We ran through the forest the entire day, only stopping whenever we caught the scent of prey. We only came over smaller things that were eaten instantly, nothing big enough to even consider bringing back home. We kept heading south well into the night.

  Naleighya suddenly halted. We expected her to announce that we would rest for the night, but instead, she held her paw up for us to be silent, she sniffed the air around her, and whispered. “There is a foul smell coming in from the east of here, there is also the scent of something burning. We should be careful and sneak so we don't scare away whatever is ahead.”

  We all confirmed with a silent nod as we crawled carefully after our leader. We had snuck over 300 feet until my nose also picked up the scent. It was an unfamiliar scent hidden under the smell of burning wood. The unknown scent excited me, arousing my hunter instincts.

  We kept following the scent, doing our best to be unseen and unheard. Eventually, we started hearing voices and saw the shimmer of a large fire. We kept sneaking towards the light until we came across a clearing and saw the source of the scent. In the middle of the clearing there was a mid-sized camp, reeking of waste and unwashed people. Naleighya gave us paw signals to spread out and observe the camp. I quickly climbed a tree to get a better view and saw several wagons standing in a half circle. There were also several large four-legged reptiles. They were about half the size of an adult elephant and were displaying impressive horns. I started counting and observing the people in the camp and almost fell out of my tree when I noticed none of the people had pointed ears like I had expected.

  Was this really humans? Would I at long last meet these beings I had felt a kinship with for so long? I had expected I would recognize their scent as something familiar, but the stench coming from their camp was not something I felt any kinship to. I felt a strong desire to simply jump down and walk into their camp to try and communicate, but after my experience with the elves, I feared my reception wouldn't be ideal. If they attacked like the elves did, I might not survive. I had counted over 25 people in the camp, we had to be careful, no matter how we would deal with this.

  I heard Naleighya's voice whispering from below. “ Get down, we need to strategize.”

  I shook my foolish idea away and climbed down, doing my best to be as silent as possible. We gathered on the ground and made some distance between ourselves and the camp to strategize.

  When we felt safe from being discovered, Naleighya spoke.” This is a rare opportunity. What would you guys want to do in this situation? Speak as if you had the leader role. You guys might as well learn something from this.”

  Arissa, struggling to stand still out of excitement, replied first.” We hit them hard and fast. With our superior strength, we shouldn't have any problems.”

  Nalcor looked at her with disapproval and shook his head as he said. "No, it's too risky. Humans are a bit like elves. If they are given the chance to prepare, they might pose a threat. At most, I counted 27 humans, and there might be more inside the tent in the middle of their camp. We would need to take down at least 6 to 7 humans each to get them all, and doing so with brute force could prove dangerous. I suggest we take our time and try to pick them off one by one until a frontal attack is more viable.”

  Everyone turned to me, and I scratched the back of my head nervously as I replied,” Eh. This might be too much for us. I suggest that someone run to the village and gather up more hunters. Humans tend to work well in groups, and their weapons are dangerous.”

  Naleighya smiled at us and said. Lunaria and Nalcor, your approaches are cautious and, in this situation, the right call. Arissa, however, your approach is reckless, and the possibility of anyone dying is far too great. You have to consider the risk to your team before everything else. Lunaria, even if your idea is the safest one, you have to weigh in that if there are more hunters, we would be able to claim less pray for ourselves. If we can execute Nalcor plan, that would give us the best chance to provide for the entire tribe, and our hunt will be greatly successful.”

  Nalcor took on a smug expression at the praise from his mother, and I felt like punching his smug face, our earlier conversation still fresh in my mind.

  Naleighya scratched her son between the ears and said. "We should do as Nalcor said and try to pick them off one by one. If we spread out around the camp, we will be able to ambush anyone that leaves their camp. If we can take out a few without alerting the rest, our chances are much better. Do your best to be quiet and attack to kill, we cannot let them be aware of us before it is too late. Arissa, you go to our left, Nalcor to the right, I will go around the camp, while Lunaria can stay here. Remember, humans are dangerous. Don't give them the chance to use any of their weapons on you. Also, don't take the time to start feeding. You know how easy it is to lose concentration when you first start. We cannot risk them hearing us if we start feeding.” At her words, we scattered around the camp, lying in wait for any opportunities.

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  I climbed up the nearest tree and tried to keep myself out of sight. I kept observing the camp, hoping to see any patterns in their patrol routes, but the more I watched the camp, the more obvious it was that they didn't have any fixed routes or were expecting anything to attack them. After nearly 30 minutes, a chubby little man came towards the tree I was hiding in. I held my breath as he came closer, but he stumbled as he walked while he was humming to himself in a catchy tune.

