A lovely day for hunting

Back up on the hill, the wind picked up again. It scrambled my fur - the specks of grit and dust whipped up in it scratching at the skin left unarmoured. Another settlement conquered, another thousand humans executed.

It was my fourth clearance of the week. They were few and far between for a time - as they spread out for safety, but with the seasons changing and their fuel running out I guess they decided to move closer together so they could share resources. Even at the end of their civilization, they refused to go without the modern conveniences that members of their species had broken the world for. They never learned, even now, in their final days.

Killing them was easy. They were fragile and soft - with no natural armour or weapons, so we either had to wait for them to waste all their ammo, or simply catch them while they slept. We were good at waiting. Elders know we've had the practice.

When they started tearing up the earth, our people waited for them to see sense. When they dug deeper for oil, metals and minerals, we waited for them to figure out the alternatives. When they choked the ocean, poisoned the water, killed the soil - we waited for them to realise the mistake they were making and put everything right... But we got tired of waiting. We walked back into the light - in their minds straight out of their legends and storybooks, though we've always been here. Hidden, maybe - but always watching, always waiting. The Mythics. The true heirs to the Earth. And we wanted our world back.

I remembered that every time we went out on a hunt. I remembered the damage they'd done and the chances my ancestors had given them. They brought it on themselves, and none were worthy of redemption.

The other Mythics counted their kills as we returned home. The basilisks got an even fifty between them, the goblins four hundred - although they weren't always accurate when it came to counting. Dragons were the messiest - they didn't care much for a tally, instead rating themselves based on the distance their fire had spread. The gnomes, trolls, fairies, and kobolds were most competitive with their counts. Then there were the dryads, naiads, and my kin - the fauns. We cleaned up after the others - the ones who weren't especially thorough so would always miss a couple stragglers. At least we had the decency to give the humans quick deaths.

They howled and snickered all the way back to camp, celebrating their latest victory the only way they knew how - with drink and music.

"Break the knee and slit the throat,

Squeeze the neck to make them choke,

Crush their bones until they croak,

A lovely day for hunting!"

I chuckled along with it as usual, although I couldn't force a smile for long. My shieldsister, Vrida noticed me, and was quick to point it out, slowing down to meet my pace.

"I hope you're not getting cold hooves now, Zyra. Remember what those monsters did - they brought this on themselves."

"I know." How could I forget? I'd only been told the story a thousand times. "I know why we do this, I know what they're capable of. But don't say I have to enjoy it. It's hard work - all this tracking and slaughter. I want rid of them like any of us, I just wish there was a way to make them all disappear in one go - then we wouldn't have to kill them and we could get back to what's really important, like healing the Earth?"

"I hear that. Don't you think I'd rather be at home with my kids? But someone has to do it. They're parasites - you leave them alone and they'll only start multiplying and spreading themselves all over the place again. It's better to exterminate each colony before you can even consider fixing the damage they caused. And unfortunately, they're quite good at wriggling free from traps."

"Too good really." My bladebrother, Rok cut into our conversation. "If they'd just gone ahead and died during our first extermination, they wouldn't have to deal with any of this, and we could be back home with the clan, making wine and eating pomegranates."

"I'll drink to that." I shrugged. "Maybe if there was an easier alternative though. The sirens think it's possible to train them. Some humans are pretty smart - it might work."

Rok just laughed. "Humans, smart? That's got to be a joke, right? Sure they might've been able to shoot themselves up to the sky, but they weren't even smart enough to figure out how to feed their species, or how to clean up their own mess. They isolated themselves from their own colonies, living in little boxes stacked on top of each other, obsessing over dots on glass in place of physical contact, then wondered why they felt so alone. That's not smart, it's pathetic."

"Well, yeah. But they haven't always been like that. They mostly got it right a few thousand years ago."

Vrida huffed. "And yet they considered themselves smarter than they've ever been when we showed up. That was painful to watch."

"You weren't around at the Return. You didn't see them for how they really are - you've only heard about it through stories." Rok tussled my hair like I was a child.

"You were only a kid yourself." I pushed him. "Twenty years isn't that long in a human lifecycle, I've seen how they hold onto the past."

"And yet, you've only known their fractured strongholds. You've seen the cities, right? Well, imagine them full of humans, crammed with them. Hundreds of thousands all in one place. They believed that was the best way to live - the most efficient way. But all it did was make them sick and stupider. We did them a favour really by clearing them out. Damn those clearances were fun - like mashing grapes in a bucket. They still insist on living like that - stacked on top of each other like pebbles on the beach."

"Well, we'll be rid of them soon enough anyway, so we won't have to think about them and how stupid they are. Let the others enjoy it while they can - there won't be many hunts left." Vrida shoved by me and walked back on ahead with Rok.

The other Mythics' singing caught my ears. They must have been on their seventh verse, though they were all the same to me.

