I

  snapped awake as I heard movement. Based on the light level it was

  early morning. I climbed out of my sleep bath and looked down at the

  now dead campfire. There was a small group of people, they all had

  weapons. One of them, clearly a wolfkin was poking the fire. He stood

  and said “It’s recent, it appears someone was here.”

  “This

  deep in the forest? Are you certain it isn’t a trap?” another

  member said, a foxkin with bright cream furred ears and holding a

  crossbow.

  “I

  am never certain, this forest is know to trick and deceive” The

  wolfkin responded before looking around carefully and continuing.

  “But there doesn’t seem to be any traps or setups. It makes me

  wonder if whoever was here was in a hurry.”

  I

  giggled quietly as I watched them discuss the campfire I had setup

  last night. They were not exactly my bait, but they were an

  interesting development. I didn’t get to see many sentient beings

  other then sensei or the goblins often. I was wary though, after all,

  poachers and slavers were a thing sensei had warned me about.

  The

  man nearest to the wolfkin, a human I think like sensei spoke up “I

  don’t even know why were hunting people this deep in the forest,

  anything here would have been gotten good already” He huffed and

  put something in his mouth, which a moment later let out smoke. I

  tilted my head curiously at the interesting object.

  The

  fourth, another woman, this one clearly another foxkin shook her head

  “We need the money and the bounty was high.”

  The

  wolfkin and other foxkin nodded at this. The man sighed and shook his

  head muttering “Gonna get us all killed”

  The

  foxkin snapped back “I can hear you! Also, you think I want this?

  Would you rather starve?” She looked pissed and the man physically

  wavered and hung his head in shame. “No miss Trixie.” He said in

  an apologetic tone.

  Trixie

  sighed and said “Let me see the wanted poster again” She held out

  her hand and after a moment, the other foxkin put a piece of paper in

  her hand. She looked at the paper for a long time before sighing. “I

  mean, it doesn’t seem crazy to anyone else that a small child

  nekojin is just wandering around the forest in this area? This

  screams setup, and to be honest I feel like we should just hunt some

  wolves and head back.”

  “She

  isn’t a child Trixie, She apparently recently turned 16. A full

  grown adult.” The wolfkin said.

  I

  froze at that and my eyes narrowed, were they talking about me?

  “Still,

  look at her!” Trixie said as she shoved the paper in the mans face

  and said “She looks like a child, she is supposed to be some kind

  of ninja. This just screams setup. Unless you know tons of child

  looking adult ninja’s!”

  I

  winced at that, I wasn’t a child!

  Another

  voice came from nearby “Hey guys, you should probably come see

  this!” It was a feminine voice and it came from the area I climbed

  the tree earlier. I quietly stood and blinked from branch to branch

  quickly, appearing on a branch above where I had hit the ground

  yesterday. A young nekojin girl was standing in the middle, she had

  silver furred ears and tail and her hair went down to her shoulders.

  She was standing in the center of the crater I made and she looked

  pale.

  I

  wanted to throw something at her hard enough to kill her, but I had

  nothing around me.

  The

  rest of her party filtered in and the moment they saw the crater,

  they all looked horrified.

  “What

  do you think made it?” The wolfkin asked. The man replied instantly

  “I don’t know and I don’t want to find out. I am out of here!”

  He turned and began to ran, he didn’t make it six steps before he

  fell over dead, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his back. Trixie

  walked over and pulled the crossbow out, handing it to the foxkin

  with the crossbow. “Anyone else want to run?” She asked. No one

  said anything and she nodded “Good”

  It

  was at that moment, a scheme hatched and I grinned widely. I stood

  and blinked around the tree I was in to the other side and blinked to

  the ground quietly. I picked up a few rocks and blinked back up. I

  got back right as the wolfkin shook his head and said “The was from

  a landing of some kind, not a footstep, you can clearly see the waves

  pulsing outward.”

  The

  unnamed foxkin shook her head “I don’t want to know what could

  make that big of a crater and not die.”

  “Don’t

  be foolish Meridia, Obviously whatever fell died and was eaten by the

  wild animals here.” Trixie said as she stared at the crater.

  “Then

  where are the bones?” asked the wolfkin, his eyes darting between

  Meridia’s crossbow and Trixie’s attention.

  I

  stood and threw a rock hard at a nearby tree before quickly ducking

  again. Everyone in the crater turned to look at the tree. I smiled

  and blinked quickly, appearing behind Trixie. I covered her mouth and

  slit her throat before she had time ti react. I then jumped back and

  blinked directly up, landing in the nearest tree.

  The

  sound of Trixie’s body hitting the floor caused the others to turn

  back towards her. When they saw her dead, they began to panic. “What

  the fuck!” the wolfkin said as he back up to the nearest tree,

  clearly terrified. Meridia began aiming her crossbow around

  fearfully.

  I

  grinned as I blinked to the tree the wolfkin was up against. This was

  too easy. I launched another rock, this time directly between them.

