Slowly draw back the arrow, the Elder coached, surveying our every move. I tensed, praying to Eclipse that my stance was correct and I wouldn't have to suffer humiliation in front of everybody my age in the pack.

It was a fairly chilly afternoon, typical weather for the season of Winter in California. The flame-colored leaves had come and gone, and soon, it would get even colder. We were out in the Magno Prato--the Great Meadow--practicing our archery skills. This winter, food had been harder to come by. So, the elders decided to start training hunters even through the hunting season, instead of just before.

Letting the arrow fly, I hissed as it grazed my forearm, setting it on fire. My wrist guard had come loose and the inside of my arm was now red with pain. I looked to see where my arrow had landed, and sadly, it was embedded in a tree trunk several feet away from the target. Grumbling a curse to myself, I redid the leather straps on my guard and picked up another arrow.

This time around, it landed right in the middle of the target. Archery might have not been my strong suit, like magic or dancing was, but I was still good enough to keep the other people off my back. When the Elder signaled to go get our arrows, I jogged over to the base of the thick oak my arrow had landed in.

It was really buried in there, the flint head completely hidden within the tree. Grabbing the shaft below the goose feathers, I pulled hard, trying to dislodge it from the bark. Stubbornly, it didn't move. Not even a centimetre. I could feel the eyes of at least twenty adolescent Ventils watching me. Hoping, I suppose, that it would be really stuck and I would break it.

Good enchanted arrows were hard to come by. The whittlers, who made the bows and arrows, hexed them to follow their targets. They didn't always hit somewhere vital. In fact, they tended to have a mind of their own and just hit whatever was open to them. That was why we had to practice with them. We were really quite fortunate to have them for our training sessions. If I did break one, I was sure to drop down a few places in the archer ranks.

I tried pulling and yanking and wiggling it, but it still refused to come out. There were a few girls giggling at this point, and I really wanted to punch them. I even went so far as to form a giant, glowing hand and try pulling it out using that. No dice. It was still stuck!

Defeated, I sat down and stared at the arrow, adamant about staying in the tree trunk. You really are not giving me an easy time, you know that? I asked it, giving it a glare. I could imagine the people behind me gossiping now; Lunalis talks to arrows! She's such a freak! Oh, it would feel so nice to sink my fangs into their necks...

Wait, no, I stopped myself, before Insanity's thoughts could overtake me. I'm in control, I'm fine. I am not going to bite them. Okay?

Okay, came the reluctant reply. Insanity was one of the harder ones to control. She had a short fuse and a constantly voracious appetite. The fact that she was also part bat and drank blood didn't help whatsoever. Taking a deep breath and turning my attention back to the arrow, I bent over and began pulling it again.

I could feel it loosening the more I wiggled it, so I kept at it. When I was just starting to see the flint head, I hear a person yell out, Think fast!

I barely had the time to duck before an arrow went skimming over my head and embedded itself in the trunk of the tree, level to where my head had been before. I whipped around to see who had fired it, but I couldn't see them. I just hissed in the general direction it came from and finished loosening my arrow.

Jogging back to where I was shooting before, I picked up my bow and prepared to fire at a target carved in the shape of a deer. We modeled our targets after the animals we would be hunting, so the arrows got used to the shape and where to land so they could strike a fatal blow. Concentrating on the bow, I pictured the arrow flying true to pierce the center of the target, right where his heart would be. I pulled back the string, and just before I let the arrow fly, a velvety voice whispered in my ear, Be careful where you shoot that.

Startled, I let the arrow loose way off target. It soared past the ears of my friend Meloetta, and she turned with a start to see what had almost hit her. The arrow then looped around the legs of Araidne, another friend of mine, twice, and it was heading straight for Pythia's ribcage. A split second before it made contact, she raised her cobra-like hood, and gave a terrific hiss. The arrow froze, shuddered a bit, and dropped like a stone. Satisfied with her handiwork, she turned back to the target she was shooting at.

You made me miss, I growled at the girl who spooked me. Sure enough, Mystere was there, a small smile on her ruby red lips. She was twirling a lock of her blonde hair around one of her claws, as if she were so innocent. Did I, she asked, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout. Why would you accuse me of doing something like that?

