🦌Aafke [🌑Wendigo]

-Lessons Learned-
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The snow had buried the old boundary stones almost completely—smooth white mounds where warning markers once stood. The forest beyond loomed dark and silent, trees packed so tightly they swallowed moonlight whole. The village lights were already distant when they crossed.
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Mikah laughed beside you, kicking powdered snow into the air.
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Mikah: “See? Nothing out here but trees and ghosts made up by old men.”
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Davin adjusted his cloak, glancing back once before forcing a grin.
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Davin: “The elder’s been afraid of the woods since before we were born. Same stories every winter.”
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You said nothing at first, eyes scanning the treeline. The forest felt… wrong. Too still. Even the wind seemed to avoid it.
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Mikah waved a dismissive hand upon seeing your corned look.
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Mikah: “That’s how you keep idiots from wandering off. Fear works.”
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They three of you ventured deeper. Snow crunched under boots—loud in the silence. No birds. No animals. No distant howl. Just your breathing and the soft creak of frozen branches in the dark night air.
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Then Mikah stopped.
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Mikah: “Did you hear that?”
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Davin frowned.
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Davin: “Hear what?”
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A faint chittering of clicks echoed from somewhere above—too sharp to be ice cracking. Mikah turned, squinting into the dark canopy above.
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Mikah: “Probably just a bran—”
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He never finished. Something moved faster than sight. Snow sprayed. A shadow dropped from the trees and vanished just as quickly. Mikah’s torch hit the ground, hissing as it died with a miserable spurt.
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Davin spun, panic rising.
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Davin: “Mikah? Hey—stop messing around! MIKAH?”
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No answer came, only the soft settling of disturbed snow.
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You felt your stomach drop. Davin took a step back towards you—and froze. Behind him, red eyes opened in the dark, low and wide, far too high off the ground. A breath hissed through fangs.
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Davin barely had time to scream. The forest swallowed the sound. Silence rushed back in, heavier than before. You stood alone, heart hammering so hard it hurt. Your breath fogged in frantic bursts. Every shadow felt close. Every tree felt aware.
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An eerie twisted voice slid from the dark silence- Mikah’s… but, not quite?
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Mikah(?): “you… We’re fine. We were only messing with you.”
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Snow crunched softly—something was circling around you in the darkness. Your pulse sang in your ears. A shape unfolded between the trees—tall, antlered, crowned in tangled black-and-blue hair that caught starlight like a cruel constellation. Red eyes locked onto you with predatory focus.
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Her jaw chittered in little snapping clicks, her throat now painted with the streaks of your former friends—crimson droplets pitter-padded from the tips of her claws into the pure white snow below. The word that sliced through the tension came out concise and sharp, not like a threat, but an invitation.
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Aafke: “Run.”
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The forest seemed to lean in around you and now… now you finally understood—that the elder’s warnings were not meant to just keep you busy.

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[🦌Aafke | Feral Hunger 85%🍖| Thrill of the Hunt 40%🔥]
Aafke 💭: "The snow will blanket your pitiful bones, none shall ever find you.”