  He went behind the tree I was hiding in and started fumbling with his pants. I was looking directly down on his bald spot and didn't want to witness what he was about to do. Without thinking much of it, I jumped from my branch and landed directly on top of his head with my claws extended. My claws pierced his skull without much resistance, and the guy went down with a thud. I pulled my claws out of his skull and watched if there was any movement from the camp. There was no commotion from the camp, and I smiled to myself. I was aware of the scent of his blood, and my stomach rumbled in response. I was hungry, and the scent of blood did nothing but remind me of that fact.

  I let out a deep breath and started dragging the corpse away, not wanting it to be discovered. As I was dragging the man away by his feet, I realized that I had just killed a human. I hadn't thought much about it before jumping at him. He was a threat, and I had removed that threat and didn't feel bad about it. For all I knew, this guy had a family, maybe even a wife and children, and I had just killed him without much thought. Had I really turned into such a monster that killing people came this easy for me?

  Annoyed at my conscience, I tried to reassure myself. I was a hunter. And I had just done what every other hunter would have done in my situation. I tried to put my inner conflict away as I hid the corpse and climbed up the tree again. I kept observing the camp while licking the blood off my paws, unable to not enjoy the metallic taste of the liquid that was staining my white fur.

  A while later, another man started approaching my hiding spot. He kept yelling the same word into the darkness, clearly expecting some response. I patiently waited for him to get closer so I could repeat my ambush from above, but just before he got into range, a loud commotion broke out in the camp, and the man turned abruptly. Knowing that someone had been found out, I leapt down behind the man and thrust my claws into his back before he had any chance to turn around. I must have hit something vital since the guy just dropped instantly, not able to mutter a single word as he fell. I withdrew my claws and started running towards the loud commotion coming from the camp.

  When I entered the camp, I heard loud voices and several screams, and I couldn't help smiling at the sight of nearly a dozen corpses littering the ground around Naleighya. She had a face-splitting grin, and blood was splattered down her entire body. In Front of her, there is an armed group of 8 humans facing her, all sharing a terrified expression on their faces. Seeing them all focus on Naleighya, I went down on all fours and ran towards the group. I leapt toward the nearest one, burrowing my claws in his chest before leaping back. My little stunt sent the group into chaos, and before I knew it, Arissa had joined and jumped in on the other side and decimated the rest. I tried to see if anyone needed any help, but with Nalcor arrival, everything seemed to go our way.

  I perked my ears up at the sound of voices coming from the large tent and turned. Seeing that my team was in control of the situation, I made my way towards the tent. Afraid that archers might rush out and take aim towards any of us.

  I quickly made my way to the tent entrance without any resistance. I opened the tent flap and saw two men standing inside. One was clad in armor and had his sword out, while the man behind him was dressed in a simple brown robe and held a small knife in his hand. Their eyes went wide at the sight of me, and I had to hold myself back from laughing. Their reaction was so extreme that it was a little comical. I raised my paw and said, “Hey,” trying my best to sound friendly. My greeting fell flat when the armored man lunged his swords towards me. His attack seemed to move in slow motion towards me, and I easily avoided his sword by sidestepping. Overextended, he was fully open. I closed the distance in a single step and got a firm paw grip around his throat. I easily lifted the much taller man by his throat, his choked words barely able to escape his mouth. I smirked at my strength as I extended my claws. All five claws penetrated his unprotected throat and neck, His choked words turned to a wet gurgle while his life’s blood started running down my arm.

  The scent of his blood filled the tent, and the whispering voice of my hunger returned. I dropped the corpse to the floor before I shook my head, trying my best to ignore the voice. I turned my attention to the robed man, and as we made eye contact, he fell backwards in fear. I sighed at his reaction, annoyed that I invoked that much fear every time I met other sentient races. The robed man was muttering something under his breath as he sat on the ground, holding his little knife towards me. Seeing the scared man in front of me, I started feeling sorry for him. I might be hungry, but I didn't have the desire to actually kill him, and I thought to myself. ”Isn't this the perfect opportunity? I've wanted to communicate with other races for so long. What is stopping me from claiming this one without killing him? If he can just overcome his fear, communication should not be that hard to achieve.

  I grinned to myself at the thought when I noticed the sword the armored man had dropped in his death. I knelt down and picked the sword up. The weapon felt weird in my paw, but nonetheless, I held it firmly in my paw as I slowly walked toward the terrified man. I held back my strength and swung the sword toward the robed man. The blunt side of the sword made contact with the top of his head with a thud, and he fell face down onto the floor.