to pet the fur upon its head, thinking that it looked rather cute now.

“Do you have a name? I guess you don’t, do you? How about… Urkan?”

The wolf crinkled its nose at her and turned around to swat her with its tail.

“Wait! You didn’t like that? I’m sorry, what about Tygda?”

The wolf continued to bound away from her, dissatisfied with her names. She hurried after it, unwilling to let it escape from her sight.