The moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, illuminating the dips within the moist soil that was scattered upon the earthy ground that a silhouetted figure stood upon. A crisp southerly wind combed through the trees , knocking down the pine needles and oak leaves from the ancient trees that stretched high above the ground.

The figure shivered slightly as he watched his breath dissipate within the cool air, it was refreshing even with the lack of exhaust fumes that made the air feel overly fresh and too sharp for his lungs.

It had been years since he had returned here, however his reunion with the woods overtook the stinging pain the fresh air caused his lungs. Tonight was special for the figure, or at least was supposed to be, but something prickled the figure's unease into motion. Though it had been years since he had stepped a foot onto the soft and fertile grounds of the woods, and it's natural scents and beauty still lingered, there was an unnatural chill within the air. A coolness that didn't quite affect one's outer self as it did one's inner self.

He could sense that something was wrong within the forest, his home. Curiosity trembled within the figure's chest, he wanted to know what had happened to his beloved forest yet, at the same time the unnatural cool aura that blanketed the woods caused him to have second thoughts.

Shaking his head to rid it of his uneasy thoughts, the figure decided to pursue what had plagued the forest. His foot paused in the motion of stepping over a gnarled root belonging to a pine, the figure's breath was held as his gaze flickered around, trying to locate what had caused the sound of a twig snapping. He allowed his breath to escape with relief when his eyes laid upon a young deer, embarrassment washed over him as a slight smile crept upon his lips.

The figure couldn't believe that he, one who was born and raised in the within the woods, had dropped so low as to allow himself to be frightened by a deer. The one creature that he had used to hunt on a daily basis for his meals.

He shook the freshly fallen leaves from upon his back, before resuming his walk throughout the forest. The longer he walked, the more his unease bubbled within his chest. The lack of animals seemed unnatural to him, for only seeing a deer so far greatly contradicted his memories of the active forest that he had grown up in. Easily he could tell, that something foreign had entered the woods and had finished the process of ripping apart it's delicate balance of plants and animals to shreds. Whatever it was, the figure didn't like it messing with his home.

He felt a growl resonate within his throat as his ears went back at the mere thought of his peaceful home being disrupted.

The figure took off with strong bounds, transforming his previous walking pace into a steady sprint. He was careful, to not go so fast as to exhaust quickly, for he needed his stamina to keep if he were to find what had begun disturbing his home. His home within the woods, that was the destination in mind, as he bounded over the increasingly familiar territory, there was no way that the figure could ever forget the place where he grew up.

His heart quickened as a small hollow formed by ancient tree roots entwining together over top of weathered stone came into his sight. His pace slowed to an excited trot as he eagerly made his way into his den. It seemed considerably more small than where his many brothers and sisters had grown up together. However that didn't turn the figure away, the scent of his family still lingered, despite the many years that had passed since the hollow had been abandoned. Relief filled within the figure as he confirmed that his home still remained untouched by whatever had entered the woods.

His thoughts were quickly disrupted by a high pitched shriek that echoed within the woods, causing the figure's back to arch up defensively as his hair stood on end. His gaze flickered around as he slowly lowered himself so that his stomach just barely grazed the scarce strands of grass upon the forest floor. That sound, from his time within and outside the woods, he had never experienced anything like it before, he noted that it didn't belong within the forest.

The figure looked around, slightly disappointed that he could not pinpoint it's source. A few silent moments were aloud to pass before the figure stood up and scuffed at the ground nervously. The feeling he had about an intruder had easily been proven to be correct, there was indeed a stranger within the woods, his woods to be precise.

This new confirmation didn't sit well with the figure, he sniffed the air and caught a new yet ghastly scent that made his stomach churn. He followed the scent trail at a slow pace, pinpointing it was simple yet the trail was long and hard, for he had to force his way through many a dense thicket, intent in not losing the trail by walking around.

The figure's attention waned for a second due to the calling of a crow, in that second his footing was lost upon some wet moss covered rock. By digging his nails into the soft earth, the figure manages to slow his descent down the steep hill, then landed perfectly upon rock that was large, yet smoothed down perfectly by the elements.

Ears quickly perked up, alerted by the strengthened intensity of the ghastly smell from before, it was stronger now, almost too strong for his overly sensitive nose.

He could easily tell that he was now in close proximity of the intruder, the figure placed his back up against the trunk of a rotten tree, sweeping his gaze around cautiously as he was unaware of the exact location. A sudden shriek from above snatched his attention, allowing him to barely leap out of a creature without a fixed shape in time.

The two circled around in the clearing, neither one was willing to show it's back to the other. The sickly yellow gaze of the creature struck the figure as odd, for the yellow orbs shone strongly with disappointment and disgust. The figure kept his gaze locked upon the creature's claws that kept sheathing and unsheathing, he could tell that it was for some reason itching to strike him down, yet at the same time wasn't.

He took the creature's indecisiveness to his advantage to lay the first strike. Shifting his legs to gain good traction before aiming a leap, he managed to gracefully land upon the creature's back. Who, started to snarl and spit frantically all the while bucking around in an attempt to shake the figure off of it's back. Though the attempts were futile due to the grip his nails granted the figure. A few minutes passed like this, before the unknown creature stood up in it's hind legs and slammed it's back up against an old tree, sending loose bark raining down upon them as the figure slumped to the ground.

He could tell that the long strain of bones that shaped his back had shattered in more ways than one, the pain quickly turned into a dull ache. Weakly, he looked up into the yellow orbs to see a flash of triumph within then before remorse overtook them. Realisation and shock dawned upon the figure as the creature morphed into an exact copy of himself, but younger, perhaps the age he had been before he'd been lured out of the forest, with the tempting deal of companionship of man.

His younger self padded over to the figure, lowering his face so that both sets of eyes gazed at each other on an even ground. Calmness wrapped around the figure, even when he felt sharp teeth tear at the skin that shielded his neck. Fear still didn't make its appearance, even while the figure felt a cool liquid streaming down his neck, after his life vein had been cut, wetting the many hairs with a dark crimson before darkness wrapped it's cool arms around the figure.

He had abandoned the forest long ago, so the forest decided to have its revenge.

How was this? I really adore feedback and I hope that you enjoyed~