Author note: I've always been a fan of mythology and cryptozoology. Up until relatively recently, the gorilla and the okapi were considered mythological - we find new species every year, sometimes in the strangest of places. We don't know EVERYTHING about our world yet, and some themes can be seen clear across the globe and time - for example, the feathered serpents of Quetzalcoatl in South America sometimes bear a striking resemblance to Chinese dragons. Humans with animal feature (heads, wings, tails) are used in Christian art, but they also appear in carvings in Old Egypt. There's no smoke without fire.
Warning: Sex, pseudo-science, Henry being emotional.
Pair: William Zimmerman and Henry Foss.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sanctuary, because if I did the ending would be more of an ending, rather than just stopping like it did. Stupid cancellations...

"We're in the middle of nowhere." Richard looked around the gloomy woodland, looking as worried as he sounded. "How on earth can you possibly know where we are or where we're going? We're lost, aren't we? It's getting dark too…" Henry rolled luminous green eyes, exasperated.

"Cool to see how much you trust Will's judgement. He said you could trust me, didn't he?" He moved easily over the dimly lit forest floor, while Richard was stumbling along behind him. "If you must know, dude, I can kind of see in the dark. It's just another little perk of HAP-iness." Richard paused for a moment, frowning.

"Was that meant to be funny?"

"Not really, but if it gets a giggle I promise not to be offended." Henry sniffed the air. "Huh…"

"What do you mean 'huh'? What's 'huh'?" For the last hour or so, Richard had been sounding as if he'd be panicking if he wasn't so tired and stressed. Henry was really starting to feel sorry for the guy, but the strange scent he'd picked up distracted him from his companion. "What's wrong?" Henry huffed, trying to filter the smell from the ambient scents of the forest around them.

"Nothing, just strange smells. I can't quite place it... I know this scent." It was familiar, but nothing he came across on a regular basis... something from long ago... Then he remembered. He'd smelt something like this just once before, back in the SHU when Magnus was first setting up. "Well shit." He tried to keep his tone light, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. This was Bad News, and fully deserving of the capital letters. "If I'm right, and what left these trails is what took Emily, then you should be glad it's me here and not Will. Pretty Boy would be so screwed right now."

"Pretty Boy?" Richard shook his head, banishing whatever thought had gotten into his mind. "Henry, talk to me. What's going on?"

"Have you ever heard of a wendigo?"

"Yeah, Lousie was really into all the First Nations kind of thing a while back. Was it something to do with the Algonquin tribe?" Henry looked blank.

"I have no idea," He admitted "but you need to either have a decent notion of what they are, or you need to listen to what I tell you and do exactly as I say. If you can do that, we'll survive, and with any luck as all we'll get Emily back in one piece." Richard almost fell flat on his face again, before Henry hauled him back up by his collar. "On your feet, man, we gotta keep moving."

"Wait, hang on! Are you telling me that all that stuff is real?!"

"Not in the way you're thinking of, no." Henry shook his head. "Honestly, I just want to get this over with, go home, and hide in my lab. I do not want to deal with a wendigo."

"So… what's the plan?"

"Do what I say, and don't get your hopes too high." Richard started to speak, but Henry cut him off. "Listen, what you guys know is only half of the truth. These creatures aren't man-made; they're natural, kind of like me. The only personality trait these things have is that they're hungry. A wendigo can sound like a regular person, so we're probably going to start hearing someone calling for help or screaming in pain at some point. Ignore it, even if it sounds like Emily. This one's out of their usual territory, so it'll be frightened, and that makes it even more dangerous." He hesitated for just a second, then sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, Richard; our chances of finding Emily alive have just quartered."

"Oh god." Richard clenched his fists, no doubt trying to distract himself with the pain of his nails digging into his palms. "Please tell me you're joking. You're trying to freak me out on purpose."

"If we're going to find her, it'll be in the wendigo's nest. We're going to have to track it back home and break in." Henry ignored him and kept walking, pulling the other man along by the wrist to guide him through the dark. "Which means our chances of getting out of here alive just quartered."

"Tell me you're pulling those numbers out of your ass." Richard begged. Henry laughed.

"Let's call them an estimate with leeway."

In reality, his calculation of their chances came out with considerably lower numbers, but somehow, he didn't think knowing that would make Richard feel any better. It sure as hell didn't make him feel better, and if worst came to worst, he could fight his way out of there. He wasn't so sure about Richard, let alone Emily, but he'd try his damned hardest to get them all out of the nest alive.

Unharmed was a different question altogether.

TBC