Ouija Board vs Fairy Circle
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They watch as the girl is engulfed in a brilliant white light as she flees through the back wall of the cabin.Â
How...fascinating.
They stare at the wall for a moment.
Debating.
They could let her go.
Find her later, when she needs help.
They hum.
They were telling the truth.
These weren't normal woods.
There were many things that would enjoy such a lovely little snack.
But they found her first.
They pull on her fear and shift.
Growing.
Floating up.
It takes nary a thought to follow her.
They keep their distance.Â
Shifting again.Â
Something smaller.Â
Faster.
Trailing.
She doesn't bother dodging the trees, rather phasing through them.Â
How clever.Â
If they were more reliant on physics, they would most definitely lose her.Â
However.Â
They are not.Â
Keeping pace is easy.Â
She takes a sharp turn, zipping through heavy bushes and into a sheer rock face.
They pause.
Oh, isn't this fun!
They shift to gauge where they are.
Oh.
This is problematic.
Hm.
They drift up.
Over the cliff.
Hopefully she didn't go straight through.
Ah.
There's the crack.
Melting like smoke, they slip through.
In little time they reach the cavern.
Oh dear.
She did go straight.
A hulking beast of snarling fur and gnashing teeth have the girl pinned against the back wall of the cavern.
Her black hair has a toxic shine to it.
As does her hands and face.
The taste of the beast's fear is light and subtle.
Barely there.
Lacing through the tartness of the girl.
They shift.
Letting gravity pull them down.
Heavy fur covers powerful muscles.
A snarling mouthful of sharp teeth snap loudly at impact.
The girl yelps in fear and shock as a clawed hand shoves her under.
She squirms but they ignore her.
Eyes on the other.
A battle for food.
She is claimed.
She is theirs.
They shift.
Growing larger again.
Fur gives way to scales.
Hands shift to paws.
Powerful wings beat the wind forcing the beast back.
Heat grows in their chest.
Orange red flames fill the cavern.
With a yelp, it flees.
They huff.
Smoke puffing from their nose.
It floats in the air.
Following the billowing fear of the girl.
The air pops as they drop to their preferred shape.
"I do believe if I said I told you so, you would try to punch me," they say, stepping away from the wall. "But I did say these woods are dangerous."
It has the intended effect.
Blue eyes flare green.
"Why can't you leave me the fuck alone?" she snaps, getting to her feet.
"Tut tut," they chide, “is that really how you thank me for saving your life, again?"
"What do you mean again?"
"I do believe those fellows in white were looking for you for less than stellar reasons, my dear," they say, wandering away. "Now, I do insist that you follow me out unless you actually DO want to be eaten."
They walk a few more steps before glancing over their shoulder.
"I doubt you have enough energy for another impromptu flight let alone enough to phase back through the cliff."
"What's it to you?" She snaps. "Are you that stingy that you can't find another lunchbox of a meal elsewhere?"
They pause.
Studying her.
She shifts.
Uncomfortable under their gaze.
They tilt their head.
She puffs out her chest in defiance.
"What is your name, child?"
She startles.
"What?"
"Your name, child," they repeat. "I can't keep referring to you as the girl in my head, now can I?"
They straighten.
"It does not have to be the name given to you."
She frowns, looking down.
They wait.
"Call me Ellie," she says.
"Well then Ellie," they say, shifting their weight and giving a brilliant smile. "As strange as it may seem, I happen to find you intriguing."
She makes a face like a baby biting a lemon.
"I like to think of it as returning a favor to an exceptional cook."
"So what, you're gonna follow me forever until you find someone who tastes better?"
"Oh no, I doubt you would live that long."
She bristles like a cat.
Voice shifting into a hiss of cold air and storm.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
They laugh.
They can't help it.
Oh how pleasing it is to find another that can feed on fear.
"Come, Ellie, I will tell you a story."
They hold out their hand.
"A story about a boy and a wolf, and how their love for their family tamed a nightmare."
She glares at the hand as if it could bite her.
She takes a deep breath, the green shine pulls back.
The melting quality of her face and hands solidifying.
She stands and walks closer.
Hands shoved pointedly in the pocket of her ratty sweater.
They let their arms drop and start a slow pace out of the cavern.
"Tell me, what do you know about werewolves?" they ask.
Ellie blinks at the non sequitur.
"Uh...that they're people that turn into raging wolf monsters under a full moon?"
They hum.
"That's about as true as all ghosts are evil and malicious."
"Oh."
"Werewolves are very pack oriented creatures, they rely heavily on their social network. It's when they end up alone that they go feral."
"How do you know so much about that?" Ellie asks before stumbling over a rock.
She windmills to regain her balance.
They reach out a hand to steady her.
