The woods have always been beautiful to Betty, a young woman in her teens. She can’t count how many days she’s spent wandering between the massive trees, listening to the wind weaving through the canopy, hearing critters of all sizes call out to be heard through the foliage. Of course, she had never wandered far enough to lose sight of her home town. Enjoying the woods didn’t mean getting lost in the woods. However, the line between those two things blurred heavily when there’s a sharp blade pressed against your throat.

A large man, easily in his 30s or 40s, held Betty close with his right arm pressed against her chest as he dragged her backwards deeper and deeper into the forest. A chef’s knife, already stained in blood that wasn’t hers, refused to move more than an inch away from Betty’s neck, silencing any physical protest she could possibly muster. She had no idea who this man was, or why he wanted her so far away from town, but terror kept her from asking any questions. All she wanted right now was to live. That SOMETHING would hear the two of them and set her free. Something more than the brambles her captor always seemed to back into.

One such bramble hid a small clearing, where a handful of trees had fallen over years ago. Rot and moss ate away at all of them in eerily similar patterns, as though they were carved and coaxed to grow on purpose. These details were lost on the two humans who forced their way through the bramble covering. The moment they were clear, the large man gripped Betty’s right arm and yanked her all the way around him, throwing her behind her captor, deeper into the clearing. The sudden jerk sent her careening forward into one of the fallen tree trunks. It crumbled the moment the teen fell face-first on top of it, instantly breaking into glittery fragments of wood and grime. Ancient wood scraped at Betty’s cheeks, threatening to choke her with-- Wait, glittery? When was the last time a moss-covered log glittered? The young woman lifted her head from the wooden refuse and noticed quickly there was more than just splinters and slime in the pile beneath her. Something shined like sequins within the mess, the source camouflaged by the remains of the downed tree. Time could be spent to find it, but time was a luxury Betty didn’t have, especially when the armed man behind her began to shout.

“I did as you asked, Iblisite!” The man’s voice wavered slightly, either due to fear or excitement. The way one may speak if faced with an idol, or a god. “I found the one you marked, and brought her to your temple! Are you not proud of your chosen one?” Betty rolled over, refusing to give the man her back. He was standing still, staring up at the canopy of the forest, a smile stretched across his face, far too wide to be natural. Nothing answered his cry for attention but the wind. Not a twig cracked, not a bird chirped. An eerie silence fell over the clearing as both humans waited quietly. Seconds passed, and the man’s smile faded gradually, warping into a look of confusion. He was expecting something, something that didn’t happen. With increasingly frantic fervor, the man’s gaze bounced around the clearing, desperately searching for a sign, an answer, anything he could use. His distraught attitude vanished the moment his sight fell upon the edge of the clearing far behind Betty. “You had me worried, Shaydaan. You never refused my call before, but now I see clearly; You wanted to see the marked one with your own two--” He froze mid-sentence. Terror overcame his face instantly. Betty’s mind told her to use this chance to escape, while the man was stunned. Her heart and fear had other plans, and forced her to look over her shoulder at whatever had terrified her kidnapper.

Two pairs of turquoise eyes, one slightly bigger and just above of the other, pierced through the shadows. There was something almost calming about them, a feeling that was negated when their gaze drifted from the armed man to Betty. Her breath stopped cold in her throat, not daring to move so long as those eyes can see her. Something in the back of Betty’s mind wondered what the hell those eyes could belong to. The same voice cursed its own curiosity when the owner of the four eyes stepped into the light.

What came out of the brush was unlike anything either of the humans had seen before. It was a nine or ten foot tall quadrupedal creature covered in thick lavender fur that sparkled like glitter. Its underbelly, chest, and throat had a lighter tone of fur, closer to a lilac.The colour of the fur wasn’t even the beginning of the weird parts, as the rest of the creature didn’t even try to stick to a single type of natural animal. The front two legs ended in canine-like paws, with small claws permanently extended beneath the fur, while the back two legs resembled that of a feline, much more subtle and sleek. A long, fuzzy tail extended out from behind the creature, easily doubling its length. The fur at the base of the tail and the second half was disheveled, fluffed up significantly more than necessary, while the middle of the tail looked as though it had been groomed very carefully to work out every unruly tuft of fur. To top the oddity off, the head of this creature refused to even relate to anything previously known. The general shape may be called “bird-like” in silhouette, with a thick beak built for crushing nuts, although the “beak” was a thick muzzle, covered in the same fur as the rest of the body. Three more things set it apart from birds, starting with the ears. A pair of ears similar to that of a fennec fox’s perched on top of the chimera’s head, once again matching the fur of the rest of the body. The turquoise eyes from the shadows all belonged to the chimera, both pairs resting right where they belong. Two small tusks rose from either side of the creature’s mouth, both of them a bright sparkling white.

