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I couldn’t believe this was real. Alex’s face hovered inches from mine, his breath warm and uneven against my lips, carrying the faint scent of mint and summer sweat. His brown eyes held mine, soft and searching, and for one fragile moment the agony throbbing across my skin dulled to a distant hum. My heart hammered so hard I felt it in my throat. His fingertips grazed my cheek, feather-light, sending a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with pain. I tilted my face up, lips trembling, parting, aching for the kiss I’d imagined a thousand times in quieter, safer moments. Then the front door downstairs exploded open with a violent bang that rattled the windows. Ice-cold terror flooded every vein. The air itself seemed to thicken, heavy with the sudden intrusion. Multiple sets of footsteps—confident, unhurried—thundered across the hardwood floor below. I knew those voices before they even reached the stairs: Vanessa’s low, mocking laugh, Mia’s sharp giggle, the creak of Lena’s

(In the folklore of some northern Algonquian peoples) a cannibalistic giant; a person who has been transformed into a monster by the consumption of human flesh. This is the design for the Wendigo I had in mind. https://www.tumblr.com/rottencoreflesh101/712093224125251584/monster-gyutaro-for-my-monster-au-not-a-wendigo?source=share   Here's what the Wendigo sounds like  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b9JhRd0KjXg&list=LL&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB ) Beware of the winters that bring with them monsters.  Beware of the cold winds that bring out the hunger of beasts.  Beware of the Wendigo. The cold winds on the outside of the shutters best them against the glass causing a rattling sound to fill the small house like winter itself was beating on your door DEMANDING to be let inside. The cold seemed to seep into your bones despite the fact that you were sat right in front of the fire crackling away, and a thick wool blanket draped over your shoulders.  Your grasp upon the blanket became tighter than before as you cowered ever further from the rattling sounds of the shutters against glass and the wind howling demanding entry. Your response was to try and block it out by cowering your head beneath the blankets and curling up hoping that it would spare you and leave you be.  You didn't want this anymore. Ever since your nineteenth birthday it's haunted you. Again and again it's come for you every time the days grow cold and the snow overtakes the valley. Every year there is always new deaths of both people and livestock. No one could ever figure out the culprit but you knew what it was.  Ever since that horrible day in winter four years ago now. Gathering more firewood for your first late one night on a cold winters night. Your arms full of wood you heard something behind your woodpile. You were stupid enough to approach it assuming it was nothing but a fox or other small predator to scare away. Quietly you stepped closer to the pine tree with snow crunching under your feet silently. Slowly behind the tree you went and stopped. The wind blew swaying it's branches creepily and looked like thrashing arms. You grabbed a handful and silently and slowly pulled them back. And you froze at what you saw- The winds howled as the darkness crept across the skies. The darkness behind the bush shielded your form from the moonlight which cascaded down between the trees and clouds in the sky. The shadows danced and branches creaked as the wind blew them about. Like arms beckoning you closer to grab you away in their rough grip. Drag you into the shadows never to be seen again. The coldness of the air bit down hard on your skin, like painful bee stings pricking your flesh. The terror far greater than seeing a thousand wolves sunk in. c r a c k A snapping of bones crunched between teeth. A splatter of red laid across the grass. Feathers coated in the red liquid of life laid there discarded. Unwanted by the maw that consumed the flesh between its teeth. Purple irises shook, watered at the sight before them. A hunched shadow devoured everything in its claws. Chew. Swallow. Devour. Chew. Swallow. Devour. Down the gullet and never to be returned again. Never before seen by prying eyes. A low hiss of air gurgled from the frothing mouth. Like a wheezing choke. A second later a bone escaped from the maw with a choke, spat out to the ground thudding along. A sigh escaped the maw, as if the bone had been uncomfortable in its mouth. Your body felt rigid. Frozen in utter horror as your mind struggled to comprehend the mass sitting before you. The horrors of it all as your jaw opened up in terror and the smell of blood