Normally the cheap trinkets of souvenir shops annoyed Yrsa. The noise level always set her teeth on edge. Unfortunately, the only phone they were allowed to use was nestled in the back of one of these junk peddler’s shop. Leaning against the wall Yrsa could hear snippets of Sylvia’s conversation in the little alcove behind her. Trying to seem more casual than the creeper she knew she looked like Yrsa tried looking around the room as if she was interested in the trash surrounding her.

A bus full of tourists filled the shop with more noise from the Ayakashi streaming in. A family of Kappa shuffled towards the cooler near Yrsa. Looking down she noticed the little turtle Being gnawing on its pinky nail staring up at her. There staring contest was interrupted by a flash of light. Yrsa swung her head around to see two Ayakashi holding their cameras in her direction. The pale girl with ice blue hair on the right gave a start causing her glasses to frost up before scurrying off. She left a cold breeze in her wake which caused the other girl to take off after her friend.

Not sure what she saw Yrsa turned over her shoulder to check on Sylvia. Finished with her phone call she trotted up to Yrsa with a smile.

“Mom says she’ll meet us in an hour.” Sylvia reached out to hold on to Sylvia’s sleeve. She had recovered a little bit from the attack but she wasn’t out of arm’s length of Yrsa. Still holding the sleeve she led Sylvia out of the shop past all the tourists, several of them were staring at this point. The bus driver looked uninterested as one of the Ayakashi pointed her out to him. Lighting his cigarette he shrugged before stating she was a Wendigo.

“Uh. Where are we going?” Yrsa asked not feeling like getting lost at the moment.

“Don’t worry. This fire trail leads us straight to corrals.” True to her word the trail did lead them to a cleared area next to a river. A medium-sized barn faced them on the opposite side of the clearing, its doors shut. Milling around outside in the paddock was one the Kirin Sylvia was always drawing.

“Oh hi precious.” She released Yrsa’s sleeve to great the dragon/horse creature. Looking around Yrsa couldn’t quite shake the feeling of unease in the air. She wished she had Stewie with them in case trouble showed its ugly face. Even though he looked like an overgrown hare he acted more and more like a dog every day. He had even taken to sitting with Sylvia after the incident.

Yrsa would never forget that night.

She had chased the Gremlin for the part it had stolen that night. It was a quick takedown. But it wasn’t quick enough.

Sylvia’s scream of terror had reverberated through her skull she’d hear the echoes forever.

When she had returned to the parking lot two Lycans were wrestling one another. It took the help of the Southern Vampire to fully subdue the uncollared one but eventually, he was detained. Under the RV Yrsa could hear Sylvia’s racked breathing as she was in a full-blown panic. Reaching under the vehicle she saw the smaller girl curled into a ball terrified. Not thinking she reached out to grab the Selkie out by the ankle causing the girl to try and flee. Worried she might hurt herself Yrsa wrapped her arms around the girl trying to calm her again.

Hopefully, her family will be able to help more than Yrsa could not.

Walking towards the river she noticed there was a wooden bridge stretched over the churning river. The wood was graying with age, clearly in need of replacing. Her boot catches in a divot in the ground. Looking down she notices there were hoof prints all over the hard ground. Out of mild interest, she followed the tracks towards the water.

“That’s different,” Yrsa said aloud wandering back towards Sylvia. Noticing Yrsa Sylvia gave the creature one more pat on the nose before turning towards the taller girl.

“So what now? We hand the Fleece to your parents and then, you what, stay here?” Yrsa asked leaning against the fence. She was scratching at her makeshift cast again. In a month the girl had been slammed into an RV, held at gunpoint and terrorized (almost eaten really) by a Lycan. The girl deserved a break. It was weird. Yrsa couldn’t recall having an issue with Lycans before. That one Pixie that ran the convenient store a mile from the Ranch back home was easily the worst Being she’d ever met. She didn’t like to throw around the term bigot but for Mrs. Sprankle, she’d make an exception.

The leprechaun from the motel earned an honorary spot on that list though. Paying an extra fee because ‘just in case they need to replace the sheets she might rip up’ indeed.

Shaking her head she brought herself to the now. Now she needed to focus on where to go next.

“No. I’m going back home.” She sighed. “From the outside, it was supposed to appear like a young woman going to a festival and then returning home. Probably with this one.” She gave a smile as the Kirin returned for more affection. Yrsa reached out to pet it but it gave a snort stepping out of her reach.

“He probably doesn’t like your smell.” Sylvia giggled. “So what about you? Where are you headed to?”

“Going back to my parents. I’m just…tired.” Yrsa admitted looking down at her boots. “I wasn’t happy delivering mail. I’m certainly not happy -“ Yrsa rotated her wrist gesturing everywhere. “Gallivanting all over Gaia avoiding being shot at.

“Assaulting people.” Sylvia chimed in. She leaned over the metal fence to try and peer into her eyes through her eye holes.

