by NuclearCaiman » Sun Nov 08, 2015 8:31 am
Username:
TwistedArtz
Name:
Phooka
Type:
Runner
Height:
105 cm
Gender:
Doe
Story (500-1000 words):
(I went 8 words over! I apologize!)
The soft rustle of leaves underfoot was the only real noise in the massive forest. The birds had finished their songs before the sun had gone down, the animals belonging to the day light bedding down for the night to avoid the things that hunted in the light of the moon. The red haired girl twirled through the autumn leaves, kicking up crimson red and pumpkin orange oak leaves as she spun. She danced to music that only she could hear, music that echoed from under the hillside that came from deep underground. The girl’s green eyes bright as she laughed, stopping her dance to continue roaming back towards her house whose light she could see from here atop the hill in the distance.
After a good few minutes of care free jogging it finally hit her, and it hit her hard. She was making to progress, the light never grew any nearer and stayed in the distance out of reach. Sophia’s chest heaved from her running, her hands shaking slightly as she glanced around the forest for a way out that should have been visible by now. But the trees had only grown thicker, their branches tangling overhead like hands clasped together. The oddest thing was that they now lacked their leaves, all of them did and there were none to be found on the ground either. This was an entirely new section of forest, one the girl had never before seen with different trees mixed in among the oaks.
Sophia was lost even though she hadn’t strayed from the well-traveled path.
Her legs trembled as she trudged on, yanking the heavy winter coat tighter around her slight frame as the cold set in. Green eyes filled with tears as she kept walking trying to ignore anything other than the path in front of her. Or at least that’s what she was trying to do till a small white-blue light drifted past and into the woods on the far side of the path, that’s what made her look up and flinch back at the lights that were drifting among the dead tree branches. Sophia’s first thought was that these were fireflies, normally found in the dark of the forest and said to be kept in jars by faeries. Till she realized they had no real form or substance too them, just balls of bright white and blue that flittered among the woods replacing the stars that no longer shone overhead.
It all came as a shock to her system, these were the creatures known to lead travelers astray, to kidnap people and children away to the home of the dark court. A sob escaped her lips as she took off at a full sprint, her eyes closed tight to avoid staring too long at the hypnotizing light that called for her to follow. The told her they knew where safety was, she refused to be some tourist who would be tricked into following the wily spirits.
It took longer this time before she gave up and collapsed to the ground on her jean clad knees sobbing fearfully. It had felt like she’d been outside for hours, her fingers numb with cold and her pale form shaking as she cried and tried to hide in her jacket. Her body curled up against the massive form of the only oak tree left, the sounds of animals finally reaching her ears. But these ones sounded wrong, their cries and calls sounding like human laughter and screams as they paraded through the old forest.
Sophia was trapped and that thought hurt, regret about have gone tromping through the forest on All Hallows Eve eating her up. She would never see her brother again, would never see her older sister marry, would never get to tell her mother how much she loved her. Those thoughts simply brought more tears till a light hand landed on her shoulder, a soft velvety voice whispering next to her ear to stand up and keep her eyes shut. The claws that tipped each finger dug slightly into her jacket shoulder as the being helped her too her feet, she was too tired to do much else other than listen.
Her feet dragged along the ground till she was lifted up and cradled lightly, though to what she wasn’t sure though it felt like the rib bones one would find on a skeleton left to dry in the sun. Drifting in and out it wasn’t long before she was set down onto her feet again.
Opening her eyes brought about a feeling of happiness, she was standing at the edge of the hill and above the light was still on in a kitchen window. Sophia took off at a full sprint with a scream of joy, not stopping till she reached the top and safety. When she did though, she glanced back to the tree line to see who had gotten her out of the forest. Most likely one of the trappers who hunted animals for their bones and skins. But what she did see both scared her and filled her with awe. The figure was tall, a long curling tail flickering behind them and ram horns nestled among curling black hair that reached their shoulders. The chest was partially hidden by a waist coat, but what could be seen were rib bones in an empty cavity, each bone tied with a red ribbon, and the legs hidden by torn black slacks that showed hoofed feet. The figure might as well been the devil himself as it bowed low with a sweep of its arms before disappearing slowly back into the shadows as Sophia ran up the steps of her porch and threw herself inside.
All the celtic stories her mother had told her were true, the will-o-wisps, the terrifying dark court that often trapped humans, and the kindness that the fae were able to show. All Hallow’s Eve held much more meaning now, it wasn’t just the day before the great harvest anymore…not too her atleast.
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