Sacrifice

[The Writing Owl]

Thunder roared as the skies cried. It was perfect weather for the year's sacrifice to the Dark Forest. Each year, a young girl had the honor of giving herself to the forest. This allowed the village protection from the creatures and the forest itself. Lightning flashed as another roll of thunder deafened the villagers watching the ceremony tack place. Gadot, the leader of the village, lead a group of three women toward the edge of the cliff that overlooked the Dark Forest. All were wearing black except for the third woman. She was dressed in all white, her hair tied up with flowers. If anything it almost seemed like she was dressed for a wedding, though her bound hands spoke another story. The rain hid the tears streaking down the girl's cheeks. As Gadot stopped near the edge, the two women moved aside to leave the third standing on the edge of the cliff. She stood with her head held high, her brown hair whipping around in the wind.

Gadot cleared his throat before starting, "Oh great Dark Forest! We offer you this gift in exchange for protection from the creatures you hold. As we come here today, please accept this maiden as sacrifice." Everyone was quiet as Gadot walked toward the girl, avoiding looking at her violet eyes. Thunder roared. Gadot shoved the girl off of the cliff, leaving her to fall to her death. The crowd on the cliff started to slowly walk back to their village, sure that their village would no longer be in danger.

The wind rushed past the girl's body, leaving her to scream as she twisted and twirled. This was her duty. She had to do this for the sake of the village. The waters of the river below churned, ready to swallow whatever dared touch its waters whole. "No, please... I want to live!" The girl finally called out. "Please, I want to live! Don't let me die! I want to live!" Blue enveloped the tiny human body, swallowing her into its abyss.

 

[York]

As the girl lay there, floating amongst the water, her screams were barely heard by a strange creature living within it, it resembled a bipedal deer with a more humanoid appearance to it. It thought it was strange to hear screams coming from the water rather than the splashing of a usually dead maiden sacrifice, as he looked closer, he saw her, floating amongst the water sill alive. He began wading towards her, easily getting to her and picking her up with more delicacy than usual, from the flowing water, this was the first time a maiden was alive even after being sacrificed by her fellow villagers, perhaps those screams he thought he had heard earlier weren't just his imagination after all... "So live she will." He thought, a little unsure of why he was doing this for her, it just didn't feel right to leave someone living for his "fellow" beasts to do whatever they did with the other sacrifices, the ones they managed to fish out of the water anyways, they were always deceased by then. Instead of moving towards where he knew the other beasts would be, he started to head towards a large looking tree; it was thicker than the others but they were all towering far above even him, which was not uncommon in a dark forest like this; it's thick canopy blocked out most of the light out here.

Drawing closer and closer to the large tree, cracks could be seen along it every now and then; it was clear it had been petrified at some point, it's wood turned to a rock hard substance with the help of the stream flowing beside it, gradually replacing the wood with what could only be described as stone. A large crack could be seen near it's large roots which was where the creature headed inside with the girl still in it's unusually delicate grasp, a single bed made of soft moss, leaves, and a few vines could be seen now which he gently lay the girl on. Now that they were somewhere safe, he began to assess the injuries she had, after all, it would be a waste of natural materials to go out and gather the wrong herbs, and probably would waste more time; she looked rather pale already.

 

[The Writing Owl]

The young girl had felt as if she was floating, suffocating until something pulled her out of the watery depths. She was cradled in something's arms and carried for a long time. Her head lolled, water slowly leaking out so she could breathe. When she was laid down, her head no longer was toward the side. She couldn't breathe. She was drowning, she was-the brunette sat up, coughing up water as she struggled to get her breath back. Finally, she calmed, looking down at her hands with blurry vision. "I... I..." She looked up only to find a man-deer-staring at her. Immediately she tried to curl away from the creature, letting out a weak scream. This was it. She was going to be eaten by this creature. The poor girl was shaking. She stared at the creature before her, wide eyed. Fear wracked her body along with the cold from being submerged in the river. A fever was starting to develop, though the girl had no physical injuries except for the rope burns around her wrists.

