The late morning sunlight flooded the camp, the warm rays bathing plants in golden hues. A single leaf fell from a tree casting shade over the camp. It spiralled down, fluttering and flittering as it did. But before it hit the ground, paws slapped it onto the dirt. With a white patched chest puffed with pride, an African wild dog grinned at her success. Silent had practiced all morning so the others would bring her on a hunt for larger prey. Maybe the antelope herd that had been hanging around the ravine or the zebras by the waterhole. Is a Cape buffalo too optimistic? A smile broke out across her face at the possibility of that.

“Silent!” A voice broke through her daydreams, “I have your first official task.” Resilient padded over, brown paws crunching the dry soil under them. Silent’s mentor settled himself beside her so she sat too.

Silent felt her tail swishing back and fourth across the dirt, “Do I get to join a hunt for larger prey?”

“No, this is better. Your first task as an assassin,” Resilient bumped his shoulder to hers, “There’s this dog, Princeton. He’s from another pack, the one west from here. He’s gotten too daring for Prosper’s liking, crossing the borders and hunting our prey.”

Silent nodded along. She had seen this dog. He was small and scrawny, a nuisance to her pack. Resilient’s expression darkened, “This Princeton needs to be rid of. But I know you can do this. I’ve trained you for two seasons, Silent. This is the time to put that work into action. I’ll be with you in this task. Can you do it?”

The blood drained from Silent’s face as a dizziness overtook it. It felt as though the sun had disappeared, casting a shadow through her heart. She tried to speak, but her throat felt clogged. All she could do was nod.

Resilient nodded back and walked with his tail to her, leaving the camp. Silent looked at her paws. They were capable, she knew it. She pressed them into the dirt, trying to ground herself in the feeling. A chill ran through her, but the sun was still bearing down on her. A confliction ran through her head. To kill or to not. She wanted to choose not, but that meant disappointing Resilient. She couldn’t afford that, not when he’d spent so much time training her for this. Laying low, she rested her chin between her paws as she tried to ready herself for the task.