"Come on, Edith. I think it's time we got out of here." Narrita grabbed onto the child's arm. She pulled her in closer, only to be met with resistance as Edith tried to move in the opposite direction. 

"But Mister Cuddles!" she cried as she extended her other hand to her half-dead pet. The rabbit had his back towards her as he sniffed the decaying body of another bunny hidden beneath the overgrowth of some tall grass. "I'm not leaving without him!"

"Hurry up and get him! We need to get out of here. Now!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm an adult and I said so!"

"But there has to be a reason!" Edith stomped her foot and continued to try and tug her arm free from Narrita's hold. 

"You don't think this is weird? A field full of dead rabbits?"

"No!" Edith broke free and ran to her pet, scooping him up in her arms and holding him close to her chest. 

"Oh, that's right. You're the kid whose only friend is a half-dead bunny. This is probably 'fun' to you."

"It is! I could make an entire family for Mister Cuddles if you'd just let me!"

"I know you've been around for a while... a lot longer than I have... but I still know what's best. That's why we are leaving here. Now." The Cutthroat leader took hold of both of Edith's shoulders and tried to pry her away from the gruesome scene. 

"But Rita!"

"No buts, kid. I made a promise to your mom and I intend on keeping it." After some more struggling with the child, Narrita reached down and hoisted her and the rabbit up in one motion. Struggling, she balanced the girl over her shoulder and began to walk away. "I know you won't ever appreciate what I'm doing, but trust me when I say that this is for your own good, kid. Don't want to know what happens to an immortal girl that gets mauled to pieces. I can only assume it's nothing painful."

Edith remained silent. Her struggling continued momentarily, only for her to give up once she realized that overpowering Narrita was impossible. It wasn't long before Narrita's legs became shaky and her movement slower. She constantly took looks behind her to see if something was pursuing her. With each turn of the neck, she noticed movement among the leaves. 

"Hey kid," Narrita muttered, stealing another glance over her shoulder.

She still received only silence as a response. 

"You hear me, Edith? This is important."

"No."

"Edith!" Narrita snapped. "Don't do this to me now! This could mean the difference between life and death!" She stopped moving altogether, lowering the girl to her side and pausing to take a breath.

"What?" the child replied with annoyance.

Narrita pointed with one finger to the trees behind her. "Do you see what I see? Is there movement going through those leaves? Or am I just seeing things?"

Edith stepped forward, keeping Mister Cuddles snuggled against the soft fabric of her black dress. She lifted one hand and squinted her eyes, using her fingers as a shield against the bright light the penetrated the gaps in the leaves above. "Yeah. They're moving."

"Not like there's been much wind today. At least not anything strong enough to make branches move like that," Narrita said quietly. She looked towards the same spot of the forest as Edith. "That must mean there's something else in her with us!"

"More friends?" Edith asked with a twinge of joy. 

"Or an enemy!" Narrita pulled on Edith's free hand and tugged her further towards the section of trees that were less sparse. "No more dawdling! We're out of here, kid."

As Narrita began to move in the other direction, the movement of the leaves intensified. A dark shadow among the leaves became brighter, revealing a large and feathered figure. A long neck jutted out from the leaves, showing off a long and sharp yellow beak to the pair.  Narrita stood still, paralyzed in shock as the blank black eyes of the animal stared at her. It opened its curled mouth and let out a deep and pained caw. 

"A... griffinhawk..." Narrita said under her breath. She pulled Edith behind her so that she stood between her and the man-sized bird. The griffin stepped forward, revealing its shining brown body. It took crooked steps as it emerged from its cover, spreading its wings wide. The bird stood on its hind legs and let out another yelp as it angled its head closer towards Narrita and Edith. 

"Should've..." Narrita picked up Edith from the ground and pressed her against her chest. "Listened to me!" She ran as fast as her legs could take her away from the griffinhawk. A gust wind came from the flying beast as it flapped its wings. The rush of air knocked down leaves and branches and was strong enough to make Narrita stagger forward. 

"What is that?" Edith shouted, staring over Narrita's shoulder towards the pursuing animal. It made a staggered chase towards them. 

"Griffinhawk! It's a deadly predator," Narrita said with a huff. "Never knew they had taste for humans though!"

"It must have hurt all those rabbits!" the child responded angrily.

"And we'll be next!" Narrita picked up the pace, hopping over roots and fallen trees. She hid behind a larger tree and slowly turned to look over her shoulder towards Edith. 

"Be quiet," she whispered. Edith nodded her head closed her lips tight. Narrita then lowered the child to the ground, making sure that she stayed hidden behind the trunk of the tree. Slowly, the Cutthroat leader poked her head out from her cover, gazing into the direction from where they came. The forest was silent. Leaves and grass swayed in a natural manner from the short breezes that passed by. 

"I think... we lost it..." Narrita whispered, not taking her eyes off the forest in the distance. Her surveillance was interrupted once a shadow passed above. Like a streak it flashed by, making Narrita look straight up. A single brown feather dropped downwards, avoiding the leaves and landed at her feet. Both girls looked at each other, a terrified Narrita looking at an inquisitive Edith. The child lowered herself and plucked the feather off the ground, eyeing it as she pinched it with two fingers. 

The edge of the feather shined from the slim amount of light that crept through the trees, showing off it's reflective, almost metal-like edges. With her pointer finger and thumb, she picked the feather up by the smooth side. "Don't touch that. You'll cut yourself if you're not careful." Narrita dropped the bladed feather, letting it plunge straight into the dirt. 

"We gotta stop it!" Edith said to Narrita, her eyes a bright red as she clenched one fist. "It hurt all those rabbits!"

Narrita kept her eyes upwards, staring at the sky. Her attention darted across the canopy, trying to follow any and all shadows that blocked the sun's rays. "I'm not in the mood to end up diced like a bowl of fruit. And I'm sure your mother wouldn't be too happy if I brought you back in more than one piece!" she whispered. 

"You're a bandit! You do something!" Edith cried. Narrita stopped scouring the sky to look down at the child. She quickly placed one hand over her mouth and then put a finger to her own lips.

"Hush! Try to keep silent! If we're quiet, we can get away safe and—" a small chomp from a mouth with missing teeth made her draw her hand back. "Ouch!"

"You're scared for a bandit!" an angry Edith protested. 

"Listen kid. In my line of work, you've got to know when to fight and when to flee. I'm not a night or a paladin. I'm a thief that lives to steal another day."

"Can't you fight? Or have magic?"

"No. Not without Pierce," Narrita whispered longingly.

"Then I'll do it!" Edith darted out from her cover and towards an empty area in the forest. She jumped up and down in a bright patch of light while waving her hands above her head. "Hey! Come here!" she shouted as loud as she could as Mister Cuddles rested on her shoulder. Narrita dashed forward, lifting Edith from underneath her arms before going back into the shadows.

"You're going to get us killed!" Narrita said in tone a notch too loud to be a whisper.

"I have a plan!"

"Being bait?" an angry and confused Narrita snapped back. 

"No! I was going to get some help from my friends!"

"Your what?" 

Edith turned her head towards the other side of the forest, pointing in the direction of the field of deceased rabbits. "And Mister Cuddles will help too!" Narrita looked at the girl’s shoulder and saw that Mister Cuddles had the same look as when he was disturbed from his sleep. His mouth opened wide, showing off his jagged teeth while his eyes were furrowed like a predator's.

"You're telling me a bunch of rabbits are going to save us?" Narrita asked. 

The girl gave a confident nod. "Yep!"