The harsh winter winds wove through the densely packed trees hitting the shadowed figure standing hidden amongst the branches. The figure was covered in furs, guarding themselves from the extreme weather the forest provided, with a bow and arrow balanced between their fingertips. Silently the figure nocked and drew the bowstring back with grace, aiming towards where a slight rustling had been heard amongst the brush. Releasing a breath so too did the figure release the string, letting the arrow fly towards its target. It flew through the air wobbling only slightly when faced with the winds before hitting the deer’s body with a dull thud. The figure wasted no time after firing, running after the animal as it staggered its last few steps in a futile attempt to flee. Bending down next to the gentle beast, the figure unsheathed its knife and pushed its hood back from its face. Blonde locks tumbling down the sides of the young girl’s face she made eye contact with her prey knowing the meat would last her a good while. “Thank you,” she murmured to the animal, “and I’m sorry.” She ran her knife along its neck, ending its suffering and confirming her kill. Her breathing was a tad ragged and all she wanted to do was lay down and rest for the remainder of the day, but she knew that was not an option – there was lots left to do. The animal was heavy, and her camp was not nearby by any means, so she started the task of ridding it of what she could not use. She left behind the organs and rid the deer of most of its blood before cutting it into pieces, shoving what she could into the pack on her back and dragging the rest behind her. Breaths getting harsher and harsher with every step she took, she did not let the exhaustion get to her. Surviving she found, was only half physical, the rest was mental fortitude, nothing out here had helped her as much as her perseverance and dedication. There had been times when the only reason she had not given up had been her will to live and she was sure that without her unwavering resolve she would have long since been dead. Getting as close as she dared to the small camp she called home, she dropped the deer. Leaving it by the water’s edge, she walked along the narrow river and up the rock face, into the crevice she had turned into her own. Emptying the rucksack and putting her bow and quiver back into its spot at the back of the enclosure, she went to go retrieve the rest of the deer. Stepping towards the cave’s entrance, she stilled, “Danger,” The winds whispered frantically, and the trees tensed up - something was close. She had never ignored the warnings from the winds, they were loyal and honest, and they looked out for her, as they had since she was a child. Treading softly, she left the safety of her home and back out into the trees, conscious of the way the trees bent and swayed to keep her hidden from whatever posed a threat to her. The forest hadn’t always been her home, but it treated her as its own child, sheltering her as well as it could from the dangers the world provided. Kneeling down she peered out from a gap among the branches to confirm what she had suspected, wolves. She had begun noticing them as she grew better and better with her bow, it seemed the more she killed, the more they came around, attracted by the blood of her kill. As per usual the two wolves did nothing more than sniff at the carcass laying haphazardly on the ground, not even motioning as if to eat it. She had known for a while they could not be normal wolves, they were not the wild ones she came by every once and awhile on her journeys throughout the forest. The winds never warned her against the normal ones, as if they knew they would not pose a threat to her and her reflexes with her bow, but these ones they did – these ones were deadly. She watched as the wolves stepped away from the body and towards the river, trying to catch her scent, but the winds blew in her favour, stopping them from finding a trail. She didn’t dare to move from her spot until they left, slinking away and blending in once more with the forest around them, true creatures of the night. Once they disappeared, she waited a few minutes before leaving the safety of her hiding spot and retreating back into her enclosure, alone with her thoughts once more. She hadn’t always been alone, she could remember a time when she was happy, when her only worries were figuring out how to braid hair and seeing how many worms she could dig up in the dirt outside her house. She could remember the feeling of warmth that used to fill her up every time she was with her parents, and how in love they had been, dancing in their little kitchen, just swaying back and forth. They had been dirt poor since she was born, and it was no secret to her that she hadn’t been planned, but her parents loved her and swore that no matter what happened they’d be alright. They used to say that they could do anything, as long as they were all together. Things got progressively worse the older she got, and they struggled to put food on the table and shoes on their feet. Until one day shortly after her twelfth birthday her dad took her on a walk through the woods. She had been too distracted by the beauty of the nature