The longer the explanation, the bigger the lie. - Chinese Proverb

The night had fallen, the sun had risen, casting its bloody fingers through the tree gaps in ghostly rays of scarlet panels. The sky was still deep indigo, but streaks of orange decorated the great dome, accenting the stars. Branches reached their fingers up to that sky in the chilly morning air. My breath billowed around my neck like a mane as I ran after my brother, who knew the woods much better than I did. 

We had decided to go hunting at the crack of dawn, and it was still very early. We had been running for hours now, but we had to in order to find prey. Neither of us had eaten for days and the whole family was hungry. Pele promised to take care of Holo while we were gone, but I wished my sister had come with us. She was the best hunter in the family

Kawela led me tirelessly around thin dead trees whose bark was black and rotting, over hills and rocks and dead foilage. My lungs ached and my scabs hurt, cracking open and bleeding as I forced my legs to move as fast as they could. Even with my efforts, I still lagged hopelessly behind my brother.

The shadows shortened and the panes of light faded as the sun rose farther and farther into the sky. Specks of diamond we called stars disappeared from the broken indigo sky above, fading to a more light blue color. I couldn't pay attention much until the trees fell away, and we were standing in a giant white field.

Blinded by the bright snow tinted red, I closed my eyes tight, and dug my claws into the snow and forced myself to abruptly halt. Breath heaving in my chest, I stood there for a few moments, recovering from our long run. I felt Kawela nudge my shoulder and I opened up my eyes the smallest bit so I could look up at him.

"You'll be fine," he assured, his eyes wide open. "It's no different than looking into a fire."

I let the darkness around the edges of my vision unfurl fully and gazed upon the clean snow, noticing that it didn't hurt my eyes as I thought it would. I had never seen snow so perfectly untouched. It was always muddied and trampled by footprints in the forest. Out here, an unbroken blanket of white stretched as far as I could see. Snow-capped red mountains rose far in the distance, standing almost invisibly along the arching horizon. Pink clouds drifted in the sky above, floating with bliss along the winds far above. 

"Wow," I breathed, releasing a cloud of steam into the air around me. 

"Wow indeed," Kawela laughed, breaking into a sprint and ruining the snow with his prints.

"Hey wait!" I called, racing after him. I was glad we had left Holo behind with Pele, she would never be able to swiftly traverse all the way out here without tripping and hurting herself. Something about the small Litten made me feel better about myself. Maybe it was because she was even worse at everything then I was, or maybe it was the fact that she made me feel secure. Whatever the reason, I was glad that my parents had let her stay.

Kawela suddenly halted and I slammed into him, falling rump first into the snow as I did so. I shook myself off and stood on the tips of my toes to look over his shoulder. Tracks that didn't belong to us were strung across the snow in erratic positions. They were long and had little claws at the ends of the tracks.

"Buneary," Kawela announced softly. "Looks pretty recent too."

"Let me catch it," I whispered. He looked at me questioningly.  "I want to get it for Holo."

My brother shrugged. "Alright then, your choice. I'm blaming you if we don't catch anything else though," he added teasingly.

I rolled my eyes and stepped in front of Kawela. I was determined to catch that Buneary. We hadn't seen anything in days, so its appearance was a blessing. It was nice of Kawela to let me try, and I knew that even if I screwed up, he'd track it down and kill it anyway. 

Dropping down like I had seen Kawela do so many times, I formed a hunter's crouch. I raised my tail above the ground and carefully padded along the snow, taking extra precaution to not make a sound. My brother's previous instructions echoed in my head. Keep your back low, your tail just above the ground and your back legs tensed and ready to pounce on anything that moves.

Lowering my back and slightly speeding up my paw steps, I was painfully aware at how much I stood out against the snow. The Buneary would see me coming as soon as it was in sight, and  I would lose it forever. I had to be fast.

