Sept 21, 1st Diary Entry I didn't ever think I'd use this much, although I like the leather cover, but it turns out there's way too much I can't ever tell Papa. Really, who'd have thought stuff from legends would happen in /my/ life? It started when I was walking home from school. 6th grade is really hard, by the way. There was the worst math quiz today. But what's even worse is the bullies. 15-year-old Bruce and 14-year-old Miakoda, the Fairwater kids. I was minding my own business, when someone chucked an empty water bottle at me. Bruce. Now that I think back on it, I shouldn't have retaliated. But of course I did. It missed me by a mile, and I quickly retrieved it, wary of the heavy footsteps crunching through the leaves. I whipped around, my face burning. "What gives?" I demanded, carefully aiming at Bruce's eye. "You're a dork, of course." Bruce said, grinning his jerky grin. "Is that so?" "Duh. Like, who with the name /Tayen/ isn't a dork?" Mia chuckled, walking up next to Bruce. "What does that even mean? Something dumb, I'll bet." I growled. This was the last straw. My day had been a disaster, what with the quiz and forgotten homework and all that. I couldn't take it anymore. I threw the water bottle, which aimed straight and true at Bruce's left eye. I smirked at his cry of pain. I never miss. "What was that for?!" Mia shrieked while Bruce rubbed his face. "Everything." I replied simply. "Why you little-" Bruce stopped Mia mid sentence, whispering in her ear. She glared after me as I started walking again. "You got lucky, dork. We better go help Dad now, Bruce." she said, meaning something to do with their dad's park ranger job. I changed course. Our town is in the foothills, bordered by a forest. I ran into that forest and followed a trail Papa and I had made. It led to a large glade where he's teaching me to use a bow. It's what I'm best at, and my joy. I climbed a pine where I'd hidden my favorite arrows, an extra bow and a target for the times when I needed to burn off unpleasant emotions. I set up the target and crossed the glade. "Dork," I muttered to myself, "dork, dork, dork. What a dumb word." my face grew hot again as I nocked an arrow to the bow, then aimed. The arrow landed a little off center. I might never miss entirely, but I'm not always a perfect shot. I grumbled in frustration as I selected another arrow. "'Who with the name /Tayen/ isn't a dork?'" I mocked. I made a mental note to look up the meaning of my name when i got home. "Right. I bet it actually means 'the destroyer of bullies' or 'skilled hunter'." As I was aiming, I glanced up. A shadow had passed over me. I saw a peregrine falcon, its gaze trained on something I couldn't see. I accidentally let go of the arrow, watching the bird in awe. I huffed as I watched the arrow fly to the far side of the glade. I slowly went to retrieve the arrow. As I was picking it up, I saw a rabbit nibbling clover nearby. Papa would be so proud when I came home with a rabbit! I carefully put back the arrow and pulled out my lucky arrow, black with lightning designs carved into it. I willed my hands to stop trembling as I aimed with care, adrenaline pumping through my veins. The arrow sliced perfectly through the air, heading straight for the rabbit's neck. But then... A flash of gray. A snap. A painful scream. The arrow had found its mark not in the rabbit's flesh, but in a falcon's wing. The same falcon I'd seen earlier. I stared, dumbfounded as the falcon morphed into a human girl. /A human girl/. And not just any girl. Miakoda Fairwater. She looked as shocked as I was, but then her expression hardened into fear and fury. "You!" she hissed, pulling the arrow out of what was now her upper arm. I blinked, trying not to scream in terror and confusion. "Y-y-you!" I stuttered. "/Why would you do that?!/" May screeched at me. "I-I it was- M-mia, you were a bird!" she snorted, her green eyes narrowing. "They'll know now. They'll know because of you!" her voice turned into an unearthly shriek, making me less able to speak. "Wh-who? I d-don't- the r-r-rabbit! P-please-" Mia glared at me. "Don't you dare tell anyone," she hissed. "If anyone finds out- Dad and Bruce-" she looked away, and I realized she was on the verge of crying. "Promise," Mia said in a dangerously soft voice, though I could hear the tears underneath. "I-I p-p-promise!" I yelped. "N-not anyone!" she snorted, doubting me. "Hmm..." she glanced at the arrow in her hand. "If you tell so much as a current of wind..." Mia raised her knee and broke my arrow across it, grunting painfully. "My arrow!" Mia's eyes were full of spite. "You broke my arm, you little monster. I think this doesn't even begin to justify that." "You're the monster," I whispered, hiccuping. But, of course, she had wonderful ears. She screamed in a rage and lunged at me. I dodged her and this time her screech was pained. "Y-your arm," I muttered, "you'll make it worse."
Her eyes, glinting murderously, told me she frankly did not care at the moment. I tripped in my hurry to get away from her. Mia stopped, stood still, and closed her eyes, gathering her strength. "Ensure she never forgets... something... /permanent./" She opened them again and ran forward, jumped, and transformed in mid-air. I stood up and tried to back away, but Mia flew like a bullet at my face, talons extended and beak twisted cruelly. Slash! The pain was worse than when I'd twisted my ankle. I cried out, salty tears gushing out of my eyes. As she flew off, I swear I heard in a raspy voice "/Never forget.../" I will find Mia. I will hunt her kind like I now know I was meant to. 13 YEARS LATER Aug 29, I can't believe I kept this old thing. Why would I, other than to reassure myself that weres are real? And even then, the scars are proof enough. Which reminds me. I got the job. I knew there had to be a branch of the government for this. And now... now I'm finally doing what I'm surely meant to be doing. After all, what do you do with the knowledge that dangerous creatures half human and half animal are in this world? I'm surprised were-creatures aren't common knowledge by now. Must've been many expensive cover-ups. The Archers have accepted me, and I've been assigned to a town called Wildberry. I'll be leaving for Wildberry soon. Then, soon enough, I'll be able to catch and contain were-creatures like the dangers they are. Sept 3 I've arrived. I'm going to get to know the town first, and the forest. No hunting yet. I can tell there are a lot of them here. I'll have to check records and things like that. If I can't find the right information, well... I didn't learn how to hack for nothing. Sept 9 There are so many were-creatures here. It's very eerie. And, I was not informed, but some of them have powers. Pyrokinesis, mainly. This place reminds me of home. It's... distracting. I feel disoriented, and my mind isn't as sharp. I feel as though something deep inside me is looking for something. As though it's trying to wake up. I don't understand it... I know I was scarred by a were-creature, but I thought... I thought at least that part was a myth. But I should have known. In a world that were-creatures roam, anything is possible. And this new secret... it may be my doom. *Thumbnail not mine.*