 

[York]

The scream made the beast cock it's head a little, he started approaching a little having seen that she wasn't too injured, expcept for a few rope burns... Cautiously, he started to come closer and closer eventually once close enough, he slowly reached out a hand and placed it on her forehead; it felt surprisingly soft, but a little leathery, it looked like a human hand but definitely didn't feel quite like one. However from what the creature could feel, the girl was building up a fever, he could feel the heat coming from her forehead, and those rope burns would need a little tending to as well. Lifting his hand from her forehead and starting to walk away, he looked around for a moment before finding what he was looking for; a clump of relatively recently harvested moss and some dried herbs, walking towards the fire first where a cauldron of water was already boiling; he had been preparing it for supper. He reached for a wooden bowl from nearby and taking the large soup spoon to scoop some boining water into the bowl and sprinkled the dried herbs in the bowl placing it down on the small wood table nearby.

 

[The Writing Owl]

The girl paled even more as the beast before her touched her forehead. It didn't talk; she didn't expect that it would. The thing moved to put something into a bowl and set it on a table. The brunette was confused. "U-um..." She started, looking at the creature in fear. "A-aren't you going to... eat me?" If she hadn't been so terrified the girl would have felt stupid for asking a question like that. Her surroundings felt strange, seemingly like a tree yet hard as stone. The girl coughed into her hands, curling into herself for warmth. She was a sacrifice, so now she would fulfill her role. At least that's what it seemed like. For all the girl knew this creature was going to help her, as unlikely as it seemed. It was a miracle she had survived in the first place. The fall should have killed her, yet here she was. The girl watched the creature as he worked with the bowl and water. Could he really be trusted? She would just have to wait and see.

 

[York]

When he heard the girl ask if he was going to eat her, he just shook his head a little, not seeming to show any trace of emotion... Then he went back to what he was doing again, sprinkling the dried herbs into the bowl of hot water and setting it down for now knowing to let it cool down a little bit; there's still such a thing as too warm. Taking the clumbs of moss he still had in his hands, he walked over to the girl again carefully taking one of her hands and rubbing the moss on the rope burns; the herb would numb the pain from it until the injury faded away, he made sure to repeat the process with her other hand. After that was done, he put down the moss back where he'd picked it up from and went over the the still steaming bowl of water; it looked more like some sort of crudely made herbal soup now. Picking up the bowl and bringing it over, he simply held it out to her as if offering it to her.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Well, that swept one worry from the girl's mind. He wouldn't eat her, and he seemed to be kind. She nearly pulled her hands back when he rubbed the moss on her wrists, surprised by the numbing feeling. The girl watched as the beast took the bowl and held it out to her. Tentatively, she took the bowl. She supposed he wanted her to eat it or something of the sort. The girl tilted it slightly, sipping at the liquid. She scrunched her nose, trying not to gag at the taste of soggy bitter herbs. Taking another sip, she set the bowl down next to her and looked instead at the creature in front of her. "Can you... Can you speak?" She asked, her voice a little hoarse. The thing seemed to be part man part deer. His hands, while large and strong, were humanlike in appearance. His legs were those of a deer along with his head, leaving the girl curious about the creature and a bit terrified. Though he seemed friendly for now, the girl would have to keep her guard up if she was to survive in this forest.

 

[York]

The creatures seemed to let out a sigh as the girl drak a little bit from the bowl; at least it was something... Her fever wasn't too bad so that should have been enough anyways, though the question she seemed to suddenly asked made him a little nervous, he knew the answer sure, but he wasn't certain if he wanted to reveal anything just yet. So instead, he just shrugged a little, as if not really sure himself after all, he had his secrets he'd prefer not to reveal at the wrong place at the wrong time; who knew what the other beasts would take it. There was a reason they hadn't harmed him despite the difference behaviors he displayed from them, he looked to be in thought for a few more moments before he got up and walked outside; a few strips of dried meat hang out from a few small animals he'd hunted. Taking them back inside, he threw it into the pot of boiling water, normally he would have added herbs, but the girl didn't seem to like their flavor too much, so he'd have to go with a plain meat stew this time around.

