"They say a beast lurks in the woods."
Bonnie said this very grimly, the weight of belief behind her words.
But the moment was shattered by Elena's burst of giggles, one of her hands flying out to swat at the other girl playfully.
"Heavens, a beast? Come on, Bonnie, you know those are just wild tales about the occasional wolf."
Bonnie just shook her head, even if some of her seriousness vanished in light of her friend's levity.
"Perhaps. The hunters do scare them off a few times a year…"
"And what do you think, Caroline?" Elena called over.
The blonde shook herself from her daze, pulling her eyes from where they had been staring into the forest. She turned to regard her two friends, needing a moment to process what they had been talking about.
"Well, considering Nana Forbes lives a little ways out. I sure hope there's no beasts in the woods."
Elena softened.
"Oh! Yes, of course. You're visiting her today too right?"
Caroline gave a little hum as she nodded, casting a glance back out the window, noting the position of the sun in the sky.
"I should get going actually, if I want to return before evening."
With farewells exchanged between them, Caroline departed, mind running through the list of things she intended to bring over.
A spread of items were laid out on the table before her. She had packed the wicker basket this morning, but before she set out she always unpacked and repacked it, doubling checking that she had not forgotten anything.
She hadn't.
A few wrapped parcels of salted meat. Two half wheels of cheese. Several carefully packed bags of tea. Even tinier packages of herbs and spices. Exactly one jar of varied vegetable seeds. A bundle of five pieces of newer utensils. Three spare fabric rolls of varying size.
Satisfied with her organization, Caroline tucked a cloth cover over the basket. Looping her arm under the handle, she moved to grab her red travel cloak from the hook by the door and departed.
Caroline had been walking for a couple of miles, her pace steady. She could have moved quicker, but she enjoyed the time out in the forest, enjoyed the trips she made to visit Nana Forbes. Despite tales of beasts and wolves, the woods had never frightened her. They felt peaceful to her in fact, the natural song of wildlife in her ears, the warm scent of earth and trees.
The pathway widened a bit as the trees thinned out, opening up into a tiny clearing. Wildflowers bloomed in scattered patches, and Caroline hesitated wondering if she should collect some. Scanning over the available options, the blonde nodded to herself and reached into the basket to pull out the smallest fabric roll, more of a large square if she was honest.
Still hefting the basket, Caroline stepped among the grass, keeping an eye out for small animals and insects. It only took a few minutes to carefully pick a small collection of violet, blue, and yellow blossoms which she just as carefully wrapped up and placed in her basket.
Task completed, the blonde continued on her way. The forest had quieted while she was distracted, though a few birds still chirped in the distance. The rest of her journey was completed without fanfare, Nana Forbes quite delighted with her delivery.
"Caroline, are you sure you should be traveling again? It's only been a few weeks, surely your Nana would want you to wait until everything settles down?"
Caroline just shook her head, though touched by Elena's concern.
"I have to go every few weeks. How else will she get her supplies?"
Bonnie also looked apprehensive, making her own attempts at persuasion.
"Several of the hunters came back wounded this time. Please, Caroline, we worry about you."
Her eyes softened, though she still refused. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm sorry I have to go. Besides the hunters managed to kill their attacker. The poor wolf was just desperate, and alone so there shouldn't be a pack."
The girls didn't look particularly convinced, but there was nothing they could do to stop her.
In an effort to ease her friends worry, Caroline did move a bit more rapidly. When she came upon the clearing, she decided not to stop this time.
A crack of snapping wood was loud in the muted forest. Caroline narrowed her eyes, even as she kept moving. It was lucky that her basket was far lighter today, only one parcel of meat and some herbs.
Despite staying alert nothing emerged from the woods, and the rest of her journey was silent.
Her next trip started with silence, and her skin buzzed with awareness of watching eyes. Yet still nothing attacked her.
As she neared the clearing, the smell alerted her before she saw the body.
Just beside the trail of packed dirt laid a dead doe, her throat torn open, but otherwise untouched. Flies buzzed around her sightless eyes and the pool of blood beneath her ravaged flesh was already browned and clotted. Yet no scavengers had come to pick at the meal.
Caroline frowned, the motion shifting her whole face in its severity. Still, there was nothing she could do, and she carried on. Not stupid enough to try to harvest such a blatant taunt.
Whatever hunted her was no mere animal, but she refused to be prey.
Elena had vanished a few days ago.
The forest was louder than ever.
Caroline walked steadily through the woods, now used to the far quieter trip, where the only sounds were the shifting of dirt and stone beneath her feet and the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind.
