Emilia had been wandering the Ashen Woodlands for hours, sniffing dead animals and investigating burned wood. Nothing had ever been so interesting. The charred husks, the blackened ground. Emi gazed around, especially when an orange thing lit the night, trailing down from the heavens like a doomsday device and streaking toward the very forest where she was standing . . .
She began to run, following it in its descent, mapping in her mind where it would go. The meteor fascinated Emi. She loved spooky and supernatural things, and if the gossip was right, these brought bloodlines and magic. Her fur crusted with ice as she got excited. Emilia’s heart had been longing for another bloodline for some time now. What if this comet would give her the chance to be a hybrid? She could imagine it now. Would she have the power over water, or wind? Could she make it light or dark? There were so many possibilities. But suddenly, as Emilia was running, everything fell away, and she collapsed.

“Who shot that arrow in your throat, who missed the crimson apple?”