  Meridia fired her crossbow at the rock as it landed, causing them all

  to jump and look at the rock. I slid down behind the wolfkin and

  repeated the process that I ad done to Trixie, then blinked back up

  and into the tree. Meridia had looked up, but didn’t catch me in

  time, but she did see as the wolfkin fell to the ground dead. The

  nekojin began to sob “Please, don’t kill Mixy! She doesn’t want

  to die!”

  “Shut

  up Mixy!” Meridia snapped, but she sounded scared.

  I

  watched as the two panicked and Mixy begged for her life. I had

  originally planned don killing them all, but…

  I

  used my air to whisper directly in Mixy’s ear. “Stay very calm

  and do as your told, you will live if you do.”

  Mixy

  froze solid and began to shake as she looked around. Meridia looked

  over at her and snapped “Why are you shaking now!”

  Mixy

  paused for a moment before opening her mouth to reply. I whispered in

  her ear through the wind before she could “Tell her nothing”

  Mixy

  clamped her mouth shut and tears and she refused to speak. I smiled

  “Good,

  now close your eyes, cover your ears and stay silent.” I whispered

  to her. She nodded as if to no one and closed her eyes, flattened her

  ears, she even wrapped her tail around her leg.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “What

  are you…” before Meridia could get her sentence off I appeared

  behind her, but I didn’t slit her throat. Instead, I stabbed her in

  the shoulders and grabbed her crossbow before she could react. I

  jumped back and threw the crossbow away. She fell to her knees in

  horror as her arms stopped working.

  I

  walked casually in front of her before speaking “Tama thinks you

  should have just hunted animals. Hunting people is wrong, especially

  when those people are Tama.” My tail lashed wildly back and forth

  and I looked down on her with barely contained rage.

  Meridia,

  clearly in immense pain with tears in her eyes said “Please..

  forgive me” I tilted my head and looked at the man that had a

  crossbow bolt in his back. Before looking back at her. She paled even

  further and she shook her head. I walked up and sliced her throat,

  she fell over dead like the rest.

  I

  turned to Mixy, she still had her eyes closed, her ears flattened and

  covered and she was quietly sobbing and pleading to not be killed. I

  walked over to her and grabbed her before speaking “Nya! You can

  open your eyes now, Tama want’s to know something!” I snapped at

  the young Nekojin. She opened her eyes and they were full of fear.

  “Please don’t kill Mixy, Mixy was just the tracker she swears,

  She never killed anyone please!” She pleaded.

  “Why

  are you hunting Tama!” I asked as I held her to my. I wrapped my

  tail around her waist and held it there.

  She

  sobbed even harder and said “Mixy doesn’t know, She is from the

  trackers guild, They paid her to find you. Mixy hasn’t eaten in

  weeks, please. Mixy doesn’t like hunting people, she was just so

  hungry!”

  “Who

  is they!” I snapped angrily and she cowered even harder.

  “Mixy

  does not know, they wore black outfits and hid their faces, they

  smelled really bad, like they were dead or something.” She said in

  hysterics.

  I

  brought the dagger an inch from her throat and she began to squirm

  and sob even harder while begging. After a moment, I put the dagger

  away and threw her to the ground. She instantly bolted up, and bowed

  to me. “Mixy thanks you, You are so kind, Mixy promises she never

  hunts people again. Thank you so much for sparing Mixy!”

  I

  rolled my eyes at her antic but sighed after a moment. “Wait here

  Mixy!” I ordered before blinking into a nearby tree. I waited for a

  moment to see if she would listen. She looked around for me, she

  seemed shaken. After a moment, she sat down on her knees and put her

  head down, waiting patiently. Even though she still shook like a

  kitten. I nodded and blinked over to my bag. I grabbed the sandwiches

  I had. I took two of the remaining four. Put one back, then took it

  out again angrily before blinking back over to her. I held out the

  sandwiches and she looked at them with drool coming from her mouth.

  “For… for Mixy?”? She asked fearfully. I nodded and she

  gratefully accepted the food, she began scarfing them down quickly

  and I winced at my tasty berry sandwiches being eaten by someone

  else.

  I

  turned and walked away from Mixy, about to blink back to my back when

  Mixy spoke up “Wait! Please!” I paused and turned to face her.

  “Nya!

  Tama has places to go, She doesn’t want to deal with you!” I said

  angrily before turning to stomp off again.

  “But..But

  maybe Mixy can help! She is tracker! Please let Mixy repay you for

  food and sparing her!” She pleaded to me. I paused for a moment

  before looking back at her. “You are a tracker right?” I asked.

  Mixy nodded and smiled “Mixy is one of best trackers in guild… in

  C Rank… “She trailed off as she suddenly looked embarrassed. Then

  she quickly added “But Mixy can do good job, she swears!”

  I

  considered for a moment before shaking my head. “Tama does not need

  tracker, she can get where she need by following a map!” I said. I

  turned to leave again but one again Mixy spoke up desperate “Please,

  Mixy swears she is useful, please do not leave her here!”

  I

  paused and considered Mixy’s words. I turned back to face her and

  really looked at her. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in weeks,

  proving her earlier point of tracking in exchange for food. She was

  small, frail, and weak. She was pale faced and terrified. She was

  also young, even younger then me.