Some instinct told her that this time she wouldn't remain unmolested by whatever creature now lurked in her forest.
She was correct.
"Pardon me, miss, but could you tell me the direction of the nearest village?"
Caroline turned as a blond man emerged from between some trees up ahead, his appearance slightly disheveled with dirt and small tears in his clothing.
Shifting again, Caroline pivoted, giving her side to the man and gesturing behind her.
"If you continue on your way, you will reach Falls. May I ask what happened, stranger?"
The man stepped closer, a sheepish expression on his face.
"Ah, it's a bit embarrassing, love." He ruffled his curls, still moving a bit nearer. "Truth be told, Some brigands made off with my horse. And well, my attempts at giving chase were, perhaps, not the most well thought out."
Caroline gasped at the tale, lowering her arm, muscles loose.
"That's awful!" She cried. "It's a marvel that you weren't more injured."
"Yes, I was quite fortunate." By this time he was just a foot or so away, and Caroline was able to take in the deep blue of his eyes.
"Very fortunate," was whispered in her ear. The man having vanished to a place behind her, his arms like stone around her torso.
Caroline just scoffed, not the expected reaction judging by the way she felt his body twitch against her.
"Do you think I don't know what you are, demon?"
"Oh? And what good does that do you now, sweetheart?" The voice was dripping with condescending amusement, a sound that was not at all appreciated.
With no warning, Caroline slipped a blade from her basket, her arms uncaught by his grip, and slammed it back and into his thigh.
The surprised jerk was enough for her to pull away, backing up several paces as she whirled to face her attacker.
Blue eyes now glowing gold, the blond yanked the knife out with a scowl. His flesh rapidly stitching itself back together. With black veins crawling across his face and descended fangs he didn't look the part of a human anymore.
"Vervain," he hissed. "Clever girl, but hardly enough."
He lunged forward in a blur of speed, but the coated knife was far from her only trick.
When Klaus had caught wind that a doppelganger had been spotted, near his birthplace no less, it would be a lie to say he wasn't delighted. Playing with the pretty blonde he spotted walking by her lonesome was just a bonus as he hunted for a werewolf to sacrifice.
He had expected fear or at least disgust when she came upon his little present. Instead he saw apathy which lit a little spark of intrigue. Alas, he didn't have time to play more, one of his minions was closing in on a wolf. But by the next full moon he would be a Hybrid, and have all the time in the world.
It was a happy accident that he stumbled upon the blonde on one of her treks through the woods. The last month he had been reveling in the return of his wolf, spending hours and even days in his other form. The thrill of the hunt magnified tenfold with a second predator beneath his skin.
Shifting back, Klaus blurred through the trees, returning with his stashed clothes, fully prepared to take advantage of their lightly rumpled state.
He played at being human, part of him a bit disappointed by her conventional reactions. Still, her scent was delightful, and with her secured in his arms at least her blood would hardly be a waste.
A scoff sounded, and Klaus felt his eyebrows raise, wondering where this apparent bravery was coming from.
"Do you think I don't know what you are, demon?"
Was that what she thought he was? Did she think she would be able to ward him off with crosses or holy water?
Amused, he shifted a bit closer whispering a taunt in her ear.
"Oh? And what good does that do you now, sweetheart?"
The searing burn of a knife soaked in Vervain was a shock. He would admit he hadn't expected the pretty blonde to indeed know the truth of his nature, or at least a part of it. And it was a bit vexing that she managed to catch him off guard, even taking advantage of that to slip away from him.
He sensed the way his eyes shifted to wolf-gold, the rest of his monster emerging as he pulled the blade out. His leg healed in an instant, and if Vervain was her only defense this wouldn't last long. He told her such and lunged forward, prepared to end this farce.
Nearly upon her, his vision was suddenly obscured by the red cloak she whipped in his face, and he batted it away with a scowl.
His eyes involuntarily widened when he found himself confronted not with a girl, but a giant wolf.
A massive and glorious creature. She snarled at him with a ferocity that shook the earth. But his admiration was cut short as her jaw, lined with razor sharp teeth, moved to crush his skull.
He blurred away still stunned and wondering what she could be. She wasn't a werewolf. Even the largest wolf (his own form included to his chagrin) standing beside her would only reach her belly. And regardless of size, the full moon was still a few days away.
Plus, with the cloak now parted from her body he could sense the intricate magic woven into each of its strands. The same magic emanating from the wolf.
"What are you, sweetheart?"