Occasional glints of sunlight, astray from their brethren, dappled the shaded earth, loamy and hearty. The trees were gorgeous, tall and dark of trunk, with fanning emerald leaves that stole most of the sun’s rays and hoarded them jealously, away from the forest floor. The underbrush was full and replete, great heaps of dead leaves and hardy shrubs. Signs of animal activity abounded—half-eaten nuts, soil disturbed where roots had been dug up, footprints and droppings in abundance. It seemed to Koji like any other forest, any other woodland paradise. Beside him, the others seemed to agree—Dir appeared baffled, Errow nodded as he took it all in, Rooster scowled and looked distrustful. Koji heard himself say, “Well, let’s move out.”

“Hmph,” Dir grunted under his breath. “Why are you the leader…?”

At first, it seemed typical. They stepped carefully over snaky tree roots, crunched through foliage, slid a careful path between trees, heading in the direction Errow assured them was the center of the forest. When they grew hungry, they stopped, eating a small meal of nuts, berries, roots, and the mushrooms they had deemed as safe (“Don’t eat the meat,” Errow had warned). They trekked, further into the deep forest. Above the canopy, the sun rose, peaked, and began to decline. Progressively, the forest became darker and deeper. Swathes of sunlight grew rarer, becoming small occasional patches instead. The trees transformed from slender dryads with light leafy fans to intimidating giants with dark, scarred trunks and a tangled canopy of mesh above. Birdsong quieted, and the scurrying of animals in the underbrush disappeared. The day progressed moodily.

“Are we almost there?” Dir grumbled. “I’m tired and this is pointless…”

He continued to grumble, but the rest of the group ignored him. Errow seemed to be enjoying himself, observing the varying flora and taking mental note. Rooster didn’t care, scuffing his feet in the dirt and staring fixedly ahead. Koji seemed out of focus, almost daydreamy, his eyes glassy and his step careless.

He felt a chill on the back of his neck and a shiver in his spine. Of course he had heard the stories of childhood lore—the cursed village of Windigo, inhabited by monstrous people, waiting to swallow travelers up and bathe in their blood—but they were just myths. Yes, the forest was thick and getting rather dark, but there was nothing to be frightened of. It was just another trip to just another village. Perhaps they would slay a beast or two, but that was it.

Dir, at the head of the group, stopped abruptly. The rest of the group followed, and Koji tore his gaze upwards. Dir let out a breathy sound, and Koji stepped forward to see what was the matter.

There was a wolf in the middle of the path. It was somewhat large, with tilted, triangular ears and a poised, fanning tail. Its hearty coat was deep gray, sprinkled with black. The eyes were the most peculiar—a speculative golden, just watching them. It made no motion to move, or even defend its territory. All it did was stand there, as if caught off guard, gazing at them wistfully like it wanted to read their minds.

Slowly, Dir drew his axe out of its strapping. Every move was deliberate yet wary. “Mm,” he said is a hushed whisper, “a little battle might do me some good.” He took a step forward, and the wolf flicked its ears back.

“Don’t,” Koji hissed, “it doesn’t mean to attack. It just wants to observe—“

Dir laughed, the loud sound out of place in the reverent woods. The wolf seemed to tighten its muscles.

“Oh, and I’m sure it will just leave when its done,” Dir snorted. “We’re in its land. One of us has to attack first.”

The wolf had not moved from its position, but rather, taken a seat in the middle of the path, watching as if amused.

“Besides,” Dir said softly, “I’m hungry.”

Koji was angry now, angry because Dir was such a simpleton that he couldn’t notice the wolf’s beauty, angry because Dir wouldn’t listen to reason, angry because the wolf wouldn’t run off into the woods and end the whole ordeal.

“Idiot,” Koji growled. “You’re not even supposed to eat the meat from here, remember?”

“Yes,” Errow said vaguely, “if you recall the legends, you would know that—“

Dir sighed theatrically, and Koji thought maybe he was cooling down when, with a speed that never ceased to surprise him, Dir darted forward, intending to dismember the wolf with a single vicious swipe.

His axe buried itself firmly in the dirt, and before he could react, the wolf, behind him, tackled him to the ground, claws digging into his back.

Rooster was fascinated. Psh, stupid oaf. Charging in like that. What a moron.

Errow sighed deeply. Damn, we’ll have to explain this to Canem. If only that fool’s common sense wasn’t locked so deeply in the tiny mind of his.

Koji winced. Well, I warned him.

Dir shut his eyes, expected that, at any moment, fangs would come tearing into the back of his throat.

The moment never came.

The wolf hopped off his back, gracefully, and pranced so it could stand before him. Inches away from his face were a pair of smiling yellow eyes, and below them, a maw filled with an evil set of teeth. He gazed back, enthralled.

And then the wolf seemed to collapse in on itself, like it was melting away in the face of a brutal storm. And then the wolf was gone. Kneeling in its place was a girl.

“Hello,” she said to Dir, and he flinched as if she had struck him. She stood, brushing the dirt off her simple jade robe. She was instantly strange, but in a lush, intoxicating sort of way. Her skin glowed, the color of caramel; her face was surrounded by an untamable mane of obsidian hair, flying down her shoulders in jetty streams; her eyes were the same as the wolf’s, a sunlit golden, feral and fierce. She smiled.

“Thanks for trying, sir,” she called to Koji, “but I don’t believe this sort of gentleman listens to reason.”

“That’s for sure,” Rooster murmured.

“I suppose,” she continued, “that you fellows are the people from that service thing sent to rid us from darkness or whatever?”

Koji nodded uncertainly.

She smiled wider, revealing a set of pointed white teeth. “Ah, good. Well, we don’t have any evil for you to slay, but if you’d like, you’re welcome to stay for dinner. The village is up ahead.” Again, she seemed to dissolve into herself, vanishing away the girl and leaving behind the wolf. She spared a glance over her furry shoulder, then went soaring off through the trees, stirring up a whirlwind of dead leaves.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Dir stood, grumbling to himself again.

“Well, you sound embarrassed,” Rooster said happily. Dir cursed.

“Was that,” Koji asked tentatively, “a spirit of the forest?”

A veiled smile touched Errow’s lips. “No, I don’t think so,”

“So what was she?”

Errow appeared thoughtful. “Just a normal villager from Windigo, I believe.”

Koji frowned in puzzlement.

“It appears,” Errow continued, “that they are shapeshifters. More specifically, therians.”

There was another awkward pause before Errow felt the need to explain.

“Both humans and animals,” he added. “They can transform at will. Most stories say they only have two forms—a human and a particular beast.” His eyes began to glow with their typical fervor for magic. “Real therians! To meet tonight!”

Koji nodded good-humoredly.

“But,” Errow continued, hastily steering himself away from a rant, “you weren’t too far off. I suppose you were thinking of the myth of the deity that disguises itself in order to test a mortal?” His face lit up, and he eagerly began pondering.

“Well,” Dir grunted to Koji, “what should we do?” It was obvious that he was torn between heading back right away and sparing himself further embarrassment or entering Windigo for food and bedding.

Koji shrugged. “It’s almost night and she said we were welcome. I think we should—“

Rooster nodded gleefully. “Yeah! Should be fun, hm, Dir?”

“Shut up,” Dir muttered, but seemed ready enough to go along with them.

“All right!” Errow said brightly. He seemed lost in thought.

They proceeded down the murky path, in the dwindling twilight, until they entered Windigo.