Young Writers Society

It doesn't matter how you got here - whether you're lost or were dropped here by some outside force you've found yourself deep in a magic filled forest. Strange lava-like matter oozes from cracks in the ground, and glowing plants scatter the ground. The forest floor is otherwise covered thick in lush greenery, with tall feathery trees hanging high and low. Although it's terrible to navigate and seems endless, it is admittedly beautiful, and the atmosphere has a strange tranquility to it. That is, until you hear a low grow come from behind you. You cannot make out the full view of whatever creature is behind you, but it is at least three times taller than you, and it's massive bulky frame stretches out behind you. You can sense the tension in the air and the predatory instincts as its breath hits your face, and you run. You don't look back to see if it's following but by some miracle you gain some distance between it and you.

Now as you peer above between the branches above, you see the cloudy sky above begin to darken. Rain is looming, and you begin to search for shelter. You spot what looks like a deep cave with a small opening at the foot of a small plateu, and as the rain drops begin to fall you cautiously approach...

Meanwhile...

~

James heard the muffled roar of thunder bounce off the walls of the cave, and sighed. There was nothing he could do to ease his nerves or dull his senses - not with that thing out there, prowling around. He began to peel a root-like plant with his knife as he huddled by the little fire he'd managed to get going. Did he know what it was? No, not really. It tasted something like a potato, something like a radish. An odd hybrid of the two, but there was an abundance of it growing in the ground this time of year and it made for easy food. He'd tried cooking it, but found he liked it raw best. When cooked all it seemed to do was make his bowel movements irregular, so he stopped trying to make it taste good and settled for functional.

As he flicked the mystery vegetable's skin into the fire, his eyes flickered to the opening of the cave with suspicion. He thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. Setting the vegetable down slowly on a nearby rock, he wielded his knife in his hand and approached slowly, his ears listening attentively for footsteps. It took him a minute to climb up to the opening from the deep caverns of the cave, but he finally caught a glimpse - grass, and plants moving. Something was approaching... something smaller. Not the grangor. But it was unlikely that anything good roamed this forest...

How had I even gotten here? I looked around, reining in my mare. She danced a bit, nervous, as I surveyed our rather...odd surroundings. Something like lava flowed out of the ground, the trees were tall, feathery plants like nothing I'd seen nor smelled before, and the ground cover glowed.

Wolfsbane snarled, her hackles up as she uttered a low growl; this forest wasn't right, not at all. I could feel the magic coming off of it and everything smelled wrong.

Then, behind me, I heard a deep, rumbling snarl, like thunder. Upon looking back, I noticed two gleaming yellow eyes behind me. Whatever this thing was, it was at least three times my height and the gods know how large in width or weight.

I urged Nightmare into a gallop and she bolted, tearing through the trees and luminescent shrubbery in a mad sprint, driven by fear and sheer instinct. I leaned over her neck, Wolfsbane galloping next to us. None of our trio dared look back.

It occurred to me that running might just trigger it's instincts to come after us, but fighting wasn't a good idea: I may have been reckless, but not stupid.

I lost all track of time as I rode until we finally slowed and stopped. We were all breathing hard, from panic and exhaustion. The sky was dark, ominous thunderclouds looming overhead. We needed shelter.

I looked around to find a cave. Sliding off Nightmare, I walked towards it, sniffing the damp air to make sure it wasn't inhabited already. My nose told me there was one human, no more.

My hand rested on the pommel of my blade as I approached in the rain, boots sinking a bit in the mud.

James's eyes widened as he saw the figure approaching through the thick of the forest - it was a woman with a horse and dog following behind. But what really caught his eye was the placement of her hand on her side. She was armed, and ready. The only natural response of anyone who, by whatever unfortunate circumstances, found themselves fighting to survive in this forest. But it had been a long time since he'd seen anyone and while he in no way trusted the woman, he felt a glimmer of hope, because no matter how much the hermit life seemed to suit him (or so he convinced himself), he desired contact. To interact with someone, anyone, was something he had been sorely lacking for months. So much so that he'd lost count.

With that so, he hesitated to attack, though that was his first inclination. Instead, he thought he'd try a more peaceful approach. Perhaps, if he appeared vulnerable, he would not be seen as a threat and cause her to strike or lash out. That was his hope.

So he crawled out from the cave slowly, and raised his hands up to reveal they were empty. He was sure that he was no impressive sight, and he likely looked like a man stranded and cornered by the creature who hunted this forest. His clothes were worn and tattered, and his hair unkept, overgrown to his shoulders, and messy. His beard hid the lower part of his face, and he was positive he smelled like dirt. The only welcoming features were his clear, dark blue eyes, which lacked the cloudiness or the craze of an isolated madman.

"The grangor will be back," he called out, "If it's caught your smell. And it's going to rain soon. You'll need shelter and a place to hide."

He looked at the animal companions behind her, feeling a pit in his stomach. He was unsure if they'd be able to crawl down into the cave. He spoke as if the next line was rehearsed (it was), but still said with sincerity.

"If you promise to come peacefully with no ill intent, you are welcome to take refuge here."

