Heart Wood | Forest Creature X Reader (COMPLETED)

Chapter 17: The Stalking Shadow

A booming crash echos throughout the forest, the vibrations reaching your feet and shooting through your core. Birds scramble to the sky, scattering across the darkness and away from the loud sound.

You all turn your heads in the direction of the sound, Lofty and Missy bracing themselves for whatever comes next. 'It's already twelve?' Your scared mind wonders as you watch for any movement in between the trees.

You wait in silence, scanning the forest with a worried gaze as you hold your breath. You hear Lily start crying in the house, making you grit your teeth and knit your brows in pity. You suck in a quick breath through your teeth, holding it as you silently beg her to stop crying. The sound must've really scared her. You want to check on her to make sure she's alright, but the fear in your gut restricts you of all movement.

Missy gives Lofty a knowing glance, before turning her frightened eyes to you. Lofty nods towards the house, his ears and eyes staying pointed at the forest. "You must protect the child." He orders with a sharp, low tone that sends a jolt up your spine.

Missy quickly nods, bolting towards the house to protect little Lily. You sigh to yourself, growing slightly irritated at Connor. After this, you're never going to babysit for him ever again. That's a lie, and you know it, but it makes you feel the slightest bit better thinking that you won't continue to be a pushover.

Lofty takes a step closer to you, his tail wrapping around your waist in a protective manner, pulling you closer to him. Your breath catches in your throat at the sudden touch, before your stiff body slightly relaxes into him. It's a nice gesture, showing that he's here and is willing to protect you from whatever is lurking in the shadows of the night.

"Remain with me." You hear Lofty say in a low whisper, his voice lacing with concern. He said it as a demand, but you get a sense of begging in his tone rather than ordering.

You stiffly nod, swallowing your fear as you glance up at the sky. The moon is completely gone, being engulfed by thick, dark clouds; leaving your eyes practically useless as the world around you appears as nothing more than a black mass of distorted blobs.

Lofty seems unfazed by the sudden lack of light, leaving you to wonder if he has similar eyesight to a nocturnal creature, or if he can use echolocation like a bat. Either way, you are useless in this situation, only able to see from what little light the front porch light produces.

You're so glad you decided to turn that light on, because it gives you a small sense of security in this ever darkening world around you. That is, until the lightbulb on your front porch quickly flickers before completely turning off, leaving your eyes with absolutely no light to grasp on to.

You suck in a quick breath, tightening your muscles as fear constricts your breathing, causing it to become shallow and panicked. Lofty's tail lightly tightens around your waist, in some sort of comforting way, but your body stays rigid and unmoving from the fright of not being able to see.

Something shifts in the darkness, appearing as a black mass to you as trees sway from its large stature. A low, menacing growl erupts from the black forest, making your blood run cold as you grit your teeth with fear. Through the sound of your erratic heartbeat, you hear Lofty huff before moving in to a protective stance, tucking you behind him and away from the other large creature.

"Caligo, there is no reason for lurking. Uncloak thou self, coward." Lofty's gravelly voice rumbles low with irritation and rage, sounding so unfitting for his normally calm and collected character and his proper sounding vocabulary.

A shock of fright jolts up your spine. 'Caligo.' The name rings in your head.

A memory emerges, another one that you've actually never experienced before. It plays in your mind like a movie, from the perspective of someone you're unsure you've ever met.

You're walking in the woods, on a rainy afternoon, as if in search for something. A shadow whips past your right side, making your entire body flinch away before spinning in that direction. A soft sound causes your eyes to glance down, without you willing them. A kitten, drenched from the rain, meows up at you, shivering from the cold. It's grey and white fur pressing against its trembling body. You hear a joyful gasp come from your mouth, but it sounds nothing like you. You pick up the kitten, wrapping it in your white shawl. You get a small glimpse at your outfit, seeing a bright blue hoop skirt paired with yellow bows and white lace. The dress looks uncomfortable, but you don't seem to mind it as you pull the kitten close and make your way out of the forest.

You blink the memory away, your brows furrowed as you wonder why you're getting these odd memories of things you never experienced. It's the exact same thing that happened when you first kissed Lofty, except this time it seems to have happened randomly.

The dark shadow chuckles mockingly, it's deep, rumbling laughter making your stomach tighten in fear. It sounds happy at the fact that Lofty is so aggravated by its unwanted presence.

Lofty growls darkly, scrunching up his nose at the intimidating, shadowy creature as his tail lightly tightens around your waist. You hear the black mass take a large step towards you, causing your body to grow rigid at the sheer sound of it stepping closer.

You now see an outline of the creature, it's bull-like horns pointing up into the air as it blows hot air out of its snout. It's ears flick angrily as it's tail lightly swishes from behind its hoofed feet.

From what you can see, it resembles a minotaur, except it's body is completely black, like a dense, black fog is making up its entire form. One thing sticks out to you, it's pure white eyes. Going off of what you remember, he didn't have those.

Your mind starts to wonder, could he have evolved? He does seem much more muscular than what you remember, making you think that he possibly evolved, similar to a Pokémon.

His white eyes peer down at you, making your blood run cold as your heart pounds in your ears. You stare back, feeling a sense of sorrow in the pit of your stomach, but you're not sure why the feeling is here, or where it even came from. Your mouth opens as you take in a shaky breath.

One word flows out of your tight throat, but the voice sounds nothing like your own as it whispers to the tall, shadowy creature.

"Caligo."

(1,080 words)