Out of the Ashes

Prologue

(Y/n)'s POV

"Shit, I'm going to be late!" I thought as I ran through my village, holding a small box in one hand and a sack with my tail. When I reached my home, I slowed to a stop.

"Mother, I'm not late, am I?" I yelled when I got to the door. My mother opened the door to our shack slowly, her piercing yellow eyes, tinted with gold, reflecting a motherly glow of happiness and love.

"No, my child, you're right on time" Mother stepped aside, revealing a room full of little Lion Faunus cubs. I squealed, running into the shack and picking up a small cub with honey-colored hair

"Happy Birthday Eva! I love you so much!" Eva groaned as she tried to push me off of her "Sis! You know I love you, but you're really annoying when you embarrass me in front of my friends!"

Eva flailed while I continued to smother her shamelessly "Okay Children! Time to cut the cake and open the presents! Please follow me out to the yard!" Mother announced, marching the cubs out of the door with the small box and sack I'd just brought.

I put Eva down and nuzzled her nose lovingly "Happy Birthday, little sis" Eva smiled and gave me a hug before she ran to catch up with the other cubs. I smiled and headed downstairs to our cellar.

My mother and I were the best hunters in the Pride, so we were also tasked with the job of cleaning and preparing the meat for the rest of the Pride.

I unlocked the door and began to work on the meat grinder, daydreaming about my future. Because the only adult males in the Pride were the High Court, I was related to many of the people in the Pride.

Even though wealth is determined by class and skill, We still had to work extra, sometimes even steal, to survive. But, because my Pride didn't use the worldwide currency, the Pride didn't have much money for trading with the outside world. And because our village was located in the Savannah of Anima- far from any other settlements, It was getting harder and harder to gain access to technology that was vital for our survival.

I didn't want that, I wanted to be the hero, the one that went down in Pride history as the person who saved The Pride from becoming obsolete, the person who merged modern life with tradition. Most Pride members would say I'm crazy, but I had always dreamed about being a hero, like the ones in the storybooks Mother read to me when I was little.

But, my place in the Pride was decided before I had even been born. I was going to be the next Hunt leader, the female version of the Chief, and I was going to be right hand woman to the Heir.

I growled angrily, moving the freshly ground meat to the oven ."I don't want to be another stupid wife to the Chief! I want to help people....I....I want to be a huntress!" I slammed my hand on the button to the industrial oven, starting the cooking process of the meat.

I sighed, bowing my head in defeat "Oh, who am I kidding? I'm going to end up staying in the same village for my whole lifetime..." I yawned in defeat, reclining on the soft hammock as I waited for the meat to cook.
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"(Y/n)!"
I sat up quickly, waking from my dream with a start. I broke into a fit of coughing, inhaling a mouthful of smoke. I jumped off the hammock and ran over to the oven, the meat was done, but it wasn't burning 'Strange..' I thought to myself, turning to the door of the cellar.

I opened the door, fanning smoke away from my face as I coughed again. My eyes forced themselves shut, already watering from the exposure to the ash from the flames.

"Fire?" I pulled myself out of the cellar, feeling around for the walls of my shack "Mother?! Mother!! cough* Something's burning!" I forced my eyes open, gasping at the horrendous state of my home.

The flames were small and scattered, but everything was charred and destroyed, indicating that my home had been like this for many hours. I looked to my side, gasping again at the bodies scattered around the ground, varying in size and shape. I spotted a pair of golden-tinted eyes, staring dully out at nothing.

Choking back a sob, I fell to my knees, my tail dropping on the ground beside me. "Mom, Eva..." I started shaking, my whole body hit with wave after wave of tremors "I swear...when I find who did this..I'll rip them apart with my bare hands!" I tangled my hands in my hair, my furry ears twitching whenever my fingertips grazed them. "I swear on my life, I'll kill you!" I roared in total rage as everything went black.