((She's only got one horse and one dog :P))

I looked at the man, unsure of whether or not I should take his offer. I didn't know him, and there was no reason to trust him; on the other hand, the rain was dumping harder. With hope, it'd wash away my scent trail, but it was still cold and wet.

I put my right fist over my heart as in an oath. "I swear I wish you no harm and come with peaceful intent," I answered, and slid the saddle and saddlebags of Nightmare, ducking inside the cave. I wasn't sure if the horse would fit, but at the very least I could get her saddle off first and see if I had something to help keep her dry.

"The grangor?" I asked. "Is that what you're calling the big kitty?"

James looked out behind them, out the entrance of the cave before leading ahead of the stranger down to where he had the fire going.

"That's... well, I didn't come up with the name. The person here before me, he..." James stuttered, stumbling over his words. "That's what he called it. I assumed it was something would-be locals call the feline creature. He's uh... not... here anymore."

James cleared his throat and pursed his lips, abruptly leaving it at that. As they passed through a narrow crawl-space in the cave they entered into a space that opened up more. In it, was his makeshift living space. A small fire crackled in the center of the room in a fire pit, and a blanket spread on the space of the floor along with pilings of other clothes. A rock served as a raised table, on which the mysterious vegetables sat, among a few other sparse rations of food. A barrel of water stood beside, with an old water-stained pot sitting atop it.

James clasped his hands together and swung them apart, gesturing to the room-like cave. "Welp, this is as good as it gets out here. You hungry?"

"Oh, also, by the way, I return the oath. I wish you no harm either. Only peace."

I dropped my saddlebags onto the ground, my dog laying down next to the fire. I pulled a small cloth bag from them and went over to the man, extending my hand.

"My name is Tasha Hunter," I introduced myself. "The Guard Dog. Doesn't have much meaning here, but I'm a soldier, and I stand for the protection of the innocent. I have some rations. Mostly just dried fruit and jerky, but until the rain dies down we can't hunt, so..."

Wolfsbane watched us with her deep golden-brown eyes, then stood and sat next to me. The wolf dog eyed him cautiously.

There was a slight delay before James took her hand and shook it. For a moment, he didn't register she was going in for a hand shake.

"I'm Mike," he said with a small nod, as his eyes went from her to her dog. "Nice to meet you, Tasha. Good to know you've got some gear and rations on you. I don't know how long you'll be here for."

He stepped back and looked at the dog, before his thoughts went to the woman's horse and its safety. "Your horse... I wouldn't want it to wait out in the rain. Or out in the open. There's another cave... only about a quarter mile from here, if we go left and travel alongside this plateau. It'd be safer. There's a tunnel we could take it through. A bit of a long way around, but it leads back here, and your horse would fit."

I was relieved; I was worried about her.

"Alright, I'll go and get her. Thanks. And I've got rations to last one person about a week, and basic survival supplies. Should at least keep me on my feet till I find a way out."

I ducked out of the cave, back towards Nightmare.

"W-wait, I, I'm..." James stuttered as he followed behind her, grabbing his sword, unwilling to go out into the forest unarmed. "I'm coming with you."

As much as he knew it was a bad idea, and he didn't know her, it would've been hell for his conscience if she left and never came back. So he met her outside the cave, relieved that the horse was still there to reunite with her.

"I can show you the way... Tasha." For some reason it felt strange to say any person's name, and even stranger to hear it come from his mouth. It had been a long time, hadn't it? Long enough that he wished he'd never stepped foot in this forest, and long enough that he'd rather die at the sword of another if it meant seeing people than to be trapped in a cave with the constant threat of death at his door and the inevitability of not being remembered, seen, or known.

Glad nothing had happened to her, I stroked my horse and turned to Mike to lead the way.

"Thanks," I answered, looking out into the woods with my lone ice blue eye. The pounding rain made my supernatural hearing all but useless with it's noise, and the wet got rid of almost any scent. Detecting the cat-thing wouldn't be easy, if it did come. "Which way, then, Mike?"

James adjusted his belt, making sure the attached sheathed sword was secure on his hip. He then tied his hair back really quickly with a thread from his pocket. With the rain pouring down so heavy and him already nearly wet to the bone, he'd rather have it out of the way. He already had enough issues with his sight, and the rain made it all the more difficult.

He gestured with his hand for Tasha to follow. "This way," he directed, staying true to his word and going left of the cave, staying close to the rocky base of the plateau. As Tasha came up behind him he called back to her, as loud as he dared what with the grangor out there, over the pounding sound of the rain.

"So how'd a soldier like you get stuck out here?"

"I honestly have no damn idea," I called back, coming over some rocks with Nightmare on my heels. "I was hunting one minute, and the next...I was here, with glowing plants and the grangor."

((Totally didn't almost say glowing pants))

"Well that's bloody terrifying." James commented, as he pushed a branch out of the way. "The plants are harmless though. Mostly."

((GLOWING PANTS))

"I just hope I can get out of here," I answered. "What about you? How'd you get here?"

((Ikr?))

"Long story short, I was travelling, and ran into the wrong place." James replied apathetically, "Been stuck here for quite a long time. I can't get very far without being driven back here - the only safe place the grangor can't get into, because of its size."

(i WISH they had glowing pants)