"I have wandered for many decades," they say, letting her go easily and resuming their initial space. "I have traveled quite extensively and seen many things in my time.
She doesn't answer.
"Now the point I would like to make is that wolves accept other species into their packs if the bond is strong enough."
"Other species?"
"There are considerably more… less mundane things that go bump in the night, than what even the largest collections of fairy tales could possibly cover."
She blinks, face blank.
"Several thousand species of creatures from as small and common as a typical brownie to creatures so rare and large that only vast galaxies could contain their existence."
"Whoah," begrudgingly impressed.
"But wait, I thought brownies were a type of food?"
They laugh.
Amused.
"There is a type of fae that lives in your home that takes care of things should you feed them sweet treats. Very timid little things."
They lapse into a still quietness.
The sound of their feet echoing off the cavern walls.
"Do you even know the way to get out?" She asks.
"Of course," they smile at her. "Afterall, I did dig out the majority of these caverns ages ago."
"Why?"
"Because I was bored one season."
"You must get bored easily then."
They shrug, turning around a particularly large boulder.
"What point is living if you can't have any fun?" they ask, turning to her.
She smirks, "A boring one."
They smile back, "Ready for some fun then?"
She frowns.
"I don't know if I trust your idea of fun."
"Fair, but this is the fastest way to leave."
Ellie pointedly looks around the dead end. "Sure it is."
"Oh live a little," they say with a laugh.
"Technically I was born dead so-" she starts.
They grab her hand when she glances away, back the way they came.
They yank, pulling her into their arms as they tip back.
Falling down the hole, hidden in the shadows.
She grunts in surprise with only the smallest of squeaks.
They shift.
Feathers erupting across skin.
Bones expanding.
Cloth fluttering.
They tilt, angling sideways before bursting through into night air.
A short glide and they land on soft grass.
Releasing Ellie instantly, they shift back.
"Holy fuck, give a girl a warning," she snaps, stumbling away.
"And where would the fun be in that?"
She glares up at him through her bangs, "You're an asshole."
"Thank you," they chirp with a flourish of a bow.
She huffs dramatically before turning on her heel to storm off.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" They ask, drifting into step beside her.
"Doesn't matter," she snaps.
"Course it does," they say before humming. "That's what I hear anyways from more mortal type persons."
She gives him the side eye.
"How can a person be born dead? You look perfectly alive to me."
"I thought you could read minds," Ellie counters.
"Only in regards to an individual's fear," they shrug. "And your fear of melting is equal to your fear of what would happen if you father-"
"He's not my dad!" she yells.
"He is your creator, no?" They ask, head tilting.
"Fuck you," she says before taking off at a run.
Well that could have gone better.
They frown at her back.
They thought they were making progress.
Her red hoodie stands out starkly in the dusk of the forest.
They squint.
She either has the worst sense of the supernatural or terrible luck.
They sigh and take off after her.
"Stop following me!" She shouts over her shoulder. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"
"Because you appear to have a death wish despite your actual fears," they say.
"I'd be fine if you left me alone!"
"And let you run across a fairy circle? No no, that would be very poor of me."
"Those aren’t real,” she says, breaking through some brush.
They reach out and lift her easily.
The air sparks and zings with power.
“I do hope this is just stubbornness rather than insipid stupidity,” they snap, pulling her away from the ring of mushrooms.
“Let me go!” she kicks out, fighting their grip.
“Would you shut up and listen?” they snarl. “Do you have even the slightest idea of what you just did?”
She doesn’t respond, still fighting their grip, body misting to slip through their fingers.
“Are you so selfish that you willingly trample a grave of millions?” they give her a shake.
That seems to resound in her head, body stilling impossibly fast.
“What?” she asks.
“A memorial,” they say, moving further from the ring. “For millions of lives lost, that is what a fairy circle is.”
“I-I didn’t,” she gulps, staring at the circle. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course not,” they huff, setting her down. “No one tries to desecrate a grave for fun.”
She bites her lip, looking away.
They sigh, stepping around her to stand before the ring.
“Many don’t believe in the power of fairy circles, not anymore.”
They place a hand on the border.
A flash of blue light sparks and shimmers.
Rippling out and along a dome engulfing the circle.
“The few tales that do still exist speak of how mortals are whisked away.
“Never to be seen again.
“Sometimes they can make it back, but aged well beyond their years, dying upon their return.”
“Or worse, find themselves lost to time, in an age beyond their comprehension and are left starving and alone.”
They turn to look at her.
She watches with wide eyes.
“They are portals, and if you ask kindly, with respect.”
The blue shimmers brighter.
“You may be granted access to a land beyond your comprehension.
“A path to places that you could never reach.
“Or a chance to gain the one thing you need in life.”
