The bright light of the dawning sun reached the eyes of the many 'rabbits' of the Hunt, and with squinted eyes, they walked out to the open air.

It had been weeks for some, but months for others, since they'd tasted the beautiful fresh air of Whitesky.

"W-We all should run!"

"We don't have much time until they start hunting us!"

"Everyone spread and start running in opposite directions. It will make it much harder for them to find us!"

The prisoners shouted, and with shaky nods, they ran out of the gated estate of Hauwnted, and they all went their separate ways.

"Huff! Huff!"

Ashley, barefoot, stumbled over the roots, and she could clearly hear the sound of her heartbeat beating in her ears.

She had never been more scared in all of her life, and all she could think about was that someone could very well be right behind her, with sword in hand.

'P-Please…'

…

A minute had passed since the rabbits were released. In that moment, the hunters got unleashed, and some of them found the nearest horses, and galloped out of the gate.

"…"

Aren looked at the terrace, where the noblemen and women were laughing, like they were watching a show of sorts.

'What a sight to see.'

He watched as the guards left on horseback, but not him, because he couldn't ride a horse, and he wasn't here to hunt down these rabbits.

There was only one thing that he came for, and that was to rescue Ashley. It was hard for him to find her first, but luckily, he knew where they were going to take her.

…

"Ahh! Ahh! Nooo!"

A frightened man ran down the forest and heard the galloping of several horses coming behind him.

"Haha, found you!"

"It's mine!"

"I found it first!"

The two guards forced their horses to move faster than their competition. They swung their swords at the frightened man.

The first guard's swing missed. It went slightly over the frightened man's shoulder.

The second guard's swing made contact, smacking at the back of the man's head and causing him to fall face-first in the mud.

"Haha!"

The guard hopped off his horse and bound the man's legs and arms before throwing him at the back of the horse.

"Tch, lucky bastard."

The other guard clicked his tongue but then smacked the back of his horse and started galloping elsewhere.

At the tree nearby, the mechanical bird watched without making a sound and transferred the video feed back to the Hauwnted estate.

…

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

With his arms swinging wildly, a malnourished-looking man tried to make his legs move as quickly as possible, but he was never going to be faster than a horse.

When he turned around to look behind him, a cold-looking Nike chased after him with a horse under him and a sword in hand.

"Not him… Why him out of all people!"

He screamed and looked ahead, but in that moment, he saw another rabbit-costumed figure appear in the distance.

She looked to be lost, and when she turned to look in their direction, she looked horrified and started running away.

'M-Maybe she can act as a distraction for me, and I can use that moment to run away!'

He gritted his teeth, determined to catch her, and it didn't take long for her to reach him, and he could hear her desperate whispers.

"No… Please… No…"

The man just gritted his teeth and ran past her, and in that moment, Nike caught both of them, and he jumped off the horse.

Nike landed before both of them, and his sword sang through the air like a melody of death.

The first swing landed at the man's neck, knocking him down to the ground, and then during the second swing, he turned it around and rammed the butt of the sword into the woman's gut.

The two rabbits fell unconscious. He quickly tied them and tossed them at the back of his horse.

"Where is she… the Prized Rabbit."

Nike narrowed his eyes, kicked his horse into a gallop, and continued his search.

…

Skid~

Sliding down the muddy hill, Ashley appeared at the riverbank, and she quickly washed her arms with the cool water.

She was feeling paranoid, as if there were people all around her.

Gallop~ Gallop~

At that moment, she was certain that she heard the sound of a horse's hooves landing on the ground.

'They're here!'

With a panicked look, she quickly entered a small cave at the side of the rock formation. It was big enough to fit three beds side-to-side-to-side.

She hugged her legs and then covered her mouth with the side of her hand. Her heart beat so loudly that she was afraid it would burst out of her chest.

The horse stopped a distance away. It sounded like it was turning around. It then started galloping further away.

Growl~

In that moment, Ashley's stomach started growling dangerously. She hadn't eaten for the past three days.

It was already making her weak.

"Ah..."

She moaned in pain, rested her head on top of her knees, and shed few tears, as she was too afraid to leave this cave.

It was only a matter of time before she was going to get discovered if she kept running. Maybe if she kept hiding, she could survive longer.

Flap~ Flap~

She then heard the sound of a bird's wings flapping. It landed at the tree branch across the river. Its mechanical eyes were staring straight at the cave.

"I-Is that a bird?"

Ashley turned her head sideways, looking at the bird, and since it was quite far away, she didn't notice the oddities about the bird.

Such as the metallic sheen of its feathers.

…

Nike kept riding the horse, but in that moment, a metallic bird flew over him, and that caught his attention.

The horse came to a slow stop, and in that moment, the metallic bird landed on the head of the horse.

"Riverbank… Cave… North… North… North!"

The metallic bird sang.

"Hmph."

Nike kicked the horse into a gallop and started heading north with an ever-growing smile on his handsome face.

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