Young Writers Society

James listened quietly, his face solemn but watchful of their expressions as they explained. He didn't want to doubt their stories, but he could feel the seed of doubt in his mind - distrust towards everyone growing over the past few years. Rooted so deep he didn't even know how to tame it anymore. So he just bit his tongue, choosing not to react right away. These were going to be his comrades, people who, despite their odds had agreed to go with him into the forest and face the terrifying beast.

He had to trust them with his life. Maybe not his history, maybe not their stories, but in combat, he would. He would have to.

"Well... I'm sorry you guys found yourselves here." No matter where they came from, he didn't feel anyone with a shred of decency belonged here, and these two seemed reasonable folk, even though their stories were mysterious.

He had to admit though, his distrust of their side of the story was mostly due to the fact that it sent chills down his back. Appearing in the middle of nowhere? Somehow, unconsciously finding their way here? Could something or someone else be at work here? Could this be a trap on a grander scale?

No. He couldn't afford to tailspin into a flurry of paranoia. He had to focus on the task at hand. So he got up, and went to grab one of the mystery vegetables he'd been peeling before and took out his small knife, and went back at it, flicking the skin shavings into the fire.

"Are either of you hungry? Thirsty? Need anything? As you can see, it's no five-star inn but we can make do."

Ralys nodded to Mike, "We should all probably eat something," He suggested. "Even if it's just roots, we'll need the energy." It seemed like an obvious statement, he thought. But he supposed there was nothing wrong with that. "And what about you, Mike. How did you end up here?"

"Oh." James handed the peeled root to Ralys and one to Tasha, before grabbing another one for him to pick at with his knife. "Well, I got lost. Clearly that speaks to my unmatched ability to map and navigate uncharted land and stumble upon things unusual." He spoke with what he hoped sounded like sarcasm, but in all actuality sounded much like how he normally spoke.

Wolfsbane sniffed at the root and grumbled before circling a few times and laying down. I ate it without complaint - food was food.

"We should probably wait to confront it until it stops raining. Ideally we'd fight it in an open area where it doesn't have the advantage and it can't ambush us. Know anywhere like that, Mike?"

James sat, thoughtfully chewing on the root. "Hmm... yes. Yes I do. It's a bit a ways from here though. Forest's pretty thick for the most part."

"How far?" I inquired. One of us would have to bait the creature out. We had a horse, at least, which could go faster and longer than any of us - she had been bred to run, after all.

"Like, maybe 2 miles from here. About a 30 minute walk." James could feel a sinking in his stomach at the prospect of walking in the forest for 30 minutes in anticipation of the beast. It would not be enjoyable.

One of us would have to lure the beast out after that. I could ride, and if I was going to distract it, it did seem like the ideal choice. Then there was the problem of getting there without getting attacked. I honestly wasn't sure how to get around that one.

"Assuming we can get there safely, I could take Nightmare and lure the grangor onto open land. She can run fast enough; she did outrun the oversized kitten before. Getting there, though..."

"It's a gamble for all of us." He said with finality. "A bloody gamble, but I'm gonna kill that thing one way or another." With or without their help. He was either going to kill the grangor or die trying - that was unavoidable. The only other alternative was to die alone in this cave, which James was sick of surrendering himself to. If he had to do it alone then that would be his burden to bear. But at present he was relieved that the two in his company seemed willing to bear arms with him and fight the creature.

"I mean... we're gonna kill that thing. We. Sorry."

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going to sit here and wait for it to kill us. It may be one big ass cat, but I'm not content with being the hunted. We should start preparations now and carry it out a day or two after the rain dies down, so we aren't bogged down by the mud."

"I agree." He said with a nod, taking a big bite out of the root and proceeding to talk while chewing. "What preparations do you have in mind? Besides... you know, mentally preparing ourselves to face possible death."

"Well, she needs to be well fed enough to outrun the grangor." Tasha gestures to Nightmare. "We should make sure we're all well armed and figure out where you two are going to be when I bait out the kitty cat."