combed into your senses- Sniff. An ear flickered from the top of the head. The mouth paused mid bite into the small body and slowly raised up. Stringy black hair fading to green cascaded down it's spine. SNIFF. SNIFF. Loud questioning sniffs filled the air- C R A C K- An inhuman snap of its neck sounded as it snapped to you. And you froze as yellowed eyes stared at your very soul. And for a long moment neither of you moved for a long moment until there was a chittering noise and a half eaten chicken dropped to the ground from his claws. IT WAS HER. THE WOMAN FROM THE HOUSE. Bones crackled and creaked as the creature rose inhuman slowly. High. Higher. And then higher. Your head slowly followed the thing up as the bone crackling stopped and you found yourself staring into the eyes of a man's- No...Beast's...It- ..YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT!! It was like you were looking at a cross between a man's and animal's face red blood smeared his jaws from the chicken it had been eating however he stopped and stared down it's nose at you easily with it's height. Your hiding place behind the pine tree no longer secure as it continued to stare at your petrified form. There wasn't enough moonlight to fully see what it was standing in the shadows except for part of its face which tilted.... before a wide maw of fangs smirked down at you. Without warning it leaned down and you clamped your eyes shut on instinct. Surely this is the day you died. SNIFF SNIFF?? You froze more as a warm breath blew over the top of your head and something heavy loomed over you. The only sounds being the thuds of wood that dropped to your feet into the snow. You didn't see it. But you sure as hell F E L T IT!! However a touch to your head made your eyes pop open. Your body didn't even move being too scared but your eyes opened to stare blankly at the leaves of the bush, too scared to look up and see what it was sniffing curiously at your head. The thing above had touched you, and currently had a strand of hair being held in his hands curiously. What a pretty color. He's never seen a shade of f/c so pretty before. And it felt so soft and silky in his hands. And she even smells nice. Like flowers and fruit. Such a clean and fresh and pure scent. It made him unintentionally release a growl. "You're lucky you know... Being able to have such delicious traits." A raspy voice spoke out of nowhere. Your pupils shrank so much they nearly disappeared. T H I S   T H I N G   C O U L D  T A L K?! "Do you find me scary? Ugly?", the voice rasped out, like a man with a severely sore throat trying hard to speak after smoking for a hundred years. "It must be nice...Having a roof over your head. A warm meal in your stomach. And a soft bed to sleep in." A growl escaped his throat like a dog. "A pretty thing like you. I have trouble finding any food as your kind constantly hunts me. I can't even catch a break sometimes...Hehe. I suppose it's only fair to eat THEM as my meals instead." What was it talking about?! What did it want?! ...Food. It mentioned food right?! Your mind flashed back unpleasantly to the..the... whatever it was that it had been eating. It was hungry. Whatever this thing was...It. Was. HUNGRY. WERE YOU NEXT ON THE MENU?! Your scared mind raced at a hundred miles a minute. You were going to die and no one would ever know what happened to you. That thought alone was terrifying enough but you hadn't any idea what 'it' even was that was going to be harming you...Wait. It..It wanted food right? That's why it was here. You then felt the weight of a thing in your pocket. There was a piece of cooked meat in your pocket. A mere hunk of meat you intended on snacking on later. Perhaps you could use it to distract it. At least long enough for you to get back inside. There wasn't any guarantee it was full proof..but what else were you going to do? Ever so slowly, your hand reached for your pocket- "What are you doing, Pretty thing?" A small tug on the strand of hair still in it's class reminded you of how close it was. "You're hungry. Right?" Have you ever experienced an emotion of fear so strong it rendered you completely numb? That's why you came off so calm when in reality you were absolutely terrified. You felt the eyes of whatever it was locked on your hand as it reached into the pocket and wrapped around a hard object folded in paper. Numbly it was pulled out and held up near your head where you heard more sniffing. "Pork?" You shakily nodded. The strand of your hair still between it's claws. "It's yours if you want it." There wasn't a hesitation before it was snatched from your hand and there was a pleased hum and a moment later you heard a loud tearing noise and messy chewing. The