Because I know you, I replied. I know what you're like. Deceitful, dishonest, backstabbing...should I go on?

She snarled at me and turned back to the target she was aiming for. A small, bird-shaped target. Most likely modeled after a sparrow or something similar. Flipping her hair out of her face with a toss of her head, she drew back the arrow, sliding her delicate fingers over the wood like she was caressing it. A flash of her snow-white teeth and the arrow was stuck in the middle of the target.

Well done, Mystere, the Elder praised her. She gave a cute little curtsey, turned to me and smiled. It was a smile of victory. Satisfaction. The look you give somebody when you think you've won something. Well, if she wanted a competition, then it was a competition she was going to get.

I rolled my eyes and selected an arrow from my quiver. It had raven feathers along the shaft, matching perfectly with the lighter colored wood and dark flint head. My sister gifted it to me awhile back; A lucky arrow from my lucky bird.

I slid it into position and turned around so that my back was facing the target. Everybody was watching me now, in silence. Pulling the arrow back, I turned my arms around so the bow was now behind my back and facing the target. To my left I could see Mystere with a very confused expression on her face. To my right were my friends, silently cheering me on. Araidne flashed me a go-ahead gesture with one of her many hands. I smiled in confirmation and let the arrow fly.

Crack! Thunk was all I heard. The whole group let out a collective gasp, and I turned around to see if my shot had landed where I wanted it too. Sure enough, it had flown through the air, shattered Mystere's arrow, and landed in the center of the target. All my friends were cheering (except for Pythia. She rarely smiles and never cheers). Mystere's mouth was open in a long oval. I just winked, blew her a little kiss, and went to retrieve my arrow.

After I got it back, I walked over to a new position next to Araidne and Meloetta. I didn't feel like dealing with Mystere, especially after I had humiliated her with my showy display that cost her an arrow. I swear, dealing with her gets harder and harder every day, I groaned, setting my quiver at my feet. Meloetta just grunted in response, busy handling her own arrows.

Even since the age of 5 annos, she had problems with archery. Which was a problem for her since she came from a line of very important archers. One of her uncles even claimed that they were descended from Ela, the Earth Queen and creator of archery.

It took a lot of my willpower to not let Ela give him a piece of her mind, and to keep her under control. She then went on for horaes after the event, ranting that she had never had children and certainly didn't have any great-great-great-great-great nephew or anything like that for sure. It gave me a headache that lasted a week.

One eye squeezed shut, the other locked on the target, Meloetta was in a whole other world apart from this one. The arrow was trembling between her fingers, sturdy and true. An archer's fingers, her father called them. Unfortunately she didn't seem to have the talent to go along with them.

She spent awhile repositioning the arrow until she had it just where she wanted it. Letting it fly, it seemed to soar straight towards the target, a rabbit sitting on the ground about 10 yards away. Then, at the last second, it veered sharply to the left and toward Pythia's head.

Pythia, aware of the arrow flying to pierce her skull, simply turned to face it head-on. She raised her hood, let her pupils narrow into slits, and gave a deafening roar that shook the ground. Waves of terror swept over everyone, courtesy of her dragon ancestry. I keep forgetting she can do that, I said, clinging to Meloetta. She just nodded in response, eyes locked on Pythia. She just seems so subtle until she's not, Araidne agreed, her 8 arms wrapping us in a tight squeeze.

I swear, every single time we have archery practice, these stultus arrows go right for my head! Do I have a target on my back or something, because last time I checked I sure as Mortem didn't. She glared, her small forked tongue flicking out ever so often. Her hood was still raised, the patterns of a cobra etched in scales. Her yellow eyes weren't slits anymore, but still were very intimidating to look at.

Well, maybe they just see something in you that appeals to them...? I said, not sure whether she would take it well or not. She just snorted and replied, That makes it sound like they fancy me. What will be next? The bows start giving me flowers? The spear shafts start singing prose about my beauty? A tree asking me to court him? Oh, don't beg for my affections, Mr. Oak, the birch sapling already asked me to go for an evening stroll with him.

