Primal Ritual
get lost in the forest and accidentally interrupt some primal ritual
What happens next?
Walking in the forest for hours
Can't find trail you were walking
Feet hurt
Clothes dirty
Phone dead
Sun setting
Getting cold
Thinking to yourself that you're going to die out there and nobody will ever find you
It's pitch black out now, with the only light being the inconsistent glow of the full moon as it's periodically revealed and obscured by clouds
Surrounded by the subtle cacophony of unseen nocturnal fauna
Hear noise off in the distance
Dancing and drums, the sounds of revelry
Go to noise, as you approach you see orange light flicker through the treeline
Peering through the branches into a clearing, you see what appears to be a group of wolf people dancing around a fire in some sort of pagan ritual
Suddenly one turns her head to look at you, and the rest almost immediately follow
An crowd of reflective predatory eyes silently staring you down
If you had any doubts about dying tonight before, now you were sure
"Interrupted? No, you're the guest of honor!"
"The gods foretold of the arrival of a furless one, guided by the light of the moon and stars to us... an outsider who is to be celebrated and allowed to join our pack."
"You are free to choose one of our women to join with your spirit as a lifemate, and to consummate your bond with her here, in the glow of the blessed moon and our revelry."
Umm... wwyd?
Lost in the woods.
No gear. No phone. No nothing.
Don't even know how you got here.
Moving because no gear, no phone, no nothing and it's getting colder than you're dressed for.
Only real hope is to find rescue.
Fortunate enough that there is a full moon to see by tonight.
Walking for who knows how long now, haven't even seen an indication of high ground to get to in order to find bearings of some sort.
Catch sight of odd light up ahead.
Seems like a good thing, lights in the woods tend to mean people.
Foliage and undergrowth get denser as you approach the light, almost as if the plants want to keep you away.
Break through the green wall into a clearing.
You see something you've never seen before, and the lizard brain releases a flood of fear that threatens to turn your legs into water.
Dancing amber and green light illuminate the creature in the center of the clearing.
She's at least seven feet tall, maybe eight.
Why on Earth are you noticing the breasts? Especially when there are flaming antlers with eyes?
You're really really hoping the markings are ocher.
Even if your watery legs weren't keeping you from running her piercing gaze would have you pinned to the spot.
Not like running would matter. You're sure of that.
She's in the middle of something. There's something that looks ceremonial and half finished drawn on a slab of exposed rock.
Instinct is enough to tell you this is important and you're interrupting.
Your rational mind manages to wrangle your lizard brain and your next choices are made by a thinking mind, even though the fear is still screaming just underneath.
Without sudden movement you sit down.
You look away, close your eyes, going as far as to cover them with your hands to show you did not mean to spy.
You crane your head to the side, exposing the entire length of your neck in a sign of submission that you hope will be interpreted as meaning you want/mean no trouble.
Pregnant silence draws out long and sharp like the blade of a knife hanging in the air.
Then there's an explosion of sound, and before you can possibly react there's the feeling of teeth at your neck and hot breath on your skin.
If you'd had even a moment you'd have probably pissed yourself, at the very least.
The fear finds new claws and tries to tear through your reason, to make you get up and run.
Reason points out it's too late and if she wanted you dead she'd just close her jaws.
You should have flinched, would have flinched, but she was on top of you so fast you didn't get the chance to do even that.
Reason keeps you still even as that hot breath is drawn in and out of inhuman lungs and over your neck.
She growls.
Yet you remain still, your only response an involuntary whimper.
Then the teeth are gone.
And a voice is in your head.
No, not a voice. It is a presense communicating meaning simply by being there.
|You do not belong here|
"I know. I'm sorry. I don't even know how I got here. I just want to go home."
|You do not know?|
"No. Please, I have no idea what's going on. I don't even remember where I was before this or how I could have gotten here."
|Then go home|
You feel a sharp point on your forehead, and then you're falling a thousand feet.
Only to spasm awake in your bed, sheets soaked in sweat.
It takes a minute for your breathing to calm and your heart to stop trying to escape your chest.
Bundle up the bed linens, trying to figure out what THAT was all about.
Throw linens in the wash.
Go to bathroom to piss.
Catch sight of yourself in the mirror.
There's a dot of ocher in the center of your forehead.