Ill Met By The Moonlight

A Good Night To Be Lost

"Damnit..." Hugh scowled, gripping his injured arm as he walked through the forest in the dead of night. He had been hunting on his own when he took a fall down a hill. He had managed to roll down without much damage to himself, except for his right forearm which had been scraped up on the way down. It was superficial, but it was certainly painful. Hugh clutched his arm tighter as the cool night breeze caused it to sting.

He looked around quickly, the night was cast in the bright blue like of the moon, so much so that he could see everything clearly. It was a good night to be lost, to be sure, his luck had held strong so far, hopefully he could find his way back to his village without too much more-

A loud crack of a tree branch shattered the silence of the night.
Hugh froze, eyes wide, focusing on listening for any other noises, his breaths came short and quiet. Could it have maybe just been an owl landing on a rotted branch of a dying tree? Surely...

Hugh's body began to lose its tension as what felt like hours passed without any more disruption. The silence weighed down heavily on him, he carefully scanned around himself, seeing nothing but trees and the tall shadows they cast against the ground.

A long sigh escaped him, he continued more cautiously, keeping an ear out. His steps came more quickly as the thought of being stalked by something in the night sent chills down his spine. The longing for home grew more apparent. It was certainly going to be the last time he hunted by hims-

The rapid noise of crunching leaves under foot came from behind him, almost echoing with each step. Instinctively, Hugh began to run from whatever was pursuing him. The cold night air burned his lungs and throat as he took in deep breaths while sprinting, not daring to look back for fear of what he may see. His hearing was hampered by the air rushing by him, he couldn't tell if he was still being chased, but it wasn't worth the risk of slowing down to find out.

Hugh burst through a bush into a large clearing the moonlight shone the whole field perfectly. Out of breath, Hugh braced himself on his knees, heaving as his breaths came heavy. He looked around the clearing, making sure it was clear. A large cabin caught his eyes, it was situated next to a well and a had a sizable garden on its side. The light of a fire welcomingly emitted from its windows. A small smile of relief came to Hugh as sanctuary was a hop skip and a jump away from him.

One more deep breath before making his way to the cabin, that's all he'd need.

Something from behind him shoved him roughly, causing him to fall forward, landing on his belly with a dull thud. Nothing was on top of him, so it couldn't have been a wildcat, so what had just knocked him over.

Giggling came from behind him. Hugh quickly rolled over to face his attacker, and was shocked to see a woman standing over him, finding great amusement in seeing Hugh on the ground. "Oh my, you look younger than I first thought." She said giving a creepily cheery smile. Hugh looked her over, her hair was short and red, blood red, and the rest of her attire was black, the paleness of her arms and face almost reflected the moonlight. Her lips were covered in black lipstick. Hugh failed to realize he was staring as he studied her features.

"Like what you see? I certainly do." She said leaning over him, scanning his form over in turn, "what are you doing out here in the dead of night?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I-I am lost." He uttered with a slight stutter. He desired to stand, but the way she leaned over him was overbearing, it was hard to say if she was being threatening or that was just personality.

"Lost? Is that all? Well, you have fortunately been found." She stood up straight and offered a hand to help him up. Hugh hesitated to take her hand, but accepted her assistance in the end. She tugged him up with great strength, it caught him off guard for a woman to be so strong.