around them to notice the look on her father’s face. He looked as if he was in pain, his face scrunched up, steps hitting the forest floor heavily, as if each one took an immense amount of effort. Her younger self had been too content surrounded by the trees, happily skipping next to her dearest father, glad she had someone as sweet as him to take her out for walks in the woods. She had always been forbidden to enter alone, and it was only very rarely that she got the treat of stepping foot inside. The deeper into the forest they got the more densely packed the trees became, as if they wanted to be near each other, a family of trees with branches reaching out for what looked like hugs. “Do you hear them Daddy?” She asked, “the trees are whispering.” She smiled up at him, her small hand still engulfed in his large calloused one. “What are they saying?” Her father said quietly, looking straight forwards, refusing to meet his only daughter’s big wonder-filled eyes. “They’re saying hello,” She smiled to herself, “I think they like me.” “Of course they like you Darling, they’d be ridiculous not to.” She gripped her dad’s rough hand even harder with her own, her daddy always treated her like the most precious girl in the world. Reaching their destination, the young girl’s father grabbed both of her shoulders and lightly pushed her towards a tree. Kneeling before her he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them to speak. “Do you want to play a game of hide and seek, Darling?” He asked tentatively. “You know I love hide and seek Daddy!” she exclaimed in return, her piercing blue eyes lighting up with excitement. “Okay, how about you count first, and I’ll hide?” He said, stepping back and standing back up to his full height. “Only if I get to hide next!” She clapped her little hands for emphasis, “Alright, count to one hundred and remember, no peaking.” The little one smiled up at her dad before covering her eyes with both hands and beginning to count. Hide and seek was a game her and her daddy played all the time when he was home, except it was always too easy in their small little house. This was a forest though and it was sure to be a much better game than their usual ones. Starting her count, she couldn’t help but peak through her fingers, watching as the form of her dad slowly disappeared into the distance, walking back towards where they had come from, his silhouette fading into the trees. Finally reaching one hundred, she uncovered her eyes and began along the path her father had taken, sure he would not stray too far from where he’d left her. Her daddy had always been the protective type, and she knew he’d want to be nearby so he would hear her if she yelled for help or gave up on the game. Walking through the trees she weaved in and out of their branches, looking high and low for the crouching figure of her father. However, the more and more she walked the more she felt uneasy, a sense of apprehensiveness settled in her stomach, her dad had never left her alone for this long before. Something in the back of her mind knew something was wrong, he was either lying somewhere hurt, or he had left her, left her in the middle of the woods to fend for herself. “Little one,” the winds wrapped themselves around her small form, gently caressing her hair and providing her a small sense of comfort, “he is gone.” The winds’ words were harsh, but they rang true, and she knew that no matter how shattered her heart felt inside her chest, there was nothing she could do but lay down to sleep. Curling up under a large tree, the girl rested her head on her hands, folding herself as small as possible, not liking how vulnerable she felt without the protection of the walls of her home, or the warmth of her parents. Slowly she felt the branches of the tree at her back bend and curve towards her, wrapping their tendrils around her and sheltering her from the frigid air of the night. Come morning the girl felt resigned to the fact that her father was not returning, and despite her best efforts, she was sure she would be unable to retrace her steps back home. Upon thinking of home her chest constricted; even if she did find her way back, she would not be greeted with the open arms of her parents, her father was the one who had left her out here after all. Untangling herself from branches that held her safe and secure, she looked around at the forest around her and readied herself for the grueling task of staying alive. That had been years ago now. The girl was now no longer the wide-eyed child she had once been. The forest had changed her, hardened her into what she needed to be in order to survive. Her mother and father’s faces were no longer burned into her brain, being replaced instead with hazy and vague memories of blue eyes, wide smiles and warm hugs. The girl had never been able to bring herself to resent her parents. She knew that despite the fact that learning to survive in the wilderness had been the hardest thing she’d ever done, it had also been hard for the two people that had loved her most in the world. Poverty made people desperate, and she knew it was that desperation that had led her into the forest that day so long ago, it had not truly been her father.