The trees were silent with a resilient stiffness in their branches. A boy, transporting a child in his arms, was aggressively pushing his way through the woodland's brushes. A single bluebird flew away from the boy. Two figures were left alone in the murkiness of the woods. Only a lantern giving light to the gloom. The trees seemed to be observing the encounter with great interest as a lone man stood facing a monstrous ethereal figure with antlers.
The Beast stood observing the Woodsman as the man clutched the opened lantern close to his face. All the Woodsman had to do was blow out that flame, and it would end the monster before him. Woodsman drew in a sharp breath, barely aware of the Beast's pleads, but he wavered. What if his daughter was indeed within the lantern, nevertheless, he knew she wouldn't want him to extinguish lost souls just to preserve her in a prison. Glancing up, he saw the Beast trembling. He wasn't sure if it was from fear or rage… probably both. The Beast locked eyes with the Woodsman as they stared into each other's souls. A gust of eerie wind blew the trees around them, causing the flame to flicker within the lantern. The Beast hissed silently, placing an arm across his chest, visibly trying to hide the pain the wind caused against his flame. Sighing, the Woodsman gently closed the lantern. The Beast seemed stunned by the action, and only stood there soundlessly, waiting for a chance to snatch his lantern,
"You're pathetic," The Woodsman murmured turning away from the beast as a tear fell from his eye. The Beast was unsure if he was in fact speaking to him and decided to stay silent. However, the Beast felt uneasy and began to inch closer to the Woodsman eager to strike him down. The Woodsman rapidly swung around, axe in hand, and directed a blow at the Beast. The Beast countered swiftly and forcibly moved back, but he was sluggish from his dimming flame, resulting with his arm being carved in the process. The Beast let out a deep growl of pain as his eyes became red with rage. The Beast screamed,
"How dare you! You wretched, pitiful, human!" he lunged forward wanting to shred the Woodsman into strips. The Woodsman swiftly raised the lantern up, and swinging it open, blew on the fire. The fire appeared to shriek in protest as it shriveled into a small flickering flame. In turn, the Beast screeched in torment and collapsed on the ground hugging himself to help dull the pain. The Woodsman drew closer holding the lantern nearby. He could see murky sludge secreting from the Beast's injured arm. The Beast was weak, he closed his eyes feebly, and could only lay there scarcely breathing. The Beast's energy and life dwindling away with his wilting flame. Strangely, the Woodsman was feeling slight pity for the monster, only to some extent, but part of him knew the Beast deserved this. Gazing into the lantern's light an idea occurred to him, maybe the Woodsman wouldn't have to live alone anymore. Moreover, he knew his daughter would be greatly saddened if he slaughtered an injured creature out of spite, even if he believed the death of the Beast was justified. Turning around, the Woodsman seized some edelwood branches left behind from Wirt's younger brother and placed them in his pack. The Woodsman approached the Beast again and set to the task of relocating the monster to his lodge.