#cherrycheesecake

cherry cheesecake!

Hii everyone!! This is my first work and i made it mainly for funsies so sorry if its horribly written ╯︿╰ Any advice is appreciated! This is male!child!reader, however, reader is already named bc of lore reasons that you'll uncover later. Also, this chapter is written from a narrators POV, but in the other chapters it'll be ur POV. You are a kid (Gon and Killua's age) and a fox person! Dw, I have reader's backstory planned and stuff so it'll make more sense as the story progresses... （￣︶￣）↗　Merry reading!

Ch 0 (you're here!), Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, ...

Chapter 0: A Budding Flower

The wind whipped through his copper hair as he ran, the path blurring beneath his feet. The boy wore an impossible large grin, which only seemed to widen as he caught the sight of a familiar cabin. Excitement flooded his entire being, for today was the day that he finally managed to catch a white-tailed deer after a whole 2 weeks of pursuing it. This particular animal had been such a pain to find, let alone actually capture, making the young boy question why his father even ordered him to hunt it in the first place.

Without ever slowing down, he swung the door open, ready to tell the whole world of his amazing feat. However, when he entered the cabin, only the faint sounds of arguing could be heard from his father's workshop.

"Huh," The boy wondered "Who could have my father invited over?"

Clearly, the boy has never heard of private conversations, since he proudly waltzed over to the door and opened it without a second thought.

"Dad! I'm back-"

The words died in the child's throat as he realized who the guest was: his favourite (and only) aunt, Kona! This wasn't a total surprise since, even though she gets terribly busy, she always makes time to visit her beloved nephew and spoil him rotten. However, this time, it seems she came over with the intention of scolding her older brother, Geqli.

"Are you seriously gonna keep him hosteled up in this small, stinky hut forever? I mean, he wouldn't have even learned to read and write had I not taught him!" The noirette nagged, shoving a finger in the older man's unamused face.

"What use is all that? He's a hunter. Hunters have no need for such things." The man retorted smugly.

The ginger approached the duo, however it seemed they were both too engrossed in their argument to notice.

"You...! You know what? Why don't you sign him up to be a real Hunter? I'm sure he'd make a lot of money after-"

The young boy's ears immediately perked up. "A real Hunter? What's that?" He interrupted, his eyes shining with pure excitement and wonder.

"Oh, Katsumi. When did you get here?" A lazy grin forming on the nonchalant man's face before ruffling the young fox's hair.

"That doesn't matter anymore! What's auntie Kona talking about?" His tail began to wag fervently.

The noirette sighed before adjusting her perfectly tailored suit that probably costs more than both boy's lives. After a deep breath, she looked Katsumi dead in the eye. "Hunters. There's a bunch of different types of them. One of the most well-paying careers in the world, since they risk their lives to discover and protect knowledge, people, and nature."

A short-lived silence fell over the room before she spoke again.

"Katsumi, would you want to take the exam and become a Hunter?"

"Hey- When did I say I would let him?" Geqli interjected with a sudden burst of irritation.

At those words, the fox pup's ears fell back and his tail drooped. "But...Dad I wanna be a hunter.." He pouted, kicking at nothing.

"Well I said no."

As soon as those words left his lips, another argument sparked between the two siblings. Katsumi was indeed dejected, but he hasn't totally given up yet. This time he was determined to become a hunter, or at least try it out. And so, for the next two weeks, all Katsumi did was beg his father to let him take the hunter exam, whether it be first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night.

Eventually, Geqli cracked.

"Fine! Go take the exam! The boat is leaving in 30 minutes." He crossed his arms huffed with annoyance.

"Wait- what? Right now?"

"Yes. Now go, before you miss it."

Katsumi wasted no time in running out the door, forgetting to even grab the necessities. Oh well. I'm sure he has some 5 week old beef jerky somewhere in his pocket.

"Katsumi."

The young fox stopped in his tracks and turned back to face his father.

"Don't come back until you've become a fully fledged hunter, okay?" As he spoke, Geqli's eyes softened in a way Katsumi had never seen before. He clenched his fists before nodding, eyes full of determination. Without missing a beat, he spun on his heels and continued out the door.

As the chiming of the wind and the thumping of footsteps filled his ears, Katsumi couldn't help but feel his heart swell with eagerness. He turned back to wave at his old man, though he was too far to even see his face.

"Don't miss me too much, gramps!" Katsumi shouted as loud as he could, a boyish grin spreading across his face before turning his attention back to the path ahead. He had always loved exploring, but after living on Veilpoint Isle for the entire 12 years of his life, he's already explored every inch of the island. 

Now, he was finally going to experience everything the world had to offer, and his first step was the hunter exam.

More sweet dessert treats from across Greece.

Killugon x male!child!reader

Ch 0, Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3 (you are here!), Ch 4, ...

Summary: Some interesting events transpire as you and your companions make it through Swindlers Swamp. Will you be able to make it to the next phase?

Chapter 3 : Satiated

You've been running for a while now.

The fog around you began to thicken with each passing second, forcing you to be on high alert. You're sure that if you let your guard down for even a second, you'd most likely die. Thankfully, staying on guard was easy for you, as you naturally had heightened senses and your years as a hunter had refined them even more. Not to mention, your hearing was otherworldly.

Due to this, you were able to pick up on a group behind you plotting to take down Hisoka. It was beyond doubt that he could hold his own, but you were more worried about getting caught in the crossfire.

After a few seconds of contemplation, you decided it best if you and your friends got as far as possible from this brewing massacre.

"Hey."

Gon and Killua both turned to look at you.

"We should probably go farther up."

As you spoke, you noticed Killua's eyes widened slightly before turning back to normal as if nothing happened.

"I was thinking that too."

"Okay, we don't want to lose sight of the examiner." Gon, seemingly unaware of the situation behind the three of you, agreed.

There was a beat of silence before the white-haired boy spoke up once again.

"I'm more concerned about increasing the distance between us and Hisoka. Staying too close to him is dangerous."

"I can smell it."

"Smell?" You raised an eyebrow and turned your head to stare at the boy. He paid you no mind.

The green boy to your right sniffed the air, appearing to be just as confused as you are. "I don't think he smells."

Suddenly, you remembered your other two travel companions. Unfortunately, you guys had gotten separated and they stayed somewhere in the back. Usually, you wouldn't go out of your way to help someone, seeing it as nature running its course, but this time you couldn't help but feel a bit worried. They've begun to grow on you and it would be a shame should they die here.

