The afternoon sun hung low above the forest.
Golden light spilled through the trees.
The river sparkled beneath the cliffs.
For a while, nobody jumped.
Nobody raced.
Nobody did anything particularly stupid.
Which surprised everyone.
Especially Dak.
The five boys sat near the edge of the cliff, eating snacks and arguing about absolutely nothing important.
The kind of conversation that somehow lasted an hour.
The kind nobody would remember.
Yet somehow those conversations always became the ones they missed later.
A cool breeze moved through the valley.
Below them, the river continued its endless journey through the forest.
Peaceful.
Calm.
Beautiful.
Dak suddenly stood up.
"I'm hungry."
Matthew looked at him.
"You've been eating for forty minutes."
"Exactly."
"I'm still hungry."
Nobody was surprised.
Ozias sighed.
"Of course you are."
Dak ignored him.
His eyes moved toward the forest.
Then toward Zeven.
A grin slowly appeared.
Immediately, everyone became suspicious.
"What?"
Zeven asked.
Dak pointed dramatically.
"Hunt."
Silence.
Then Kael laughed.
"Oh, this should be good."
"I'm serious."
Dak crossed his arms.
"We have a lake."
"We have a fire."
"We have Zeven."
Zeven frowned.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Dak pointed harder.
"You look like somebody who could catch a rabbit."
For a moment nobody spoke.
Then Matthew smiled.
"You know..."
He looked at Zeven.
"I actually think you could."
Dak immediately exploded with laughter.
"SEE?"
Zeven rolled his eyes.
"You're all idiots."
"Maybe."
Dak shrugged.
"But now you have to do it."
"Why?"
"Because I already believe in you."
"That's not how that works."
"It is now."
The arguments continued for several minutes.
Eventually, mostly because he was tired of listening to Dak, Zeven stood.
The grin on Dak's face immediately widened.
"No way."
"Oh yes."
"No way."
"Oh yes."
Zeven laughed.
"Fine."
The others watched as he walked toward the forest.
Dak shouted after him.
"Bring back something big!"
Without looking back, Zeven raised a middle finger.
The forest swallowed him moments later.
The world became quieter.
Much quieter.
The sounds of the others slowly faded behind him.
The deeper he walked, the more peaceful everything became.
Wind moved gently through the branches.
Leaves rustled beneath his feet.
Birds sang somewhere above.
For a while, he simply walked.
No destination.
No pressure.
Just enjoying the silence.
It felt nice.
Especially after the chaos of the last few days.
Then he heard it.
A faint rustle.
To his left.
Small.
Quick.
Easy to miss.
At least for a normal person.
Zeven stopped.
Listening.
Another rustle.
Then another.
His eyes narrowed.
Rabbit.
The realization came naturally.
Almost instinctively.
The strange thing wasn't finding it.
The strange thing was how easily he knew.
His senses picked up details that shouldn't have been possible.
Tiny movements.
Tiny sounds.
Tiny changes.
Everything felt sharper.
More alive.
More clear.
Slowly he crouched.
The rabbit appeared between the bushes.
Small.
Brown.
Completely unaware.
For a moment Zeven simply watched it.
Then he moved.
The distance vanished.
One second he stood still.
The next he was already there.
The rabbit tried to run.
Too late.
His hand closed around it.
The animal struggled briefly.
Then calmed.
Zeven stared at it.
Surprised.
Not because he caught it.
Because of how easy it had been.
A week ago that would've been impossible.
Now?
It felt natural.
That thought bothered him.
A little.
Still...
Dak would never shut up if he returned empty-handed.
So he continued.
When Zeven finally returned, the sun was already beginning to set.
Orange light painted the lake.
The water reflected the sky like glass.
The others had already built a fire.
Or more accurately...
Matthew had built a fire.
While the others offered completely useless advice.
When Zeven finally returned, he wasn't carrying one rabbit.
He was carrying four.
Two in one hand.
Two in the other.
Dak stared.
"What the hell?"
Zeven shrugged.
The moment he spotted the rabbits, he jumped to his feet.
"No way."
"You said you were hungry."
"Here!"
Zeven tossed them toward him.
Dak nearly dropped them.
The others burst out laughing.
"You had one job."
"You actually did it."
"You surprise me."
"It's dead."
"Still surprised me."
Dak grabbed one of the rabbits and lifted it above his head.
"Tonight we feast."
"Put it down."
"Tonight."
"Put it down."
"We."
"Dak."
"Feast."
That made the others laugh, after a while...
The rabbit was prepared.
The food disappeared surprisingly fast.
Mostly because Dak ate like a starving animal.
Nobody was shocked.
They had witnessed this behavior for years.
At one point, Ozias reached for a piece of meat.
Dak slapped his hand away.
"Mine."
"You didn't catch it."
"Details."
"You didn't cook it either."
"More details."
Matthew nearly choked laughing.
Kael shook his head.
"One day somebody is going to steal your food."
Dak pointed dramatically toward the darkness.
"Then they die."
The others burst out laughing.
Even Zeven.
For several minutes, nothing existed except the fire and the laughter.
No awakening.
No powers.
No fears.
No future.
Just five friends beside a lake.
The fire crackled.
Darkness slowly settled over the lake.
The smell of cooked meat filled the air.
For a while nobody spoke.
They simply sat there.
Watching the flames dance.
Watching the reflections move across the water.
Listening to the sounds of nature around them.
The moment felt strangely peaceful.
The kind of moment that didn't need words.
Eventually Dak broke the silence.
As usual.
"Do you think we'll still do this in ten years?"
Nobody answered immediately.
The question felt different.
More serious than usual.
The fire crackled softly.
Ozias stared into the flames.
"I don't know."
Kael shrugged.
"Maybe."
Matthew looked toward the lake.
"We'll try."
Dak nodded slowly.
Then he looked toward Zeven.
"What about you, brother?"
Zeven followed his gaze.
The calm water.
The setting sun.
His friends.
His brothers.
The people who had been beside him through everything.
A small smile appeared.
"Yeah."
His voice was quiet.
But certain.
"We'll try."
Nobody said anything after that.
They didn't need to.
The answer was enough.
The fire continued burning.
The stars slowly appeared overhead.
For a moment, Zeven looked away from the fire.
Toward the lake.
The surface was perfectly still.
The stars reflected across the water like scattered diamonds.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Normal.
A strange word now.
Normal.
Only a week ago, this would've been just another evening.
Now?
Everything felt different.
Even moments like this.
Especially moments like this.
Because somewhere deep inside...
He couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't last forever.
The world seemed perfectly at peace.