Chapter.1

The humid and warm air makes everything worse. Climbing the quarry to hunt since dawn only exacerbates the hunger.

"Are you trying to paint this quarry into a red for workout, Catarina?! I can see your arms trembling from here. You should do some exercises with the younger ones to become less of a risk for everyone," I roll my eyes without looking down. I hear some laughter, including the familiar laugh of Thales, whom I defended not long ago. They are more idiots than Hugo, for sure. How I wish I weren't there! But we have no other choice but to hunt. In reality, I could be a brave explorer of the mysterious Golsek, which lies beyond the river, or I could take the opposite path and become a living legend like Ícone in D'haime, enjoying all the wealth. But neither option suits me. Probably my future will involve making baskets and taking care of the house when I'm too old to hunt. The only thing that consoles me is the glimpse of days when I won't hear the captain's jokes in the morning.

However, this future still hurts more than my hunger and undoubtedly my limbs. I would continue to be as much of a failure as I am now. It's not that I have no skills, but let's say I'm not the most physically adept type for this kind of spotlight. I'm not short and fast, nor am I tall and strong. By process of elimination, I'm more on the tall, slow, and weak side. I'm not the only one here considered attribute-less, but perhaps I'm the only one who doesn't make na effort to develop any.

"Move quickly! We don't have all day for this!" Hugo's voice started distant, but soon it was close enough for me to hate him even more. "Catarina, you left the camp 20 minutes ago. You should already be at the top. You're slowing down the group; hurry up!" By that point, he had already passed me, so I could look at him with all the disdain I felt "by the 'captain,' it wasn't just because he was my particular torment in all the hunts, but because his condition of being the strongest made him think he was free to mock anyone… he was a jerk. But he was still the fastest and strongest of them all, as he quickly reached the top, hurling insults and jokes at everyone.

Come on, come on! Do I have to help with everything? Give me your hand… he extended his hand for me to climb the last rocks. I was already exhausted, but I didn't accept… he kept his hand extended for a while as I climbed, then looked at the others, sarcastically laughing at my attempt at disdain. Well, now that everyone has climbed, form the usual groups and position yourselves…

Voier, Voier. Are you going to compete for the captaincy this year? Henrique said as he passed by me, laughing at my rebellion. He knew I would never do something like that, but he appreciated using these moments to try to push me toward what he claimed was already inside me. I made a face at the black-haired guy with the bow and arrow. His smile was so familiar to me that I could almost hear him say I should try._

The 20 members of the group divided into 4 groups. I and 4 others less skilled went ahead for reconnaissance of the area. Each chose a large tree and started climbing. I put my machete back on my belt and began to climb. I was still tired, but I loved the view from the treetops.

When I was at a good height, I looked around. It was truly a beautiful place. The fresh air carried the scent of the earth moistened by the river that cut through the plateau and became a delicate waterfall over the mountain ridges. The landscape had always been the best part of living there. For a moment, I even forgot what I was doing and simply appreciated it. There were huge trees, birds singing and flying freely without a care in the world, and the weather was pleasant, although I knew that winter was not far away, it was still possible to see some flowers. Near them, a group of deer gathered by the river, which brought me back to our purpose there.

"Catarina," I heard Sabrina's whisper. She was in another tree ahead of mine. I turned to the left to look, and she lowered the branch that had been blocking my view of the river. There was a tiger climbing up the bank. I nodded and we descended to inform the group.

"There's a group of about five deer to the north of the river," I said. "And a tiger coming from the opposite direction. The distance is favorable, but being a large predator, it might catch up with us."

Hugo, who was already impatiently moving the group in our direction, stopped when he heard what I said from a distance. He processed the information.

"I also saw some birds," Tales chimed in. He was in a tree farther away from mine. We all knew each other well, so I couldn't miss the vein popping on Tales' forehead. He was my best friend, and I could tell he was terrified of the tiger. But I couldn't calm him down there. We had to act according to the situation.

Hugo stood still, weighing his options. I wasn't keen on facing a tiger, but deer meat was much better, and there was a lot more of it than birds. Considering the village's food stocks, I doubted he'd choose the birds. I crouched down to sharpen my machete while he remained silent.

"Listen up!" Hugo finally spoke. "Your group will go with the archers after the deer, and my group, along with the fastest runners, will distract the tiger."

I regretted lifting my head to listen to that, but I knew it would be this way. I sheathed my machete and we were already moving when Sabrina, who stood in front of him, stared at him sternly.

"Hugo, there's no safe place with quick access," she said. "It would be too risky to... _ Despite the low voice with which she spoke, everyone could hear. Not everyone could face it soberly when it came to risking their love affairs. Tales looked at me when he saw the scene, shaking his head and heading into the forest.

In response to Sabrina's emotional appeal, Hugo quickly glanced at her and then averted his gaze, following the others in his group: "We can't delay, or we'll lose our prey. You can go…"

They didn't seem like the most beloved couple in the village… both received invitations to join D'haime Central as Icons, but there were tests to be done. That's when he embraced his infamous nature even more, and strangely, Sabrina liked it. And I wouldn't question it.

The heat in the forest made the fast pace of the hunt even more exhausting, and I found myself panting several times.

We were ahead of the archers, clearing the way