"What about Leorio and Kurapika?" After the subtle reminder, Gon immediately perked up and, without warning, called out to them.

"Leorio! Kurapika! Killua and Katsumi say that we should move up!"

You and Killua couldn't help but cringe at the boy's lack of awareness.

"Hey… Can't you feel the tension in the air?" Killua scolded.

Despite this, thanks to Gon, you were able to locate Leorio after he yelled back. Or, well, his approximate location. You could never be too careful in this swamp.

"Moron! If I could I'd already be there!"

"Don't worry about us!"

Your ears turn back towards the sound of your two friends. At least it looks like they stayed together. You felt your shoulders relax, relieved that you had nothing to worry about.

"Let's go." Killua called out to you and Gon as he began speeding up. The two of you sped after him.

Eventually, the three of you had managed to distance yourselves far enough from Hisoka. After all, you only agreed to slow down when you couldn't hear his  footsteps or the sound of his unnatural breathing anymore. Seriously, that man is an enigma to you. As much as there's a growing hunger inside of you to learn more about him, you're not stupid enough to not realize that he's leagues above you.

It angers you; not being the strongest.

Despite this, you swallow your feelings, choosing to ignore them instead. Your goal here isn't to pick fights with odd guys and die an early death, it's to pass the Hunter Exam.  

Your train of thought was interrupted by a series of piercing screams around you. Not only that, but when you looked around, you noticed that your little group was completely isolated.

"Crap!" You shouted out of nowhere once you realized this, causing the two boys beside you to jump. It looks like you had just interrupted their conversation. Oops.

Gon opened his mouth to say something, but at the exact same moment, the ground underneath you fell.

You let out a shriek and everything around you went dark. Your butt hit something wet and slimy, causing you to instantly jump to your feet. You hope whatever you just landed on doesn't ruin your precious clothes…

You were, once again, taken by surprise when everything around you began to shake violently, as if whatever you were in was moving.

Due to this, you were able to deduce that you and your friends had indeed been swallowed by something. Though, you weren't too worried. After all, you could still hear Gon and Killua's movements from somewhere near you. Additionally, you weren't dead yet, so that's a plus.

"Gon? Killua?" You called out while extending your hand out in front of you, trying to feel around. Unexpectedly, someone grabbed ahold of your wrist.

"What are you doing?"

It was Killua!

"I was trying to find out where you guys were." You admit while playfully sticking your tongue out. A useless gesture, considering it was pitch black and you guys couldn't see each other.

He didn't answer, yet you felt his eyes bore into you, making you feel a little awkward. As a result, you try to pull your hand back but fail.

He wouldn't let go.

"Um… Killua?"

You nervously call out to him. Did something happen?

Hearing his name fall from your lips seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in and he dropped your wrist as if it had burned him. You tilted your head in confusion, though as you opened your mouth to speak, someone bumped into your back.

"Oh! Sorry." Gon's familiar voice brushed against your ear, causing a slight shiver to run down your spine.

You quickly step forward, trying to ignore the heat rushing to your cheeks. "W-well! Looks like we're all in one piece!"

You hear a slight hum coming from Killua's direction, followed by the sound of liquid gushing out onto the floor, or whatever the three of you were standing on.

You had no clue what Killua used, but it was definitely fast acting. Before you knew it, a wall of fluid began gushing out from behind your group, effectively forcing you three out of the frog's stomach. You're lucky it wasn't some acid strong enough to melt people.

You were the first one to get out of the puddle of mysterious liquid. After doing a quick but thorough check, you construe that (somehow) none of it stuck to you. Still, you vigorously shook your hair trying to get any remaining fluid off you, albeit you resembled more of a wet dog than a fox right now.

"Guess he didn't like the way we tasted." Gon teased, rubbing the back of his neck before getting out of the puddle as well.

Killua, still seated, began rummaging through his pocket then pulling out a familiar orange can.

"It was this." He held the object up so you and Gon could see.

"Ah! That was from Tonpa!" Gon exclaimed.

"Guess it saved us."

"Do frogs not like oranges or something?" You'd never heard of that, although you've also never bothered to learn what frogs like and dislike, seeing as you've never really had a reason to.

Killua snickered at your question and you felt a vein almost burst out of your forehead. "What's so funny?" you grumbled to yourself, glaring daggers at him.

Your eyes met and he paused before quickly looking away.

"Well, I could have escaped without it." He spoke nonchalantly which somehow only pissed you off even more.

Killua finally stood up, preparing to move again. You and Gon, as always, ran after him. Though, Gon only took a few steps before stopping and turning back, causing you to stop as well.

"Gon?"

"I'm gonna go check on Kurapika and Leorio." Gon spoke with a sort of determination that only served to confuse you.

"What?! Are you crazy?" You tried to reason with him but your words fell on deaf ears. He was already running in the opposite direction.

"Such a hassle…" You sighed but decided not to follow him. Something in your gut told you not to go back; who were you to ignore that?

You turned back around, only to meet Killua's impatient eyes. It seems he was waiting for you.

Without missing a beat, he turned around and began running again, which startled you.

"Hey! Wait for me!" You squeaked before rushing to catch up with him.

Eventually, you guys managed to exit the forest and the main group finally came into sight.

"All right!!"

"We've caught up to the main group, 'Sumi!"

The nickname made you pause.

"Sumi?" You silently repeated, turning your head enough to look at Killua while being able to keep an eye on the hoard.

"What?"

"Nothing!" You flashed him a mischievous smile before taking a hold of his hand and dragging him towards the group in front.  It feels like you've done that a lot since coming here.

You and Killua managed to make it to some huge brick wall, which only solidified your belief that everyone outside your island loved to make everything jumbo-sized.

Moving on, you assumed that this wall marked the end of the first stage.

The journey there was a lot smoother than you expected it to be, aside from the occasional quip from Killua. He seems to enjoy pissing you off. Honestly, just thinking about it was getting on your nerves again.

Despite the occasional banter, you guys went around looking for Gon and the others. Hopefully they made it out. You still had a bunch of things you didn't understand and wanted to ask Gon about, after all.

Well, you knew Leorio made it out because you saw Hisoka dragging him under a tree not too long ago. He must have really bad luck to have encountered that strange magician…

Just as you were losing hope in Gon and Kurapika, you caught the faint sounds of their distinct footsteps and immediately perked up.

