The last day of September was approaching, which meant that autumn would start. Finn and Elice wouldn't stop talking about it, and at some point Arthur asked what was so important about it.

Finn had laughed, and asked Arthur a question. "What happens with a tree when autumn starts?"

-"The leaves fall?" Arthur had answered.

"Exactly. And so do the cabins." He said. "So for the autumn and winter term, all Arborians live in the trunk or the Mother Tree. Why do you think there's so many rooms and doors?"

Arthur nodded slowly. "But why are we still in the cabins then?" He asked, and this time Elice answered.

"Because first there is the Autumn Fest. It's a huge event of a week."

And that evening, Ella announced it too. "Arborians! We have enjoyed another summer. Now, we need to be prepared for autumn. The opening for the Autumn Fest will be Monday, starting with the Autumn Hunt!"

The entire hexagon started cheering and shouting. The Autumn Hunt was, as Finn explained, a way of having enough food with little waste of Dreamer's Dust. Every Arborian had to go to the Forest of Silva, and bring back food. A bucket of berries, or an animal, anything edible would be accepted.

So it was that Arthur found himself with a bow and a quiver full of arrows, together with a leather bag on his back, ready to do his part. Finn had a sword with him, Elice a spear. The Yorns would go first, then the Xinths, then Wulix', Vinchmans, and Uphlets last.

Finn had told Arthur that their best chance of catching something would be if they teamed up. Therefore, Finn had also packed a net and some ropes, he'd learned something about traps in one of his classes.

Before the hunt started, Mr Qillian and a woman Arthur recognized from his Swordfighting class, Mrs Phillix, greeted the crowd of Arborians. Mr Qillian did the speaking.

"Arborians! The Autumn Hunt shall commence in a moment. No one will return without a provision for this winter! Once you have returned, you shall bring your catch to Mrs Phillix or me, outside the large entrance gate. There, you will be handed your camp supplies for the coming week. Good luck! ZACLIN!" Ella teleported from her spot. "YORN!" The group of people with spears ran off. "XINTH!"

Before all Xinths had left, Arthur just saw a glimpse of Aimee, she looked back and smiled.

"WULIX! VINCHMAN! UPHLET!"

Finally, Finn, Elice and Arthur could start. They started running the same direction all the others had, towards the so-called Forest of Silva. Apparently, this was the forest around Arboria. That was what the 'centre tree of Silva 'had meant.

They ran for a while, until Finn decided they would put up a trap. They were surrounded by normal trees, and many bushes with strange berries and fruits Arthur had seen on their way to the Village of Silva.

Finn took out his net and ropes and he and Elice started to make a contraption out of it. Arthur stood at the side, unsure what to do. Elice told him to pick fruits and berries, so if they didn't catch anything - apparently that was the main point and it was only slightly accepted to return with something you didn't catch but picked - at least they could go home. Arthur took his backpack, took out a smaller leather sack and started picking glassy blue berries.

When he picked one, it felt like it was water with a sort of skin around it. He filled the small sack with them until Finn and Elice had settled the trap. Afterwards, they would go out and look for prey themselves.

Arthur tried to start a conversation but his friends both shushed him bc he'd scare away any prey.

In the distance there was movement. Elice said she'd stay near the trap, and Finn and Arthur walked towards where they'd seen something. Arthur narrowed his eyes and saw that a large creature stood there. He wanted to ready his bow, but Finn told him not to. They approached and Arthur slowly could see clearly. It was a large black creature, on four cat-like paws - only bigger - and it had a fluffy tail, like a squirrel. Arthur couldn't see the head, as they approached it semi-crouched. They came closer and Finn ndded to Arthur, who quietly took out his bow, placed an arrow on it, and charged. He then relaxed again, not shooting. He shook his head, mouthing 'it's too big'. Finn looked at him for a moment, but did nod in the end. They sneaked forward, and Arthur could slowly see the head of the creature. It was the head of a sort of reindeer, with large antlers. The antlers were bright white, and Arthur stared at the creature in amazement. Finn readied his sword, and they decided to try and catch it together. Arthur charged his bow again, and Finn quietly counted down before running towards the animal as Arthur shot his bow into its stomach. It made an agonising sound of pain, and immediately Arthur regretted shooting. Finn had managed to hit the creature deep in its shoulder, and it sunk to the ground. But instead of normal blood, Arthur saw blue blood when Finn pulled out his sword. Arthur came closer and placed his hand on the creature's neck. It was still breathing.

"Finn, he's still alive." He said, his mouth dry.

-"Oh, hang on." Arthur looked away as Finn stuck his sword into the creature again.

Then there were human noises. Finn cursed, and tried to lift the creature. Arthur felt the neck again; the pulse had stopped. "C'mon Arthur, grab its back, the people that come now are people what want to steal our prey."

Together they just managed to lift it up a little bit, so Finn told Arthur to find Elice. Arthur got up and started running.

He found Elice sitting away from the trap, which was still empty. Out of breath, he told her about the black creature and the sound of people. Elice jumped up and they crossed through the forest again. They jumped over trunks and rocks, and they passed several small traps. But when they reached Finn, the creature was gone.

"What happened?" Arthur asked.

-"They were with too many. They were going to hurt me." He stopped for a second. "Couldn't even bribe them with Griphlet bars."

Elice walked up to him and gave him a hug. "Don't worry, we still have time."

-"So what was it?" Arthur asked.

"It was a black Naedylar." Finn grunted. "I've always wanted to come back with one of those.

Arthur thought for a moment. "But why do we hunt down these creatures when we will eat normal food in the lunch hall?"

-"We only eat normal in the summer. In the autumn and winter term we have to warm the mother tree with Dreamer's Dust so to reduce the waste we only produce some food with it." Elice answered. She took out her ponytail which had sunk because of the running and redid it. "Say Finn, who stole your Naedylar?"

-"A group of Vinchmans, who else." Finn grunted. "I just can't believe how mean they can be."

They stood there for a while before walking back to the trap, and right before they were there they heard a snapping sound. They'd caught something.

"We can't be this lucky, it's impossible to catch two things to quickly after each other." Arthur said in disbelief.

-"Arthur, hello, been here for six years. I've done this hunt several times. I know where the creatures are." Finn said, snapping his fingers in front of Arthur's face, who slapped his hand away, laughing.

They continued walking to the trap, to see what they had caught. In the net-contraption sat a small pig-like thing. Elice smiled and killed it with her spear, before letting down the net. "One of us can go back if they like, this is enough for one." She said.

-"If we had the Naedylar..." Finn trailed off.

"Can't we find a new Naedylar?" Arthur asked, and Finn shook his head.

-"Naedylars are incredibly hard to find. It was pure luck that we stumbled across it. You're good at sneaking, Arth." Arthur smiled. "Anyway, Elice, I say we stay and catch more."

Elice nodded and bound the feet of the pig thing to a rope, before slinging it over her shoulder. Arthur scrunched up his nose. He found it a bit strange still that they were hunting animals like this. Elice said they'd ready another trap, at a different spot, so they walked further into the forest.

"How much time have we got left?" Elice asked, and Finn answered 'Enough, there's no limit to time, but we want to be back before it's dark. Forest gets scary when it's night. Besides, we get the better winter outfits when we get back on time'.

They settled for a denser bit of the forest, and Elice started putting up the net-contraption again. This time Arthur was to stay near the trap, Elice and Finn would go and walk. Before they left, Finn threw Arthur a Griphlet bar, and he bit in it eagerly.

***

Happy new year! May this one be as amazing as the last <3