Varg Village
The fox leads the two wolves through the residing woodland for about an hour without stopping for rest. Kate lingers behind with an empty expression as if she'd gone absent in her mind leaving her body to wander on its own free will. Ethan holds a steady eye on her, speaking several words to keep her close, though she doesn't react to anything he says. But she doesn't saunter off. They reach their destination by sunset without incident. A hushed quiet engulfs the woods as the air becomes compressed and cold. Quickly the fox scouts out one of the less vulnerable houses before urging the pair inside through an open window.
"You best hurry and find a good spot to hide. If you're lucky enough you'll rest well and I'll come to find you in the morning," he explains once everyone is inside.
Ethan turns in a beat, "I thought this house was the hiding spot."
"It's always good to have a better spot in case your first should happen to fail. You got to be clever, dear wolf, else your death won't be pleasant nor will it end quickly." The fox then leaps back up on the ledge, looking out at the departing light before proceeding, "The dark is no place for foolishness and irrationality." He turns to face the brown wolf one last time, "Stay hidden, stay quiet and you'll see the sunrise."
Upon leaving, Ethan hastily asks, "What exactly are we hiding from?"
The fox hesitates. His face turns grim and gazes ominous, "The shadows carry no labor amongst the light or the living, but darkness is their passage through. Do not let them in."
Before Ethan can say more, the fox has already sprung out the window, returning to a nearby hollow to wait out the night. At least, that's what Ethan assumes to be the case. He ponders longer on the fox's proclamations about the danger that will soon become of the approaching night. And what exactly had he meant by shadows? He felt the sharp change in the air as the sun fled over the hills. It sprouted a deep fear, in both the fox's tellings and of the unknown that followed after the woods became quiet. What exactly is out there?
The window shuts abruptly, stirring Ethan out of his troublesome thoughts, and now the brown wolf sets his gaze on Kate who steps back down on all fours. He hadn't noticed her standing to close it. There isn't a way to latch the window since whatever lock mechanism locking it in place seems to have been torn off long ago. He never sees Kate attempt to push something to block it up either, but every window probably has the same problem. If something wanted to get inside, there wasn't anything stopping that something from doing so.
A moment later Kate pulls out a few old blankets from the backroom. Her actions are odd to Ethan, especially when he figures out what she is trying to do. As she pulls the blanket up over a wobbly table among a few chairs, Ethan clears his throat, "Would you like some help with that?"
She doesn't answer and continues assembling her makeshift tent without further interruption. Ethan flinches when she half growls half grumbles over the blanket not staying put. He decides it to be wise to leave her be for now. Glancing around the current room reminded Ethan of the farmhouse as the walls here shown wounds of claw marks and dents. An eerie sensation creeps up along the brown wolf's spine as he explores the rest of the house with caution. The room the fox led them into resembled a modest kitchen with two narrow hallways branching off. One hallway leads to a bedroom while the other heads off to a living room with a short hall connecting the next bedroom and a bathroom to the rest of the house. Every room holds a sour odor that makes Ethan pause. The air even feels different somehow from the outside, unearthly, and tense. More hostile in a way that feels as if the house were stirring. It's eerie and although the fox searched every area in the house, he still feels eyes burrowing into him from every corner. Nothing was natural in here. Not even outside. Nowhere felt safe, so how can one hide here?
Withdrawing from the dark parts of the house, Ethan scampers to the kitchen as quickly as possible, finding Kate peering out the window. Before he can address his uncomfort about the house, she steps away and nudges him towards the blankets over the table, whispering hast words, "Under the table."
It wasn't a question and Ethan doesn't dare protest. Quickly both wolves crawl under the table. Kate pushing Ethan behind her like any protective dam would do facing a threat towards their young. The blanket covering the table was large but not enough to topple onto the floor. An inch at least revealed the moonlight bleeding in through the glass, illuminating the white cloth concealing the pair as nightfall had come to claim the earth. At first, it's eerily quiet. It was just as quiet as before back at the barn, and even that memory didn't settle right with him now. That same feeling of being watched came rushing back to his senses. Not even the house dared to make a whisper, as if holding its breath just the same as the wolves, waiting for something vile lurking in the shadows in the other rooms to reveal itself. And reveal itself it seems. Creaking floorboards coming from one of the hallways reaches the kitchen before hushing as if only the sound were a trick of the imagination. But Kate had heard it, same as Ethan. Ethan's heart thumps wildly in his chest, the blood rushing in his ears loud as any river, and as terror forces him still. Kate freezes. Her focus stays on the blanket resting an inch off the ground.
As if the shadows of nightfall muffled the creature's footfall, dark and large nostrils flare at the opening. It sniffs loudly before the slightest hint of teeth pushes out from a curling lip followed by a low and deep snarl. The sound vibrated deep within Ethan's bones, yet he could not look away or even exhale. Kate doesn't falter as she holds her gaze. Slowly the creature pushes forward; the blanket rising with its maw. Kate merely leans back until moonlit eyes shed through the blanket and gape into her own. For a solid breath, the two do not move, leaving Ethan completely petrified by such a beast he's only heard in myths and old tales spoken from villages miles from his own. Yet despite believing in the tales, seeing the devil wrapped in animal apparel only a heartbeat in front of him spoke volumes. Never before had Ethan ever felt so helpless. Kate keeps her expression blank as she eyes the beast a moment longer until without warning it backs away from them. Its footfall lingers around the kitchen for a while longer before it abruptly becomes so quiet Ethan can hear his heart beating in his ears again, echoing throughout his body. Or maybe he's trembling? Fear battles within him, holding him to the ground while also screaming for him to run. Kate isn't as tense and eventually turns to him. How she can still move as if there wasn't just a terrifying wolf monster sniffing under the blankets at us is stunning.
"It's gone now," she whispers and Ethan can only blink in response.
Ethan grips the floor. His nails could crack under the pressure but they don't. It takes him longer to answer as he forces out the words quietly, "How can you be so sure?"
"I just know."
He gawks at her unsure how to reply to that. How can this house be safe when clearly something got it and could certainly come back? Just as he figured before, but after witnessing the danger, this house is just as vulnerable as the farmhouse. And why on earth did that creature leave them be? It looked directly at them...at Kate.