By the moon (HeartXShadow)

[Heart Summers]

Amy grabbed the last suitcase from her Explorer moving it into her new log cabin. She'd come to own the two story cherry wood cabin by a death in the family, and although the gift was that of a sad incident she couldn't help but smile while she unpacked her car. Moving into the house she noted the tiny antiques that lined the dark wooden shelves and windowsills of the place. Each one a hand carved sculpture of some creature of nature, collected over the years. The smell of the cabin was rich, smelling of burning wood and dew. Settling her bags in her room, she made quick work of unpacking before she moved down the steps. A cold chill ran down her spine feeling the biting of the cooler weather. She looked to the fireplace and sighed when she saw no wood stacked for her to burn. Grabbing a coat she pulled her mountain boots on moving outside into the night. Looking up at the sky she smiled up at the moon noting its beautiful glow before pushing on to gather wood.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

Amy grabbed the last suitcase from her Explorer moving it into her new log cabin. She'd come to own the two story cherry wood cabin by a death in the family, and although the gift was that of a sad incident she couldn't help but smile while she unpacked her car. Moving into the house she noted the tiny antiques that lined the dark wooden shelves and windowsills of the place. Each one a hand carved sculpture of some creature of nature, collected over the years. The smell of the cabin was rich, smelling of burning wood and dew. Settling her bags in her room, she made quick work of unpacking before she moved down the steps. A cold chill ran down her spine feeling the biting of the cooler weather. She looked to the fireplace and sighed when she saw no wood stacked for her to burn. Grabbing a coat she pulled her mountain boots on moving outside into the night. Looking up at the sky she smiled up at the moon noting its beautiful glow before pushing on to gather wood.

Marcus knew he had to get away, get away from everyone and everything. He'd tried to control the changes at first, tried to make a life for himself, and at first he'd made some progress. But the moon! The moon drove him to new heights of madness and savagery with its arrival had heralded the end of a normal life for him. Out here though, he hoped he could make a new life, far away from anyone he could hurt on the night of the full moon. Like tonight.

It wasn't like the usual changes, it was more feral, more violent, like he was literally unleashing a beast kept pent up inside him. And the only way for him to unleash that beast was to tear and shred away every vestige of his humanity, from the flesh down as grizzled, dark gray fur now bristled out from his corded, muscular form. His jaw lengthened into a bestial snout from which savage fangs gleamed in the moonlight. His mind faded into the face of his feral instincts, and with the moon high over head be began the hunt.

 

[Heart Summers]

Amy gathered smaller sticks at first placing as many as could into her arms. She wasn't a weak woman, but there was no way she could carry more than 50lbs. Moving back through the woods for the third time she searched for larger sticks, needing only a couple for her fire to be built. Her coat hid her curvy body and voluptuous hips, her purple hood hiding her dark hair. Keeping a calm pace she kept her eyes to the ground looking for more suitable logs for her fire.

The sound of the forest causing her to look up every now and again, but mostly she focused. She had always been a fan of the woods but whenever she'd visit her aunt she would say beware of the woods during the moon. She never really knew why? The moon lit the dark woods in a splendid glow of white beauty. Amy looked up again the sound of leaves rustling making her examine the area around.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

As the very last traces of his humanity began to face, Marcus detected at the last moment, the presence of the other human being. His conscious mind screamed in protest! No! There couldn't be someone here, they'd be in terrible danger! But it was far too late. It was in fact only due to his enhanced senses that he was able to scent her presence. And now that the scent was his, the hunt would begin.

With bounds and leaps through the undergrowth, he shifted between moving on all fours and on two legs, moving between the trees and through them with equal ease, slowing to a silent pace only once he was closer to her prey. Now, he was able to scent what he had been tracking, a human woman, alone and moving through the woods as noisily and clumsily as one would expect of any human. Nearing the clearing where she gathered wood for her fire, Marcus let only the slightest of sounds betray his presence, preferring to see his prey at least somewhat on edge.

Glimpsing her briefly through the foliage, Marcus smiled a fanged grin in anticipation, bunching and stretching his broad shoulders and rippling arms as well as his bowed legs as he prepared to pounce, stalking as close to her as possible without being seen.

 

[Heart Summers]

She held tightly to the wood that she was carrying her ears working to hear what it was that was creeping so close to her. Taking a moment she stuck her neck out to see if she would catch a glimpse of what was there. Her body moving to stand taller, her breath coming out as white smoke. "Is anyone there?" she called out. Amy didn't feel comfortable out here anymore. Her hair was standing up on her neck, her skin breaking in chills yet she stood still. Waiting for the noise to happen again, or the creature to come into view for her eyes to fall upon.

When nothing happened she gave a small sigh, swallowing the forming lump in her throat she reached for one more log. Filling her arms to the brim, the logs weighing down on her coated arms. Turning around quickly she began her walk towards the cabin, her feet moving a little faster than they had before out of fear. She still had the feeling of being watched and she wasn't going to find out by what.

 

[Shadows Beckon]

As she finished gathering up her firewood and rounded to begin her return to the cabin, what had been Marcus suddenly leaped out from the darkness, breaking through the treeline and over her head as he slid over the ground onto all fours, growling and snarling as he snapped his slavering jaws and let out a howl before rising up onto his hind legs. Flexing musclebound limbs covered in gray grizzled fur rippled in the night breeze as his hackles rose and his amber eyes gleamed out at her from the darkness. Taking one stalking step towards her, he sniffed the air getting a full experience of her scent; she would not be able to escape him now.

 

[Heart Summers]

She let out a scream as the beast bound over her head, her heart racing while she looked at him. She watched in horror as the beast rose to two legs, her mind trying to understand what was going on, and how this creature could exist. She didn't know what to do her blood running cold while she turns quickly. Trying to out run the beast that was after her, the best that she thought was a wolf and man. The old tales saying that she had just seen a werewolf.