“Hop, wait up. You’re moving… too fast. I can’t… keep up,” Lu says as he trails behind.

  “We’re almost there, Lu. You’ve got to see this. It’s awesome,” I say.

  Lu looks around nervously as he climbs up the snow-covered hill. “I thought we were supposed to be out this far,” he says with a hint of fear.

  “Don’t be such a baby, Lu. Those rules are for the others. Outside of your sister, we’re the strongest kids around,” I say arrogantly.

  “But… we’re still kids. What if we run into something… bad out here?” he asks.

  I stop at the top of the hill and let out a deep breath. “Then, I’ll take care of it. After all, I know these woods like the back of my hand.”

  Lu looks up at me with a smile on his face. “Ok. I’ll count on you.”

  As he crests the hill, I point towards the scenery before us. The boundless hills that sprawl before us shine with snow, the pockets of snow-capped forests gleam with life, and the most impressive of them all, Tyranus Ridge. Rows of jagged mountain tops that pierce into the clouded sky.

  “Isn’t it awesome?” I ask.

  Wide-eyed, Lu struggles to speak. “It… is. Hop, what’s that?” he says while pointing at the mountain range.

  “What’s-”

  The ground suddenly begins to shake as what I can only describe as malice rips through the air. The feeling tears at me, and it takes everything I have to not collapse.

  “Hop, I think we should get back,” he says, fear gripping him.

  “I think you’re right.”

  We slide down the hill and run. From what, I don’t know, but a sickening feeling tells me to run. To run as far away as possible and as fast as I can. To never stop running.

  My ears perk up as the sound of several footfalls trails behind us. “Lu, we have a pack of Blood Wolves on our tails!” I say as the sound grows closer.

  “We can’t outrun Blood Wolves! Do we turn around and fight?” he asks.

  The image of teeth tearing through skin flashes through my mind. “No, you keep running, I’ll lead them away.”

  “But-”

  “I told you I know this forest like the back of my hand. So, run, Lu, run!” I yell as I stop running.

  Lu hesitates for but a second before he continues running. Not even a second later, a small pack of four Blood Wolves dashes out of the brush. Blood red fur, blood red eyes, and blood red teeth. The fastest and most ferocious predator around. The Blood Wolves snarl as they slowly surround me.

  Drawing my bow, I smirk. “I am Hopper Lightfoot, son of Holland Lightfoot. May Zeita bless my hunt,” I arrogantly say.

  The first Blood Wolf snarls in response before pouncing forward. I throw my pack at it, blocking its view. Wasting no time, I use its face for footing and jump past it.

  “Yeah, like I’d fight you one on one!” I say as I burst into a full sprint away from the direction Lu went.

  The Blood Wolves chase after me as I weave through the trees and hills. I know this forest like the back of my hand. Nothing is going to catch me. I’m the fastest around!

  Sliding under a dead tree, I watch as one of the Blood Wolves slams into the tree. “Keep up! I can only go so slow!”

  The other two dash through the snow until they’re right on me. Up ahead is a ravine. I’ve seen Luna jump it, but I’ve never had the guts to do it. Guess there’s a first for everything. My heart pounds as I can feel the breath of the Blood Wolves behind me. Then, in one big jump, I fly through the air over the ravine and into a tree branch. My chest slaps hard against the tree as I scramble to pull myself up onto the branch that hangs over the ravine.

  One of the Blood Wolves goes straight into the ravine with the other two watching me from the edge. “How’d you like that! Fastest predator my ass!” I taunt.

  With a hearty laugh, I watch as they slink away. I guess I have to go around. Lu will love this story. Sprinting, I eventually find the edge of the ravine. Based on his speed and direction, he should be-

  The sight of a dead Blood Wolf sends a shiver down my spine. How did… Where's…

  “Lu!!”

  Following a trail of blood, I find a lifeless and bloodied Lu.

  “Lu!!!”

  Ice forms around Lu as the magic circle goes off. In seconds, he’s encased in ice. Breathing heavily, I slip out from under him. Blood pours out of my side as pain grips me.

  I could win like this. I could leave him frozen, but… Winding myself up, I give him a flying kick. The kick shatters the ice around him and sends him flying into the nearby tree.

  Coughing up blood, Lu looks up to me with reddish-yellow eyes. “You stupid idiot! You could’ve won!”

  “I already told you, Lu. I’m not here to win. I’m here to knock some sense into you,” I say with an arrogant smirk.

  Lu gives me an angry growl as he struggles to stand up. “You’re a fool!” he says as he charges me.

  As he gets close, he swipes at me. I dodge out of the way and slide to his right and kick up. With the arrow in his eye, he doesn’t see my kick and takes it head-on. Not letting him have a second to recover, I give him another kick, then another, and another.

  “Is this the strength you built? Is this the strength you are acting so foolishly for? Answer me, Lu!!” I say as I kick him hard into the tree, splintering it.

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  “Shut up! Fucking shut up, Hop!” he says as he pulls himself off the tree.

  “What happened to Bunny, huh?” I taunt arrogantly.

  Lu snaps his jaw back into place. “You’re an idiot. You’re going to bleed out before I fall. Concede before you get yourself killed.”