Before either human could begin to fathom what the hell this thing was, it added a few more oddities to consider when it opened its mouth. A row of sharp teeth like that of a crocodile’s lined the chimera’s mouth, overshadowed only by the stripped pale turquoise tongue that rolled out. The tongue itself was quite long, the tip falling all the way to the creature’s chest. Saliva dripped silently from it, pale turquoise drops soaking into the forest floor below.

An eerie silence fell over the clearing as all three creatures stared at each other. The first to break the silence was the kidnapper. “NO!” Swiftly, he lunged for Betty, grabbed the back of her shirt, and yanked her to her feet. The knife he held tightly found its old resting spot right against the young woman’s neck as the man glared defiantly at the chimera. “You are not an agent of the daimonas,” he hissed, “and you will NOT claim what is rightfully theirs!”

At first, there was no reaction. The chimera withdrew its tongue back into its mouth and continued to stare at the two humans. Seconds dragged on as both parties refused to look away from each other. The fingers gripping the chef’s knife drummed on the handle, seeking a better grip, as they waited. Finally, the creature opened its mouth and spoke. “If you did not want me to claim what you offer, why did you come at all?” Its voice was gentle, flowing like the wind crossing a rolling meadow. Homesickness stabbed Betty as she subconsciously wished her own mother sounded like whatever this thing was. Her captor didn’t share her sentiment, too preoccupied with the question proposed to him. The chimera continued. “This is my home you have wandered into. One of many resting places I made for myself, specifically. Usually, I prefer being without company, but you seem to be here for a purpose. So tell me, human, why did you come to a place where only I resided?”

The man’s grip on the knife loosened slightly, but only for a brief moment. He tightened his fist around the knife’s handle, and barked at the creature before him. “No, they wouldn’t dare--!” The chimera interrupted him quickly. “Lie to you? Betray you? I can’t speak for them, but I can say that whatever you believe doesn’t change reality. You were sent here, and the only being here is me. So you must ask yourself: Were you sent here for them? Or me? Which answer would you prefer?” Silence fell over the clearing once more.

“I... I don’t know...” All the anger and defiance from the man’s voice had vanished entirely. It wavered, as though restraining sorrow, or fear. “Every one of their voices said I had to bring a sacrifice to this part of the woods. They all said I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t be saved, not until I brought virgin blood to them.” It took a considerable amount of willpower for Betty to avoid refuting the ‘virgin’ part. There’s a time and place for everything, and neither are right to claim to have had sex before. Oblivious to his victim’s annoyance, the man continued. “They were right. They always have been right. What would an angel want with a horrible wretch like me?”

“An angel?” The chimera’s face seemed to light up. Maybe. It was hard to read such a foreign creature. “Perhaps an angel would want nothing with a human who stole a child away. However, another angel--” It raised its front left paw up to its chest, emphasizing itself, “Angel Aura Quartz, is very interested in someone seeking release.” Angel lowered her paw to the ground, a bit closer to the pair than before. The man opened his mouth to speak, but the chimera continued. “I have always looked after this forest, like a mother watching over their young.” She takes another step towards two of them. “I tend to the needs of the creatures here, whether that means protecting them...” Another step. “...or resolving their suffering.” She continues to advance as she coos. “And here you are, another creature in dire need of attention. So desperate for nurturing that you’re willing to reduce an innocent female to a bargaining chip.”

Such a massive creature didn’t need very many steps to close the distance. Perhaps it was her soothing voice, or maybe her brain didn’t want to register whatever this forest dragon-thing really was, but Betty didn’t realize how close Angel was until she loomed over the man with the knife. The subtle scent of mint and a fresh spring breeze washed over both humans. The man took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. His grip loosened considerably, but Betty dared not move. Very carefully, the chimera raised one of their front paws, and rested their first claw upon the chef’s knife. “A very unnecessary chip.” He didn’t even bother resisting, allowing the large knife to slip out of his fingers and plunge into the forest floor at their feet. Angel smiled gently, and her gaze was fixed on the kidnapper. “There we go. You didn’t need her at all. We don’t need her to end your suffering.”

As if on cue, Betty could feel the man’s grip on her shirt vanish, freeing her from the human. A part of her mind didn’t trust this fluffy dragon, but that part was overruled by her body tearing her away from the horrors that flanked her. She bolted for the edge of the clearing, knowing damn well the faster she can get away from this place, the better. And yet... Betty turned around right as she felt the bramble wall. Once again, she regretted every looking back.