Frostbite °• : ｡ - Chapter II
Chapters: ~I/prologue, ~II (You're here), ~III
Wendigo/Skinwalker x Reader
CW: Gore, animal deaths. The religion is made up and in no way do I intent to offend anyone, please don't read if such subjects trigger you.
I stare at my laptop screen, wanting to bang my head against the wall as I observe the blank page.
Yesterday I actually managed to fall asleep. The tapping didn't continue, but that's probably more disturbing. I would've brushed it off as the quirk of the cabin, but it was so random.
I sigh and close the laptop, lazily lifting myself off the couch and deciding to make myself another cup of coffee. I go outside and sit on the porch, drinking the steaming, bitter liquid. I gaze into the forest and feel it drawing me in.
I keep watching the hypnotizing sway of the trees with the gentle wind, before I bring the cup to my lips to sip the coffee again, and realize I've drank it whole. I take the now empty cup into the house and head out again, walking straight into the forest.
I wonder if it's still there.
As a child, I'd always wander into the forest, making mud pies, finding big sticks and hopefully searching for the animals. In my child, naive mind I thought I'd hop on their backs and they'd take me away into the wonderland.
Then I saw it... Not a cute, big eyed, furry animal, but the monstrously enormous monastery. What once used to be a praying space was then broken down and abandoned and despite my fear, I went in.
The walls were painted with blood, carcasses of small animals hung loosely from the ceiling... In the very edge of the room, what I assume a recently killed deer, was hung on the wall, its body was cut from neck to stomach, as if showing off its insides.
I ran home crying and mom never brought me here after that. I assume it was something ritualistic. I shouldn't have wondered into the 17-19th century broken down catholic church anyways.
I sigh and kick around in the snow.
Looking down I see something. I furrow my brows and lean down, looking at what I assume is a deer footprint.
Then I hear shuffling behind me. I immediately turn around and-
"Oh, hi..." - A man waves at me awkwardly. He has dark hair with a matching pair of almond shaped eyes. Lashes, longer than my own rest on his eyelids under his thick brows. His hair is a little overgrown and he has a bit of stubble. He's wearing warm clothes and there's a hunting rifle in his left hand.
"Ah- You scared me." - I chuckle sheepishly.
"Sorry." - He smiles. - "What are you doing here?"
"...Taking a walk, I guess?"
"All alone? These woods are dangerous." - He furrows his brows a little.
"Really? I used to play in here all the time when I was a child..."
"You live here?" - He tilts his head and rests the rifle on the snowy ground.
"Not really, me and my family used to come here in summer. Now I'm here to uh, work, I guess?"
He smiles again. - "I just moved a few months ago."
I eye his rifle. - "You like hunting?"
"I hunt for food." - He corrects me. He then gives me his free hand to shake, and I do so. - "...Nathan."
"Y/N. You said the forest is dangerous? I've only seen deer so far..."
"Wolves, jackals..." - He answers Shortly. - "But yes, there are lots of deer in here. Check this out," - He comes closer and leans down, pointing at the footprints I was observing before. - "I've never seen a footprint of a deer that big. If I manage to catch it, I won't have to hunt for a few weeks, maybe even a month. I swear to God I've been trying to hunt it down for days." - He sighs.
"Oh wow." - I tilt my head. - "Hunting seems intense."
"It's not as hard if you know the basics. Just a long process... And I'm impatient." - He chuckles. - "I could show you."
He looks at me with a smile and I find it hard to decline his offer. I smile back and nod.
We walk for a while, getting to know each other. He then lays down behind a fallen log and motions for me to do the same, which I do. We wait for a while and then two deer walk into our view. Nathan looks at me and brings his finger to his lips to hush me.
It all happens fast, there's a bang and the deer falls as the other runs away. Nathan gets up and approaches it. - "You gotta be humane when killing them, try aiming where it would have vital organs so it dies fast."
I hesitantly follow him. - "Yeah, I don't think I've got that in me... Really impressive and... Humane, though." - Nathan eyes me with a playful look on his face, before looking back at the deer. I look at the deers hooves and only then do I realize the huge difference between these and the footprints I saw earlier. The footprints were three, if not four times bigger.
I start to get bad vibes from this. - "...Have you seen big deer before?"
Nathan looks at me with a puzzled expression. - "Huh?"
"You said the footprints we saw earlier were big." - I say and sit on the nearby rock. - "You see them often?"
"...Not really."
"That's... Disturbing." - I sneer.
Nathan grins. - "Why, you worried for me?"
I snort. - "No, I'm worried for myself. I live on the edge of the forest." - I joke and he chuckles.
"It's totally a deer, I'm sure nothing to worry about." - He shrugs and starts tying the rope around the dead animal. He then grins again when he looks at me. He stretches, comically so, and starts speaking. - "If you're too worried, though..."
He stands up straight and approaches me, placing his hands on the rock, trapping me in-between. - "I could give you my number."
I chuckle and he does too, then he backs up. - "The service is shitty but we can text. I don't like calls anyways."
"Okay." - I grin and he smiles. I write my number in my notepad, tearing the paper out and giving it to him after.
"You should go now, it's getting dark. Want me to walk you?"
I shrug. - "Nope. Just lead me towards the main path and I'll return myself." - I instruct him.
The walk home isn't too long, and I find myself attracted to the man as he waves at me. I walk into the cabin and sigh, happy to be embraced by warmth.
Then the deer footprints float up into my mind and I feel uneasy. How can Nathan be so calm? The deer is probably humongous, why? Is it a type of anomaly?
My worries wash away as my phone buzzes and I see a text from an unknown number.
"So you live on the edge of the forest? If you see a seven foot deer, text me asap ;P"