Araidne laughed, and it was pretty infectious. Pretty soon even Pythia was laughing at her own sarcasm. You know, you should joke around more often. It does wonders for the soul, and you're really good, Meloetta said, wheezing. I make no promises, Pythia smiled, a little fang peeking from between her lips. She's not kidding. You're really funny, I agreed. You know, when you aren't being all stoic and stone-faced. That earned another laugh from the others, and I turned to get back to practice.

How sweet, a honeyed voice sang. Mystere was back, and this time she'd brought backup. Her friends Callista and Amara, and her 'bodyguard' Daruk. Go find somebody else to annoy, Araidne groaned. We're trying to practice and we don't need any more distractions right now.

Practicing what? Killing your friends using enchanted arrows, Callista laughed. Meloetta flushed red and didn't meet her gaze. Callista was her older sister, and she was probably the best archer out of our age group. She, unlike her sister, was gifted with great skill in archery and just loved to rub it in Meloetta's face.

Go eat a sparrow, pussy cat, I snarled. We have better things to do than listen to you running your mouth. Callista hissed a me, her whip-like tail lashing the air angrily. Pythia hissed back, hood flared, and Callista retreated a few steps back. Daruk stepped forward, ready to protect her, black eyes glinting like tiny pieces of obsidian in his mountain of a face.

Mystere signaled him to step down with a wave of her hand. He begrudgingly obeyed, stepping back to his place by her side. She wanted the fight to herself. Now then, she said, clasping her hands together like she was addressing a meeting. You told me to go find somebody else to annoy, is that right? Well, what fun would that be when all the losers and outcasts are right here?

You'd better watch what you say, I warned her, stepping forward with my claws out. I won't hesitate to rip that sharp tongue from your mouth. I've done it countless times before and it's always so satisfying to add another pickled organ to my collection. Soon I'll have enough to recreate a full body. That was a lie. I don't keep the pieces of other Ventils in a collection. Though I've heard a few rumors that Insanity had one awhile back which I have not sought out to confirm.

Mystere was just standing there, examining her nails without a care in the world. If she was afraid of the threat, she didn't show it. She looked up to me and said, Oh, don't mind me. I just tend to doze off whenever somebody goes on and on with their monologues. It's not a performance, darling, it's just a threat. She slipped one finger under my chin, and tilted my head up to her height. Unfortunately, she was an inch or two taller than me, so she had the height advantage.

I struggled not to swipe at her perfect face, her flawless skin and bluebell eyes. To not rip out her luscious golden locks and use them to make thread. We were so close now. I could easily give her permanent scarring.

She leaned forward, brushing her lips against my ear and whispered,That, my old friend, is your harmartia. Your fatal flaw. You can't make a real threat because we both know that you could never hurt something after what you did that day...

That was the last straw. I let out a bellowing war cry and punched her. Right in her perfect nose. She stumbled backwards, cursing and trying to staunch the bleeding. It was everywhere, red running down her face and all over her clothes. I ran at her, leaping at her with claws out. I tackled her out of her friend's arms, and had her pinned on the ground and was punching her everywhere there was open skin. Her eyes. Her nose. Her cheeks.

She was scratching at me, and I felt stinging pain all over my arms and face where her claws had opened up wounds. One got me right across the eye and I faltered for a moment. That gave her the opportunity to get her legs free from under my weight and kick me in the ribs. I went flying backwards and landed on my spine, the wind knocked out of me. I tried to get up as fast as I could but lots of arms held me down. I went into Panic Mode and started clawing at the arms that held me.

I tried kicking and shrieking and even biting at my restraints, but they didn't loosen. I stopped struggling when Araidne screamed in my ear, Lunalis, calm down! It's me! I drooped limply in her web of ebony arms, which were covered in navy blue scratches. Every time I took a breath my chest felt like it was being stabbed. One of my ribs was cracked, if not bruised badly. I was bleeding all over the place and Meloetta was fussing over me and healing me with a touch. One of her talents was healing spells, and even though she'd never admit it out loud, she really enjoyed it better than archery.

