From the Woods (closed)

[DrStein]

Shane Carver finished setting up his tent and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was a pleasant early summer day and he was out on his monthly camping trip. He let his dark hair loose from its ponytail and shook it out slightly, sweat already matting the locks together as the sun warmed the surrounding woodlands. The tent was merely a formality. He wouldn't be spending much of his time in it anyway. Never did. This trip was more for everyone else's benefit than his own.

He took off his shirt, revealing his powerful frame and the dark curls on his chest. With the light sweaty sheen on his skin and handsome features he could have passed for a cover of a romance novel at that moment, though there was no one around to appreciate it. At least, not that he knew of.

He began gathering firewood, again mostly a formality. He never brought a camp stove so he needed some way to cook his food. The fire would be doused by nightfall regardless.

Shane had been doing this so long it was fairly routine for him. At least these trips were more pleasant in the summer than in the winter. Camping in the fall had its appeals due to all the colors and smells. Spring was often damp and rainy, but nothing he couldn't handle. Winter though was a pain, especially in the mornings as every now and again he hadn't made it back into the tent before passing out. The time he just crawled under the tarp in the truck bed was probably one of the single worst mornings he could think of.

Regardless, it was a beautiful day and the weather was expected to hold. He'd be okay. There wasn't another soul for miles in any direction. At least, not that he knew of.

 

[hells_fury]

Belle Andrews stood in the clearing, it was small only a mile in length and width. Surrounded completely by the forest. She smiled taking in a deep breath, breathing in mother nature from around herself. Glancing around she smiled, her pit was set up for the fire that she would have lit this evening, and her tent was set up for her to be able to keep her belongings inside and for her to sleep when she was finished.

Her hair was black as a ravens feathers, and her eyes as green as emeralds. Her hair laid against her back in a tight braid. She knew it would probably come out later but for now having it pulled back allowed her to be more comfortable than having it down and in her way.


Tonight was a full moon and she would be paying mother nature thanks for the powers that had been given to her. Tonight she would also gain more power, it happened to each witch of her line on the full moon somewhere in a year. It varried as to when, each was different, and there was always a test. She knew tonights test would not be easy by any means. She knew that if she was to claim her new power there would be a price to pay. Sometimes the price was easier to pay then other times. Tonight she had a feeling would not be easy.


Shaking the feeling she knelt near where her fire would go, placing stones and twigs around the circle she nodded before standing up. Slipping out of the tank top she wore and the jean shorts she stood there in a black bikini, her back had what appeared to be tattoos of an ancient text upon her. Though they were not tattoos in the sense of choosing them or having them put on. These were a part of her as much as her skin was a part of her.

 

[DrStein]

Late afternoon rolled in. Shane had a fire going and was currently passing the time sitting near it reading a book as his dinner cooked in the hanging pot. A simple stew. Nothing too fancy. He had become accustomed to leading a relatively simple life. Since he kept to himself his wants were few. He designed websites for a living specifically so that he could make money with as little face-to-face contact with other people as possible. If his parents truly wanted the line to continue, his older brother had already gotten that taken care of. He found himself a little wife and moved to Canada. It suited them fine as it was similarly removed from a densely packed city.

Shane's nose caught something on the breeze. He sniffed again and looked around. There was very little wind but for a second he thought he picked up the smell of engine exhaust. He stood up and looked around, trying to catch the scent but the wind died down and he couldn't pick up much of anything. Nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Was the wood smoke masking other scents?

With a sigh, Shane decided not to let it bother him. Maybe he was just under more stress than usual. He did have a rather nosy client to deal with lately. He put the book down and went to his truck. He opened the door and fished around in the glove compartment until he found his bowl and his stash. He had found some time ago that weed made this time of the month easier to deal with. It calmed his nerves and made the moment of change less uncomfortable. Perhaps it would also help take his mind off whatever was making him so damn suspicious. Or make it worse. Whatever. He was in the middle of nowhere. It's not as if he really had anything to worry about.

 

[hells_fury]

Belle smiled as she took in the nature around her. It was beautiful here and she truly loved coming out here. Pulling the bread out of her basket she proceeded to make herself a sandwich. Sitting there she looked out at the trees and the world around her. It was always so peaceful here, and so nice to unplug from the world around her. The chaos of living in a city. Here she could be at peace and simply breathe.


Once she finished eating she grabbed her black dress and slipped it on over her self. Heading for the woods she carried a duffel bag with her. She began collecting fallen twigs and branches, pine cones and anything else she could use to build her fire tonight. She would need a good amount of supplies.


She also picked a few of the wild flowers tying them into her hair. Smiling she hummed to herself as she walked through the forest continuing to collect her supplies. Touching a few trees here and there she could feel the power growing for tonight. A soft shiver ran down her body as she smiled and began to head back to her camp now. Having nearly walked over a mile away.

 

[DrStein]

The sun was sinking below the horizon and Shane doused the last of his campfire. The few remaining coals and ashes flickered with an orange glow before being extinguished with a soft hiss and the release of smoke. With that done, he took off his boots, jeans and boxers. He stretched out his muscles in preparation for what was coming soon.

The wind changed direction and carried the last dying smells of his own campfire with it. And before long it brought new ones. Shane froze in place. He breathed in deeply, taking in the scents. No mistaking it, there was another campfire nearby. A mile, maybe two. He whipped around quickly and saw the telltale plume of smoke faintly against the last sliver of daylight on the horizon. He smelled a car. He smelled pine cones in the smoke. But the one scent he soon picked out made his blood run cold. He smelled a woman.

