Hunter or Hunted??

Cinder was a small female who came from a tribe of Cherokee Indians that had been abused by foreigners in the land of milk and honey when the rest of the world found and claimed land that was already inhabited by those that were still natural and wild. Many tribes love her and had wanted their sons to have a chance at marrying her, any tribe that had her in it would prosper and be able to find peace with other clans. She was the most known and loved female of all the tribes because of her kind heart. Her words were wise and loving to all, no matter how cruel anyone was she always tried to find a solution for everyone as a whole and soften evil hearts. She was young and spirited, would go off in the woods to think and talk to nature when she needed insight on anything. She had never been physically attacked by another human and only hunted to feed her clan plus make what they needed from the rest of the catch. Cinder pov... After hearing my Mom and Dad try to convince me to pick a suitor all morning, I needed some peace so I snuck off to the woods to speak with Mother Nature and my other friends in the wilderness. I needed her advice and there was no one else I turned to with the thoughts of my heart. I found myself in deep thought on what I would say when I got there and it made my whole body move with ease to the center of the woods. I had found her by accident the first time when I was a very small child. My tribe had been at war and as my tribe was being slaughtered, the first time, my mother told me to go into the woods, that Nature would protect me, I'm not sure how she knew but she did. I remember being wet and cold by the time I found a tree of many colors that the roots rose up and fell all over in the water surrounding it. I found a hole that had furs shaped into blankets and pillows, I was scared to find out who made it but I was also extremely cold and needed out of the wind. I sat there admiring the inside of the tree and realized it was more than just one tree as I admired the bark running my fingers over the different textures. That's when I realized it was moving and my exit had vanished, being replaced with a fireplace that was warm and toasty. Scared but curious as any small child would be I spoke, "Are you going to hurt me?" A musical voice replied, "Of course not, my dear child..." there was a tone of humor in the way she had spoken. "I have been waiting for you, I can feel your soul and you must be the one I've been waiting for. I have no doubt in my soul that you are the one that will raise the warriors of the future." a root rose out of the floor to wrap a fur around my shoulders and nudge me closer to the fire lovingly. "Are my parents alright? Do you know what's happening outside of the woods? Will you help my tribe?" I asked as tears poured from my eyes against my will. "I didn't get informed of your people's fate until your feet touched my hollowed grounds. I'm sorry that I couldn't change the outcome for them but I can help you to set others like you free. If you wish?" "How?" I was crying so hard at this point that I didn't understand what was going on. "At the moment, I plan to keep you safe and return you to your mother when she comes to find you. She sent you to me in many ways and has been asking nature to take care of you until she can come find you. When you're older, you will return to me and we will discuss your transformation at one point or another but for now.... please keep our meeting between you and I... I'm not sure that your people would understand at this time but I will have the forest open their eyes between now and then. Sleep and we'll meet again when you return to me later in life." I drifted off to sleep and when I woke up my mother was picking me up from the inside of roots wrapped around almost like a nest. I respected her wishes and didn't tell anyone about her, just that I had wandered into the forest and fallen asleep until my mother found me and brought me home. When I was big enough to go into the woods by myself I found myself standing just inches away from the pool of water surrounding the tree that I thought maybe I had imagined so many years ago. I trained myself to hunt and ended up out there often. It had grown and was very beautiful, in the daylight I could see all the different flowers and fruit growing here and there. Looked to have at least 10 different types of trees all grown together. There was no hole to nestle into and I didn't feel any magic, I was so confused that I got ready to head back home but as my feet sank into the ground and the water from the pond started to soak into the soul of my feet the tree started to move.... I came to see her as often as I could from then on and she always gave me amazing advice, it was like having my very own elder to escape to. I felt like she was testing me some of the times I came out to visit and others she was extremely mothering. I loved coming to soak in the pond and chat with her. This time I was hoping she had answers for me, our tribe had grown since the attack many years ago and we were flourishing but I didn't feel like I belonged. I was lost in a world that was my mother and fathers, not mine.