I had been gathering information on the two people who went missing here in Graven in the three weeks the Wendigo had arrived, and found some interesting similarities about the possible victims; they were both males on the leaner side, and both had fallen into substance abuse.
These two victims must have been from greed and desperation it was eager to have a taste of human flesh so it took whomever it could find, both were said to have been seen hanging out around the forest but suddenly the people who lived nearby noticed they hadn't seen them for few days and decided to report it, they were easy prey but I couldn't say for certain that the Wendigo was involved in their disappearance though it seemed likely
I visited the area where the victims were said to have last been seen, hoping to find anything. Looking around, I tried my best to pick up any odd scents that might belong to the Wendigo. I was no Cu Sith, but our scent and tracking capabilities as the protectors of our realm were superior. Unfortunately, my brother and I were thrown into new territory, It had been centuries since our two worlds truly interacted.
However, we did have spies to monitor this world's happenings just to update us on the humans and if they possibly posed any threat. Even those spies came here only every few years and didn't stay more than a few weeks
So when we were thrown into this mission, the information we had was about the advancement of the human world and a roughly detailed map of the territory we're in, but still the forest remained blank, for it was an ever-changing environment of its own
I had picked up some familiar smells from plants and rocks that pulsed with energy indicating they had some magic in them but that was normal we were already informed of the possibility, other scents though were a bit odd perhaps they were just scents I wasn't really familiar with or one of those belonged to the creature I was looking for it was hard to tell since bosses didn't have similar scents to the creatures of their type neither had I ever encountered one but our commander or Legate as we called him since we were classified as a Legion, had faith that we were best for the job but now I felt quite useless at that fact
Of Course we were at a disadvantage as I said we were in completely new territory, neither of us had ventured to this side, and our first week was all we had to adapt and try to blend in while gathering some information then the next was scoping the territory we assumed the Wendigo was in while doing our best to track it down, we had already wasted too much time on that
My wrist amulet that had been specially designed for my brother and me pulsed a glowing red color, making my blood run cold; my brother was either in danger or there was an emergency. I didn't think much as I started to race through the thick forest that I still wasn't familiar with. But the thing about our bracelets was they had a tracking ability, so it would always lead me right to him. The bracelets were bound only to us, making them useless to anyone else.
I followed as it directed me, nervous of what I might find, but never had I imagined that I'd find him sitting in another person's garden next to the sassy waitress we had met, looking perfectly okay
"Why the hell did you alert me if there's nothing wrong?" I asked between gritted teeth with enough bite that she shifted closer to Anson
"It was the only way I could get you here fast enough."
"This better be damn important"
"Do you think I'd ever do that if it wasn't? Let's head to the house, her family might wake up soon."
I looked at the lady in question, although she still hadn't moved. I could see it in her eyes that she was trying her best not to look intimidated, which almost made me smirk. He led the way, and she quickly followed beside him.
We reached the house, and my ever-caring brother insisted on first offering something to the girl to snack on since she apparently hadn't had breakfast, and the whole thing was wearing on my patience
"Now that the princess has her meal, tell me why the hell you used the…you alerted me."
"It's okay, Damian. She knows"
"Knows? Knows what?"
"Everything," he said nervously, his eyes avoiding mine
"What do you mean by everything?"
"About you and me and why we're here"
"WHAT!"
He went on to tell me what he had been suspecting when she unknowingly revealed she had seen his true eyes, then to how he'd spy on her a detail he obviously hadn't mentioned to her from her reaction, to her spying on us seeing my wings, their trip to the tree and what she revealed, and lastly to her encounters with the Wendigo. I took in everything silently, looking at her from time to time
"So you can see what we've cloaked."
"Apparently"
"You saw its yellow eyes, that's something only a unique person could do."
" Other people can't see it."
"They can, but not its eyes, to them it would only appear as though it has no eyes at all, tell me what about my eyes. What do you see?"
"I…well, your eyes are a bit darker than Anson's, though they also sparkle, but unlike his, yours have a crescent black ring around your pupils."
"Hmmm, Anson, let's talk."
He looked at the girl, reassuring her that he'd be back
"Before you say anything, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have told her, but.."
"It's okay, but you do know we'll have to make her forget, we can't have her knowing about our world, it's too risky."
"Yeah, I know."
"So what's your plan? You obviously called me because you have a way to catch it, right?"
"I haven't shared it with Lyla yet, but it involves her," I threw him a look, ready to counter him. "She said she's willing to help however she can, but before I tell her, I just wanted to check in with you first."
"Okay, go on."
"Don't you find it strange that the Wendigo went back to her house? I'm thinking it was curious. The first time was perhaps coincidental that was until she looked at it, it could have returned to test if she truly did see it since only his true eyes will be visible in the shadows and she did, she told me she lingered at the window for a while facing it this could have been enough for it to be sure. As for her seeing its arm, I think it wanted to go after her then, but something stopped it."
" Would it have really risked attacking at such a public space?"
"Maybe, but think of it like this. Lyla is different; it's easy for something from our world to get drawn to her, and we know the Wendigo consuming human flesh increases its power, so imagine if it found a human that was… unique."
"It will come back for her," I concluded, making him nod in agreement, "but we can't just wait till it does, it could be savoring her for later. We'll have to find a way to make it come to her."
"Or maybe we take her to it."