"My mother told me that the twelve clans are to come together for the double moon festival tonight. I even heard that my brother was planning on releasing his spirit for a woman from the Hyunmi clan!" Xay, my best friend who was from the Night Crawlers clan, told me. "I'm so excited to see that he has finally grown to become a man!"

The releasing of a man's soul for a woman was a love tradition among all of our clan cultures. When a man released his soul, he would call for the Gods and Goddesses in the sky by tying a spiritual charm to the palm of his hand and chanting a love spell. The charm would send his spirit to the sky for the Gods and Goddesses to find the one he claimed he loved and then fly down for the woman's heart to accept. It is said that if the woman's heart honestly accepted the love that was given to her, she would live happily with her man. If she did not accept it with an earnest heart, she would break his spirit and his spirit would stay searching in the sky until he found his true love.

"Xay, you seem happy for him. Usually, you would complain to me about how horrifying it sounds because he is your brother." I chuckled at my own remark. "But I understand that he is finally growing to become a true man. I hope his spirit does not get lost in the sky."

Xay smiled at me and held her hands together. "I cannot wait for a man to send his spirit to the sky for me. Nou, don't you want a man to do that for you?" She poked at my arm while squealing from excitement. All of my life, I had been uninterested in boys. Rather, I was more interested in the activities around me. Hunting and making weapons were the only things that held me captive on days that I didn't learn how to sew tapestry with my mother.

I answered Xay straightforwardly. "I don't see the need for a man yet. If he is to come, I will measure his skill against my own. If he exceeds me in all my strengths, then he is a man I will truly accept into my heart."

She looked at me, disappointed. "You know there is hardly a man that can surpass you in any of those. Your father taught you all the skills and magic he learned first-hand from Father Wolf." Again, she poked at my arm. I could tell that she had always wanted me to have another half. "I would hope that you are able to find your soul searcher soon! You have recently become an of-age bachelorette!"

"Thank you, Xay. And I hope your soul searcher is the one for you." I looked at her and smiled. "But there is no need for the worry. Once I find the one my heart yearns for, I will be sure to tell you first!"

"I hope so soon! My heart would disagree to hearing that you have a man in secret!" She playfully tugged at me. Whenever she acted this way, it bothered me, but I overlooked it. This was how her personality was and there was nothing that would change her stubborn heart from it.

From the right of us, Xay's mother called for her. Xay was also a Cheiftan daughter- and with that, many responsibilities came. Here and there, my own mother would ask me to help her with tapestries and preparing a dinner for Cheiftan meetings. Even though it was my duty to help her out, my elder sisters always ended up doing most of the work.

"We will see each other again at tonight's double moon festival." I called to Xay as she began to leave. "Shall we wear our best outfits?"

"We shall!" She piped loudly as she headed to her mother. The two of us would always do this for each other. Whenever there were parties or meetings, we would wear our best outfits made of the finest fabrics. We had even made them ourselves, just so they were adjustable to our age.

As I began to head back to my clan village, my mind began to blur. A wolf's howl was heard from a distance away in the forest. I was scared that if I did not return home soon, I would suffer as a meal.

I picked up my pace a little, trying to avoid whatever I was afraid of, but my wandering eyes liked to see the things I wished I couldn't. I looked over to the edge of the forest and saw a young man.

He was standing alone at the edge of the forest, staring at me. Blood red hair. Eyes, crescended like the moon itself. The curves on his lips made it seem like he was smiling. For some reason, I did not feel fear for him. What I felt from him was strange.

The crescent moon eyes that stared at me did not feel evil. They felt like they were watching over me. Like I was something he needed.

My mother called from a distance. I looked over to where she was and saw that she wasn't alone. Father had also come along with her. They had a fear of me being alone ever since the night they found me huddled in the hollowed tree.

Quickly, I looked back at the forest to see if the red haired man was still there, but he was nowhere in sight. I gulped a breath of air into my lungs and began to walk over to my parents.

"Mother, Father," I said as they came up to me. "I was just talking with Xay about our festivities. She told me that her brother will be releasing his spirit tonight for a young woman from the Hyunmi clan!"

Mother looked at me with a smile on her face. "He is wise to do so. Women from the Baekhan clan are very mature. I hope she accepts his spirit well." My own mother was from the Baekhan clan. When my father released his spirit to her, she strongly accepted it with all the feelings her heart could hold. My aunt told me that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Father!" I hopped over to him and I hugged him tightly. "Xay and I cannot wait for the big bonfire tonight! We have many things to offer to the twin moon Goddesses!"

A grin grew across his face and he patted my head. "My daughter, do not forget to find yourself a young man. You are finally of-age and I would prefer that you have found your other half."

"Father, you know how I feel about that." I released him from my embrace. The grin on his face faded away. "I do not feel the need for a man just yet."