“Defending myself.” Yrsa caught the other girl’s eyes relishing the smile she got in return.

“Going back home doesn’t sound like it would make you happy either.”

“I’ll be fine. Who knows, maybe I will learn to love the Caribou like you love the Kirin. “ Yrsa reached out to tickle the underside of the smaller girl’s chin. She didn’t use her nail like she would with her own family. She used the softer side of her index claw.

“Whoa, you grew up on an Caribou ranch?” She asked beaming up at Yrsa.

“Compared to working with these guys that’s not that impressive.”

“Oh no. My parents work with the artifacts in Atlantis, not the animals. My parents don’t like animals much.” Sylvia admitted. Happy to finally have the conversation off emotions she pretended she wasn’t having Yrsa began telling her about the time she took down a bear that had broken into their property.

“SYLVIA! OH, BABY, YOU’RE OK.” A voice cried out from the fire trail. Looking over her shoulder Yrsa saw what could only be the parents of Sylvia. Both were as squat as their daughter with the same rosy complexion. The father wore a hooded grey jacket like his daughter. The mother sported the same grey shade but her coat was fancier. Double-breasted with mother of pearl buttons going down to her waist where her hem flared out as if it wanted to become a full-on dress. Yrsa wished she could’ve asked if they had control over what form their skins took.

Upon seeing Yrsa they became defensive. Sylvia’s mother tucked her hands close to her chest keep an eye on Yrsa as she would strike at any moment. Sylvia got off the fence to meet her mother reassuring her she was indeed fine for the most part. In contrast, her father approached Yrsa instead.

When Yrsa pushed herself off the fence the smaller man gave a pause realizing the stark height difference. Standing his ground he reached into the pouch in his Selkie coat to pull out a thick envelope.

“Here. It’s the money from the first job. Plus little extra for your trouble.” When he said ‘trouble’ he made it sound as if it was her fault they were being targeted by the Chimera. The held out the envelope on the edges as a buffer between him and the towering woman. Figuring it would be easier to not spook the older man further she took the opposite edge so they wouldn’t touch. When Yrsa tucked the envelope in the pocket of her button-up flannel shirt the smaller man gave a nod to go back towards his family. She gave a nod back before making her way back to her RV.

“Where are you going?” Sylvia cried out. Not looking back Yrsa addressed the girl who had slowly become her friend during the trip here.

“Back to the ranch.” Yrsa left off the ‘only place I’m welcome’ line she wanted to tack on.

“Can’t I at least get your address? Or…or a phone number.” Sylvia pleaded to struggle to get out of her mother’s grip. Not turning her head slightly Yrsa saw Sylvia’s parents physically restraining their daughter looking mortified.

“I don’t think that is such a good idea,” Yrsa said betraying her feelings. Sylvia stopped struggling while her parents still fixed Yrsa with matching disgust. Trying her best to ignore the chattering of the Selkie family Yrsa left the clearing.

While they were waiting for the tour buses had left. Not feeling like driving just yet she went inside the now-empty building. The Mothman seemed shocked to see someone walk in.

“Oh did you miss the bus?” He asked tucking his wings closer to allow Yrsa more room to move about.

“No.” Was all she said before looking around. Near the back was a proud display of locally made moose jerky. Why a moose would endorse the eating of a fellow moose was beyond her.

A display on the end of a shelf showed a commercial for video footage of Beings getting attacked by the wildlife of the park. Bison sending Pixies in the air for instance. Yrsa paused to see a fellow Wendigo being chased by a deer. She laughed since the deer mistook the Wendigo’s skull as a fellow buck. The video then switched to PSA about the recent infestation of Kelpie in the Forest.

“If approached by a unicorn do not engage. Kelpie are master illusionists who use Being’s natural attraction to the unicorn as a way to hunt for their prey.” The screen shifted to an animation of a radiant unicorn approaching a fairy. When the fairy began to touch the unicorn it transformed into a Kelpie. The unicorn’s pure white coat was now the color of greenish-grey. The flowing white mane was now reminiscent of seaweed. Now the cartoon Kelpie was dragging the fairy into a body of water. A second later the image of the fairy floated back up to the surface with large black x over each eye.

A number appeared over the image of the proper authorizes to call. The video changed to more Beings getting attacked by wildlife.

There were a lot of Beings who prided themselves in being more in touch with nature than others. Usually, they kept to themselves in little farming communities or out in the woods. There were always the ones causing trouble for the rest of society. Like the ones who felt that since they don’t eat meat that no one needed to eat it.

None of them were brave enough to outright picket the ranch. A few of the more bold ones sent strongly worded letters to the local officials. Since the reservation was 100% Wendigo land and not technically apart of any of the surrounding country. Sure tribal law was terrible on certain aspects but compared to kowtowing to the shrill screeching of those who knew nothing about the culture they were critiquing she’d take her chance with the Chief.