"Stab the heart and bleed them out,

Sing louder if they scream and shout,

Until they stop thrashing about,

A lovely day for hunting!"

It was an awfully catchy tune, and I found myself humming along to it.

Up ahead, the hunters appeared to have come to a halt. One of the elders of our group - a fairy named Bramble raised his fist to stop us and silence the singers.

Another elder beside him whispered, "What is it?"

He remained quiet for a while, staring towards the bushes off the path. Without saying a word, he charged Rok with investigating. He went in spear-first, ready for a fight. My heart quivered. It could have been anything.

"Aha!" He roared, crashing through the brush. There was a squeal, and snapping thorns as he turned back, the scruff of a human child triumphantly grasped in his fist. "Found a stray, who wants to kill it?"

The goblins jumped over each other, crying out, "Me! Me! Me!" The basilisks dodged about them, and the dragons bared their teeth - ready to fight for it. The gnomes, trolls, fairies, and kobolds itched to take advantage of the distraction, while the dryads, naiads and fauns shook their heads, embarrassed.

"It's just one human, no use losing your minds over it. Just crush it and we can be on our way." Vrida sighed.

"Hold on!" I yelled, shaking. I'd never spoken out against the hunters before, or my shieldsister. They all glared at me murderously, wondering why I would dare stand in the way of their kill. "Just... make sure it's definitely human."

"Right, because your lot look like them?" A dragon sneered at me.

"Hey, they look like us, not the other way around!" A naiad stood up for me, staring down the scaly beast. "And she has a point."

In the pause of uncertainty, Rok took the child's hand and slashed it with his spear. "Yep, it bleeds red, it's human."

"Good..." I cleared my throat. "As you were then." I stepped back, my face burning.

"I think..." Bramble began. "Zyra should have the honour of killing this one."

What was happening? Was it a test? I panicked, feeling their eyes burrow into my skin as I nervously stepped forward.

Rok set it on the floor, keeping a tight grip should it try to run away. I stood before it, my hand on my sword. 'It would be quick,' I thought, 'no mess.'

"What's taking so long?" I heard someone mutter. I wasn't taking long, I was going to do it, I just needed to... to think a moment.

"While it's young, thanks."

"Yeah, I got it!" I snapped, taking a breath. I'd done it a hundred times before. It was such an easy thing to do. It wouldn't even feel anything. I would be doing it a mercy anyway... So why couldn't I move? Why had I frozen? Why did my hands quake?

"Zyra?" Rok whispered, casting his eye between me and the others behind me. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine... it's just..." I glanced up at him. "What if the sirens are right? What if we can train them, what if we can change them?"

"Are you serious right now? You're still on about that?" He hushed himself. "Zyra, it might be a child, but they grow up. It'll be the same as the others. It will have children of its own, and we'll never be rid of them. We can't take any chances, not even with a young one."

"I know that..." And yet I still couldn't move.

"Humans don't make good pets."

"I know."

He watched me, wearing down my resolve with every blink. It would be so easy to kill it... Although wasn't taking the easy option what put the humans in so much trouble in the first place? Training them would be more difficult, it would use up far too much time and resources, and in the end, it might not make a difference. But wasn't it worth trying?

I looked around to the others and back. We were far enough away... I wiped its cut clean with the underside of my dress, grabbed a handful of berries from the bush, and smeared them all over its hand.

"My brother's an idiot. It's not human, look - purple blood!" I grabbed its arm, showing it off to the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Rok cried.

"What I have to." I muttered to him before addressing the hunters again. "Probably a young sprite by the looks of it. See, this is why it's important to check!"

They all groaned, rolling their eyes with a huff as they started moving on again. Rok meanwhile judged me under his stare.

"You're making a mistake. If you take it home, and they find out the truth-"

"They won't find out, because I'm not going home." I shook off his hand. "I'm going to see the sirens. If anyone can help me do this, it's them."

He took my shoulder, pinched his brow and averted his gaze with a sigh. "I hope you know what you're doing... I won't tell anyone so long as you keep that thing away from us." I nodded at him. "Then... goodbye for now, Zyra."

He headed back up the slope to the path, following after the hunters, who continued their song. I cast my eye down upon the child in my grip, suddenly questioning my decision. How could such a sad-looking creature ever become civilised?

"What's your name then?" I asked. It said nothing, still sniffling with its face puffy and red. "I know you can understand me, so tell me your name, or I'll cut you again."

It shook more than me, struggling to take a breath and form the word. "Eve."

"Well Eve, ready to become an ambassador for your species?" I forced a grin, though she didn't respond.

I tied my belt around her arm to keep her from running off and headed up to the path, in the direction of the human settlement and on to the coast where the sirens lived. I could only pray I hadn't made the biggest mistake of my life.