same smacking and chewing noises you heard from the thing eating the dead thing, only you didn't hear the sickening cracking of bones...And the touch finally left your hair. The form of whatever it was leaving to stand up too preoccupied with the delicious meat melting in his mouth. Such a beautiful taste. With the looming form partially gone. A numb stiff leg slowly stretched out and took a step back. Nothing happened. She took another soft, quiet, and careful step back. Another one. Another step. And another. Your numb form made it past the tree slowly and then to the middle of the backyard not daring to look up at whatever it was- "Where are you going, Pretty Thing?" Your body again froze at the voice. But you were SO CLOSE to your open backdoor. SO CLOSE TO SAFETY!! But you didn't even know how fast this thing could move. One wrong move and you could be dead. "... I'm going inside. It's getting late and I'm very cold. I don't have the survival instincts to support myself in the cold like you." There was a silence as the thing stared at the women... intrigued. No one had really given him an answer like that before. It made him chuckle after a moment. "You must be pretty bold to want to take your leave right now while I'm standing in front of you...And so hungry ~ A pretty little thing like you might make for a decent dinner.~" There was more silence and after a moment purple eyes rose to stare at the yellow ones shining from the shadows. You saw a wide fanged grin but could barely make out the rest of the tall body. "... Your hunger is not my problem." In an instant, the smile vanished and the eyes blinked. "I gave you my own food and there's plenty of leftover kill behind you. If you're still hungry, go have your fill there. I won't stop you from taking it. Now I'm going inside." You felt the eyes still stock still as you both stared down at each other before you heard the thing make a questioning noise. "...Eh?" "You heard me. Take what you need from there but I refuse to be anything's food." Again there was an awkward silence and you faintly saw the thing eventually tilt its head at you. As if confused. "Hmph...Bold words for someone so brave...or stupid?" "I'm not stupid. But I am cautious about you. You're hungry so you can go hunt." "Hmm. Tempting. But what if I want meat from here?" "By the looks of it you already ate and I already fed you. If you want more meat then there's a stream with fish in it behind you too. I'm not going to feed myself to you." You continued to stare down the creature. "Just take your fill and leave please." "...And what if I don't want too, Pretty Thing?' "Then I'll just not talk to you, Pretty Eyes.~" You cooed back to him which... REALLY caught him off guard a he just stared at you. "....E-EH?!" Oh?...Was that a stutter?....Wait... Maybe catching it off guard would give you a chance to escape!! It didn't seem to be used to its assumed food talking back. That could be a good thing. Oh how in hindsight you wished you didn't do that. "You must be rather lonely. Calling me pretty at least four times now. I honestly don't know if you want to flirt with me or just jump straight to the kissing bit." You jumped suddenly hearing a choked dear bleat cut off by a wheezing noise from the creature. "K-K-KISS?!" "Yes. That's why you're complimenting me right? Although your eyes are rather pretty too. They remind me of shiny gold coins or sunflowers. So pretty." Another weird inhuman sputtering noise was choked out before you fared to turn around as it seemed distracted. "But never the less, I'm cold. Good night." You then turned and walked to your door. Not run. If you ran them it might've identified you as prey like any other predator. You got into the doorway snow crunching with every step you took and turned to close the door behind you. It slid shut as you slowly reached over to click the lock shut. There you stood quietly as silence ensued. And then all the panic and fear hit you at once. THUD!! Your body slumped against the door as your arms pressed against the hard wood as you collars to your knees. However your encounter was far from over when you heard it. A snort. A loud snort like an annoyed horse sounded out just behind the door where your head was lying on it, and then there was a louder sniffling noise as you dared not to move. Then there was a humming noise. "You don't mean those things. My eyes aren't that pretty...Are they?" "Yes." You didn't know why you answered that. Maybe it was out of fear or automatic politeness but the voice fell silent for a second time. "...Are you a human? You're really soft looking for one. Are you sure you're not a cupid or Angel?" "..No." "Figures as much. You smell human enough....You don't smell of any males either. That means you're not taken are you?" That was more of a statement than question. "....Why?" "Why not, Pretty Thing?