  A

  memory from a few days ago, what even now felt like an eternity

  played in my head “Tama will protect everyone!”

  I

  gritted my teeth and sighed. “Okay, come with Tama, she is going to

  Drestor, you help her!”

  Mixy

  nodded profusely and said “Mixy knows fast way to Drestor, she is

  really good at tracking she promise!”

  I

  rolled my eyes, but smiled. “Good, then Tama is counting on you!”

  I said with a cheer I didn’t feel. One day, I would though. One

  day, I would be whole again. I would never be able to live with

  myself if I didn’t be who I was meant to be. I was Tama, and Tama

  was the greatest ninja ever!

  We

  made our way back to the dead campfire, I blinked into the tree and

  got my bag. Mixy pulled out an item that was round and had a little

  stick on it that pointed in a single direction no matter how she

  turned it. She called it a unidirectional navigator, she held it up

  and walked in circles for a full minute before nodded and pointing in

  the direction I had been traveling anyways. I held back a sigh and

  nodded. Together, we set off toward Drestor. We didn’t get very far

  before she started falling behind however and I quickly realized that

  two sandwiches after weeks of not eating was probably not enough for

  travel.

  “Okay,

  Tama will be right back!” I said as I made a giant X on the tree

  nearest to Mixy. “Tama is going to get us more food, can you make a

  campfire?”

  Mixy

  looked ashamed and shook her head. I resisted the urge to scream and

  instead made a new campfire, making sure she watched and learned. “Do

  you see how it’s done Mixy?” I asked. She nodded and I was

  relieved. I jumped into the air, leaving her next to the campfire and

  began blinking through the trees. I found a pack of wolves nearby.

  Not exactly what I was looking for, but they would do nicely.

  I

  hoped down and drew Serenity. The wolves quickly surrounded me and I

  grinned.

  The

  first one jumped at me from the side, I swerved and cut down, cleanly

  slicing it’s head in two before blinking into the air to dodge the

  second wolf jumping from behind. I pulled out my dagger and threw it

  into the back of the second wolves skull. The other three circled me

  and I landed on top of the second wolf, pulling the dagger out. There

  was a growl and the remaining three wolves fled. I considered hunting

  them down for cowardice, but it was only survival and we didn’t

  need that much meat all at once. I blinked the two wolf corpses back

  to Mixy. Thankfully, she told me she knew how to cook wolf meat.

  She

  did not know how to cook wolf meat and I was now eating burnt wolf

  meat. As I bit into the blackened meat, I watched Mixy as she nibbled

  on her piece. She didn’t make eye contact and stared at the ground,

  her pale face even paler then normal. The silent crunching filled the

  silence, finally I spoke. “Tama thinks you don’t know how to cook

  meat.”

  Mixy

  shook like a kitten and said “Mixy is normally much better she

  swears! Mixy is just stressed!” She took another bite of her burnt

  meat and held it closer like I was going to take it from her. I

  giggled, which turned into a laugh. After a moment I had dropped my

  meat and was rolling on the floor giggling madly.

  “What’s

  wrong!” Mixy asked, she sounded very worried. I rubbed the tears of

  laughter from my eyes as I sat back up, holding my stomach. “Tama

  just thinks you remind her of Tama when she was young.” Even as I

  said that, the memory of Sensei returned, I pushed the memory down. I

  would be useless to sensei if I was a mess right now. I had to be

  strong.

  Mixy

  stared at me for a long moment, slowly biting into her burnt meat,

  still to afraid to even move it from her body. I shook my head and

  grabbed another piece of charcoal meat from the makeshift holder I

  made before smirking and taking a bite. The loud crunch caused Mixy

  to flinch, but I smiled at her as I ate. “You know Mixy, Tama was

  having a bad week. When you showed up with those guys, Tama thought

  it was another bad day for Tama. But, Tama was mistaken. She has a

  new friend. Her friend is scared and worried. But Tama loves them

  anyways.” I turned to face her as she looked at me in a mixture of

  fear, shock, and confusion. I finished “Thank you Mixy, Thank you.

  Tama doesn’t know where she would be without you.”

  Mixy

  looked at me absolutely perplexed and looked around fearfully for a

  trap. I laughed again at her antics. After a moment, I stretched and

  looked around the darkened forest. Outside the light of the campfire

  was just blackness for most. But as a Nekojin, Mixy and I could see

  in the dark. It wasn’t perfect. A weird yellow color, but it was

  clear enough I could see our surroundings easily enough.

  I

  heard the light nibbling of Mixy eating her meat. She was clearly

  trying to savor every inch of the burnt meat. I knew that feeling,

  when sensei would leave me in the forest naked and alone for weeks at

  a time. He called them trials, and they were hard. I learned quickly

  that food was always first on the menu of importance, followed right

  after by shelter. Of course, that was for week long trials. We were

  traveling and making a shelter every night would be a waste of time.

  I

  paused at that and looked back at Mixy… maybe I should make

  something. She clearly has no idea how to survive out here.