The Little Neko (girlxgirl)

Chapter 11

Rylie's POV

The night passed fast. I was led to a camp that was hidden in the forest and pushed into a tent with Dakota before I could get a good look around.  I tried a few times to talk to her but she would snap at me and eventually I decided it would just be best to sleep the night away.

I was woken the next day by someone roughly shaking me. "Wake up." I heard Dakota's voice. 

I let out a yawn before opening my eyes and stretching. It took a moment to think over everything that had happened last night before I quickly popped to my feet in excitement. The hybrid village, I'm free now! 

I ignored whatever Dakota was telling me and peeked out of the tent. I jaw practically dropped in amazement. I saw a dozen or so large tents made of everything from sticks and leaves,  to animal furs, to different fabrics. 

The tents were shaped in an oval shape but the far end was open to the thick wall of trees beyond the open camp. In the center a large fire pit was made, a couple of pans were around it and I assume they used those for cooking. A clear blue stream ran through the ground. Along it I saw a few hybrids washing clothes or dishes, and children playing with the minnows that darted past their feet. 

"Pretty great isn't it!" I jumped at the sudden loud voice beside me and looked over to the source. I smiled as I saw Violet. 

"Oh, yeah. ive never seen anything like this before." i reply in a much softer tone. 

Violet grabbed my hand. "Come on, Jay wants to give you an initiation." 

I followed her as she pulled me back to the forest. I was a bit nervous at the word. I hope they didn't make me kill something or fight. I can run, maybe they just want to make sure I'm fit enough to help here. I can cook, I can clean, I'm sure I can make myself useful.

Soon she had brought me to a clearing where Dakota and Jay we're waiting. How did Dakota beat us here?

"Good morning Rylie." Jay greets. "In order to truly join our clan, a group of hybrids, you need to prove yourself in four ways." He says.

"First is endurance." Violet said. "A hybrid must be quick both physically and mentally. You must be able to run from humans and keep up in hunts."

"For this task it's simple. You must beat Violet in a race, both of you must be in your hybrid forms." Jay says.

He takes a few minutes to show me the starting and finishing points before we both shift.  My cat is a bright red, admittedly an uncommon color, with three paler red stripes over my back. I glanced over at Violet to see she is a fluffy white bunny with just a few grey spots on her side and paws.

As jay yells go we both take off. For the first bit it's a clear path and I take the lead. That soon ends as more bushes and logs appear in my path. As I have to jump and swerve around these things, violet goes right under them. It's not long before she takes the lead.

"Don't you understand you have to win the race to become one of us?" Dakota taunts me in a bored tone. I growl under my breath and look for a was to get through all this brush. Then I realize they never said I had to stay on the ground. I turn and climb one of the many trees, which gives violet more of a lead.

Feeling kind of like a squirrel, I race across the branches and jump from tree to tree. Now I've started to regain my lead. Violet goances over her shoulder and slows when she doesn't see me. Apparently she thought I was that far behind.

I too the lead and jumped out of the trees as we neared the final stretch. Violet saw me ahead of her and picked up speed.

It was a close finish but I managed to beat her. We both shifted back human, panting and smiling.
"That was great!" Violet cheered.

I giggle a bit. "Thanks." I say before taking the water Jay offered me.

"We'll go back to camp for lunch." Jay informs us. "After lunch we will continue with the initiation."

I smile and nod. "What's next?"

"Mental endurance. You'll be trying to beat me with some puzzles we've designed." Dakota stated. "We don't expect you to beat me, of course, but you should get around my speed. Too slow and you're out."

I nod in acceptance. I can do puzzles.

"For you to survive here, you'll need to be smart. You proved your quick with by using the trees during the race. Let's see how you use them over a long period of time." Dakota finishes.

"I'm ready." I says getting up. Violet laughs and hugs me. "That's the attitude, now let's eat!"

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