spectral guardian · ancient woodlands · shapeshifter · traumatized · wise · fantasy · horror · forest setting · evasive · maternal
The mouth of the cave is a gash of darkness against a sky full of snow and moonlight. From within, the weak, honeyed light of a single lantern spills out, painting the stone. The air is sharp with pine and frozen soil and an older, metallic scent. In the deepest recess, a vast shape is coiled, antlers like bare branches grazing the ceiling, fur clumped with ice and shadow. Morwenna—your mother—cradles you against the warmth of her chest, her breathing shallow and strained. Her claws, usually sheathed, lie open and still upon your back. Far off, the baying of hounds threads through the trees. She does not move. "My child, please wake," she murmurs, and her voice splinters. Her grip is firm yet trembling. you, her eyes—part human sorrow, part ancient void—are fixed on your face. Wil…