~ You're definitely pretty enough to drive those crazy enough to fight over you.... Usually pretty girls likee you only want attention. Y'know." Despite your fear an annoyance bubbled out. "I don't. If all they want from me is my looks when that's superficial. Looks aren't everything." "Hm...That hadn't been my experience. Most people go for looks first-" "I don't." Your stern voice cut him off. "I'm not shallow." Again another hum. "....Not shallow huh? I bet you're lying about that. I bet you'd marry the first handsome face to walk down here. Wouldn't you? It wouldn't even matter if he was a bad person as long as he had a beautiful face and nice body!" "I promise you I'd marry a beast before I did that." There was silence behind the door before there was a hiss and something pressed against the wood in the area you were from the other side. The breathing had gotten slightly heavier than before. "A beast..like me?" "Not without being courted I wouldn't. I won't marry a stranger." A cheek pressed against the wood as if he could see your every detail. "Is that a promise?" "....a promise..." What you said wasn't a yes or no but it was something you repeated a bit disoriented by the paralyzing fear. However someone did take it as a yes. Someone who couldn't believe his ears. Someone who froze and shook in shock. He couldn't believe it. Someone as beautiful as her...and someone as ugly looking as him. He couldn't believe it. And it was all for him. She was so pretty. So soft. So PERFECT. A L L   H I S He wanted to feel her soft cheeks on his hands the moment he saw her days ago. She was so pretty. HIS PRETTY LITTLE THING. An involuntary growl escaped from his throat as he pawed at the stupid wood. Not as pretty as his precious sister but she was still more beautiful than any human he's ever seen. He wanted her. His pretty. But he had to wait. He needed to proof he had some worth to give if not any beauty. "Pretty Thing. You don't know what you do to me... I'll be back. Soon." You didn't hear his last sentences. Slumping against the door and letting the darkness claim you. You awoke the next morning with a gasp and terror shooting through you veins. You pushed yourself away from the door rapidly with a shout of terror and scrambling back away from the still locked door. But soon calmed down realizing that you were alone. A quick look out the window was enough to convince you to carefully open the door and look out seeing no signs of anything. No strange creatures with yellow eyes and blood on their face. You were beginning to think that maybe last night had been nothing but a dream until you investigated the area around the tree following your own footsteps and froze at the sight of fur and specks of blood scattered all over the ground. There wasn't any remains, but the fur and blood droplets was enough to convince you that whatever happened last night was far from a dream. Even more so when you found the wood you dropped still cold in the snow at the trees base. You felt a deep fear form in your body and for a long, long time all you could do was stare off at nothing as your brain tried to process it. All you could do is just....stare at the mess that was once an animal. Until you got enough sense to whip around yourself. Nothing was there now but it was quite obvious with how much evidence there was. You didn't know what to think!! You had no idea what to do! The only thing you thought of to do was to just grab more wood to last a few days before retreating back into your own home armed with an ax from your small barn usually only used for firewood and locking both doors up tightly. You remained there for what must've been hours. The sun slowly trickling across the sky until it started to slowly go down. The duration of the day being paranoid and checking out your curtains every few minutes or so. However you didn't dare go to the window when sundown approached and eventually night fell. You stationed yourself by the small fireplace curled your knees up to your chest and clutched the axe to yourself. And waited. Perhaps nothing would happen if you pretended to not be home. So you remained silent and still. No fire going. With the doors locked. Curtains closed. Then it was just the darkness and you. Cold silence as you just sat there. High alert as the night rang out....Until you weren't. You must've dozed off at some point because the next thing you knew there was a shrill cry. A sickly shrill cry left the darkness and reverberated off the walls. Followed by a metal clang. Your axe fell thudding to the ground from your startled