Eventually, Yrsa’s wandering lead her to the check-out counter. While the cashier scanned the jerky a bit of bright blue caught her eye. Attached to the little nightcrawler fridge on the counter was a loose collection of magnets. Some were of a geyser going off; others were of interesting formations around the park. The rainbow pool is what drew her eye. Despite her hatred of souvenir shop garbage the magnet seemed to call out to her. Maybe because she wouldn’t see them after all this trouble. Careful not to scratch the painted metal she peeled the rainbow pool magnets off the fridge to set on the counter.

Yrsa returned to her Rv not looking seeing the world around her until she tossed the bag of snacks on the passenger floor. In Sylvia’s absence, Stewie had settled himself in her spot as if to keep it warm for her.

He perked up not from Yrsa entering the vehicle but for something outside. Ignoring him for the most part Yrsa got comfortable for the long trip East. When he started to claw at the window she turned to see what he was angry at. Through the window, she spotted the Selkie family being ushered towards a van bearing a generic-looking electrical van.

Watching she saw the other girl’s parents ushered into the back of the open van. When she saw Syliva clutching the backpack to her chest wearing a thousand-yard stare something inside Yrsa snapped.

She wasn’t sure how she went from sitting comfortably in her RV to making her way towards the kidnappers. Yrsa must’ve left the door open because Stewie had taken off towards the mole man as he had done before. Sylvia tried to duck away but the Lycan wasn’t having any of it. He grabbed one of the straps instigating a tug-of-war with the smaller Selkie. With Sylvia out of the way, Yrsa took off at a full charge to body check the kidnapper into the side of the van.

The impact was so hard the van always tipped over. When it came crashing back down to all four wheels the Lycan slipped to the ground revealing a dent normally Yrsa would’ve been impressed by.

“Not this time.” The Satyr roared from behind Yrsa. There was a yelp as Stewie was sent flying into the woods. Turning around she locked eyes with angry Satyr. He was sporting bandages over the claw marks she had blessed him with a few weeks ago. Judging by the eye patch she might’ve claimed his eye in their altercation.

“You.” He breathed his face turning red. She turned back to Sylvia half crouched next to the open back doors of the van reassuring her parents she was ok. Adrenaline running high Yrsa snatched the bag from Sylvia’s loose grip to take off towards the woods.

Judging by the loud crashing behind her half-cocked idea had worked. The Chimera’s minions had abandoned the Selkie family giving them plenty of time to getaway. As strange as it was being the one being hunted she still felt she was in her element. Over and under fallen trees the feeling of flying kept her going but behind her, the sounds of her pursuers weren’t deterred in the slightest. Confident she could outpace them eventually she kept pressing on not sure where she was going. Sliding down a gravel slope she realized she had made her way towards the edges of a lake. Directly in front of her was a long pier that looked like it could’ve docked boats once upon a time.

Deciding to go left she went to take off again when leaping out of the woods the Satyr landed in front of her. He was covered in scratches from the undergrowth Yrsa had been more careful to avoid. Blood seeped slowly down his face and arms sparking a twinge of terror within Yrsa. Crashing from the woods the Mole man joined the two of them on the edge of the lake.

With a snarl, the Satyr charged causing Yrsa to give an undignified yelp as she took off down the pier. Cursing her terrible decision she looked down at the water lazily sloshing below. The thud from the Satyr’s hooves caused her to look up to see the Satyr/Mole man duo walking down the pier.

“One more step and I’ll do it.” Yrsa threatened holding out the pack over the water. To her surprise, the Mole man began laughing. He stood up straighter with newfound confidence.

“Go ahead. I’m from the Star-nosed family.” His thick nose blossomed out revealing over twenty different feelers. It looked like an octopus had landed on his face. “I would be able to find it no matter how murky the water is.”

Done with talking the Satyr’s anger boiled over causing him to charge again. Yrsa ducked hoping the momentum would cause her attacker to fall into the lake. Cottoning onto her plan he made stopped short to hammer kick her instead. Wood splintered under the force of the kick.

Yrsa backed up witht the little space that was avaiable to her. An unfamilair panic began to cloud her judgement. Even if she wasn't a runt Wendigo were not meant for and hand to hand combat like this. Fighting like this was more diificult than chasing after an animal she could kill with one blow.

Sensing her weakness he squared himself up waiting for an oppurtunity to strike her now. His smile showed off his flat teeth. The two locked eyes both gauging the other for their next move.

Somewhere on the lake a fish splashed triggering both Beings to move. Yrsa tilted into a run hoping to catch the Mole man unaware. Predicting this the Satyr kicked out catching the fleeing Wendigo in the chest knocking clean off the pier. Looking up from under the water she felt her body sinking fast into the darkness.

Yrsa's lungs burned as water filled them. Even if the blow hadn't knocked the wind out of her it would not have mattered. Wendigos couldn't swim anyways.