Viridian's POV
Sometimes, foiling other hunter's plans to kill glitches, particularly rare ones, led to me making quite a few enemies. Nightshade and Malik were one example, though I must admit my loathing for her ascends beyond the usual dislike that I regard other hunters with with. She is just so... Ugh. Irritatingly smug and offhanded, she irritates me as much as a flock of sheep to a restrained wolf. Not to mention the fact that she actually has powers and that often works to her advantage. I could rant about what annoyed me about her all day, but I have other things to do.

I reached the bottom the stairs after ascending rapidly, and strode through the room, knowing the burly hunters meandering around were watching me, no doubt wondering what a perky green-haired girl was doing here. I guess this is not a usual teenager's hangout. Night and Malik's portraits smirked unpleasantly at me from the wall, and I did a dismissive half wave as if shooing a fly away. Ugh, I can't even travel to a remote village on the outskirts of Minecraftia without having posters of my biggest rivals flapping in my face. My own infamy hadn't travelled to this village yet, though I've heard a few people have come looking for me here, but never made it alive through the jungle. Creepy... Whispers of a rare and mysterious that horror dwelled inside said jungle drifted around the streets, meandering like lost sheep from person to person. Most likely looking for poor glitches around here. Well, not if I can help it.

This isn't the wealthiest village in Minecraftia, and the houses (aside from the inn and the armoury) were all made from thin layers of wood, very different to the elegant but sturdy stone structures from the last civilisation I had passed. Some of the roofs were thatched and made from straw; not exactly five star residents. This one had a bit more of a homey, kinda farm-y sort look, it you get what I mean. I can't help wondering what would happen if Malik accidentally set fire to one of them, and they all toppled like dominoes. Dominoes made from wood, that is. Eh, whatever. Not my problem.

"Hey you!" The shout came from behind, and I whirled around, drawing the shining steel scimitar I had stolen from... Someone... Sometime... Weapon theft is basically everyday life for me now. A moment later, I was shoved roughly aside as what seemed to be a stampeding mob of hunters dashed past. In no time they were gone, leaving a cloud of suffocating dust in their wake. I coughed, fanning the air in a vain attempt to cleanse it of the choking dust. Well, this village certainly has to work on its hygiene issues. A carriage pulled by a couple of handsome brown colts clopped past, and I moved aside to allow them to pass, accidentally bumping into someone behind me. Hard.

"Sorry." I apologised hurriedly, the exact same time as the other person, and found myself staring into a pair of green eyes. And they were very very green. Greener than grass (even though most of the grass around here is mostly yellow anyway) greener than emeralds, greener than... Than... Well, you get the point. They were an almost toxic, poisonous kind of green, and something told me that wasn't natural. A glitch? The eyes faded to a more natural colour, and I realised that they belonged to a boy. Embaressed, I flipped my long, wavy hair aside and tried to play it off. It's not everyday you get mesmirised by someone else's eyes, least of all a boy you've never met before.

"New around here, aren't ya?" I asked casually, and promptly winced at my mistake. Well, that just happened. I'd look PRETTY damn stupid if he lived here, huh. Ugh...

"Um yeah..." He said awkwardly. There was a short silence between us, and I coughed purposefully. However, I found myself looking into those vivid green eyes once again. What the nether? Is this what love feels like? Ew... I brushed myself down, a disgusted expression flickering onto my face for a split-second. However, I found when I looked up again, that the strange glitch was staring in turn at me, with a confused expression and his forehead scrunched up in a frown. Probably wondering why the nether I'm so weird. Whelp, great first impression, Viridian. I let out a small, almost inaudible sigh underneath my breath.

"Anyway, I gotta go. See ya around, I guess..." I refrained from making this situation any more strange, and turned away before something else stupid could come out of my mouth. I'll be glad to leave this place as soon as possible. With Nightshade and now this conversation that would haunt me for the rest of my life... I shuddered. I paused a few steps, however, and turnd my head on an angle just the slightest. Everyone else was too busy going in their own winding directions and were too immersed in their own conversations to hear.

"By the way, Crimson and Malik are in town. So if by any chance there are any glitches around here, they should probably be careful." I said casually. His emerald eyes widened just the slightest, but he raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Right... Thanks." His gaze flickered briefly to the posters of various hunters and glitches on the grey wall opposite. I didn't linger for much longer, and darted through the throngs of people swiftly, pushing past a group of young teenaged hunters carrying their crossbows and quivers of arrows, looking excited. On their first hunting expedition, no doubt.