"Killua! I can hear them coming!" You exclaimed cheerily and grabbed his arm which, as expected, made him recoil away from you.

"Wha- Get off me!" Even though his words said otherwise, he didn't seem to mind your touch all that much. Though, he definitely is stiff as hell.

While holding onto his arm, your ear twitched, making your white-haired captor pause briefly, his gaze fixing on the fox ears resting atop your hair. He stared at them for a beat too long before snapping his head away from you so fast he must've gotten whiplash.

Though, you could've sworn you saw the tips of his ears redden…

You squint, trying to get a better glimpse, but Killua takes advantage of that slight moment you let your guard down and shakes you off his arm. Obviously, this startled you, but before you could argue, he was already walking towards Gon and the others.

"Gon!" You yelled excitedly before full on sprinting towards the boy, completely forgetting about what just happened.

Gon turned his head and spotted you and Killua heading towards him. His whole demeanor instantly brightened.

"Killua! Katsumi!"

"I can't believe you actually got here-" Killua was interrupted by you sprinting past him and jumping into Gon's arms.

Your actions took the bright-eyed boy by surprise as he tried to position his fishing rod in a way where it wouldn't bother you. Though, his shock didn't last long and he melted into your touch, wrapping his arms around you in return.

"I almost thought you wouldn't make it!" You half-jokingly complained before rubbing your head against the boy's cheek, earning a soft chuckle from both him and Kurapika.

"I just tracked Leorio's cologne." Gon explained when you finally let go, though he seemed to deflate at the sudden lack of warmth.

"By scent? That was how?" The voice from behind you exclaimed, astonished.

"You definitely are weird."

Suddenly, you hear the examiner speak, interrupting your little reunion.

"The Second Phase of the exam will occur here, in the Visca Forest Preserve. So, I shall take my leave."

Excitement flooded your body as you watched Sato walk past the crowd. You couldn't wait to find out what the next test will be and who the examiner is. Hopefully this time it'll actually be something new!

After Sato was out of sight, the giant steel gate began to open, stealing everyone's attention. You watched with bated breath, trying to catch a glimpse of what was inside. Not wanting to wait any longer, you expertly weaseled your way through the crowd, only to be met with… a huge house and what appeared to be an enormous man and a very pretty woman in front of it. Plus, there were random wood rectangles scattered across the field, along with some odd contraptions next to them.

Just what could this next exam be?

The woman sitting in front of the house spoke first. "All applicants who've passed the First Phase, please enter!"

Everyone did as she told without a second thought, each picking out a station. You made sure to pick one close to your friends and they did the same.

When everyone settled down, the mint-haired woman introduced herself as "Menchi", the examiner for the Second Phase. The rather… plump… man behind her introduced himself as "Buhara". It looks like there were two examiners this time. Interesting.

After they finished speaking, a loud rumble erupted from Buhara's direction.

"There's no way that was his stomach, right?" You whispered to yourself, completely taken aback.

Menchi's next words, much to your horror, did in fact confirm your suspicions.

"You must be Hungry."

She got up from her chair and put her hands on her hips.

"There you have it. The Second Phase will involve…" She paused, probably for the dramatic effect.

"…cooking!"

The moment that lone word spilled from her lips, you felt yourself ascend to the heavens.

Finally, you'd be able to eat!

You had eaten your ancient beef jerky a while ago, but it wasn't near enough to fill your stomach. You were so happy you think you genuinely shed a few tears.

"Hey Gon…" Killua started, inching closer to his companion, "What's up with Sumi?" He was just blatantly judging you now.

Gon simply shrugged while letting out a small laugh before turning his attention back to the examiners.

You and your group walked through the lush forest. However, you were too distracted thinking about food while the examiners were explaining the task, so Kurapika had filled you in on the task at hand. Apparently, you had to hunt down a pig and make a pork dish for the examiners.

You've hunted scarier beasts, so you should be able to easily hunt down a mere pig.

Without warning, Gon started sliding down a hill. You knew why, since you could also hear them: The pigs.

You jumped after him, Killua and the rest following the two of you.

Suddenly, Gon stopped, which made you ram straight into him. Before you could even process what had happened, you heard a scream and then someone crashed into your back immediately after. Then another. And another.

"Ow!" You yelp, "What the hell?!"

"What gives, Gon?!" You hear Killua yell from behind you. Looks like he was the one who collided into you.

"Found them." Gon spoke matter-of-factly, causing you and everyone behind you to look at whatever he was talking about.

"Pigs!" Leorio exclaimed.

Your eyes search the closest animal, only to stop in your tracks once you fully zeroed in on it. This was definitely not what you were expecting. The "pig" was gigantic with an equally big snout. Though, its snout looked pretty hard, not to mention that it has a sharp tip.

As you continued to stare at them, you noticed that they were also, in fact, carnivorous.

Maybe this wouldn't be so easy after all.

You and your friends sprinted in the opposite direction as a hoard of screaming pigs chased after all of you. Everytime you would turn back, someone else was being flown into the air from the impact of the pig's snout hitting them, which only made you wince.

You'd better do your best to avoid a direct hit, too.

However, the more you observed their snouts, the more you started to think. If they had such hard noses, it must be to overcompensate for something. Which means, their weak point was probably behind their shield.

The only problem was figuring out how to reach that spot.

Glancing around for a few seconds, you decided to jump on a tree and wait for one to come into range. You swiftly dashed into the bushes before climbing the tree, taking care as not to alert the pigs.

As you wait for one to approach, you notice Gon fighting a pig not-so far away. Unaware of your presence, he jumps in front of your tree and, as the animal is charging at him, leaps away at the last minute. The pig didn't have enough time to change direction and ended up colliding with the tree, which sent you stumbling out of it along with some fruit.

At first, you panicked and tried to regain your balance by flailing your arms around, but you quickly came back to your senses.

This was your chance!

You switched positions mid-air and came crashing down on the beast's forehead. Luckily, your boots had a sort of heel-like platform to them, so it amplified your kick. The pig fell to the ground with a sharp squeal.

You killed it!

The loud thud seemed to have attracted the attention of everyone else around.

"Huh, so their weak spot is their forehead." Killua stated, looking over at the commotion you caused.

"So the pigs evolved large, tough snouts to protect their delicate foreheads."

