-Fantasy short stories-

I was just out on a walk, how did this happen?!

I hike down the path in front of me, enjoying the cold winter day. There's a light coating of snow on the ground, as well as on the trees. My feet crunch in the snow covered dirt. The day is calm and quiet, leaving me with just my thoughts. It's cozy out here.. just me.

I look down and observe the path I'm walking on. There are footsteps in the snow, but, the thing is, they aren't mine. I look ahead and see the trail of imprints continue in front of me, as far as I can see. 'Maybe someone else is on a walk..'  I continue my walk, keeping my cold hands in the pockets of my coat. I'm chilled to the bone, my nose and ears are rosy, and a few flakes of snow have fallen into my hair. It's freezing out here, and I should've brought my gloves.

The footsteps on the path go on. After a few minutes of walking, I see them go off the path and into the woods. I find it odd, but continue my walk anyways.

I look up into the sky, seeing it's full of grey clouds. Not a single spot where I can see the blue sky. I look down at the ground again to see cat paw prints in the snow now. They weren't there before, and must've come from the woods. The sky gets darker as I keep walking, it must be getting late.

It also begins snowing more heavily as I walk. 'I need to get home..'  I begin walking faster. As I walk quicker, I see something in the distance. It's small and animal-like. 

I soon come up on a small black cat. It's looking at me with a curious gaze. The cat gets up and turns around. It walks to my left and around a tree. It... disappears? What? I peek past the tree and see nothing. I stop for a moment, then keep walking. It keeps getting darker as I walk, and the snow gets thicker. The crunching gets louder under my boots.

It gets darker and darker... I've started to worry that I might not make it home in time.. there are many stories of creatures in the forest that come out once it's nightfall. My house is so far away.. how will I get there before the sun sets?? As I walk, I look into the forest to see nothing but trees. I'm becoming anxious for who or what I may come across. 

I gaze into the forest again. Nothingness as far as I can see through the trees. I look to my left. I nearly jump out of my skin as I see a figure in a cloak walking beside me in the woods. It passes by the trees, being there one second, a tree passes. Not anymore. I pass by another tree. It's back. I begin running down the path, trying to escape this figure. It matches my speed as a sprint. It must be around seven feet at least. 

I run as it walks at the same speed. I look into the void of its cloak where its face would be. Two dark reddish purple dots resembling irises shine under the shade of the cloak. I run. I run as fast as I can to get home safely. I look to my left again and see the figure has disappeared. I turn my head forwards and see the figure right in front of me.

 I stop abruptly and slip in the snow. I plummet to the ground and fall on my ass. I look up, fearful of the cloaked creature looming above me. The wind blows the cloak around behind the creature. It bends down to be face to face with me.

The figure flips its hood down and I see its face. It seems human... for the most part. Pale skin, and dark, long, curly hair. They look masculine, sharp facial features and a broad frame. They have one horn on either side of their head, ones that resemble a ram's. They grin at me, their teeth being sharp as well. This person is massive, and are multiple feet taller than me. There is no way in hell they're human.

"Well.. hello there." They say. They're staring at me with a gaze full of malice. "Why are you out here all alone?" They cock their head to the side, as if they're mocking me. I shove my body away from this person. "Awwwhh.. where are you going?" They get down on their knees and crawl towards me. A hearty giggle leaves their mouth. "You're quite adorable, y'know?"

I stand up, almost slipping in the snow again. I bolt away from this person. I look behind me and see they're no longer there. I stop running and fully turn around. Where did they go.?

"You look cold."

I snap around and see the creature less than a foot in front of me. They're leaning so close that I can feel their breath. "I'm curious. What's your name?" They ask. I stay silent. Random people in the forest don't just ask for your name. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" They tease. I step away slowly. "Aw, come on.. There's no harm in it!" They step closer. No matter how hard I try, I can't get away from this person. I lean away from them, and once again, slip.

This time, they catch me. They appear to easily be able to hold my weight. "Gods, you're a clumsy thing." They set me back on my feet and pat my head. 'What the hell?'  I think as I stare at them. Are they evil or kind??

"You should get back home before something out here eats you!" They laugh, still being uncomfortably close.

"I still never caught your name!.."  They gaze into my eyes. It almost feels like their eyes are piercing straight through my soul.

"Gimme yours." I say.

"Pardon?" They sound confused. "Why are you asking for mine?" The creature stares down at me, perplexed. "C'mon, let's exchange." I request. They look so stumped it's almost comical. "Exchange?" They pause. "You want to exchange names?" They ask. "Yes, is that not normal?" I say. There's something up with this person. "You want mine, why can't I have yours?" I'm suspicious of them.

They grumble. "Sigh.. Hmmff.." They lean in close to my face and inspect it. They also look me up and down. "Heh.. the red on your face is cute.." They smirk. "Name, gimme." I say as I try and get this interaction to end.

"You first.~" They tease once more. I stare at them with a glare. "Wait, you really want me to go first.?" They sigh and look away. "Do you promise to give me yours if I give you mine?" They ask cautiously. They've gotten nervous all of the sudden.. "Yes.?" I'm starting to feel nervous too.

They grumble again. "Fine. Garth. It's- sigh. My name's Garth." They look away, embarrassed. "I can't believe I'm doing this.." They mutter. "Alright.. My name's Marshal." I smile ever so slightly.

"Oh, you poor, poor man.." They grin smugly. "What.?" I start freaking out.

"You don't realize what you just did, do you?" They continue smiling at me. 'What did I just do??' I pause. "What.?" I need answers to what I've just done.

"Oh dearest.. don't you know a Fae when you see one?" 

((Yummy nummy context, if you give a Fae your name, they have power over you, and vice versa. But if you exchange names, to a Fae, you're pretty much their betrothed))