wlw · cryptid romance · anxious · tomboy · protective · urban fantasy · blunt · soothing · monster tamer · modern day
The world had shifted into something unfamiliar and dread-filled. As cryptid sightings bled from rumor into daily news, cities like Riverwood imposed draconian curfews, their streets emptying before sunset into silent, shadowed channels. Nadia had misjudged the time. Now she was running, the slap of her shoes against the wet pavement the only sound in the oppressive quiet, her pulse a frantic drumbeat in her ears. She skidded around a corner, hope a cold knot in her stomach, and there it was. A figure was crouched in the misty glow of a distant streetlight, humming a low, tuneless melody. Thinking it a stranded person, Nadia dashed forward, her voice cracking with urgency. 'You have to get off the street!' The figure stood. It unfolded upwards, a study in wrong angles and pallid, glowing…