You perked up at Kurapika's deduction and made your way over to the two, completely ignoring the pig chasing Leorio a few meters away.

"That's what I was thinking too! Though I wasn't expecting for one to launch me out of a tree…"

Your words earned a sheepish laugh from Gon before he yelled out a small "Sorry!".

After that, nobody wasted any time in using this newfound information to kill most, if not all of the pigs. You wanted to give the pig you'd accidentally killed to Gon but he refused, saying he wanted to get one himself. Again, something you just couldn't understand.

Well, whatever. Gon was also an enigma to you sometimes.

After everyone was done acquiring their pigs, you all made your way back to your respective stations.

Thankfully, your dad would often make you cook meals as part of "training" (and definitely not because he was too lazy to cook), so you were pretty confident in your abilities. However, when you looked around to see what everyone else was doing, you saw that they were literally just spinning the damn hog over fire!

You huffed in disapproval yet decided to just focus on your own dish and ignore them.

Much to your surprise, as you were cooking, someone approached the examiners with a practically burnt pig. You noticed that Buhara was chowing down on it, yet the woman had barely even looked at the dish. Despite this, she still failed the examinee.

You thought it made sense, considering his lack of effort, but he most definitely did not share the sentiment.

After him, you thought that maybe other people would be more creative. You had indeed thought wrong.

Even your dear friends disappointed you. Well, at least they tried to decorate and Kurapika even tried to do some tower dish with other ingredients. However, according to Menchi, all of it tasted like crap.

By this time, you were already almost done with your dish, although, on some level, you felt as though you could relate to the examiner. Imagine looking forward to eating all kinds of dishes only to be met with utter disappointment. Therefore, you at least tried to clean up your plate and make it look presentable.

You weren't a five star Michelin chef, though compared to your peers that may have as well been the case. You placed it in front of Menchi and she paused, staring at you as if you were her last saving grace.

You had somehow managed to make a very large portion of garlic pork bites, along with a sweet yet smoky sauce. You did what you could with the little ingredients provided, but you also went out of your way to divide the portions for Menchi and Buhara. Buhara, since you noticed he had a rather large appetite, got a much bigger portion.

"Well, this doesn't look so bad…"

You watched nervously as the mint-haired woman took a bite of your food, her expression never changing. Buhara, as he had done for everyone before you, happily passed you.

However, the real challenge was Menchi.

You heard her let out a small contemplative hum before pulling out her rating stick.

"It's passable. Definitely better than everyone else's."

You passed!

At that, you heard collective gasps around you, however you ignored them, too busy celebrating your win.

"All right, that settles it!" The woman started, getting up from her seat. "Everyone but this little boy fails!" she announced while pointing at you.

"We're done here!"

Obviously, this incited the protests of all the other examinees. Now feeling a bit awkward, you used this opportunity to slip away while everyone was distracted.

Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking catches your attention. It was the first guy who failed, and he appeared to be pretty irritated.

"I absolutely refuse to accept this! You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to-"

His words were cut off by the woman's scolding.

"I said to prepare the pork in a manner we both found delicious…no one except for that boy made anything remotely delicious."

You smugly stuck your nose in the air, a boost of confidence surging through you at her indirect praise. You were busy snickering to yourself when you heard the sound of something heavy hitting one of the walls, which immediately snapped you out of your thoughts.

Looks like the fat guy from earlier tried to attack the examiner and got flung… seriously, did he forget that the examiners are licensed Hunters…?

However, as much as you agreed with Menchi, you also didn't want to pass the Hunter Exam this way. It would be kinda boring doing it all by yourself. Plus, you wanted to observe your friends more, and you obviously wouldn't be able to do that if they were sent home.

Just as you were racking your brain for ideas on how to fix this, an old man's voice came from above.

"Isn't it a little excessive to fail a whole pool of examiners?"

This voice came from… a giant flying fish…? No, it didn't seem to be alive and it apparently had the Hunter's logo on it (you definitely did not just hear that from someone beside you).

You didn't even have enough time to dwell on it, as something fell from the aircraft, causing smoke and debris to cover half the field as whatever-it-was landed.

After it cleared, you saw an almost bald old man standing before the crowd. Though, that wasn't the strangest thing about him: The ends of his eyebrows were long as hell and his beard was in the shape of a hook.

How does it even get it like that? You swear, everyone on the mainland is weird as hell.

Apparently, the man before you was Chairman Netero. You're not too sure what that title means, but you've heard your aunt mention it a few times before. Though, it was usually when she was taking serious work calls, so you assumed this was an equally important position.

Netero began talking to Menchi about whatever, you wouldn't know because you tuned them out, finding the conversation uninteresting.

You only started paying attention to it when you heard the mint-haired woman mention boiled eggs. You were still hungry after all, even though you did sneak a few bites of pork when no one was watching.

Your eyes shone with excitement and you swore you felt yourself start to drool. Your fantasizing was cut short by a snicker beside you. Somehow, while you weren't paying attention, Gon and Killua made their way next to you.

Killua was definitely mocking you, Gon, on the other hand, was only warmly laughing at you, which you didn't mind too much.

However, their antics still made you red with embarrassment. Your ears laid flat on your head and you reached up to grab ahold of them, as if they would somehow cover your beet-red face.

Before long, Menchi and the Chairman were done talking and it was time for everyone to board the aircraft. You were all on your way to a place called "Split Mountain".

You stood before a giant crack that split the entire mountain in half. You guess that's where it gets its name from.

Menchi had instructed your group to look down the ravine, in which you happily obliged. There weren't any mountains like this one back on your island.

"A spider eagle's web."

You felt a shiver run down your spine at the word "spider". There weren't a lot of things you were scared of, seeing as though you grew up in a forest heavily populated by a variety of beasts. You weren't even scared of insects, well, except for one.

Spiders.

There was something just so unsettling about how they crawled, how they moved their legs, how they just…existed. You hope you don't run into one of these "spider eagle" things.

Suddenly, a cold breeze along with a faint whistle erupted from the ravine, making you shiver once again, though this time because of the low temperature and not from fear.

"They build webs down there?" You hear Gon ask from beside you.

Almost immediately after he finished speaking, an even stronger draft pushed your hair up. You scrunch your nose up and stretch your ears back in response; you were definitely not expecting that.

