Chihiro set a quick, wary pace as they wandered through the woods. It was nearly nighttime, and the woods looked creepy at night. They have never really been out at night, but they have seen it through the window of their house. The trees looked never-ending at night. It looked like if someone were to go out there, they would be lost forever within the dark trees of the forest.
They shuddered at the thought and pulled their warm and fluffy jacket closer to them. To this day, they still couldn't remember why they moved here. The woods creeped them out, even in the daytime. The trees were far too thick and the bushes were usually prickly. Not the kind of place for a child.
They looked at the pinecones, leaves, and pine needles beneath their feet, trying to find an animal trail with their eyes. After a bit of hurried walking on the trail they spotted some. But these were strange looking. The left one looked like it was hoof, like a deer, but the right one was padded with claws, like a dog. Maybe a dog was chasing a deer? But then where were the other feet tracks?
Chihiro pondered this, eyebrows raised in confusion. Maybe the leaves were covering the tracks? Or possibly they were washed away by the rain? Maybe it's nothing. They were probably reading to much into it. So they kept walking. As they were walking, they noticed the animal prints seemed to follow the trail they were walking on. Maybe a bit more ahead and they will the dog or the deer? Hopefully their friendlier then that moose they ran into one day. Chihiro shuddered at the memory.
The trail slowly opened up to a large clearing. In the middle of it was a small, cozy house in which they lived. They smiled softly, there was still time 'till sunset so they could mess around in their garden. Sometimes, some animals ate and trampled some of their flowers and they barely had any time to fix them! They walked around the small house to the surprisingly large flower bed.
Chihiro gasped, there was a man kneeling by their flower bed. How had this person gotten here? They didn't see him on the trail. There isn't another house for miles. They approached the man carefully, noticing some...strange things about him. There appeared to be animal body part sewn horridly onto his body.
There was a long tail that curled over his legs, at the base was a crocodile tail. The scales glinting menacingly in the setting suns light. After the red and bloody stiches was a fluffy leopard like tail, the fluff contrasting oddly with the scales before it. And, at the end of the tail, was the narrow end of a snake's tail...thing.
On his head was his hair. Okay that wasn't sarcasm, this was the weirdest hairstyle Chihiro has ever seen. Was it a pompadour? That's a big pompadour. But there were also ears. It wasn't the cut kind either. Like the tail, it was a horrifying mashup. One of the ears had the bottom part of a cats ear, but cut off at the middle. At the place where it was cut off was rabbit ears, which were once again crudely sewn on. The other was just a bear ear.
On his feet were hooves and dog feetsies. Well that might explain the strange path that Chihiro had encountered on their way here. They softly walked forward, unsure of what they were supposed to say in this situation. What if the creature was violent? What if it hurt them? But they doubted it...the creature looked so sad. Something about the creatures aura told them that it would never hurt them.
"H-hello?" they had finally found their voice. The creature snapped it head around, light violet eyes wide. It looked like it was about to run. "W-wait! Don't be afraid." Chihiro said, gently. They reached their hand out, pale fingers spread apart and shaking. Their pumpkin orange eyes wide with fascination.
The creature stared at their hand, it blinked a few times. Its light violet eyes met Chihiro's, purple eyes boring into the depths of their soul, searching for their sins. It seemed to be contemplating something. After a few tense silent seconds it came to a decision. It buried its face in Chihiro's palm, nuzzling gently like a cat would. Chihiro's eyes widened, even more interest, if possible, flooding into the depths.
After nuzzling their hand for a few minutes, the creature turned and fled into the bushed. It was nearly night now. But they didn't feel as scared as they did. A smile spread across their face as they shuffled inside. They didn't feel scared of the woods anymore. The decided to go out more often.