She decides to run away the year she turns 13. There's nothing here for her. She knows her family won't miss her, not really - they have more mouths than they can easily feed, her half-siblings hate her, and Dad - isn't mean to her, but she can tell she makes him sad. 

She doesn't do it right away, of course. Being miserable and scared is no excuse for not having a plan.

She doesn't want to go somewhere with people. People don't like her, and she doesn't like people. She'll go into the Forest. They say monsters live in there, of course, but they call her a monster, when they think she's not listening.

She spends what feels like an eternity preparing. Months of scavenged hours spent gathering and stockpiling nuts and other dried foods. Short trips into the Forest, learning the lay of the edge region. When she can, she trails the old lady who forages in there during the long summer days, taking careful note of which plants have edible roots and berries. 

The winter before she runs away is horrible. It's colder than usual, and as the frosts arrive, her youngest half-sister catches ill and, after a horrible week of coughing, dies in the night. It's not the first time, of course, but something about losing little Imesah breaks her father's heart, and his wife's along with it. He pulls away, cold and distant - she lashes out, and Kaitiaki bears the brunt of it.

(In the privacy of her own head, Kaitiaki mourns, too. Out of all her half-siblings, Imesah had never flinched at the sound of her voice, had let Kaitiaki hold her, had giggled and gurgled in her arms...)

She sleeps as much she can get away with. Pretends she's a squirrel, sleeping through the winter, pulling inward and conserving energy. 

After what feels like an eternity, spring comes.

The butcher's sons have always been horrible to her, especially the eldest. He's quick to anger. She only has to stare at him for too long for him to decide that she needs to be put in her place. 

He doesn't know she's stronger than him, now. Has been for a year and a half, actually. But she lets him win the 'fight' anyways, screeching in pain as he rips a feather off her arm as a trophy, because all she wants from him is his copy of his father's key, and it's clutched tight in her fist, pulled from his pocket in the struggle. 

She stays curled up in the dirt until the sound of his footsteps fade, and then pops to her feet, smiling faintly. She's so close. 

That night, once everyone else been asleep for hours, Kaitiaki bundles herself up in the warmest clothes that fit her, and sneaks out, still clutching the butcher's key. (The butcher's son won't have reported it - his father has a horrible temper, and he doesn't need the key regularly, so he'll keep looking. She'll be safe.)   

Monster that she is, she can see in the dark, better than anyone but the village cats. The town is silent and empty, at this time of night. She likes it that way.

She makes her way to the butcher's shop, all locked up. It opens with a sharp click, and then she's inside, gently closing the door behind her.

As quietly as she can, she ransacks the place. She takes an axe, a vial of oil, a block of salt, 2 long knives, a few large sacks, a waterskin, several lengths of rope, and some dried meats. She also grabs his waxed apron, to use as rain-cover, and lucks out big, finding a flint and 3 silver coins in the big pocket. (She breathes a quiet sigh of relief when she finds the flint. She was ready to take her father's, but she - she's glad she doesn't have to.)

She locks the door on the way out, and leaves the key under a rock. 

The axe isn't as good as shovel, but it's much better than her bare hands. She digs up the waterskin full of nuts and dried tubers that she'd buried in the fall. And then, with all her supplies clutched tight, she makes her way into the Forest.

She carefully makes her way through the thickening trees in the pre-sunrise hours. She needs to get deep enough into the Forest that nobody will find her. She isn't exactly sure how deep that needs to be (it depends on how angry the butcher is, she thinks.)

She pauses to snack on some of the dried meat - she needs the energy. But it's still pretty cold, this time of year and this early, so she needs to keep moving. "Stop to rest in the cold and you'll freeze to death," she remembers the hunter saying. 

By the time the sun starts to rise, Kaitiaki is a few miles into the Forest and still going. She's scared a couple deer and several squirrels, but she hasn't seen any monsters, yet. 

...She's starting to get tired. She needs to find a good place to take her first nap. She slows down (and eats a handful of nuts, omnomnom) and starts looking for what she needs. 

A huge tree towers above its neighbors. It's got a thick trunk, thin green leaves, and strong, sturdy branches going all the way up. It's older than anything Kaitiaki has ever seen in her life. 

It's beautiful. It's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.

She wastes minutes just marvelling at it, circling the base, her hand touching the bark reverently. 

Ok. Time to get set up. She removes her big coat, puts down everything she's carrying besides the rope, and climbs the tree. It's not hard; she's strong, she's tall, the tree is stable, and she loves to climb.

Soon she's at the height where sunlight is peeking through the leaves, the warmth of it welcome on her skin. She ties one end of the rope around the trunk, climbs back down with its help, and then bundles up all her stuff and ties the bag to the other end of the rope.

Fifteen sweaty minutes later, she has her bag of supplies pulled up and tied to the trunk of the tree, and she's getting to work on a makeshift hammock, made out of one of the giant hanging bags the butcher used to store hides and bones. It's hard work, and she's definitely running out of steam, but she keeps herself focused. She can rest soon, once she's safe. 

It's actually kind of obnoxious to get into the hammock, but she manages it. She turns away from the sun and falls asleep, alone and free for the first time in her life. 

The sun is setting by the time Kaitiaki wakes up, which suits her just fine. She eats a bit of her food, and then packs a waterskin, the flint, and the bigger knife into a bag, and then drops herself out of her tree.

 The river can't be far from here - in the silence of the evening, she can hear it very faintly, in the direction of the setting sun. She follows it. 

The river water is very cold, but she's thirsty! She drinks her fill, then fully fills the waterskin, and starts hunting for those edible tubers she remembers learning grow near the riverbank.