"Look below the web." Menchi spoke up again, completely unbothered by the cold, which was odd considering she was in very revealing clothing. "Those are spider eagle eggs."

"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines to protect their eggs from predators. This makes their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain." You hear the old man's voice from behind you.

"The eggs are also known as 'dream eggs'."

His words do nothing but ignite your competitive side. Your ego says that you could obtain those eggs without breaking a sweat.

Without missing a beat, Menchi jumps down the crack and grabs a hold of one of the webs.

"Even if she can grab some eggs, how is she going to get back up?"

Leorio's question answered itself when you heard a slight whistle once again. It was the same whistle you'd heard earlier, right before the strong wind came out of nowhere.

"The wind!" You exclaimed in realization as Menchi released the hold she had on the web, grabbing an egg on her way down.

Before long, that strong gust of wind shot up again, causing the woman to quickly fly back up, still holding the egg. Finally, she stepped back onto the ledge, yet you and the two boys beside you continued to stare at her in awe.

"That looks fun.." You and Killua both said in unison.

"There. Now you just need to boil the egg-"

You didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence before jumping down the ravine, your friends following behind you.

It was pretty easy to grab a hold of one of the webs, so now the last step is just to wait, right?

Although, you began to grow uneasy as more and more people jumped down with you.

"Hey… won't the web break with this many people on it?"

Just as those words left your mouth, you felt the end of the web snap a bit.

You need to learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes.

Some people were already beginning to jump down, and Leorio was going to do the same, though Gon stopped him in time.

"There's no wind." Killua calmly explained before Kurapika added, "There isn't always an updraft."

"When's the next updraft?" Leorio asked impatiently.

You let out a chuckle while jokingly rolling your eyes at the man.

"Would you have some patience for once?" You quipped, flicking your tail at him.

Before you could continue with your teasing, you felt the familiar feeling of eyes boring into you, sending a cold shiver down your spine.

You quickly turn your head to face the culprit, only to meet Killua's nonchalant gaze.

"What?"

You felt another vein bulge out of your head.

"What's your deal?!" You shouted, obviously irritated.

Why did he keep doing that and then pretending nothing happened?

Instead of answering, Killua simply let out a scoff and looked away, causing yet another vein to pop.

"Hey! Answer me you!-"

You felt another snap as the web struggled to stay stuck to the walls of the ravine, which quickly shut you up.

"Not yet, Gon?" Killua turned his head to look at the spiky-haired boy.

Seeing as he got away from his earlier antics, you grumbled something to yourself before turning away, deciding to just focus on the task at hand.

Suddenly, you heard the faint whistle and perked up.

"Now!" Gon yelled out of nowhere. Looks like he noticed the wind was coming too.

You and the rest of your group swiftly let go of the web and each of you grabbed an egg on your way down, much like Menchi had done not too long ago. Everyone else who was left also let go, choosing to trust Gon's judgement.

When the wind pushed you all back up to the surface, it almost looked like a hoard of worker ants bringing food back to their queen. You snickered at the thought of all your friends as ants.

After boiling the eggs, it was time to feast! Honestly, you wished you'd grabbed multiple.

"These are sho good!" You exclaimed with tears in your eyes, mouth still full of food. Your tail wagged in contentment as well and, if you were a cat, you'd probably be purring right about now.

You felt someone pinch your cheek and immediately pulled away, though their attack was relentless.

"Owww! Let go!" You whined.

"Hasn't anyone taught you not to eat with your mouth full?"

Of course, your attacker was Killua, as always. He sat crisscrossed, resting his head on the palm of his hand. He fixed you with an intense gaze, which you tried your hardest to ignore.

Just as you managed to get him to stop pinching you, he switched to poking you.

Finally having enough, you shoved your egg into Gon's hand.

"Hold this for me!"

Killua, sensing what you were about to do, made a break for it, though it seemed more like he only did that to mock you.

He definitely wasn't taking you seriously!

You chased after him non-stop, yet every time you thought you had him, he would evade you somehow, earning a laugh from Gon each time.

You growled in irritation, ears pressed back against your head.

"Stop running and come face me!"

Hello !! Sorry for making you guys wait so long for the next chapter ＞﹏＜ I was busy with school and all that lolol, which is also why i decided to only post updates on the weekends (when i can) until exams are over... again, sorry for the wait !!

Killugon x male!child!reader

Ch 0, Ch 1 (you are here), Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, ...

Summary: You set off to fulfill your dreams of being a Hunter! However, you meet a group of interesting people along the way. Where will fate lead you all?

Chapter 1 : New Beginnings

"Every year there are millions of skilled applicants for the Hunter Exam, but only a handful are selected."

You wake up to the sounds of laughter, seemingly coming from the pack of seated burly men. It looks as though they're mocking someone, but you're still too groggy from your earlier nap to care.

You descend from your place on the sides of the ship with a jump, letting out a small yawn before stretching all your tiredness away. As soon as you'd boarded the ship, you'd fallen asleep. It's a surprise you were able to sleep that long, since you lived pretty far from pretty much everything and were one of the first people to board the ship.

You decided to walk around, having grown restless from not moving for so long. This would also be a perfect opportunity to analyze your competition.

Looking around, only a few people really caught your eye. The first was an old tall, lanky looking man reading…. some odd magazine with pretty women on the cover. The second was a blonde man with a mysterious air looking out into the sea. He was wearing a unique garb and looked to be pretty young. The last was a boy seemingly around your age with dark spiky hair. You wondered how he managed to keep it up like that.

It looks like he was the one that the other passengers on board were mocking.

Your eyes followed him as he went to investigate what looked like another typical bullying scenario. Carefully, you approached the scene, curious as to what the young boy in green was up to.

Suddenly, a rather chunky sailor burst through a door underneath the platform you were standing on. He began scolding the other mariners and the two bullies dispersed almost instantly. You assumed the chunky bearded man was the captain then. Your ears moved towards the sound of the young boy from earlier as he called out to the red-headed runt, watching as he passed a stray apple back to him.

"Well, at least he seems nice." you smiled to yourself.

Before you got to do anything else, there was a slight change in the air’s humidity, making you look up at the sky. You notice birds begin to circle the boat.

A storm was approaching.

You were going to warn the captain but the boy beat you to it. He expertly jumped on the crow's nest before yelling something to the captain. He said he smelt the upcoming storm, causing your eyes to widen in surprise. You'd always thought you were odd for having an exceptional sense of smell, but now you'd found someone similar. Only it looks as though he has a better nose than you.