Once she was finished with my ribs, the pain in my chest faded to a dull ache. Not all the way healed, she clarified when I asked about it. Just mostly to make the process go faster. You'll still need to take it easy for quite some time. Try not to get into any brawls with ex-best friends in the meantime, okay?

The Elder, once he found out who started it and what had happened, sentenced Mystere, Callista, and I to three extra hours of archery practice. He might as well have me served on a silver platter covered in blood to a Karil!

Karils were the large and bulky eel-like creatures that our warriors usually rode into battle. When we could coax them out of their holes, that is. They could spit poison, breathe fire and were almost as tall as the trees. Plus, they were almost impossible to kill. We usually sentenced the Ventils who challenge the Alpha and fail to be eaten by them.

At sunset, practice was supposed to be over. While everybody else was heading back to the caves, I was preparing to practice well into the night. Mystere and Callista were grumbling and mocking us from afar. I knew because I could hear one of them do a high-pitched imitation of me from across the meadow.

You know, I'm really sorry this happened, Meloetta apologised to me before she left. If I'd stood up to my sister, then maybe you wouldn't be doing punishment time-

Hey, don't say that, I said, laying a hand on her shoulder. You know I'd stand up for you, always. Even if you did stand up to your sister, I'd still have your back. I squeezed her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. Tell Raven I'll be home late, I whispered in her feline ears. When we pulled apart, she nodded, and turned to leave. Right before she disappeared into the dark crevice, she turned one last time to wave at me. I waved back, and she turned and fled back into the cave.

**********

One horae into practice, and I would rather gnaw off my arms and put arrows through my wings than go through this ever again. My arms were sore with a kind of ache that I'd never felt before in my life. I'd been burned by the arrow string at least 6 times, and hit by multiple projectiles of various assortments. Rocks, sticks, little wooden or clay beads, the list went on. Eventually, when one large stick clocked me in the back of the skull, I mentally heaved a large rock at Callista's face. The shriek and whimpering afterwards told me I made a pretty accurate shot. I didn't get hit by anything else after that.

I was getting into the groove of working with tired limbs, the pain diminishing the less I paid it heed. Rolling and coming up ready to shoot, I took down two targets shaped like stags, and one rabbit-shaped one. Then, I saw a Ventil-shaped one looming by a tree. Without thinking, I loosed an arrow at their head. The target shrieked and ducked as the arrow went soaring over their head.

Oops, Insanity said with false innocence.

You'd better watch what you're doing, I warned her. Do you really want to have me go overtime more than I need to?

It doesn't matter what happens to you. You aren't me, so I won't be affected by you staying even later.

I didn't even bother to respond, lest I make her angry and she decided to actually aim at somebody, like the Elder. Callista whimpered and retreated back to her shooting position. I picked up another arrow and sort of fell into a daze for the rest of practice.

**********

Finally, after two more horaes of torturous archery, the end of practice was upon us. It couldn't have come soon enough.

I shouldered my quiver, arrows clattering on my back. Mystere and Callista were whispering to themselves, no doubt gossiping away about my performance today that got them serving extra time. I just ignored them and continued picking up any of my stray arrows I found. For some reason, I couldn't find the lucky arrow my sister gave me. I scrounged around for it by the trees, the far-off targets, and even by the cave entrance. Nothing was there.

Looking for something, Mystere giggled. I turned sharply to see her twirling my arrow between two of her limber fingers like a baton. Give it back, I growled. She just smiled at me and kept twirling it. Clearly, the injuries I gave you weren't clear enough as to what happens when I'm angry, I said, walking towards her. Shall I demonstrate for you? I let a tendril of my magic snake around the length of my arm before curling into a clump on my hand that immediately turned to purple fire. Now, I will not ask again. The arrow.

Her smile dropped to a frown and she stopped twirling the arrow. She stood still as a statue, like she was frozen solid. Her eyes drifted to my right hand, burning with magical flames. They then drifted to the arrow in front of her. Then back to me.

She grabbed a bow, knocked the arrow and aimed it at me. I took a defensive position, summoning magic into both hands, ready to throw up a shield if necessary. We locked eyes and had a sort of a staring contest. My will against hers. Then, just as she seemed to lower the bow, she tilted it skyward and launched the arrow into the woods.