form. Your form frozen to the spot...What was- It happened again. Closer this time. A shrieking bleating noise that sounded like an elk but...not. Much More...Worse! It was loud enough to make you curl up more and then you froze as a shadow passed by your window. Ice seeped into your veins as you eyes shrank to the size of pins and ever so slowly your head turned to the window and you completely froze as you saw it. A silhouette of what seemed to be a deer's head was seen just behind your curtains against the windows. A large mountain of a creature stood there. Pointed ears flicked as there was a loud smelling noise. All you could do was continue to sit there and stare absolutely terrified...until whatever it was lumbered away from the window You continued to sit there as the faint footsteps faded away and long after it went away. Only to come back as the thing kept encircling your door back and forth. Only retreating when it was near sunrise. Safe to say you got no sleep that night. The next morning you felt safer with the sunlight lighting up the world and felt safe enough to gather your wits enough to make the hour long trip to town. Every step you took was filled with paranoia from the last few nights. Looking constantly over your shoulders and gazing at every tree you passed as is something would pop out any minute to snatch you away. Thank the gods that you made it through to the town without any trouble. You decided that you DEFINITELY needed that bear trap after all. Something was going on...And that thought was only solidified by the tense air you walked into. You had blinked surprised to see barely any people out today despite it being a Saturday morning and very warm out. Usually there'd be a ton of people out, but today there seemed to be a certain fog heavy in the air. Only a few people were out today and all seemed to have this scared look about them. Looking around quickly or keeping their heads down and speed walking by. That was weird. But you didn't have time to think about that. You just made your way back to the black smiths where weapons and traps were sold. The air from the town left a strange feeling the more you walked and it solidified itself when you found and entered the shop. Once you did, you were surprised when the blacksmith jumped. A large sword he was holding dropping to the ground with a clatter as he whirled around to you...but soon he sighed and gave a glare. "Dam it! Why do you women always make it a habit to bother us at the worst times?!" You blinked before frowning. "That's some way to talk to a customer. I'm just here to buy a bear trap. The biggest one you've got." "Well you're plum outta luck, Girlie!," he sneered before pointing at a wall, "Because I'm completely out of stock!" You turned and were shocked to see that the wall that had been littered with traps two days before was now completely empty. "What happened?" He snorted. "I sold them all. That's what. Everyone's been charging in here demanding weapons and traps and whatever else I have to combat the beast." Your head turned to him with a snap. ".... Beast? What beast?" He snorted. "Like you didn't hear." You continued to stare at him and be scoffed again before leaning on the counter. "Four nights ago some beast slaughtered a cow or two from a little farm on the outskirts of town. The farmer claimed it was a gigantic deer he saw slaughter his bulls. A few hunters were in here the night after intending to go after the creature." Wait....your stomach sunk and face paled. "Their bodies were found slaughtered and ripped apart the next morning. Barely anything was left." Your eyes widened in pure horror as he continued to speak. "Then the next night a slew of livestock was slaughtered and even more was killed last night! Everyone is now arming themselves for whatever evil is closing in." His eyes narrowed. "If I were you, I'd go home and not come back until this whole thing passes. It's dangerous to walk the cold alone right now. Haven't you seen any signs?" "I...saw some a-animal killed." You trembled where you stood. "Then take that as a warning or else you'll be another chicken to the beast." You left soon after that speed walking your way home a new fear bobbing in your mind like a log floating in a powerful river. What was happening around here?! Did it have something to do with the thing that you saw last night? Did that creature who spoke to you cause all this terror? This was a thing that had you sinking further and further into your thoughts walking in the woods back towards your house surrounded by trees and woods and- "Pretty Thing.