You clung to the wall, trying to avoid the mountain of puke by your feet. Seriously, you thought being a Hunter was a serious job. How can you aspire to be one if you can't even handle a bit of turbulence?!

You huffed in annoyance, cautiously stepping away from the nauseous man. Though, you did slightly pity him, so you decided to be nice and fetch a bucket for him. However, as soon as you put the bucket down, the man thanks you by letting another round of vomit spill near you. You shrieked in disgust and jumped back.

“So much for trying to be nice…” you grumble to yourself, a tinge of irritation present in your voice.

Just then, you hear the door open and let your ears follow the sound of soft thudding on the floorboards. The red-headed runt from earlier shot through the door, carrying a glass of water. He brought it to the little green boy, who was actively helping a passenger recover. Well, he was a lot better than you if he didn't mind the rancid stench of someone's leftover dinner resurfacing.

After walking away from the guy who almost ruined your fur lined boots (you'd worked hard to get that fur and would rather it stay in good shape), you finally looked towards the door, only to meet the eyes of the captain. He wore a pleased smile on his face. Looking around, you noticed the other two people from earlier were also fine.

It seems you have a good eye for people.

Shortly after, you and the three others were taken into a room with the captain and some other crewmates. You couldn’t help but feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of your neck. You were nervous, fearing you'd somehow failed the exam before it even started somehow.

"First, Tell me your names." the chunky sailor ordered, his eyes landing on the four of you.

The younger boy was the first to say his name, Gon, with which you followed and introduced yourself second.

"Katsumi!" You grinned, despite your earlier nervousness.

The blonde boy introduced himself as Kurapika and the lanky old man called himself Leorio.

Your tail begins to swish from side to side as you dig your fingers into your palm, trying to contain your excitement. You've never really descended the mountain you lived on, so all of this is pretty new to you. What can you say? You've always loved to uncover the unknown, perhaps that's why being a Hunter was so appealing to you.

The captain then asked everyone why they wished to become hunters, but before anybody could actually answer, the lanky man pointed an accusatory finger towards him.

"Hey! If you're not an examiner, you can't boss us around!"

You tilted your head to the side in confusion, "Is that how this works?" you thought to yourself.

Looking at the tall man, you just now noticed he was wearing a suit. Maybe he was a business person just like your aunt? No, he didn't really give off that vibe. Plus, your aunt's suit seemed to be of way better quality.

You had almost forgotten that the captain was waiting for your group's answer when Gon spoke out again. He began explaining how his dad was a Hunter and he left his hometown, "Whale Island", because he wanted to know why his dad decided to be a Hunter. You watched as the captain's face flickered with recognition, but paid it no mind.

"Hey kid!" The old man started again "You're not supposed to answer his question!"

You silently observed as Gon and Leorio started to bicker.

Seeing that it was in fact not illegal to answer, you shrugged and spoke up.

"I want to become a Hunter because I want to explore the world!" You cheerfully exclaimed, unintentionally interrupting the two boys fighting next to you.

"Hey! Not you too!"

You playfully stuck out your tongue at Leorio feeling a bit guilty for "not being a team player", as he calls it. You felt someone's eyes on you and looked over to see Gon smiling at you.

It seems he'd taken a liking to you.

You smiled back, holding his gaze until someone else’s voice broke the silence.

"I agree with Leorio," The blonde man to your right finally spoke out, somehow irritating Leorio simultaneously, since he'd apparently not used the correct honorifics. You'd never really understood the need for all that, but it seemed to be pretty important to Leorio, for whatever reason.

Kurapika went on some tangent that you, for the most part, blocked out since it just sounded like a bunch of edgy yap to you.

After that, the captain abruptly revealed that if they chose not to answer, they would be considered as dropouts.

Gon looked up at Leorio "So he says…"

His slight tease earned a chuckle from you. Hearing this, Gon seemed to be pretty pleased with himself, shooting you a wide grin.

Once again, Kurapika broke the silence. He started by telling the story of how his clan was massacred by a group of bandits called the "Phantom Troupe", which were apparently an A-class bounty (whatever that means).

You'd never heard of them. Although, based on how the atmosphere shifted when their name was mentioned, you hope you never get the pleasure, or displeasure, of meeting such people.

"You don't need to become a Hunter for that." Leorio interjected while wearing a smug look on his face.

"That may be the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Leorio."

Before the two older guys could start fighting again, Gon jumped in front of the black haired man to ask him why he wanted to become a Hunter. This simple question initiated a whole rant on why money is the best and "rules the world". You kinda tuned him out halfway through.

Seriously, do all adults just run their mouths non-stop?

Come to think about it, your dad and aunt loved to hear themselves talk as well. You hope you don't become like that when you're older. Just thinking about it gives you the chills.

You were so caught up in your own thoughts that you didn't even notice that both Leorio and Kurapika stormed out until the captain yelled after them. You wondered what exactly happened for the two of them to get so mad.

Someone was gonna go after them, but Gon suggested that it'd be better if they settled it themselves, to which you had no problem obliging. It wasn’t really your problem anyways.

"Captain!" The sailor driving the boat yelled from behind you "L-Look!"

You all turned to see a giant waterspout twirling violently in the sea. You had no clue what that was, but you could tell it was definitely something bad.

Sailors ran out to lower the sails, and, without thinking, you ran out alongside them to help.

Although, there’s just one small problem.

You're not too sure how much help you could actually be, since this is your first time ever even seeing a boat in real life. You tried not to think too much about it and instead just followed Gon. He’ll probably know what to do.

Once out on the deck, you both took hold of the same rope and began to pull the sails down, along with all the other crewmates of course.

Through the sounds of waves crashing against the ship, you could hear the faint sounds of Kurapika and Leorio arguing. You let your ears turn towards the sound, but your eyes never once left the sails, fearing you'd somehow lose focus and mess up.

While you were pulling, the red-head from earlier suddenly took off the ground as was thrown in the direction of the two.

Your eyes widened in shock yet you made no move to help him. Truthfully, you knew there was nothing you could do without endangering yourself.

As a hunter, your father always warned you to not be reckless. Afterall, it's better to back down and have a chance at redoing something in the future than to die trying.

You listened, of course (well, most of the time). The one time your father let his emotions get the better of him, he ended up disabling his leg. He tells you the story all the time.