"My daughter..." He wanted to say something, but he refused to just yet. Instead of continuing, he stayed quiet and began to walk back to the village. "Let's all go home and prepare ourselves for the festival tonight."

Mother and I nodded our heads and followed after him. I watched him from behind as we walked. I wanted to know what he said but I wouldn't dare to ask.

 

It was finally time for the double moon festival to begin. Other clans were arriving to the field, ready for the games that had been prepared. Men, women and children were allowed to participate in the festivities in order to feel closer in heart and spirit. I could see hoardes of young men from all different clans coming to see all their choices of beautiful young women. I refused to be one of those choices.

I jumped from the sudden touch of a hand on my shoulders from behind. I looked over my shoulder at Xay who was dressed in her best outfit, as was I. The two of us participated in a number of games all night and ate our meals together while watching women from the Taoist clan's special performances.

Both of our hearts were happy and our stomachs were full. The last and final event of the day that we had been waiting for was the double moon twin Goddesses bonfire. We had been holding on to special charms all day to give to them.

All the Cheiftans of each clan held a magic fire infused club that burned flames as bright as the sun. Xay and I watched carefully as they sang their hearts out and lit the bonfire. Everyone's excitement arose and children everywhere were prepared to give gifts to the double moon twin Goddesses.

Xay and I pulled out our gifts for the Goddesses. Xay's gift was a wooden totem doll that she had carved herself to perfection for months. She had spent so much time on detail that it was nearly professional. My gift for the Goddesses was a grand owl's feather. It was not something I picked up off the rocks, but something I had acheived with great courage. I wanted to see to it that the Goddesses would notice my strength and send me signs of a happy future.

Together, the two of us tossed our charms toward the bonfire. I watched Xay's totem doll burn into ash as it was engulfed in flames. Unfortunately, the weight of my feather did not bring it to the fire. Rather, it floated above the fire and was blown away.

"My gift!" I shouted at Xay. "It's flying away! I must catch it!" Quickly, I ran to the direction of my feather as it was strewn into the sky, careless of where it would take me as long as I could catch it.

"Wait, Nou! You're running toward the forest!" Xay shouted after me, but I had disappeared so fast that she didn't have a chance to hold me back. In fear of never seeing me again, she ran to my father and told him what had happened. Instantly after hearing this, father and a few other hunters set out to the woods to find me.

My own safety was not my concern. Rather, the feather was more important to me right now than the danger that I had put myself into.

I chased the feather further as the thick trees of the forest blocked the light of the two moons and all that surrounded me became clothed darkness. My owl feather had gotten stuck onto a branch in a tall pine tree. It was nearly impossible to fetch, but I was desperate to give this feather to the Goddesses before the night was over.

Without another thought on my mind, I put on my hunting gloves and began to climb the tree. The branches were sticking out from every direction, making it easy to reach the feather. But as I inched closer to it, I began to sense something from beneath me. Something powerful. Something hungry.

I dared not to look down, so I just kept climbing, avoiding my fears again. I wouldn't let this disturb me because I knew that distractions would make my reactions falter.

Finally, the branch with the owl feather was in reach. I sat on the thick branch, reaching out to grab my feather. My hand could barely reach it, so I scooted closer and closer until I could feel the tips of it on my fingers.

Hurriedly, I grabbed it and held it to my chest. Now I felt better because it was right beside me. I sighed with relief and stuffed it into the small satchel below my bosom. Inhaling a large amount of air into my lungs, I forced myself to look down at whatever was below me.

Right underneath me, a hungry wolf was making its hunting rounds. For some reason, I had been seeing a strange amount of wolves ever since the moment my coming-of-age birthday passed. There had been a few reports from the hunters of my clan that there were less animals to be hunted as well.

Fear began to crawl down my spine. Chills were exploding all over my body and I looked away from the wolf. My eyes wandered to the two full moons that were beginning to eclipse.

No! The festival was about to end and I hadn't had the chance to give my gift to the Goddesses yet! But this didn't seem to be the right time to be thinking about that. There was a wolf below waiting for me to become his dinner.

From here, I wasn't able to call for help nor was I able to climb down and make an escape. I could hear its heavy breaths from up here. It was really hungry and it wouldn't give up on the only meal that could be easily caught. Again, I looked down at it. For some reason, it seemed to look different. I focused harder on the wolf and realized that it was a human. The same blood red haired one I had seen on the outer edge of the forest earlier today.

What was he doing here? I swore it was a wolf just a minute ago!

Suddenly, my body became frozen in place. I was unable to move my hands or my legs. The only things allowed to move were my eyes and my head. Was I under a spell?

Below me, the man that had been standing there disappeared out of sight as if he was never there. I looked around, but I couldn't see him at all. I began to feel even more fear run through my veins. I was under attack.

Right in front of me, a pair of feet stomped on the tree branch. I looked straight and saw him standing at the edge of the branch and the trunk. He lifted his chin and howled at the eclipsing moons.