 

[The Writing Owl]

The girl noted the shrug, unsure if the creature couldn't talk or refused to talk. That posed a huge problem. She needed to find out more about her situation, however she couldn't get him to answer her directly. She'd have to be more creative with how she got her information. Hugging her knees to her chest, the girl watched as creature grabbed some meat. "You saved me, didn't you?" She asked, pushing away a wet strand of hair. "Thank you..." With that she was quiet again. The silence seemed to stretch until the girl spoke up again, hesitant and weak. "M-my name is Ana." She didn't get much else in as she fell into a coughing fit soon after. The poor thing was shivering, curling in herself for some semblance of warmth.

 

[York]

As the creature was turning away from the pot of boiling stew, he heard the girl talk again, this time she half asked, half knew if he had saved her or not, to that he simply just turned around and nodded, aknowledging her thanks. After a moment of silence, she spoke again her voice was hesitant again, she said her name was Ana, and the creature seemed to stop for a moment before he nodded again. He put his hands to the sides of his head and hesitated as if he was pondering something, but before anything could happen she started coughing... Stopping what he was doing, he walked over to the still warm herbal stew he had offered to her and picked it up bringing it over to her again; as bad as it tasted it was the best way to deal with that fever of hers.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Ana looked up to see the bowl of herbs and water being held toward her again. The girl took the bowl, no longer coughing. Careful not to spill any on herself, Ana drank a bit of the stew. She shivered a bit at the bitter taste, but finished off the bowl anyway. It had to be good for her, if the creature was so adamant on having her drink the thing. Ana watched the creature, curiosity starting to make its way to the front of her mind. They seemed to be in some sort of tree, which meant she was in the Dark Forest. "I've heard many stories of the creatures in the Dark Forest, but I've never heard of any quite like you." Though she still felt cold and a little miserable, Ana felt that she had to break the silence somehow. "You're kind, quite unlike the stories the village tells. Though, I've never seen a tree quite like the one we're in, if this even is a tree..." The girl probably had never talked as much as she had at that moment. Sleep tugged at her mind for the first time since she had awoken to the strange creature and its home. "I know I probably won't get an answer, but are there any more of your kind?" Despite her tiredness she felt the need to stay awake and talk.

 

[York]

Thankfully, Anna toog the bowl not coughing anymore, and after drinking the rest of it, even if it didn't taste the best, he let out a quiet sigh. The area fell silent again as Ana watched him curiously, he just sat there for a moment as she started to look around, clearly curious what kind of home exactly she was in. She talked after that, commenting how she'd heard of the creatures living in the forest before, but none quite like him. After she talked for a bit, she asked if there were any more of his kind, he looked at her again as if considering something again and instead of answering, placed his hands on his head and pulled up. In the first moments; it appeared he was removing his own head, but it was made clear he was pulling off a rather large sort of headpiece revealing a more human face underneath it. The young man looked rather out of place compared to his seemingly big body, but otherwise; he looked relatively human save for his dee-like legs, he looked a little nervous and his face was a little red; it was always rather hot inside that costume of his. He wasn't sure what Ana would think of him now that she knew he too was human, usually by this time he'd already have gotten out of this thing; but he wasn't entirely sure at the time how well she'd take it.

appearance

 

[The Writing Owl]

Seeing the man take off his head, Ana nearly wanted to scream. The girl was shocked and a little bit embarrassed. She had called this man, this human, a creature. She tried to apologize, only to fall into a coughing fit. How had he gotten there? What was he doing in the Dark Forest? Why was he in the forest? Questions without answers floated around Ana's mind, but she was focused on getting over the fit and regulating her breathing. "I-I'm sorry, I..." Ana managed, pulling at her damp dress to try and warm herself up more. "I didn't think that-that there would be another human out here..." She looked over at the man before looking back at her hands. "I'm sorry I screamed..." The man probably wore the deer head to keep the other creatures from eating him or something similar. A strange feeling of comfort mixed with the curiosity and fear of the whole situation. Ana sneezed, scrunching her nose as she brought her hands up to cover the sneeze. Shaking her head, she went back to hugging herself for warmth. She wanted to ask the man questions, ask him how he got there and why he was living there, even how long he was living there, but she had just treated him like a threat, a creature that would mercilessly eat her.