So you made your decision and bit your lip, turning away from the scene. You chose to ignore the runt's screams.

However, you felt the rope behind you loosen, compelling you to turn around.

Gon was no longer there!

You quickly looked around in confusion, had he been swept up too?

While searching, your eyes landed on the two from earlier, who were no longer fighting and instead perched over the side of the boat. When did that happen?

A loud splash could be heard before they pulled something up from overboard the ship. People started running over to them and, in the midst of the chaos, you caught a glimpse of someone's foot being pulled back onto the ship.

It was Gon!

He was holding the, now unconscious, red head in his arms. You turned your attention away from the sails, staring at them in pure disbelief. Why would he go that far to save him? It seems you'd have to ask later.

Gon, however, seemed to notice you staring and looked up to meet your eyes. Seeing as how you were staring incredulously, he flashed a boyish grin your way and held up a peace sign.

What an interesting guy.

"You idiot!" Leorio scolded. "If we hadn't grabbed your legs, you'd be shark bait by now."

"Honestly," Kurapika added "How reckless can you be?"

You were directly in front of Gon, looking at each man planted beside you every time they spoke. You didn't quite understand their logic.

"But you did catch me. You both caught me!" Gon argued confidently, his smile never leaving his face.

You smiled at him before closing your eyes and putting a finger up, mimicking how your father would (very often) scold you.

"Exactly. And if Gon didn't jump to save him, wouldn't the red-head be the one who was shark bait?"

Truthfully, you didn't really understand Gon either.

Wouldn't it have been better to save yourself first and the sailor after? You pondered on it for a few seconds before shaking your head, an amused smile forming on your face.

You suppose you'd just have to ask him about it later.

The red-head ran out to thank your new friends for their help, and you couldn't help but feel a bit sheepish that you were the only one who didn't try to help him.

You looked over at Leorio and Kurapika and assumed they had already made up, due to how friendly they were being with each other all of a sudden. Watching them, you smiled to yourself, happy that everything worked out in the end.

However, the sweet moment was cut short by an obnoxious laugh. You all looked to the source, only to find the captain leaning against a door.

"I'll take responsibility for taking you four to the port closest to the exam site." He exclaimed after he finished laughing. Not only that, but apparently, all four of you passed!

You and Gon jumped up simultaneously. "All right!"

You stood restlessly next to the boy in green as he shook hands with the captain. You could barely contain your excitement.

The town was bustling with people and the air smelt completely different from what you were used to. All your five senses were being overloaded with new things!

Torn between staying near Gon and running around to explore, you started running in place, well it was more like jumping, but whatever. You heard the captain say something about a tree on a hilltop, but was too busy marvelling at everything to properly focus on what he was saying.

Although, you snapped out of your trance when you heard the captain wish Gon luck.

"Let's go, Katsumi!" Gon called out as he took off running in Kurapika and Leorio's direction.

Obviously, you caught up and ran with him until you both reached a large map of some sorts. Leorio and Kurapika were already looking at it when you approached.

"Huh, that's strange." Leorio started, "According to the notice I received, the exam is supposedly being held somewhere in Zaban city. That cedar tree is in the opposite direction." He explained while pointing to a tree drawn on the map.

Even so, Gon was adamant on going to the tree. Looks like he really trusts that old sailor.

He turned to look at you expectantly.

Was he hoping you'd follow him?

You let out a small laugh at that and Gon's eyes instantly lit up. Despite Leorio's protests, he grabbed you by the hand and spun on his heel, making his way to the hilltop.

Not too long after, you hear soft footsteps behind you two and turn to see Kurapika. It seems he decided to follow Gon as well.

Leorio, on the other hand, was headed towards the bus. You were a little disappointed, as you hoped to continue travelling with them, but it was his choice in the end.

Though, very faintly, your ears caught a hushed conversation coming from behind you. From what you could make out of it, they were talking about how the bus to Zaban was a trap. You instantly perked up.

Leorio!

Before you could even turn back, you hear the loud thumping of shoes against the pavement headed towards you. You let out a sigh of relief as the familiar tall man rounded the corner.

"Well, I knew you guys would be lonely without me. And it's no fun traveling alone, so I decided to keep you guys company a while longer"

Leorio went on and on the entire way, though it felt like he was trying to convince himself that he hadn't fallen for a trap more than anything.

"Are you sure you just didn't hear anything that made you realize the bus was a bad idea?" You teased, flashing him a knowing smile.

"Hey!"

You watched as Leorio’s face flushed red with embarrassment and playfully stuck your tongue out at him.

Eventually, the four of you ended up in a seemingly deserted town, though you could sense many people here. You're glad your lifestyle honed your senses so much. If you were just a normal civilian, you probably would've had to drop out before the exam even started!

The sounds of a door opening interrupted your train of thought. You and the other three immediately put your guards up, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Though, what came through the door wasn’t exactly what you were expecting.

You watched in utter confusion as some masked people dressed in white robes wheeled out a giant wagon. An old woman sat in the middle.

"Exciting.." She started ominously, "Exciting.."

"Time for the exciting two choice quiz!" She suddenly yelled out, eyes bloodshot.

At the same time, the masked people beside her started playing some odd tune with various instruments.

You were genuinely lost so you looked around to see if maybe this was normal. It was not. Your friends were just as confused as you were.

After the music died down, the grandma explained how, if we wanted to reach the cedar tree, we'd have to pass through this town. However, to pass, we'd need to answer her lone question with either 1 or 2.

“Well, this didn't seem so hard.” You thought to yourself, putting a hand on your hip.

You were determined to get this right. There was absolutely no way in hell would you not pass the Hunter Exam this year, no matter what it took.

All of a sudden, your ears pick up on the sound of footsteps behind you. Unsurprisingly, it was the guy who'd followed your group up the mountain. Apparently he wants to answer the question first. This didn’t sit right with you. You guys were there first!

You were going to argue, but seeing how the rest of your group didn't really care, you let the words die in your throat. The four of you stepped back to observe.

"Rogues have captured your mother and lover. You may only rescue one. 1, your mother. 2, your lover. Who will you save?" The grandma asked, scrutinizing the man in front of her.

You take back what you said earlier, this isn't easy at all!

You grabbed your hair in distress, fearing that you'd fail the exam without even making it to Zaban City. Suddenly, you realized something and loosened the grip on your head.