I was about to give up hope when a cotton-like ear twitched and swiveled around in the distance, its tan fluff shivering like branches in the wind. The Buneary had its face buried in the ground, probably looking for vegetation, but its ears were wide open, fanning around like wings and picking up every sound. It was vulnerable, yes, but it would have enough time to run away if it heard me.

I forced my lungs to hold in my breath, afraid that the slow huff of my breathing or even the soundless steam itself would alert the rabbit. My paws crunched slower and slower over the ground, quieting with every step that I took. Shifting my weight became more and easier. Why hadn't I gotten this before? Maybe I was really hungry, but it was probably for Holo.

The Buneary suddenly raised its head and looked around in alarm. I pressed my stomach to the ground, hoping it wouldn't spot me. Too late. Its beady black eyes met mine, and after a moment of registration, the rabbit bolted away on all fours. 

I sprung after it, my tensed back legs giving me a nice boost. My paws flew over the ground with renewed energy, gaining and gaining on the bobbing cottontail in front of me. I leaped when I had gained on it enough, but overshot and landed in front of the Buneary. It squeaked and whipped around, little paws skidding in the snow and sending jets of the frozen crystals scattering into the air. I hissed and mimicked its movements, narrowing my eyes against the spray of snow. 

Racing and racing, pounding blood, hunters instinct. I felt so free and graceful. I leaped once more, confidently this time, and my claws sunk into a warm furry rump. I meowed in triumph and the Buneary squeaked in pain as I forced it to stop and its blood sprouted along its body. Clawing at its neck fluff, I moved on top of the Buneary and sunk my teeth into its neck, tasting the warm tang of blood as I did so.

"Stop! Stop!" the Buneary yowled, its voice so desperate it shattered my heart. I hadn't thought of prey as sentient until now, but then again I had never actually met one when it was alive. Nausea sprang up in my stomach. This was like killing another Litten, it felt wrong to take away something as precious as life from someone who wanted to live just like I did.

Right and wrong bounced around in my head, screaming directions at me. I yowled and let go of the Buneary's neck. It scrambled away but soon collapsed, it's chest heaving as blood pooled around its small body, the scarlet reflecting the sky and clouds with terrible red accuracy. 

"What are you doing?" Kawela's voice hissed behind me.

I whipped around and backed away from him, my back arching in defense. "It's smart just like us! We can't eat it!"

My brother sighed and padded over, his sleek pelt shining and his normally playful eyes grim. "We have to eat, Ember. And eating means killing prey, even if it has a life too."

I shook my head in disbelief. "But... why can't we just eat things that are already dead?" I sobbed.

"Because we'll get sick."

"Who cares?"

"JUST KILL THE BLOODY BUNEARY ALREADY!" 

My eyes widened. Kawela never snapped at anyone unless they stepped on his tail. The brother which I had known to be kind and sympathetic had disappeared, leaving in his wake a snarling monster. I could see the horror in his eyes as he realized that he had spooked me.

Kawela sat down apologetically, flattening his ears while the lust and anger in his eyes dispersed. "Sorry Ember, but I just want the best for you. You'll never survive if you don't kill."

The lump in my throat seemed to increase and I hissed at him. "You want death? I'll show you death you bloody monster!" I sobbed, tears streaming down my face. I whipped around and pounced on the Buneary, sinking my fangs back into its neck and clawing its sides viciously. Screams and yowls escaped the Buneary's throat as I tore it to shreds relentlessly. My heart burned and I felt like vomiting, but I suppressed everything and savagely tore out the rabbit's throat from behind.

I collapsed on the ground next to the bloody corpse, scathing breath running through my chest. Blood covered my face and chest, but I didn't care. This world was selfless and cruel, so I had to be too. 

"We don't choose to kill," Kawela's voice whispered. "You did well though," his voice brightened. "Ma will be happy."

I nodded somberly and stood up. It was just a right of passage, another step to being the dangerous force I was always meant to be... right?