Ai had given the ‘quest’ a lot of thought. She certainly had the time, after another day of grinding roots and learning how to sew clothes.

The best way to stop the rats being a problem was to kill them. She wouldn’t be happy doing it. She might need a catharsis later, but she could do it. The problem was the ‘don’t let anybody else find out about it’ part. She assumed that that extended to Ermine which meant he, a far more seasoned tracker than her, needed to see what happened to the rats and not blame humans. Aka her or Tal.

And Tal was an idiot for not telling her, for letting things continue as they were for so long, but nobody else should have to pay for her mistakes. Let alone by having their free will erased. There were just some things that shouldn’t be done.

And apparently, she was the one to fix it, because nobody else was going to. The whole thing gave her a sour stomach though. Going behind peoples backs, killing animals, lying about it. It made her feel like she was doing something wrong, even though it would be worse for everyone if she didn’t do it.

Before life was simple. She was an outsider for sure, but she still might have stayed. Now, after this, there was no way she wasn’t leaving. When her season and a day was up, she was going to explore. Meet new people. Find out where she came from. And then maybe she would find somebody she didn’t mind sharing the rest of her life with. Or somewhere to spend it.

Eventually, one way or another she would get her answer. As long as she wasn’t dead by that point, there was going to be an after.

But those thoughts weren’t helping her with the rats.

Her thought process was following the tracks of luring a predator in to kill the rats. What better than an animal to make it look like the work of an animal? If worst came to worse she had claws. She wasn’t putting anything in her mouth though, and definitely not while it was still alive.

The fault in her plan was where to get the predator, and how to get it to the cave. The only predators she knew of in the forest were the terror birds (which she never wanted to see again) and the Aitasts with their deformed looking faces and too intelligent eyes.

There was no way she was getting a bird through that crack into the cave. An Aitast might fit, they were cats after all. They could squeeze through tight places. They just wouldn’t cooperate in any shape or form, and Ai didn’t need to encounter one again to know that.

Which led her to look for another predator. Something smaller, less threatening and carnivorous. Brandi, as the only uninvolved person around, became the one to talk to about these problems. With certain facts tailored out, of course.

“So what small predators are there?” Ai asked innocently, keeping her head down and attempting not to skewer herself with the needle.

“What sort of small predator? There’s Stone Centipedes, they live in caves and inject their prey with poison. Or there is less dangerous ones. Stone Centipedes will eat a person just as quickly as a small prey.” Brandi raised one eyebrow at her.

“Uh…a bit less dangerous?”

“Is this to hunt?”

“Uh…” Lie well. Lie well. “No. I think it is interesting. I have seen big predators like Terror Birds and an Aitast, but only small prey except that.”

“Ah yes, well those two species do tend to dominate their habitat. One animal you find everywhere is the Forest Hunter. Most of the time they’re cowardly thieves, but they’ll kill an animal to eat if given the opportunity. Blasted things.” Brandi tutted and shook her head, her inky black hair spilling over her shoulders.

“I have never seen a Forest Hunter.” Ai frowned.

“No honey, you have, you probably just didn’t realise it. They’re very good at camouflage. Nobody would have so many problems with them if they were easy to spot.”

“What do they look like then?”

Brandi paused, tapping a slim finger against her lips. “People shaped, but less. Have you ever seen a star fish?”

Ai was about to shake her head when her mind supplied her with an image to go with the word. She nodded instead.

“Yes, well, they look like that but with a short bit for the head. Very flat, they cling to trees and change their colour to look like them. Or the ground. They are everywhere. A nasty surprise for anyone out on a walk.”

“What do they eat?”

“Anything they can get their hands on. They’re not dangerous usually, not until they get older. Then they get really big. Their front has needles that paralyse their prey, but not enough to paralyse a human. When they get really big, I’ve heard that one spine can kill a human. They usually eat each other before then though.” She shrugged.

Ai nodded slowly but none of this was really helping her. How was she meant to catch something she couldn’t see?

“Is there a way to make them easy to see? Or lure them?”

Brandi evaluated her for a second. Ai swallowed, thinking that this was it. She was busted.

“They love Fonq. They will be near the stream. They rub the Fonq on their bodies and get drunk on it or something. No decent hunter will eat them because of it. There’s no knowing if they still have the poison in their system or not. It’s rarely a blessing to be touched by Eitr.”

Ai nodded and they went back to a comfortable silence.

Tomorrow. Ai would get up super early tomorrow and one way or another she would catch herself a Forest Hunter. Hopefully without getting spiked.

It had a head. If it had a head, that must mean it was possible to knock it out. Then all she needed to do was dump it in the cave, make sure it didn’t crawl out the entrance and let nature take its course.

It was cruel, and she doubted the rats would die quickly, but this was who she was from now on. Who she had to be. The world wasn’t an easy place, and to survive it she had to be willing to do things she wasn’t comfortable with.

It wasn’t like it was murder. Not like…

It was the circle of life. Their bodies would be cycled back into the system.

They shouldn’t have survived without a mother anyway.

Thoughts continued to rise and fall in Ais mind as she sat and sewed. It wasn’t until at least 10 minuites later that Brandi stopped her by covering her hands with her own.

Ais rapidly moving fingers stilled.

“You have sewed the bottom shut honey.” And she had. She had stitched together the left side of the jacket then not stopped when she got to the bottom. Unless the person wearing it had been cut off at the waist, it wouldn’t fit.

Ai pursed her lips uncomfortably. What was she suppose to say about this? Ai realised Brandis hands were still covering her own.

“I love my daughter. I would die for her. I know she gets herself into trouble, she’s been getting herself into places she shouldn’t be ever since she learnt to crawl. I just wanted you to know…I’m glad she has somebody to look out for her. And if you need anything, just ask. My lips are sealed.” Brandis purple eyes were dark as she looked into Ais.

Apparently, Ai hadn’t been nearly as discrete as she thought. Her tail whipped from side to side behind her as she nodded.

She could see it in Brandis eyes, every word was the truth. She would do anything for her daughter, and somehow that was almost…terrifying. Ai got the feeling she really, really didn’t want to get between this woman and what she thought was best for Tal.

“I will.” Ai almost whispered, and Brandi nodded.

Neither of them bought it up again.