There are rumours about the new student. She's strong, knows multiple languages... but she's actually the most unhinged here. They say she was found deep in Siberia after class 1A's plane crash... that she butchered all of the villains with skill al...
Anya slowly approached the deer, her bow ready. It was a standard hunt. Remaining downwind, she carefully aimed the weapon. Holding her frozen breath, she held the bow's tension for a moment, ready... but it was scared away as one of the metal birds that passed above screamed, falling downward and colliding into the nearby mountain. Annoyed, she went to it, finding the burning carcass and twisted metal. Carefully walking through the snow, she searched it, having never seen them crash before. The metal birds flew often enough, but never this close to the ground. And, now she knew it carried people. Mangled and burnt corpses were sitting in strange chairs. They didn't look particularly comfortable.
However, it was then she heard it. A small child cried out to an unforgiving Siberia. If she didn't act, they would die to the cold, or hunger. It would a coin flip to which would take hold first. Sifting through the ruins, she found the child, protected by a man's embrace. He was clearly dead... but the child was fine. Gingerly picking up the child, Anya sang a lullaby to soothe them as she hiked back through the snow, bow on her back. "Bayu, Bayushki Bayu..."
Over the next couple months, Anya took great care of the new little one. When she was strong enough, the woman started by teaching the child Russian. Not knowing their name, she rechristened her, giving the name: Anastasia, or Anna for short. She chose that name because the little girl was beautiful as the Russian princess, but was, just like the legendary pheonix, reborn after the crash.
On top of that, Anna was already fluent in a language Anya did not understand, but it did not stop her from picking up Russian quickly, to Anya's relief. She taught her all she knew, and made masks for them to share. Masks of stories, the little rabbit, the fierce tiger, the strong bear. Each carefully constructed, and each painted uniquely, a joint effort between the mother and daughter. Little Anna loved every single one, and soon enough she had a collection going.
Anya taught her to read, to sing with her developing angelic voice, and how to make the most of the land around the lodge. Anna learned how to find herbs that help heal, treat infections, and cure aches and pains. She learned how to identify, track, and hunt animals, as well as create traps for game of all types, birds, rodents, and big game. The one thing she was warned to not hunt was bears, as they are far stronger than anything else... and a single swing could cause irrepairable damage.
After she turned 5, she found that she had the ability to make anything from her body. It was found when she accidentally created an arrow after learning how to make one. Proud, Anya celebrated it by making Anna's favorite meal, Borscht. Borscht is a beetroot soup made with a variety of vegetables and berries, taking over 3 hours to prepare. It was a rare delicacy, as Beetroot was a rare root vegetable in the Red Forest, but Anya would do anything for her adopted daughter.
Anna is now 6 years old. This is the first actual hunt she's been allowed on. She's only caught rabbits and birds, but now she's hunting a deer with her mother. The rule was to follow Anya's lead at all times. They trudge through the fresh snow, searching for one. Gentle flakes float to the ground, with a gentle northwestern breeze guiding their fall. Anya stopped for a moment, bending down to the ground. Hoofprints dotted the ground, and she analyzed them to see if it was good enough to be prey. They were, so Anya guided her young protege towards their quarry.
It was a beautiful Buck, with a full rack on their head. The deer moved through the forest slowly, conserving energy and trying to find hidden lush grass beneath the snow. Carefully positioned downwind, Anya ordered Anna to take down the deer herself, with the bow she had trained with. Cautiously, Anna approached a distance that she was comfortable taking down the deer with. Anya watched from a short distance. She had her own bow but didn't feel needed yet.
Anna drew back the string, controlling her breathing. The bowstring touched her face as she waited. 1... 2... 3... Now! She let the arrow fly, and it barely missed the deer's neck. It flinched, turning to Anna, who was too close to react. Instead of running away, as was expected, it reared over and charged Anna. She froze, paralyzed by fear. It was far too close, she couldn't run, couldn't move. The antlers were extremely sharp and would've impaled the young girl, if Anya didn't intercept the animal, leaping in front of Anna. Protecting the girl with her own body.
She called out, scared out of her mind as all she could see was Anya's back with antlers pointing out of her back, her clothes stained with blood. "Mat'!"
Instead of replying, Anya pulled out a knife and stabbed the buck in the neck, then tore its throat open. Blood gushed out of the wound, staining the snow a further crimson. Falling back, the weight of the dead deer pulled the antlers out of Anya in the process. She staggered over towards a tree and leaned against it, falling against it, exhausted and in pain.
Anna went over to her, Sobbing. "Mat'..." Anya wiped away her daughter's tears, clearly in pain, but showing care for her daughter instead of concern for herself. "My little Anna..."
"Please don't go... I can't live without you." Her skin was starting to pale, due to lack of blood, and her eyes were starting to droop with exhaustion. "Oh, little kotenok... I wish I could stay... I... I really do. But you must live. Take... take as much of the olen' as you can... please..." Her breathing was becoming ever ragged, as her lungs were trying to make up for the lack of oxygenated blood. "Can you promise me...?" Crying hard, she promised. "I will. I will live for you."
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Anya smiled. "Thank you, Anna. Thank..." The light faded from her eyes as she took her last breath. Anna stayed by her mother for a few hours, before collecting as much of the buck as she could before making the trek home. She cooked some of the deer meat and left the rest in the cold room before turning into bed. It was cold, lonely without her mother's warmth and gentle lullaby. Crying, she started to sing the song in a gesture to comfort herself "Bayu Bayushki Bayu..."
