story

Andromeda, or Ande as she preferes to be called, is part of the tribe of women who have survived as one for many generations. The group that has lived and ruled over South America...without men by their side, avoiding war as much as possible while remaining strong and in control. They are even feared by the werewolves, the most vicious predators that reside in the east. Who are these women? They are the Amazons.
For centuries, the werewolves have been enemies of the Amazons, killing them at any chance they get. The men's conlony, the Arazons, used to be enimes of the Amazons, but are now, and hopefully forever, great allies of which live in the south. The only reason the amazons prefered to remain as a complete women's colony (excuding the 2 men elders included among the seven women on the head of the main defense, and the few men that live in the colony for a few years at a time) was because they didn't want past conflicts to arise that caused them to seperate. As for the west, it's currently a marsh occupied by a colony of griffins that the Amazons tame to take them to wherever is is they need to go out of walking distance.
One night the village is taken under attack. no one knows who or how they were intruded. ande, being of fifteen years, will soon become a warrior, and guess what her first task is... She is required ot set off with other Amazons to solve the mystery of what's happening. She's been reassured by the elders that she will be safe, but what they don't know is that danger is, well, dangerously close...closer than they would ever know...

Chapter 1
~Sigh...Ande breathed in the warm summer air as she walked out of her home, finally. She turned and looked upon the small hut/building or whatever you want to call it. Either way, it was hers and no one elses. She stood there, thinking about the three long, tiring days weaving the sticks and vines together, lifting and fastening the logs twice her size up as a wall.
She espcially remembered when Erica, her best friend, helped her build the roof. That was the best. It was funny because they were sitting on the wall, fastening the tightly woven branches to the logs for the roof when Erica's foot slipped and she suddenly fell off the wall into the new house, slightly spraining her ankle. Ande laughed then hopped off the wall and walked through the doorway to see Erica tapping, rubbing, and pushing on the ceiling. "Perfect!" She cried and they laughed the rest of the time as the moved in the furniture.
Now, she stands proudly looking at her home, built by her own two hands... and Erica's foot. She chuckled and turned to go to her daily training. As usual, Erica was already there staring at her as she walked up the wide, dirt path. When Ande reached Erica, they lined up at the edge of the forest along with all the other Amazons.
Ande squatted down behind what looked like a starting line in a race, as did each other girl. Erica, being the "nosy" friend, slightly tilted her head in Ande's direction and whispered, " Where have you been?" Ande kept her line of sight forward, tossed her dark brown braid behind her back, and cracked a smile. "Oh, on my way here. Where else would I be?"
A arrow bolted out into the forest form the tall, digustingly muscular woman behind them holding a bow. That was the signal. Each girl, all about fourteen or fifteen years old, darted strait into the forest. Each one going strait for about one hundred meters, and then splitting up each and every way possible. Ande smirked and thought to herself. This was gonna be fun.
Ande went for the trees. having a photographic memory came in handy. She remembered exactly which direction the arrow went in, and all she had to do was find it and bring it back first. She leaped from branch to branch with amazing agility noticing the familiar feel of her sword swipe against the summery leaves. She constantly looked ahead, but watched the forest floor out of the corner of her eye. As each girl knew, you could do practically anything to get your hands on that arrow...except, of course, kill. Besides that, you could get ambushed or anything if you didn't pay attention.
Ande couldn't bring herself to set traps. She felt it was cheating, and besides, she didn't need them. Not to brag or anything, but Ande had won the challenge everyday since she turned fourteen years old. The course was a sinch and she didn't need some childish trap to win. The only thing she needed was her clothes (duh), her water tin, and her sword...and a couple leather strings to tie her hair back because her hair never seemed to stay out of her face for more than five minutes. Although, she looked very pretty with it down...all the more reason to tie it back.
Ande was beautiful and she knew it. Her hair was shoulder-length with a slight wave. It was dark brown, almost black, and it had that slight wave near the end. Her skin was flawlessand she was tall, almost six feet. She was very muscular too, but not ripped and big-like. She just had dense muscles. There was only one problem...she HATED it. Because of her beauty, people were jealous and never took her seriously. They didn't particularly like her, but the elders took great interest in her. Of course they noticed her obvious beauty, but they also noticed her strong and gentle nature aloong with her competitive drive. It's just that Ande really didn't care. All she cared about was the course, and so she ceased to dwell in these thoughts, took a deep breath, and concentrated all of her energy on the task.

Chapter 2
Ande stopped at one of her usual resting places. She remained in the tree staring down at the small pond on the forest floor. she pulled out her water tin, took a big drink, and shook it empty. The summers in South America were hot, espcially during mid-day. Ande knew that if she kept water in the tin for too long, it would get very hot and make her sick. She waited, resting her back against the treetop with her leg swinging below her. A slight breeze blew along the canopy. She heard a distant rustle in the leaves and turned her attention to the entrance to the small clearing near the pond.
It was some 14 year old stopping for a drink. Ande squinted as she watched the girl reach out to take a drink. She was almost touching the water when, CRASH! Her finger tripped a wire dropping a cage right down on top of her. She tried with all her might to break free, but the only thing that happened was disappointment filling her eyes as she gripped the bars.
Ande jumped down from the tree and walked over to the pond. She knelt down to refill her water tin feeling pity for the girl behind her. The girl's eyes suddenly gave off a sense of anger and Ande could feel her glaring at her. Ande stood up with her back to the girl. "What's your problem?!"
The girl jumped. How did she know I was staring at her? The girl snapped out of her shock. "YOU'RE my problem! because of you, I'm stuck! I'll never win now and it's all your fault!" The girl continued to whine and shout, causing Ande to become incredibly annoyed. at first, Adne was to ignore her, but her frustration and anger was growing... "SHUT UP!!!" Ande's voice threw the girl into sudden fear. "For one thing, I didn't set this stupid trap! And for another thing, instead of crying about getting caught, SUCK IT UP AND FIND A WAY OUT!!!" Ande drew her sword and swung it around, cutting a massive hole in the cage. She didn't even turn around. she just put her sword back in its place and returned to the trees in a matter of seconds, leaving the girl baffled.
Ande continued to her destination thinking about what just happened. That stupid, ungrateful, brat... How dare she? She gets caught, blames it on me, and then whines instead of thinking of a way out...Not to mention, she leaves me in a crappy mood! Geez... Finally, Ande came into a small meadow. She remained in the trees and looked around. All of the sudden, there it was! the arrow!
She raced to it, still keeping her eyes peeled for any suspisous movements. As she drew closer to the arrow, she heard a rustling in the grass. She continued moving, pretending that she didn't notice, hoping to draw whatever it is nearer. She listened closely. It was too heavy of a sound to be something small, yet it was too swift to be large...It was a human. Ande reached out her right hand to grab the arrow and then brought her left hand over the handle of her sword. She waited...just a little closer...
BAM! Ande pulled out her sword, spun around, and knocked the saber right out of the other girl's hand. The girl stood there, amazed and in shock. She looked about 15 years old. Ande smirked. "Were you trying to kill me?" The tall hay-like grass swayed in the wind, brushing across Ande's knees. "N...no...I, uh, don't know...I was just going for the arrow..." Ande smiled, turned and yanked the arrow from between the rocks that it was lodged in. "Nice try, and better luck next time..." Ande hooked the arrow to her belt and again, darted into the forest, leaving the girl behind.

Chapter 3 and more coming soon......