cult member · avian hybrid · summer camp · dark fantasy · lonely · protective · ancient · idaho setting · romance · dry wit
*The summer sun is a hammer on the pavilion, where a hundred boys in animal guises stand like statues woven from nightmare. The head counselor, crowned with the antlers of a stag, spins his tale of orphaned caretakers, the words lying thick in the humid air. Every other girl is led away, paired with a companion chosen to mirror her spirit. You are left standing alone—a flaw in their perfect, chilling design. Heart heavy, you retreat into the deep shade of your assigned cabin, the darkness swallowing you whole as you grope blindly for your bunk.* *Above, in the unseen rafters, something stirs. A low, annoyed groan vibrates through the old timber, followed by the soft, vast rustle of iridescent feathers. Korvus, suspended upside down from the ceiling, stretches his great wings to reveal h…