Shane scrambled to grab the keys to his truck out of the pocket of his discarded jeans. The moon was now visible in the sky. Any moment now...

Shane finally got the keys and practically leaped to his truck. He flung the door open and had one foot inside when it hit him. His muscles seized up. His skin prickled. The hair on his body became thicker. He saw the fingernails on his hand holding the keys turn black. His fingers began twitching involuntarily and the keys dropped out of his hand onto the seat just before he fell backward and curled up into a fetal position.

The change was always uncomfortable to begin with. Manageable and certainly no worse than the average annoyance. But trying to resist it? Trying to keep it from happening? The pain was incredible. Shane could hear his own grunts and whimpers slowly deepening into growls and snarls as his ribs reshaped into a larger, deeper chest. His face slowly pushed out and his teeth sharpened. His legs warped into a triple-jointed shape and his hands became larger and clawed.

Shane was completely aware of it all happening, but it was like a part of him was falling asleep. And it was the part of him that was trying to resist for the sake of the woman that he could still smell on the breeze. It was mating season and she would have reason to be more afraid than anyone if she knew what was out in the woods with her at this moment.

That part of Shane's mind went quiet. The smells of the forest were more acute to him now. His ears could hear the rustling of every individual leaf in the trees. Shadows receded in his vision and the moon shown more brightly than before. He slowly lifted himself into a crouch as the last aftershocks of pain died down before throwing his head back and letting out a howl that had haunted the dreams of humans for centuries.

 

[hells_fury]

As the moon was high in the sky Belle stripped out of all of her clothes. Grabbing one the blankets she had with her, she laid it beside the fire and knelt upon it. Her hands laid gently on her thighs as she closed her eyes and focused her power. She could feel the power of all around her wrap around her body like a blanket. She focused on that as she began reciting a chant.


In the distance she heard the sound of a werewolf. The sound alone sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes popped open as she looked all around her. She thought she was alone, and had she known this is not the place she would be right now. She was already drawing her power though and she could not leave, or the goddess would see that as disrespect. She knew there would be a test and perhaps this was it. Perhaps she would have to meet this beast.


Her back went rigid as she knelt there before her fire. She had to finish the prayer she knew that. Forcing her eyes closed she began again. As she finished her chant she felt in tune with nature, she could feel the forest around her, she could smell the sweet scent of the night. She could feel all the magic and not far away she could feel the beast. She shivered lightly an prepared herself for what would now become a long night.


Getting up from her position she began walking around her fire, forming a circle of protection. She didn't know for certain if it would work on a wolf but she would try and hope that it would. At least perhaps it would slow the creature down a bit. She could only hope she lived through the night. She stayed to show respect to her Goddess and to claim her power this night. Hopefully she left in her car and not a body bag.

 

[DrStein]

The wolf stalked quietly through the dark forest, following the scent of the woman. It wasn't long before he saw the glow of her fire through the trees. He began to slowly circle the camp, drawing closer on each circuit. The woman knew he was there. But she was alone. He had come this far and found no trace of scent of any others. Perfect.

He got close enough that as he passed by one tree, his eyes caught the light of her fire for a moment, causing them to glow faintly in the darkness. The way she started meant she must have seen. He noted with some satisfaction the way her breasts jiggled when she moved. The bitch would be his.

The wolf moved quickly. She had seen him and he needed to keep her off-balance. He circled around quickly, planning to flank her. With a great spring he lunged out from the tree line at her but his skin started to burn as if he were immersed in boiling water. The girl screamed in surprise at his appearance, and with a feral roar he dove back into the shadows. He moved quickly, trying to get a clear idea of what happened without letting his quarry get a good look at him.

He saw it. The circle around her and the fire. A witch. The wolf was no dumb animal though. He picked up a rock and chucked it hard at the ground. It impacted on the line in the ground, disrupting the circle before it bounced into the flames causing a shower of sparks and the loud popping of wood. He scrambled to a new angle and repeated the process, breaking the circle apart a little more with each stone.

 

[hells_fury]

Belle knew what it was attacking her circle she had no doubt about it. She had heard the howl earlier and now the beast was after here. Shaking her head she grabbed her bowl of mixed herbs that she used for her protection spell. Pricking her finger she spilled her blood into the bowl.

Walking the circle again she tried to buy herself more time. Kneeling close to the fire she began chanting to the mother goddess, hoping her plea would be heard and answered. She asked for protection and strength to defend herself.

Her skin prickled as she felt the power was over her and wrap around her like a blanket. A dark smile filled her face, as her eyes turned the color of the midnight sky. Standing she knew she would at least live through the night. She didn't know how, and she didn't know what would happen. But she knew she wasn't going to die here.

Glancing around she looked for the attacking her circle now, attacking what was her alter tonight. Anger flowed through her and she could feel her body fill with the magic. She waited, waited for the beast to get closer to her.

 

[DrStein]

The wolf could tell the witch was stronger than he had first anticipated. He needed to move more quickly. He darted between shadows, the brief glimpses of his gigantic form in the darkness and the occasional glint of light reflected in his eyes the only signs of his continued presence. It did serve nicely to keep her off-balance. As he circled the camp he took stock of everything. Most of her camping supplies were outside the protective circle... There! A coil of nylon rope. A wicked thought entered the wolf's head and he quickly formulated his plan.

He lunged from the shadows once more. The protective circle was still strong enough to hold him back and the bitch was now on the offensive. He evaded her retaliatory strike, whatever it was he didn't care enough to note, and snatched up the coil of rope before vanishing back into the shadows and once more darting between the trees to keep her off-balance and uncertain what angle the next attack would come from.