I'll kill you for that, I growled at her, before turning and running into the trees.

Sprinting in the general direction the arrow was flying, the underbrush of the forest blurred into a thousand shades of green. Luckily, I was part wolf and cat, so I could see very well in the dark. I tried to start flying hanging low to the ground, but tree branches kept hitting me so I stuck to just running. I didn't want to fly above the treetops for fear of missing the arrow, and for fear that an airborne enemy might strike me from above. I was out of the Ventil territory now, and my powers would be significantly weaker. Anything could get me out here.

I slowed down after a few minutes of nonstop running. The arrow would have flown far, being enchanted, but I'm certain it wouldn't have flown to the border of the woods. If it had, then I'd really be in trouble.

The woods past the meadow were foreign and frightening to me. I'd only ever been in the woods within our magical boundaries. Out here I had a limited source of energy, and my options were limited because of it. I could try and call the arrow to me via telekinesis, but that might drain a lot of my energy if it were far away, and I wouldn't have any left if I were to come across an enemy. However, if it was close by, I could easily call it and teleport home.

Banking on the worst-case scenario, I decided to proceed carefully on foot, taking heed to avoid small stones and branches under my feet, lest something snap or roll and make noise. I tried looking as carefully as I could as quickly as I could. I really didn't like the woods right now, especially since I was away from my home and it was dark out. Plus, I had heard that there was a human civilization around here. It was just a rumor, but I didn't feel like sightseeing.

I was searching through some bushes when I heard a rustling noise. I turned, claws out, holding my breath in anticipation. I honed in on a clump of leaves shifting around to my right. After waiting a few seconds to see what would pop out of the bush, it stopped moving. I tensed, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As soon as I saw something white and fluffy emerge from the bush, I pounced.

At first, I thought the creature I caught was a mouse, until it started screaming. When I looked closer at my prey, I saw that it was a miniature human with a fluffy white beard that took up half his face. He also had a pointy hat on his head that resembled a steeple hat, minus the flowing silk dangling at the end. How he kept it poised on his tiny head after I pounced on him, I have no idea.

After he recovered a bit from the shock from being tossed around, he peered at me with his beady black eyes, studying me intently. He was mumbling to himself in a language of his own creation, peacefully breathing, until his eyes flicked to the side and saw my left hand raised in the air.

He started shrieking and yelling gibberish and struggling and I had quite a hard time shutting him up. I tried singing to calm him down, but he couldn't hear me over the sound of his own screams. I made a fatal mistake when I tried to put my hand over his mouth. Instantly, shark-like teeth dug into my skin, and I yelped and flung him away. He bounced a few times, shrieking every time he made contact with the ground, and eventually stopped about 10 yards away.

He then got to his feet, took off his hat revealing the stump of a singular horn of some kind, brushed the dirt from it, placed it back on his head, and turned to my direction. We locked eyes for a few seconds, not moving. Then he stuck out his tongue, blew a raspberry at me, and scurried back into the underbrush. For a creature with such stubby legs, he was a speedy devil. I picked up my pace a lot after the encounter.

**********

The moon illuminated the forest, casting creepy shadows that really weren't helping my fear levels. Three more times I had stopped because of a bush moving, but it was only a little breeze moving them about. On any other night I might have enjoyed walking in the woods, but after the mini human incident, I wasn't looking forward to doing this again anytime soon.

After another half-horae of searching, I took a risk and decided to use telekinesis to sense where the arrow was. The longer I took finding it, the more energy I drained, so I had to be hasty. Feeling around with my mind was like using a compass-me being the arrow, and the object I wanted was North.

Honing in on something that had a strong pull, I turned to the east and started sprinting. I loved the feel of the wind in my hair, my feet pounding against the ground and kicking up a storm of dirt. My soul longed to fly above the treetops, and much as I wanted to stay safe and undercover, the pull to the night sky was magnetic. Also, I knew I would have a splitting headache later if I didn't go flying, especially if I flat-out told the voices 'no'.

