The next morning, I was surprised to see that Lukas and the younger clan members, including Stela, weren't there. Where have they gone? I wondered. Apparently, I had wondered aloud, as an elderly woman answered my question. "Lukas and the little ones? Just after Stela woke up and told everyone that there was a rabbit nearby, Lukas said he was going to catch it, and they all ran off after him. Crazy, huh?" The woman laughed. "Those children are going to be hunting for days, out for a hare. Silly boy, getting the poor children's hopes up."

Wait. Lukas went out looking for hares with the little ones? Without waiting for me to wake up? Is he taking advantage of my failure? I asked silently. This time, the woman didn't respond. Thank goodness, I thought. At least she's not psychic. So why was he out searching for the hare that I had just lost? I would go after him and find out what he was up to.

"Which way did he go?" I asked the woman. She pointed to the east, and I followed. I kept running, trying to find Lukas and the others while also making sure I wouldn't scare the rabbit away. If I caught it before him, then everyone would look up to me instead of him. Also, if I caught it, instead of having to look at him when he handed me a piece of the rabbit that I had gone out to catch, I could be in his position. It was a clan tradition for the hunter to hand out the food, and I would not let him be known as the hunter of the rabbit that I had found and almost caught myself.

I didn't see them for a long time. I thought that maybe he had already gotten back to camp with his prize. But soon enough, I found Lukas surrounded by children, who stared up at him with curious eyes. I dashed behind a tree before anyone could spot me. I missed my chance, I thought. My only chance to kill the rabbit myself, to be honored by my fellow clan members and proud of my success. He had the hare skewered on his spear, dead as the dirt it would have joined had Lukas not caught it.

I just stood there for a minute, astonished that he had won my rabbit. But then I thought. Did I really need the honor? I had been in this clan for years, and Lukas had been a part of it for only a few weeks. Yes, I was still slightly jealous of his triumph, but he deserved it. He had succeeded where I had failed. I continued to keep my cover, waiting to find out what would happen next.
Pretty much, all that was happening at the moment was Lukas, standing in the middle of a cluster of kids, holding the rabbit high above his head for all to see. The little ones kept looking up in wonder at him, and saying things like, "he caught it!" and, "it's a bunny!" and the occasional, "oh, yum!" I waited longer, hoping Lukas would say something, and finally, I was rewarded.

"Now, who wants to eat some rabbit?" Lukas asked the little ones. He was answered with cries of agreement, begging for a treat. "Alright then, let's go home and tell everyone we caught a hare and that the clan will have a full meal tonight!" he announced. All the children cheered with joy. Lukas sighed. "I really hope this will help Eva accept me," he murmured. But soon it was time to get back to camp, and his frown was replaced with a determined smile.

I decided that it was time for me to come out from my hiding place. When I did, Lukas jumped back in surprise, his eyes wide with shock. I guess I hadn't exactly thought about how close I was to the little group, just about 6 feet away. I waited for a bit to let him understand that I was there, but not long enough for him to remember to catch his breath. "Lukas. You did this is for me?" I asked. "I... I thought you wanted to take advantage of... never mind, it was selfish."

He relaxed, but he was still slightly frazzled. "Oh," he replied hesitantly. "I didn't know you saw it like that. Sorry, I'm sorry!" He rushed to apologize. Boy, had I frightened him. "I only meant to impress you, by... no, my reason was selfish too." He cast his eyes downwards, ashamed.

"No, Lukas," I insisted. "You did something for good, for a friend, while I—once again—suspected you of something."

He smiled, thankful for my understanding.

"Hey," I ventured. "Remember when I let you into the clan?"

Lukas laughed. "Yeah! 'You won't be getting any protection or food from me', you said. I believe that was your 'I'm so superior' voice. Boy, did I think you were bossy. And I was right!"

"Hey!" I tried to bark at him, but I found that I couldn't really mean it, and he laughed again. He had made a joke that could only be laughed over between good friends. I decided that it was okay if I laughed with him, so I did.

"'And you won't be getting any friends either, mm'." I joked.

He nodded, looking somewhat confused, or maybe he was just unsure of my next words. I pressed on.

"Well, I must have been lying. You have made friends, and many. Friends from the children who circle you, celebrating your catch. Soon, friends from the adults who get to eat the rabbit. But also a friend out of me, the one who continuously mistrusted you all along the way, the one who first said you wouldn't find a friend at all."

Lukas just looked at me, half-stupefied and half-touched. "Thank you, Eva. I guess I never really expected that you would, or could, say something so... heartwarming. And I'm glad I've made friends," he chuckled, "or I probably wouldn't have survived the last few months."

Yeah, me neither, I thought. And the same for the whole clan. "Well, we'd better get back to the camp," I suggested. "Judging by the sun, it looks about 5:00, and the little ones need to get home before anyone who doesn't know they're out with us becomes frightened for their safety."

Lukas nodded in agreement, and we headed off. We probably looked like a funny little group to any passing fly; Lukas in front, dead hare impaled upon his spear, one skinny line of six to ten-year-olds right smack in the middle, and me bringing up the tail end, a smile on my face, glad the entire clan would eat a good meal for once. We traveled on until we reached the camp, at which we all took a short nap from all that excitement while the others prepared a hare feast for the entire clan.

Later that night, as we feasted on the European brown hare, the whole clan joined together in celebration. It was a celebration of the luck we must have needed to be able to catch the exquisitely rare rabbit, but also a celebration for Lukas, the rabbit's hunter. As I ate my piece of the hare, my great pride for him beamed inside me, just enough escaping the barrier of my emotion so that he could tell. The entire clan kept careful watch that we didn't eat have too much of the hare tonight so that it would last us as long as possible. It was our best meal in months, probably years. This must have been only my second rabbit in my entire lifetime.