I stepped outside of the small fabric tent and soaked in the warm rays of both suns first light. The warm air surrounded my bare arms and legs, and the slight breeze shifted my tan cotton dress slightly. The children of the village had already begun to wake up and play in the fields. I watched as their auras floated around them in different shades of orange, yellow and brown.
"Do you not rest like the others?" The question sprouted from beside me. I turned to see Hamish walking up to me, a smile on his face.
He wore his usual cream tunic and brown cotton pants, his light brown hair was dishevelled from just waking up, yet his soft features were full of new energy. The strange thing about him was how his aura was vibrant moss green, compared to the warm colours of the rest of the village.
Every member of this village and those over the hills had strawberry blonde hair and deep brown eyes. It was a genetic strand that flowed through the veins of all the natives.
I'm not, however. You can tell from my star blue eyes, pale skin and raven black hair. I don't believe Hamish is either, but I never asked.
"If I were like the others, do you think there would be fresh food and water for our early meal? What of the animals in the hut? Do you think they would be out in the paddock?" I raised my eyebrow and peered at him.
Hamish raised his hands in mock surrender and shook his head.
"Perhaps you would like some assistance." His dark green eyes pleaded with me. Eventually, I caved in and signed, motioning him to follow. I lead him down to the fruit trees nearest to the river.
We made our way to the river's edge and stopped under a tree full of bright yellow fruits with purple swirls. The villagers called them zedici fruit. I walked over to the base and jumped, catching myself on the lowest branch.
I pulled myself up and pulled out two large woven bags out of a nook in the tree. I drop one down to Hamish and watch as he pulled the strap over his head, so it rested on his shoulder.
"Why don't we have a little fun?" Hamish called up to me. "Let us have a little game. Whoever can climb to the top of the tree and down again while collecting the most fruits will win. The winner can decide the prize."
I thought about this for a moment before shaking my head. I knew the dangers of climbing trees too quick.
"It is too harmful. You are bigger than I, therefore, the branches will strain more against your weight." I laugh at the memory of Hamish first climbing a tree. He jumped up to a small branch, and it snapped, causing him to fall into the river.
"Very well, only because I do not wish to see you jump into the river after me again." He smiled and pulled himself onto a branch adjacent to mine. We began climbing up the tree, carefully picking the soft fruit and placing them in our bags.
Halfway up the tree, a strange feeling began to bloom in the pit of my stomach. I ignored the feeling and kept climbing. It wasn't until the feeling caused my chest to cramp that I stopped.
"Hamish?" I called out.
"Yes, Sarah?" Hamish replied from the branch above me.
"I have a bad feeling. I think that something is happening in the village." Panic began to ease its way into my words. I knew I needed to get back to the village. I needed to protect the children. But from what?
My mind ran at a rabbit's pace through all the possible things that could endanger the villagers. My body stiffened, and I forced myself to abandon the thought. Hamish seemed to sense my distress for in an instant he was on the branch closest to mine.
"Sarah, calm down. The village will be fine. Right now, we need to get out of this tree. You appear to have gone paler than normal." Hamish placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me. There was something about his eyes that made me feel safe, and my body relaxed.
"Do we have enough fruit for our early meal?" I ask Hamish. He peered into his bag before reaching over to open mine.
"I believe we do. Come now." He helped me climb down, the strange feeling intensifying with every passing second. It wasn't until we heard the first scream that the feeling disappeared. Grabbing Hamish's hand, we ran.
The village was under attack, with children screaming and running to their mothers. Blood seemed to be all over the grass. But whose blood was it?
"Sarah!" Someone called out to me. It was Leessa, the Chief's daughter. She had her hand out and was pointing to something behind me. I looked around and saw a small boy being cornered by Vitzin against a tree.
Vitzin were massive beasts, like an Earthen wolf, their mouths full of rows and rows of sharp teeth. Their fur was a deep burnt red, and their eyes were bright and golden. Their black feet padded and a black tip on their two tails. They lived over the hills but never has a pack this size travelled over them.
I ran towards the boy and positioned myself between the Vitzin and the child, holding my hand out behind me in a protective stance. I crouch a little and bared my teeth at them, a low growl erupting from deep within my throat.
I let my instincts take over as I look at the largest Vitzin, the alpha, with anger in my eyes. I stamped my right foot on the ground three times, and everyone froze.
"Stay there," I say softly to the boy and begin to move to a large area with the alpha.
"What is she doing?" I hear one of the men ask.
"She's challenging the alpha," Hamish replied. "Talrin, very slowly walk over here."
Talrin began to walk carefully to the others as I locked my gaze with the Vitzin in front of me.
I let out an inhuman roar and watched as all the Vitzin flinched away, exposing their sides to me, including the alpha. I charged the beast, jumping onto its back and tearing my nails through the rough skin. It was like running ones' fingers through a pool of water. The Vitzin howled in pain and twisted its body, trying unsuccessfully to fling me off.
I clung to its knotted fur, ripping out tuffs here and there. As the Vitzin stopped quickly to catch its breath, I took the chance to wrap my arms around its neck, squeezing it tightly. The struggle picked up again. The other Vitzin had started growling but didn't step in. In one swift motion, I swung one leg over and dug both heels into the ground, twisting my body in the process.
The Vitzin's head moved around my body, and a loud crack filled the air.
Everything went quiet. The alpha stopped moving, the pack stopped growling, the villagers stopped murmuring, and the animals in the trees refused to move.
I released the now dead Vitzin and looked out over the rest of the pack.
"Yash e-benal!" I called out to them. Almost immediately, the remaining beasts lowered their head and bowed.
"Sel-a cah!" One of them replied with a deep growl. I nodded to it and faced the shocked faces of the villagers.
"The Vitzin will no longer bring harm to our people. Return to your homes and pray for those who have left. Help them to pass." And with that, I walked through the village to my tent, the pack of Vitzin following behind me.
A fire raged within my stomach. Patches of blood and red fur covered my now torn dress. My breathing was heavy as I made me over a small hill to the bathing pool and sank into the warm water, not bothering to remove my damaged dress. The pack rested a few feet away from the lake, spread out as if protecting me.
I let the water peel off the fur and drying blood as I dive below the surface. The large, sponge-like plants seemed to lean towards me as the dirty water became absorbed by them.