 

[York]

At first when the girl screamed the man grew a little concerned for her, though he just stood there for a moment wondering what her reactions following meant... After a moment though, when she explained herself and apologized, she seemed rather cold and looked to be guilty about something. He didn't blame her for treating him as a threat at first; his appearance inside this suit naturally drew such reactions from others, he took the rest of it off; the leathery arms, the deer-like hooves, and of course the chest piece revealing a perfetly normal looking person now. Walking over to her slowly, cautiously, he just simply wrapped his arms aroudn her not knowing what else to do, it felt... Right to him somehow. They stayed like that for a while before he remembered he hadn't yet said his name, he didn't want to make it obvious he wasn't what he appeared to be at first. "Hendrik." He said, his voice rather quiet from the lack of using it "I'm... Hendrik, sorry about scaring you like that." he added softly hoping he hadn't made her feel too guilty about what just happened. Perhaps it might have been a better idea to have let her know from the start, he'd almost forgotten what it was like around other human beings after all, it had sort of slipped his mind at first.

 

[The Writing Owl]

As soon as the man's body warmth was offered, Ana curled into it as much as she could, soaking up the heat as best as she could. Her earlier embarrassment was gone, now replaced with slight satisfaction and a bit of surprise. The man introduced himself, talking for once, and apologized for scaring her. Ana shook her head, just making sure that she could get as much warmth as she could out of the man. "It's nice to meet you Hendrik." All went quiet again, the girl's shivers dying down to only an occasional shake. She sniffled, rubbing her nose before curling back into the warm body holding her. "Have you been living here all by yourself?" Ana asked, blinking to keep herself awake. There was too much she needed to know before she could fall asleep.

 

[York]

"Guess you could say that." Hendrik said the embrace was surprisngly enjoyable despite how cold she was... A bubbling noise reminded him of the soup which he had left boiling; it should be done just about now "Food's ready, I think it'll help warm you up a little." he said, awkwardly parting from Ana for the time being walking over to the few other bowls he had laying around; there were about 4 in total, stacked ontop of each other to save space. Taking the top one, and walking over to the pot of boiling soup, he took a glance at it to confirm that it was ready before he scooped some of it into the bowl. He walked back over to Ana again after he was done offering the first bowl to her with an encouraging smile, albiet a little small and strained since he hadn't done so in a while; he'd never had the urge to for a while until now.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Ana smiled back before taking the bowl and blowing on it to cool it down a little before starting to eat. "Thank you." She finished the food slowly, yawning as she put the bowl back down. The girl struggled to stay awake, warmer now and satisfied with the food in her belly. She leaned back, nearly closing her eyes as she curled up. "I'm sorry, I'm sort of tired." Ana shook her head, keeping herself from falling asleep right away. Her clothes were now dry from being out of water, but her hair was still a bit damp. While the strange tree Hendrick was staying in seemed like it would be cold, but she was comfortable.

 

[York]

"It's alright... I'll get you a blanket." Hendrik said casually, it was understandable after all that she was tired; it's been a long day for the both of them, he reached over and picked up a soft piece of leather off the ground handing it to Ana. Sure it wasn't the best blanket ever, but it certainly helped keep the cold out, he lay down on the floor not too far from where Anna was figuring he'd get some rest too. He didn't mind sleeping on the floor as he had long grown accustomed to it; that bed, or more accurately that hammock had been constructed a few years after he made his home here.

 

[The Writing Owl]

(I'm so sorry I haven't replied. Life just got away from me.)

Ana accepted the fur, immediately curling up in it and using it to keep herself warm. "Thank you." She gave Hendrik a small smile before lying down and closing her eyes. She fell asleep quickly. The day had completely wore her out. When she woke up the next morning, she still had a fever. It seemed it wouldn't go away just yet. She blinked and sat up, looking around the tree like place that Hendrik called home. The sun filtered through, giving the area light. Ana stretched before getting out of bed. She looked around, curious and ready to explore her current home.

 

[York]

Hendrik began to stir soon enough as he too woke up, slowly getting up and rubbing his eyes a little, he looked around seeing that Ana was already up... He'd almost forgotten that he had company here now, but he just smiled a little before he too stood up, noticing that she was looking around rather curiously, and now that he thought about it, he didn't really show her around the place too much. First of all though, he walked up to her, gently putting a hand on her forehead; it was still a little warm meaning her fever didn't seem to have gone away just yet. "How do you feel?" He asked quietly wondering how long she could stay on her feet with that fever still going.