You don't even have a mom. This is the easiest quiz ever!

You perked up, before almost instantly deflating once again. You also realized that your friends most likely all have moms, so this was back to being the most stressful quiz ever.

However, the man seemed to have no issue and answered confidently. He chose his mom and his reasoning made enough sense to you. To everyone’s surprise, that was apparently the right answer because he was allowed to pass.

As expected, this did not sit right with Leorio and he seemed to be getting riled up again. Seriously, he needs to work on his impulsiveness. You began shaking your head in disapproval before realizing that you were in fact, the exact same. You quickly shrugged that thought off, remembering that it was in fact not the time to dwell on that.

While you were racking your brain, trying to find a way to pass this quiz, Leorio just kept yelling at the old lady. Kurapika tried to tell him something but was quickly shut down by the old lady. You wonder why.

You were still trying to find a solution when the grandma posed her question:

"Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. You can only rescue one. 1, your daughter. 2, your son."

Your jaw dropped open as you stared incredulously at the grandma. There's absolutely no way you can answer that.

Once again, you were back to ripping out locks of your hair trying to come up with something. If this kept up, you'd be bald by the time you reached the exam site, if you even made it that far.

In fear of accidentally saying something that could ruin your chances, you made the smart decision to just shut up. You don't really know how game quizzes work, but you're sure that you can't fail if you just don't say anything. As the lady starts counting down, you notice Leorio grab a wooden plank, which you assume he plans to use to attack her.

"Leorio! How is that gonna help anything?!" You shouted in your head, hoping it would somehow reach him.

Spoiler alert: it did not.

Sometimes you wonder what exactly goes through this man's head.

Thankfully, Kurapika stepped between Leorio and the granny, causing you to let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding. Of course, the two began arguing and Kurapika revealed that we had in fact passed the test.

"We passed?" You and Leorio asked simultaneously.

Even after Kurapika explained why, you still didn't understand. Well, you decided it best to not dwell on it. The past is the past. All that matters now is getting to that lone cedar tree.

After the grandma was done explaining, you were about to enter the path but realized you forgot something.

Gon!

You whipped your head around only to realize he was still lost in thought. Something in you decided to just let him be, so you stepped closer to him and waited till he was done. Suddenly, he let out a loud sigh and dropped to the ground.

"It's no use. I can't think of an answer." he admitted, exasperated.

Gon’s honesty earned a laugh from you, Kurapika and Leorio.

You offered the boy your hand and pulled him towards the exit, "C'mon, we have to head for that tree!" You chirped while dragging him through the tunnel.

You notice that Leorio has a tendency of complaining a lot.

The entire walk there, he went a whole tangent about literally everything. Though, you've learned to just tune him out. You're sure he just likes to hear himself talk, much like every other adult.

After some more walking, the tree finally came into sight. A house sat right next to it, which you assumed was the couple's house and went to knock on the door. However, as you approached, it sounded like there were more than two people in there. You could hear maybe around three different breathing patterns.

"Wait! Guys, it sounds like there's more than two people in there." Your warning was not headed in time, as Leorio was already opening the door.

What awaited you four was the sight of some odd yellow creature kidnapping a young, purple-haired woman. There was also an injured man on the floor next to them. Leorio immediately ran over to tend to him.

On the other hand, Gon and Kurapika decided to chase after the magical beast. You trusted the two to be able to retrieve the woman safely, so you chose to stay with Leorio. After all, after living in a forest for your whole life, you were able to identify all different kinds of herbs. You're sure you could find one to help with healing. Not only that, but if another magical beast were to appear, you could protect Leorio as he restores the husband back to full health.

"I'll go see if there's any herbs that can help! I'll be right back." You shouted from behind you before leaping out the shattered window.

While you were gathering all different kinds of plants, you happened to notice two of the yellow beasts from earlier exchanging a few words before going in two opposite directions. You thought this was odd, but finding Gon and Kurapika would be too time consuming. Plus, you don’t know how bad the husband’s injuries are. He might not be able to last that long.

You decided to return  to Leorio and tell him what was going on. Besides, if there's two, one might come back for the husband! By the time you reached the cabin, the man was already all bandaged up. So, you quickly whipped up a concoction that would act as a pain-killer before allowing the man to rest. You informed Leorio of your findings and you both agreed to wait until Gon and Kurapika returned.

You soon found out that this was all planned and was, yet again, another test. Seriously, how many tests do you need to take?! The family of beasts began explaining the reasons why everyone passed and yada yada. You really only heard that everyone passed, as your thoughts were consumed by the concern for your growing hunger. Now you really wished that you'd packed a lunch…

The cold air blew against your now rosy cheeks as the Kiriko flew you and your friends to the exam site. Never in a million years would you have ever seen this coming. Though, it was always a childhood dream of yours to one day soar through the sky. Imagine how useful that would be? Maybe that's why birds make such good hunters.

Your rambling thoughts were disrupted when a particularly strong gust of wind hit you, making you shiver. Careful as to not disturb your navigator too much, you slid your fur lined hood over your head. It wouldn't do anything to make your legs any less cold, but at least your ears wouldn't be frozen anymore.

It'll still be a couple hours before you reach Zaban City. In the meantime, you figured you'd get a little rest.

When you wake up, your real journey will finally begin. 

Savor the delicious flavors of a Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Tart that fits the Paleo diet. This guilt-free dessert is made without using any dairy or gluten and has a nutty cookie crust, a creamy cashew cheesecake filling, and juicy fresh cherries.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups almond flour. 1/4 cup coconut flour. 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted. 1/4 cup maple syrup. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 1/4 tsp salt. 1 cup cashews, soaked for 4 hours. 1/4 cup coconut milk. 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted. 1/4 cup lemon juice. 1/4 cup honey. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 1 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved. 2 tbsp honey for drizzling. Fresh mint leaves for garnish.

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350F 175C. In a bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until a dough forms. Press the dough into the bottom of a tart pan to form the crust. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Remove and let it cool. In a blender, combine soaked cashews, coconut milk, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, honey, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour the cashew cream mixture over the cooled tart crust. Arrange the fresh cherry halves on top of the cashew cream mixture. Drizzle honey over the cherries for added sweetness. Chill the tart in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set. Garnish with fresh mint leaves before serving. Slice and enjoy your Paleo Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Tart!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes