Daylight flourished with shadows cast from the trees. They danced over a winding dirt path along a forest floor, littered with natural beauty. Open and beautiful as wild flowers danced along with a slight breeze, the leaves shaking. Small shrubs shook with small critters scurrying about. A Chipmunk chirped before rushing off, squirrels wrestled in the tree branches above, birds fluttering in the air.

Those birds then swooped and caught many insects with each pass, one nearly slamming into a rabbit as it moved along. Rabbits flew forward across the path from one end of the forest to another, the sun moving overhead bit by bit. They’d move, stopping along the path sitting up before turning back to where they came from. From up the path came Elise, walking in the sunlight with a pouch at her side, a large handbag and a backpack filled with canisters at the top.

“Get this woman, go do that Elise, hey you should try something lady, just- ugh,” she grumbled with her walk.

Her gaze darted back and forth with a slight smile forming as the sight of the wildlife darting around, rummaging through the vegetation, “Gets his pale ass beat for being a cocky dastard, then has the audacity to slug me in the gut and order me to go find crap out here. I can’t stand him!”

Rusty lay upon his back, twin knives at his side covered in blood; though not the blood of his enemy. Above him towered Sacho, grinning as he looked down upon the battered Rusty. Elise observed, her face relatively calm and blank while Britt looked on in disgust, a sneer of disappointment overtaking him for a moment. Elise stepped forward twice, stopped as Britt’s right hand grabbed her left shoulder. Her head turned only to be met with a shaking of her brother’s head.

“What was that about me hitting like a girl, Rusty?” Sacho chuckled.

“Kkk, y-you hit and look like one still,” Rusty growled.

“Pft- Rusty you idiot,” Britt murmured beside Elise.

Blood trickled from Rusty’s nostrils, his right eye half-swollen, his left pinky bent straight back. An arm also lay twisted, a hole through the right hand from a blade. A hole also rested in his foot. He lay there, down and battered to nothing. With Sacho, it was only mere cuts to his clothes and little blood on the left arm, some down his chin leading from the mouth.

Her eyes turned to the right, acting in response to the sudden call of a falcon. It swooped down with talons out, narrowly missing a small rodent by centimeters. Having missed the falcon took off right back into the air, leaving Elise to chuckle a tad.

“Little ones aren’t always easy to take out I suppose.”

“No they’re not, yet you still let yourself get pushed around,” came a deep voice from behind Elise.

Her head turned again, eyes staring back at a man in black. She side stepped, sighing, “Well Vulper, not like I my words will make much difference and I definitely can’t just kick his ass.”

“There are many ways to win a fight, you know that better than anyone,” he spoke stepping ahead in the shadows.

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

She carried on as Vulper followed close behind, the leaves crunching beneath their feet as they moved, then came the crunch of the grass. Her head perked up, eyes looking ahead to a large wooden cart sitting with a deer upon it, several foxes, ducks, and various other animals. At the back of the cart laid a stack of wood, topped with various ropes and bear traps. Sacks hung around full of canisters, some hanging by ropes off the cart.

Behind Vulper pulled a piece of paper from his sleeves, unrolling it for a minimal amount of time. His green eyes zipped around with a tint of read, examining what was drawn upon it, “Alright, the next trap is to the South.”

“Suppose I have to pull this damn cart myself right?”

“You suppose right Elise.”

“Dammit, the thing is going to be so heavy. Whatever.”

Vulper stepped out of the shadows into the light, a brief breeze hitting him causing his long black hair to flow back. He stood bold and tall, shoving the paper away into his coat pockets, “What, you want help with that or what?”

“No thanks. I’m good. I don’t want to burden you. Why did you want to come along anyway Vulper?”

“Curiosity I suppose. Make sure you’re doing your job proper.”

“I suppose that’s the one benefit you have, being a Drachen half of Zaherian and not a half of Vampire. Makes me wonder why our ancestors thought to go with Vampire blood hybridization. Yeah they’re crazy strong but the whole sunlight thing among other things is kinda trash. Inheriting all those weaknesses and such.”

“Pretty much just the power thing and for convenience. If our line was of Wulfin blood or just Zaherian in general, well, that would be something weaker than what we are now. Or I should say, weaker than what the bulk of you are now. Regardless of what we are a mix of, we are Drachen, descendants of the proud Dragons that once ruled this world.”

Both stopped before the cart, Elise lugging off her many containers onto the back with a single movement, “Huff! Those things are heavy.”

“Well you carry a ton so not surprising. Now don’t forget that after this you also need to cycle some of the straw bedding the elders have and from some of the others, the torches to the south need to be redone. Oh and you need to deliver the kills so they can be cleaned up and preserved a bit. Dust the tunnels, collect empty water canisters, burn the old cart, and-”

“Yeah yeah I get it Vulper, the normal chore list, I know. All I can say is that I’m glad we found a new cart, that old one sucked. Ugh, that deer though is going to stink it up. Been dead for awhile.”

“Well you don’t need a nose to know it has been rotting. Heck, its organs sloshing around should have been sign one.”

“Ugh, gross, how can you guys eat this stuff?” she gagged.

“Sweetie, a Drachen can eat anything. Just stick to your vegan diet.”

“Dude, I eat fish, I’m not vegan or vegetarian.”

“Right right, just don’t complain now, there’s work to be done.”