I wanted to cover my ears, but they were still paused. The resonating sound of his howl began to ring in my head. Unable to shout either, I was close to fainting. My breaths became short and I began to wheeze for air.

What spell was this that was beginning to make me feel weak? Whatever it was, I refused to fall for it. With all my strength, I forced myself to move out of position before becoming a souvenir for this strange man.

I pushed my head to the side and my body followed along. I began to tip over the branch, forcing the both of us to fall down. Luckily for the man, his hands caught himself onto another tree branch. As for my unfortunate self, I just kept falling.

Finally being able to move, I threw my hands out and grabbed a branch. Thank goodness I had my hunting gloves on! I gripped tightly and lifted myself up to sit on that branch. Above me, the man was climbing down the trunk like he was sliding down a totem pole. I could tell he had been trained how to hunt since young.

However, the closer he came, the harder it became to move. Whatever magic he was using, it must have been the reason why I couldn't move before. Quickly, while I still had my voice on me, I screamed loudly at him.

Although it didn't scare him away, it would help someone to find out where I was. The man paused from climbing down and glared at me with his golden eyes. I clenched my teeth tightly. This man seemed strange. What did he want with me? Why was I his prey?

I reached into my satchel and grabbed a small dagger my father had carved for me out of black wood. It was infused with magic that would infect my prey or enemy with a spell the instant I cut open its skin. Obviously, it did not work that way on myself for it was my own father's magic.

I lifted the dagger to my side and shouted even louder at him. "Come over and get me if you can!"

Angrily, he jumped down to my branch without a problem. The branch shook and it became harder to control my stance. I held on to the dagger and used my free hand to grab the branch, hoping to catch my fall.

Again, I began to fall off the branch. This time though, I reached the ground. I landed on my feet like a cat and quickly got up to run. But as I looked around, I could see a hoarde of wolves surrounding me. Shivers covered my whole body.

I counted eleven different wolves. All of them surrounding me and the man above me in the tree. This seemed strange. When that man howled, he must have weakened me and called out to his friends that he had found a meal. Well, not today, I thought.

My hands dug into my satchel and I pulled out a small charm bag. Inside of it, there was a flash sense that would be able to distract my predators.

I opened the bag and the bright light distracted them for a few minutes. I quickly made my way through the forest and ran as far as I could. The trees all around me strangely made a clean path. No branches, vines, or twigs. Just a clear road.

This made me seem more open, so I ran back into the crowded forest. As my feet carried me away, I rolled into the dirt to cover my scent. In all the years of my life, my father had never taught me how to avoid being hunted myself. But it must have been because he wasn't sure how to avoid it himself.

I looked to both sides and realized that I was still being chased by these wolves. Wait... I looked once more. I was now being chased by men.

What in the Gods' names was going on?

Distracted by thinking, I tripped over and landed on my stomach. Suddenly, one man pounced over me. I quickly turned around and stared into his eyes. His mouth was quivering with a growl. For a moment, I felt time pause. It felt like the ocean's waves clashing against each other. A sort of interconnection was happening.

Suddenly, I blinked and realized where I was. Huddled underneath his hands. Whatever happened between us didn't change the fact that I would die if I didn't do anything.

I squeezed my right hand into a fist and punched him in his left cheek. Even though I had a dagger, I felt like I had no reason to use it. It seemed odd, but I felt like they were playing a game rather than hunting me down.

The next time, I swear, I would use my dagger. I scrambled on the ground and got up to run again. It was like the whole game had been restarted.

To my upper left, I saw another one getting ready to pounce. He missed me as I tripped onto the dirt and rolled away. Unexpectedly, I had tossed myself down a steep hill that led down to the river.

My dagger plunged itself into the dirt and I held on to it for my dear life. The river's current was fast tonight and I didn't plan to be caught in it.

I looked up and saw twelve different faces staring down at me. What was going on? Why was this happening to me? I was just trying to retrieve my owl feather when I suddenly became prey for a game that these strange men were playing.

The dagger began to slip out of the dry dirt. My weight wasn't able to keep me held up. As I fell once more, I reached my other hand out, hoping to catch something. Unfortunately, there was nothing more to hold on to. No tree branches. No hands. Nothing. I just kept falling down until my body touched the rough waters of the river.

The instant I collided with the river water, the current pulled me under. I lost my dagger to the rush and tried to swim for my life but it seemed the more I moved around, the more I was dragged away.

Was I going to end this way? I refused to.

I stopped splashing and looked around me. The river was pulling me toward a massive rock. This was not going to end well if I gave up, I thought.

Quickly, I put my hands and feet out in front of me and caught myself on the rock in an animal-like position. But the current of the river was too strong for me to keep hold of the rock.

The slippery moss on the rock forced me to slip away. Slowly, I lost conciousness as I drowned underneath the surface of the river.