I pushed off from the ground, letting my wings carry me up, up, up, past the treetops and into the stars. I glided above the forest, the view much more pleasant up here without the trees blocking out the night. The pull was getting stronger now, my internal compass needle lined up with the arrow. I flew on.

Once I was sure I was going in the right direction, I started being a little more lax about how I was flying. I swooped and climbed, twirled and flipped, and did a few barrel rolls as well. Once, when I wasn't paying attention, I accidentally flew into a cloud. I shivered as mist dampened my hair and collected on my clothes. Tiny droplets studded my eyelashes, a beautiful display of diamonds more exquisite than the actual gemstone, sitting daintily on my face.

Once I was through the cloud, the pull became more and more intense. I pushed myself to go faster, and I was so focused on making the pull stronger that I barely noticed that I was no longer flying above the trees.

I instantly backpedaled and touched down in a large ash tree of some kind (I couldn't tell the specific breed in the dark) and looked around for any potential threats. My perch had a view into a little clearing where the forest stopped. And boy, was it a dump.

There were glass containers littered everywhere, huge metal boxes on minuscule wheels were overflowing with debris of random assortments, and the whole place stunk of smoke and some other sickly odors. There was a semi-bright glow radiating from an unseen part of the clearing and I wanted to check it out, but I didn't want to risk triggering an attack from some invisible enemy.

I was debating to just leave and keep looking somewhere else, but then something caught my eye. It was the arrow, strung through a white substance of some form, and was dangling just outside of the container's edge. Now, I really had to decide: Leave and come back, if I could find the place again, or get the arrow now and risk being victim of a sneak attack.

I hopped out of the tree and sprinted for the huge steel container. I grabbed the arrow and pivoted back to my hiding spot, but just as I started running again the arrow and myself were jerked back. I whipped around to see who had grabbed me, but I didn't see anything. Then I noticed that the arrow was ensnared in the white substance, whose loose ends were fluttering weakly.

I jogged back to examine the substance closer. It was an odd, papery substance I couldn't quite name. It was limp and thin like paper, but slicker and crumpled a lot easier. Plus, when you uncrumpled it, there were no creases left over. I gently unwound the arrow from the mysterious paper and pressed it close to me. I wasn't going to let such a gift be taken from me so easily this time.

I turned to leave the clearing but was immediately blinded by a light brighter than the sun. I put a hand up as a visor to shield my vision. When I finally blinked the spots out of my eyes, I crept closer to the source of the light, and stumbled as I almost fell off the edge of a cliff.

The edge of the clearing was, in actuality, a very steep drop-off that lead into more trees. Stranger still was the big blinding light, which was really thousands of little lights, dotting around dark block-like shapes. This is really very odd, Cephas murmured. Very odd indeed. I've never seen something quite like it. Have you? I shook my head, in the moment forgetting he couldn't see. My mouth was agape in wonder and my eyes were bulging, trying to take it all in.

This was the human settlement. The place matched the description to a tee, but no one had said anything about how beautiful it was. The dazzling light breathed new life into the area, and sparked a flame of curiosity inside me that I didn't know I had fuel for. I wanted to explore it. To fly above and see the humans in their natural environment. But quite a few things held me back.

For one, I had already used a lot of my magic trying to find the arrow in the first place, so if I got into a sticky situation I would only have a small portion of magic to work with. Reason two was that if I did end up in a fight and I used magic, I might be so exhausted that I might not get away and it would have all been for naught. On the other hand, if I did leave, I might not be able to find this place again and I might lose it. I might want to come back later and explore some more, when I have more magic stocked up.

I decided to turn back and try to find it on foot tomorrow. I knew most of the woods already, and it might not be too hard to find it again. Plus, I could leave little markers, like certain colored stones or something unique like that.

I took another glance around the area before I left. The view of the civilization truly was exquisite. This time looking around, I saw a small wooden post with a board fastened to it. I walked closer to it and found that it was a sign with strange words I couldn't read very easily. Human languages were really only meant for humans to speak.

Recalling the times the Elders tried to teach me a human language called English, I tried sounding out the scripture on the sign, the words sounding alien on my tongue.

A-arcadiya...Arcadiya Ooks...Ovair Luuk...