Vision of Beasts

"Do you see something tall and strange, watching, lurking in those dark woods...?"
WC: 233

The green-eyed hybrid stepped out of Old Brassard Church, his body shivering from the cold. The frigid, winter air nipped at Falcon’s exposed fur. He swore he’d heard something… Hadn’t he? Maybe it was just the wind. What else would, or even could, it be? Falcon sighed, pulled his shawl around him tighter, and turned his back to the icy streets of Winterwynd.

A low, eerie howl rose up from the edge of town, swelling up dark alleyways and roaring at the frozen church. “Sedona, are you home?” Falcon called out, his snow-dusted fur standing on end. He glanced at the cattle rancher’s house, at the light shining through its old, thick windows, and hoped she’d answer. The frozen wind whistled above the snowy town, heralding ominous echoes from the southeast. Falcon was young, but he knew those weren’t normal winter sounds.

The frightened Crowstooth worried his skirt for a moment before darting over to Sedona’s house. ”Sedona! Sedona let me in,” he pleaded, resisting the urge to bang on her door, ”Or come out here, please!” Falcon knew it was probably—no, definitely—nothing, but he didn’t want to lead whatever it wasn’t into the church. What would his mother think? She’d tell him to stop crying, be brave, and go face his fears; if only she’d meant it.

WC: 319

Sedona was stoking the fire to a bright blaze, warming the inside of her home while a winter storm whipped up outside. The winds creaked the wooden beams in the roof and rattled the old pane windows, whistling at their worn away seals. Shivering and rubbing her paws together the Hawkesond pulled a thick fur cloak around her shoulders and sat back for a moment in the makeshift nest-bed she'd created out of pile of pelts that she'd once had strewn across the entire floor of the living room. Since she and Sineria now shared a lot of their nights sleeping snuggled close together to conserve warmth, the cowgirl had done a bit of rearranging in her home to accommodate her newfound lover. He preferred his four legged forms over his two, so Sedona had made the house more Secui and Lupus friendly. She herself had even began to utilize her other forms more often. It was funny the little things that changed when you were living with someone you loved.

As the coydog was about to get up to head into her kitchen to check on the fish fillets she was about to sear over the fire, suddenly there was a voice on the howling winds. Sedona's ears perked at the sound of her name. She caught the last few words of what must have been a packmate, even though she couldn't distinguish who it was. "Sedona --come out here please!" They sounded fearful and troubled and so Sedona took a second to grab her hunting knife (just in case) before dawning her thick winter cloak and throwing open the door, casting flickering firelight into the darkness and stepping out into the frigid winds and whipping snow swirling in under the porch. Squinting into the white shadows she just barely picked out the male standing barely 4 feet in front of her. "Who's there? What's wrong pard'ner?!"

WC: 242

The western woman burst from her home, hunting knife in hand, and asked him what was wrong. Falcon was convinced he’d had a good answer before, but now... Now, face to face with Sedona, Falcon felt like a foolish child. ”I-I heard a noise. Sounded like an animal,” he stuttered, his teeth chattering from the cold. Maybe it was hurt or sickly or worse, but Falcon just wanted it to stop moaning on the edge of town.

”I want to investigate, but I don’t want to go alone,” Falcon admitted, shielding his face from the snow with one hand. The green-eyed hybrid was prideful, but he knew better than to deny a helping hand—especially when he’d begged for it in the first place. ”Can you come with me?” Falcon asked, offering Sedona a small smile. He resisted the urge to apologize for bothering her; if this was something important, he knew she’d want to help. At least, he hoped Sedona would.

Falcon stepped closer to the brick and wood building, desperate for warmth and protection from the elements. He’d liked the cold once, but his coyote heritage was spoiled by the summer sun; whatever was dying outside Winterwynd better be worth it. The sooner Falcon could curl up in a bed of furs and fall asleep, the better.

Falcon’s fur stood on end as another moaning howl echoed through the streets of Winterwynd.