  “I’d bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you. Too bad, Lu. I’m not running away. I stopped doing that. When are you going to?” I say as the pain fades from my side.

  “I’m not running! I don’t run! Not anymore!”

  “What do you call this?” I say, pointing out the wounds from his [Skill], “You still see it, don’t you, when you close your eyes? The teeth, the fur, the blood. When I close mine, I see you, basically dead on the ground. Your blood seeping into the snow. I ran for so long from that thought. I ran when you needed me, but I’m not going to run, Lu. I’m here. No matter how much you fight me or hurt me. I’m not going anywhere without my friend.”

  Lu’s breath grows ragged as blood pours down his face. “You’re an idiot, but… I guess I’m a bigger one. You’ve moved on… while I stayed still. You’re right, Hop. It’s time for me… to stop, but don’t think I’m losing.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m Hopper Lightfoot, son of Holland Lightfoot.”

  “I’m Lupin Sharpfang, son of Lycaon Sharpfang.”

  “May Zeita bless our hunt,” we say as we charge at each other.

  My foot connects with his jaw right as his fist slams into my face. The force of the hit sends me flying into a tree as Lupin stands there. As I try to stand back up, I slip and feel my consciousness slipping away.

  The last thing I hear is Lu, whispering, “Good hunt, Hop.”

  Lu falls to the ground unconscious as I begin to fade. It was… a… good hunt, Lu.

  “What are you waiting for, Charlatan?” Penelope asks as I finish counting the cookies.

  “I’m making sure you didn’t eat any of Hopper’s cookies,” I say as we wait at the door of the infirmary.

  “Are you sure you're not just stalling?” she asks with a knowing look.

  “Stalling? I would never,” I [Lie].

  “Really?”

  With a devilish smile, I open the door. “Would somebody who’s stalling do this?” I ask.

  “You’re too easy,” she whispers to herself.

  “What’d you say?” I ask as I enter the infirmary.

  “Look, it’s Hopper,” she says, distracting me.

  Looking over, I see a heavily bandaged Hopper on a bed. He opens his eyes to see us and gives a long blink.

  “Does it look as bad as it hurts?” he asks.

  “No,” I [Lie].

  “Oh, good, because it hurts a lot," he says.

  Penelope goes over to the side of the bed and places some flowers. “Good work out there, Hopper. You can take pride in winning against a second year,” she says.

  I shake my head as I place the cookies in his lap. “Don’t listen to her. I think you should’ve done better,” I joke.

  He lets out a wry chuckle that’s quickly followed by pain. “Yeah, I probably should’ve.”

  “So, how bad is it?” I ask as I feed him a cookie.

  “I have three broken ribs, multiple slashes across my chest and stomach, and a crack along my skull,” he reports.

  “It could’ve been worse,” I say sarcastically.

  “It could’ve. Also, are these carrot cookies?” he asks.

  “Yeah, it was the secret recipe from the Cooking club. So, how long are you going to be out of commission? Weeks, months…” I ask.

  Penelope looks over a pile of papers. “Says here that it’ll take two days to heal everything.”

  “Of course. Two days. That’s- Did you say two days?!” I ask in surprise.

  “I know it’s far too long, but due to the severity of Lupin's injuries, they’re focusing on him,” she says.

  Am I crazy? Is it normal to heal from these wounds in two days? I mean, I once broke a leg and was out of commission for months. I guess this is what being rich gets you.

  “You’re lucky, Hop. I’m stuck in here until the weekend. You really did a number on me,” Lupin says from the next bed over.

  I draw the curtain to reveal a comically bandaged Lupin. “They didn’t put you in a different room?” I ask.

  “I requested this room. I think it’ll give me the chance to catch up with my friend,” Lupin says with a smile.

  Hopper lets out a small laugh. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

  “Well, it’s good to see that the two of you have made up,” Penelope says before giving me a look.

  “We should probably get going-” The door swings open to reveal a really pissed off Luna, “before that happens.”

  Luna walks over to us and looks at the two injured friends. “You’re fucking idiots.”

  “Hey, Sis. How’s it going?” Lupin asks with a nervous chuckle.

  “Don’t ‘Hey, Sis’ me. What were you thinking? Oh, that’s right, you weren’t. You were told not to use [Bloodlust] until you could handle the recoil, and what do you do? You use it anyway, and now you're stuck in the infirmary for the rest of the week,” Luna begins.

  “Hey, Luna. It was my fault. I’m the one who challenged him to a duel,” Hopper says.

  Luna turns to him with a deadly look. “Oh, I haven’t even started with you. You know how much blood you lost from that magic circle stunt you pulled? Not to mention that you don’t have enough MP for that big of a circle. You’re lucky you're not suffering from Mana Overload.”

  As they begin to be berated, I grab Penelope by the shoulder and motion for us to sneak out. Penelope nods, and we slowly make our way out. Closing the door behind us, I let out a sigh.

  “She’s being a bit harsh,” Penelope says.

  I think back on the smile that she had when we were leaving. “Maybe, but she's just worried. Want to go celebrate Hopper's victory?” I ask.

  “Sure, but you're paying.”

  “That’s fine. I just came into some money,” I say as I pocket my winning bet.