Her hands continued to tremble as she walked shakily back to her hollow tree shelter. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving a new bone-deep weariness in its wake. 

She replayed the brutal encounter with the mountain lion over and over in her mind. How close death had come to claiming her this time. Something had awoken inside her during that primal struggle - a fierceness and will to survive that shocked even herself. 

Somehow, against all odds, she had killed a powerful predator in self-defense. For the first time since losing her parents, a seed of belief took root that maybe, just maybe, she could withstand the cruelties of this harsh new world she now inhabited alone. 

Reaching her shelter, Eliana began to methodically clean and resharpen her hatchet, taking comfort in the routine task. Her shaking gradually subsided as she worked. The dried blood was scrubbed away until it gleamed as new once more. 

A fierce determination now burned within her, alongside a new understanding. This forest was indeed filled with both beauty and danger. But she refused to be merely a victim of circumstance any longer. From that moment on, Eliana vowed to train both body and mind to become stronger, wiser, and most of all - ready for whatever threats may come.

In the morning, she rose before dawn. Drawing her hatchet, she embarked into the forest to begin honing her skills in earnest. For hours she practiced - throwing, dodging, striking - picturing the mountain lion and other threats. By midday her body ached, but also felt transformed.

That night, as she lay watching the moon rise through the tree branches, Eliana's thoughts turned to the future. Uncertainty remained, but within her also grew a flaming revolt against the injustice of her cruel fate. Someday, when she had become powerful enough, she would leave this protecting forest and seek revenge on the monsters who destroyed her old life. This was now her mission and her drive to survive this world. The Beasts would not know what hit them.