but there's chaos brewing
underneath my skin
She listened, arms folded over her knees, curled along her legs, taking in all the information the man had to offer. Her mind pictured a wealth of things, imagining, conjuring images of wildlife she’d yet to see or experience. The youth memorized the names, repeated them like anthems in her head: encantados, impish but friendly, something that reminded her of fey spirits, mercurial, whimsical, merfolk (a reel of excitement in those spiraling notions), and the rest. But perhaps the most intriguing was the Sea Panther. “Destined to die? Why?” Was it the ferocity? The power? The precision? The predator in its namesake?
Her turn came thereafter, and she hummed once more. “Banshees are roaming spirits, typically found in the woods. They’re dressed in rags, and sing a haunting melody.” She’d fought one once, helped, assisted, in those early days of monster hunting – enough to still leave a chill down her spine. “If they catch you, they try to strangle you.” A shrug, as if this was nothing. “ROUS are Rodents of Unusual Size,” which she figured he could surmise for himself. “The Undine sings on clear nights, and lives behind the waterfall in the Crimson Cataract.” What was left? “The Cat Sith is supposed to be a terrible omen in Ludo’s Woods – a black cat with a white spot on its chest. It tries to steal souls so they can never reach Ludo or Mort.”
Her turn came thereafter, and she hummed once more. “Banshees are roaming spirits, typically found in the woods. They’re dressed in rags, and sing a haunting melody.” She’d fought one once, helped, assisted, in those early days of monster hunting – enough to still leave a chill down her spine. “If they catch you, they try to strangle you.” A shrug, as if this was nothing. “ROUS are Rodents of Unusual Size,” which she figured he could surmise for himself. “The Undine sings on clear nights, and lives behind the waterfall in the Crimson Cataract.” What was left? “The Cat Sith is supposed to be a terrible omen in Ludo’s Woods – a black cat with a white spot on its chest. It tries to steal souls so they can never reach Ludo or Mort.”
trying to hold in the storm
instead of making waves
MELITA