~" You froze. Body rigid and ice cold as a voice cut through the air...No. No! Your mind must've been playing tricks on you! There was no way that was what you thought it wa- Tree branches snapped and snow crunched as something BIG slithered out of the shadows and stopped somewhere behind your frozen form. A snort followed by the clip clopping of hooves followed a little bit...only to stop even closer to you. There you remained frozen until something else hissed your name. "Turn around." You didn't want to. Really you didn't. You'd be stupid to even do so...but ...Your eyes slowly turned until they couldn't no more. Your head followed after followed by your body until you looked all the way behind you. And. You. FROZE. At. What. You. Saw. Deer like legs partially covered by worn gray pants stood on the ground. A long tail with swishing long hair similar to a horse swished at its feet. The torso's structure was... HORRIBLE! Thin. So, so, SO thin it was. You could see the bones under the grey skin and the surprisingly strong muscle structure gripping onto the bones for fear life. Your eyes continued upwards and froze. A deer hung from the air by its back legs, obviously dead but still looking fresh as if it hadn't been deceased for very long. But that's not what made you freeze. Black and yellow eyes half lidded stared at you as a wide smile of fangs grinned. The face framed but wavy long black-dark green hair that was mostly in a long ponytail cascading down his back. Two deer like ears flickered from the tops of his head. And his entire body had black splotchy birthmarks all over him. After a moment of just staring at Each other, the events of two nights before hit you like a ton of bricks and you stared frozen. After a long moment he chuckled again and leaned down to look at you closer. Face inches away. "Didn't think I would be back, Pretty?" You.  R A N. A loud laughter filled the air as you sprinted all the way home and never looked back. Snow crunching under your feet am with every step but you didn't stop until you were all the way home and slammed the door shut behind you. Cowering inside your house and barely coming out all winter despite the same demonic deer calls wafting out calling out to the monster's desired mate and and the voices begging to demanding. "Pretty Thing, douse that fire and open the door." "Let me in. Don't you see that I want you?" "I brought you a gift. A fat deer that's as delicious as you are beautiful." "I WANT YOU!! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR NOW!! DAM IT!! "I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated you won't come to me already. Please tell me what to do to fix this." "You'll love my sister. She's as beautiful as the snow but twice as deadly. You humans refer to her kind as Yuki Onna." "Do you want one pup or two? I want our children to grow with siblings. An entire litter of hellspawns would be a welcome addition to my cold den." "HEY! IM TALKING TO YOU!! WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME?!" You never answered and never went out, it seemed that warm fire repelled him so you made sure to always keep a fire going and kept plenty of firewood inside. It also seemed he only showed up when winter was here because after the first day of Spring, you never heard from him again. He left like there wasn't any trace of him. The only signs of him existence was the massive hoof prints that he left behind that melted away with the snow. However he came back that very next winter. And then the next winter after that. The same thing happened both times. He'd beg, demand, and barter to try and get his way into your home. You learnt in advance to start keeping LOTS of firewood and canned foods in your home for the long winter stay. You never engaged with him and always stayed in until he left with the spring arrival. Each time he became more desperate. Each time more people from the town disappeared or their livestock taken so they took came to fear the winters. Now that the first snowfall of this year arrived with a night. You feared for the thing to come- SCCCRREEEEAAA-!! As if like clockwork, the bleating distorted calls of an elk arrived followed by the clutching of your hands against the blankets. The loud snorting and crunching of something large outside your door came back- And then suddenly a blast of cold air from down your chimney blasted out. You gasped out before shielding your face from the sudden cinders and ashes getting blown up from the fireplace. You coughed from the smoke before you realized that-... That the fire was OUT. "Thanks, Sis. Should've thought of this three years ago." There was the sounds of claws digging at your door before the wood slid open and you watched horrified as a large creature with yellow eyes stepped inside with the cold and a smile of fangs. "Hello again, Pretty Thing.~"