"Might want to hurry up. Got some stiff competition." I said darkly, my mouth twisting into an amused smirk as they whipped around in alarm, only to find no one there. Never gets old.
~~~
Calypso's POV
This is CRAZY. The one day I get caught stealing something, it's something that I didn't do! That's irony for you. Come on, how is this going to look in my criminal record!? Sure, it's less than scot-free, but imagine what stealing a FISH is going to do to my reputation? A dish out of everything! I want to be known for stealing the Budder Sword that the heroic General Sky had wielded against the attack of the rebelling squids, or even the famous Monsoon Diamond. Damn street urchin... I waved my fist at the small raggedly boy that had made off with his slimy silver treasure, who turn his head briefly to pull a face and stuck his tongue out before disappearing into an alleyway that jutted out the side of the street.

"Aw, come on." I muttered, turning around, and was rather startled to see the curved, wickedly sharp silver blade of a knife inches from my nose. I backed away, raising both hands in surrender. The angry fishmonger has wrenched it from the blood-stained table on which he has been scraping fish guts out on, and waved it in my face. I accidentally bumped against the wall, getting cornered. This isn't the way I want to go! I want to be remembered for dying in a crazy explosion or something, not that random guy who got assassinated by a fishmonger!

"Agh! I-I mean, I didn't do it!" I stammered, sliding sideways slightly.

"That's what they all say." He said fiercely, glaring at me, the tip of the blade quivering just the slightest. It was so close I was going slightly cross-eyed staring at it, and noticed a few dashes of slime and flecks of blood. Ugh... Was that a fish scale clinging to it? I had to force the deep desire to glitch away down, and swallowed hard.

"No, this little street urchin dude did it, not me!"

"Yeah, right." He said sarcastically, waving his knife around. I dodged aside, afraid that he would butcher my (handsome) face in the process, and adjusted my dark sunglasses.

"No, really."

"Nobody steals from Toothless Tony." He hissed menacingly. I winced, feeling his hot breath. Definitely a bit too close for comfort.

"Toothless Tony? How'd you get that nam-? Oh, never mind." I added awkwardly as he bared his teeth in a scowl; not that he had many. "Look, you gotta believe me. It was DEFINITELY an urchin. Look, there he goes again!" I pointed as the boy ducked above from behind a crate again, grabbing another fish and pulling another mocking face before darting away. The fishmonger turned around just in time to miss the mischevious theif. Ugh, why!?

"Right..." The scary fishmonger said in a low, disbelieving tone. I sighed.

"Look, I don't have a fish on me right now, do I? Plus, do I look like the raw fish stealing type of person? I'm more of a diamonds and golden nuggets kinda person..." I paused. "Um, forget what I just said... Why don't I just pay you back for both fish?" I asked in exasperation.

"Fine." He nodded curtly, seeming to accept the proposition. What a waste of hard-earned cash, I thought as I reluctantly handed over a small bag of coins. He cleared his throat purposefully, and I rolled my eyes before adding another diamond. He had to tug it out of my hands; what can I say, I'm sad to see my hard work go.

"Alright." I swatted at the air irritably. "Can you put down the knife? I know I for one would certainly feel better." The fishmonger grudgingly lowered his weapon, and I walked away in a huff, flippin my striped scarf haughtily over my shoulder. I can certainly still strut outta here with my dignity, after all. Well, this was a pretty bad welcome. Ten seconds into Kascnov, and already something bad has happened. Human civilisations typically mean bad luck.

Winter pushed past, her coal-coloured eyes borrowed and fixed on something in the distance. A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd, and an uneasy feeling crept down my spine like a spider. Whatever was causing the commotion, it isn't good. She seemed to agree, and nudged me in the ribs, her gaze unwavering.

"Uh oh. Here comes trouble." She murmured.
~~~
Author's Note
OH. MY. NOTCH. EYERYONE, VESPER REMEMBERED TO UPDATE! ITS A MIRACLE. In the first time in forever, I finally wrote a chapter... *cough cough* The randomness has returned. So, sorry for the no update in a long time, I've been really lazy :P But now that there's no more homework, I'll try my best. Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I'm possibly hosting a writing contest on this book, and also an art contest (for details go to my Art Book). So basically you have to write a long-ish one-shot (can be more than 3 chapters) about an OC (or multiple) of yours in the world of The Hunted. They can take any role; be creative! If you win, there is the chance your OC can be featured with a role in this series, with a bunch of other perks. Find out the full details in my art book, and please comment if you'll consider entering. It's not fully open yet, I would like to see how many entries there would be first. See ya guys!
-iVesper