WC: 377

Sedona could barely make out the male upon her porch through the slanting snow. The male was one she knew from around the pack, newer, but his name slipped her mind at that moment. "It's....Falcon right?" She guessed and stepped to the side of her doorway ever so slightly to allow more light to fall out into the darkness. "I-I heard a noise. Sounded like an animal." He explained in response to her hurried inquiries. The cowgirl's racing heart slowed a bit as the emergency became less. "I want to investigate, but I don’t want to go alone." He continued and Sedona gave a nod, smiling, lowering her blade and chuckling. "Are ya sure it wasn't jus' the wind?" She had to ask. She herself had mistaken noises in the night and during weather events for things they were not. "Can you come with me?"

Sedona grinned, wagging her tail and leaned into the warmth of the doorway, grabbing her cowboy hat and jamming it on her head. "Well I ain't bout to say no to an adventure now!" She listened hard through the howling, whistling winds trying to detect the noise that had so badly spooked her company. She shrugged. No matter if they were chasing nothing, the Hawkesond didn't mind. It was her duty to assist her pack in any way she could. Assuaging the fears of a fellow pack mate fell into that description.

Just then she heard it... The tortured sound made the fur on the back of the Whitesage woman's neck rise. Her eyes widened and a frown fell into place on her maw. "Sound like we've got a bit of a mystery on our hands indeed." She gave a low growl and raised her knife again. "Come on, let's find out what's goin' on...I got your back." She said, feeling a sinking feeling creeping into her chest even as she stepped forth off her porch, kicking the door shut behind her with a foot and leading the way determinedly out into the shadowed and white landscape of Winterwynd. What could possibly make a sound so bone-chilling, Sedona wondered. It was like nothing she'd ever heard before. Even back on the ranch at home, literally, nothing like it in her whole life.

WC: 243

”Yeah, Falcon,” he said, nodding respectfully at the older woman. Falcon knew a lot of names and faces within Mistfell Vale, but he didn’t know them well enough. He snorted at Sedona’s question, though he understood why she asked. ”I don’t think so,” Falcon said, turning away from the warmth of Sedona’s porch. There was something… Off about the air tonight.

Sedona grabbed her hat—it was wide-brimmed and foreign—and agreed to help Falcon. He wasn’t sure what kind of adventure she was signing up for, but he appreciated the help. The noises beyond Winterwynd didn’t sound natural, mundane as they may have been.

As Sedona kicked the door closed behind her, knife pointed out toward the darkness, Falcon breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t be in safer hands if he tried. ”What do you think it is?” Falcon asked, struggling to be heard over the wind and snow. He pulled his cloak tight around his ears and grimaced into the storm. Maybe it was the wind; Falcon had never experienced a storm this strong before, not in a town like Winterwynd. The old buildings did little to shield the pair from the elements.

They passed through snowy streets and half-sheltered alleyways, the wind shrieking overhead in great gusts. A distant, moaning howl cut through the din, then another, before falling silent again. On second thought, maybe it wasn’t the wind.

WC: 339

Sedona could hear the sound repeat over and over in the distance. She guessed it was just outside of Winterwynd based on the echo and warping from the gusts of wind in the blizzard. Even though the cowgirl still was counting on this being some wounded animal of some kind, there was still a sense of foreboding in the air she couldn't shake. Falcon followed her off the porch and out in to the snowy landscape. She led the way through town, passed the old church and down some dark, unclaimed lanes of houses. She moved swiftly, but with caution, pausing to allow the male to catch up to her and to listen for the sound again. Every time, it howled out into the dark of the night, sending a spine chilling shiver coursing along the cowgirl's back, but she did her best to keep her apprehension hidden from the male beside her. Frowning as they reached the edges of Winterwynd, Sedona peered out into the forested edges of the town. "What do you think it is?" Falcon asked, barely audible above the wind.

Sedona shook her head. "I haven't a clue. But I'm guessin' we're 'bout to find out. Y'still with me?" She glanced to her company, her knife still at the ready. "For all we know, it's just some elk. But better safe than sorry t'make certain, alright?" She reassured her partner with a soft smile before a chill burst of wind brought a puff of snow into her face and yet another howling, tortured sound from just ahead causing Sedona's smile to turn into a slightly wide eyed grimace. She growled softly, steeling herself. "Whatever this thing is... I am not gonna let it scare me." She said and with one last huff began trudging her way forward towards the treeline, eyes scanning her path ahead, watching for any signs of movement and listening for the noise to come again. "Coming Falcon?" She called over her shoulder, not looking back to ee if he was following.