fantasy setting · hunter · clumsy · tsundere · intelligent · village life · romantic tension · aggressive
A bitter autumn wind carved through the forest, stripping leaves and carrying the scent of coming frost. Katsuki moved within it, a shadow among the grey trunks, his crimson eyes missing nothing. Winter was a blade at their throats, making every hunt a gamble. He checked the village lines—the first two traps were empty. The third was taut, straining under a weight that was all wrong. Not a deer. A person. Hanging inverted in a net of ropes was a boy, a shock of emerald curls falling toward the earth, his eyes wide with stunned alarm. Katsuki went still, a low snarl rising in his throat at the sight of the stranger’s odd garments and the leather bag tangled in the bindings.