The Hunters

CHAPTER ONE

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The moon shone bright through the canopy and illuminated the tree tops around me. I was deep in thought about the loss of another sister when Aeris interrupted me.

"Arielle?" She asked

"Yes?" I replied

"Do you ever feel like the hunters aren't all bad?"

I cringed softly at the thought of the faceless creatures that have taken so many of our sisters. What has Aeris got in her head now?

"Aeris they capture our sisters and do who knows what to them." I sigh knowing I shouldn't ask but I do anyways. "What makes you think they are not all bad?"

"Well the other night I had a dream..." Aeris says nervously as she ruffled her wings, "I saw some hunters...and they were sad. I heard one cry out. It said please! Please come back to us! You don't remember us but we remember you! Please hear us out! Arielle what does this mean?"

I think hard about what Aeris had said. She was just babbling nonsense, she had to be. Hunters were cruel and heartless, not caring.

"Arielle, what happened when you went to the Hunters camp?" Aeris asked. She was always eager to ask the next question.

I pull my wings in tight against my back out of nervousness. I sigh gently knowing someone would ask sooner or later.

"Their camp is huge Aeris, larger then the water sisters camp."

Aeris's face lit up with a mixture of fear and wonder.

"You know the fast lifeless boxes they use to catch the nature sisters?" I ask

"Yes." Aeris replies.

"Well they had hundreds just sitting around waiting to be used by the hunters. And the flying ones they use for us, there was hundreds of those too. The hunters sat around and conversed...as if they thought they were people. Some laughed which shocked me most. Then an alarm went off and I wasn't going to stay around to see what for. There were hundreds of them..." I go off quietly in my head as if I were watching the faceless creatures gathered again.

"But that's so many..." Aeris mutters in awe. "Arielle will you take me there one day?"

I stare deep into Aeris's deep blue eyes and sigh. If she didn't wise up soon she'd be there without me ever being able to get her back out.

"Once you visit the Menders and learn how to travel." I reply.

Traveling is one of the greatest spells one can learn, but it is the most difficult. Years of hard work and being stuck with the Menders day in and day out is the only way to learn. But once you know how to you can conjure yourself up in a different location almost instantly.

"But Arielle it took you three years to learn! And your the only outsider who has!" Aeris complains.

"And I'm the only one who has come back from the hunters base alive, I promise to take you there once I know you can travel by yourself. You're to big for me to take you with me."

"Ah fine." Aeris whines. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"Good, now rest Aeris you have a while to fly tomorrow." I inform her. "I'll go scout the area and then return. If I'm not back by the morning don't worry just go ahead and leave."

"Alright Arielle you don't have to mother me." Aeris grumbles.

I stand up and stretch, preparing my wings for flight. I hug Aeris goodnight and then turn to leave.

"Bye Aeris" I say quickly and then with one flap of my wings take off from the platform and into the night.

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First chapter what do you think? Leave a comment if you have any suggestions!