After 20 minutes of aimlessly running through the forest, Rhea stops to take a short break. She had lost sight of the other classmates long ago, but she had always kept them within earshot. After taking a short break to catch her breath, Rhea decided to focus on the sounds of the forest around her, try to get an idea of what was in the area. After listening closely, she could hear the sounds of distant running, maybe one or two creatures, it was hard to tell. She pressed her ear to the earth and listened again, there is a person running, being chased by something, something bigger, perhaps another person, or some kind of animal. Curiosity was getting the better of her and she decided to run towards the source of the noise.

Further into the forest, the bespeckled boy named David was being chased by a person he had never seen before. A big, bulky man, with a bushy beard and a bald head. The man was very clearly a shifter, but this made no sense to David, why would a shifter be so close to the city, and why would he be chasing him? Was this part of the test? David turned to get another look at the man, he was running on his hands and feet like an animal, it was unnerving.

“Fuck off, will you?!” David shouted back at his stalker.

“Slow down kid, I want to talk!” The man replied, slowly gaining ground on the student. David quickly reached to the ground to grab a rock, nearly tripping in the process. As David spun around, he launched the rock at the man, landing a hit right on his nose. The man stopped running, grabbing his bleeding nose, surprised, David tripped and rolled a few metres on the ground before coming to a halt. The two of them were panting heavily, David stared at the wounded man, waiting for him to make a move, too scared to just leave.

The nosebleed wasn’t about to stop, Hector felt it was pointless to try and make it stop, instead he felt angry. He was angry at the kid who threw a rock at him, at himself for getting hit, and at his nose for being in pain. Hector retaliated by throwing the same rock back at David, who had just stood up. There was a loud crack as the rock broke the lens on Davids glasses. “I just wanted to fucking talk!” Hector shouted at the boy.

“W-w-w-what do you want then?” David forced the words out. Hector drew in a deep breath and released. “I’m looking for a girl, a shifter like me, she is meant to be with your group, where is she?”

“What? Her? I don’t bloody know!”

“I know she is nearby, just give me the direction she ran in.”

“Again, I don’t know, I wasn’t watching.”

“How do you not know? You’re in the same group!”

“We don’t get along we her!” The tension between the two of them was rising, Hector was slowly closing the gap between them.

“Oh really, I bet I know why!” Hector leaped at David, grabbing his shirt, and lifting him off the ground.

“Fuck dude! What do you want from me! I told you what I know, and what I know is nothing!” David was panicking out loud. Hector began to bare his teeth, trying to look more intimidating, a tactic that was clearly working. “If you’re not going to help me…” Hector’s hand slowly worked its way to David’s neck. “…Then there is no point in you being here.” Suddenly there was a hard impact on the back of Hector’s head, forcing him to quickly drop David, who landed with a loud *thunk* on his rear. “FUCK! What is with you humans and hitting my head today!” Hector turned to see who had the balls to attack him, only to find the girl he was looking for holding a thick branch.

“Stop it!” Rhea shouted, quickly moving to get between David and Hector.

“Wait, don’t be scared, I have been looking for you.” Hector smiled, despite the headache he had. “We don’t need to fight; I am here to rescue you!”

“I don’t need rescuing; I am not in danger!” Rhea shouted at him.

“What? Of course, you are, you’re a slave to the humans, you don’t know what they are going to do to you.”

“I said, I don’t need rescuing.” Rhea repeated angrily.

“You don’t know what their gonna do to you, do you?” Rhea paused at what he said, still holding her club at the ready. “First they take you from your families when you’re babies, and they run tests on you for years, training you to be the perfect little pet for the humans.” Rhea thinks back on her years with the caretakers. “Then they pit you against each other for their amusement, those who lose are sold to either nobles or the military.” Rhea’s eyes glance over at David, still sitting on the ground, too scared to move. “You aren’t sold to be soldiers for the empire, your sold so that the humans can practice killing you, get them used to killing shifters, that’s what you are, a sacrifice.” Hector’s emotions get more aggressive.

“That’s all you are to these humans!” Hector shouted.

“No! I am not like that!” Rhea responded in kind.

“Why do you think you’re here? These students are here to hunt you!” David slowly begins to crawl away from the two of them. “I am here to help you; I am on your side.” Hector places his hand on the club, Rhea feeling confused begins to relax a little. David, now a few metres away, finds the courage to speak out. “That’s not true! Were not here to hunt you, were all doing this test together!” Hector begins to make strange motions with his free hand, forming a small arcane sigil in the air. “Why would I lie to you, aren’t we good friends?” Rhea feels a force wash over her, a calming effect, feeling that perhaps Hector was a good person. “That boy over there, is your enemy, one you must get rid of.” After turning to see David on the ground, scared out of his mind, Rhea realises what was happening, she is being charmed, she knows this and yet she can’t help but regard what Hector was saying as the truth, after all, why would he lie to her, they are friends. No that’s not right, this is a trick, a spell, he is playing with her mind, she knows what it feels like for someone to mess with her mind, she hates it, she won’t let it happen again.

Rhea grips on the club and strikes at Hector again, landing on his nose. Hector reels back, his nose bleeding once more. “Why did you hit me?!” Rhea backs off to stand next to David. “You’re casting spells on me; I won’t let you mess with my head!” Hector’s fury unloads in his words. “I’M TRYING TO FUCKING HELP YOU, WHY CAN’T YOU JUST MAKE THIS EASY!” Hector points towards David. “These people, these humans, are the enemy, they are your enemy!” Rhea points her club at Hector.

“The only enemy I see here is you, you attacked my classmate, and tried to charm me.” David could only look up at Rhea in awe, thinking to himself “After all we have done to her, why is she helping me?”

“I don’t know why you are trying so hard to resist me…” Hectors muscles begin to grow larger, more pronounced, his breath becoming heavier. “But if I have to drag you back by force…” Hector completes his shifting, his figure becoming bearlike. “Then so fucking be it.”