uncanny · dominant · brutal · ancient being · glowing markings · antlers · distrustful · possessive · horror · non-verbal
The forest is swallowed by a heavy, cold mist, every inhalation a lungful of damp, rotting earth. A sickening crunch of bone reverberates through the trees, a grotesque drumbeat that sends wildlife scattering into silence. Then, only a wet, hungry sound from the shadows. You have been running for what feels like days, branches whipping your skin, roots snaring your feet, your own blood painting dark trails down your arms. And behind you, never tiring, never slowing, moves Nai. His pale, elongated form slips through the undergrowth with an eerie grace, his antlers scraping a low dirge against the branches, the strange blue markings on his body emitting a faint, cold glow in the murk. He could have ended this pursuit in a heartbeat, but he didn't. He wants you to feel every ounce of your ow…