Scattered feathers and bird chatter erupted from surprise, a different beast excited the wildlife in the area. To an animal, the rumbling of a snowmobile was comparable to the roar of a wild animal.

With little evidence for when or where the beast they housed had gone, he followed the trails that he encountered in the village in a straight line. The tracks started becoming less and less visible until they disappeared all together. Aput stopped to observe his surroundings, until he saw what had happened. Above he saw disturbed branches where the snow collapsed, meaning she had travelled from tree branch to tree branch.

Revving the engine again, he bursted back on the trail again on a sharp left turn, heading further north again. Oddly, he recognized the area somewhat, he was relatively heading back to where he had first met her.

I have a bad feeling about this. Aput thought. Sorry Nukilik, but I have to do this.

The ride was tedious as he had to navigate around steep hills and rocky terrain, forcing him to take frequent detours. It was not long before the sun began to set, it would be nighttime in a couple of hours.

If only I had woken up earlier, if only I had paid more attention.

Blaming himself for what had happened, he knew that she was extremely reserved and yet he ignored her. Thinking back, it seemed she wanted his attention, unless that was his guilt projecting on his memories. He shook his head, trying to set aside these emotions. If he were to move forward with himself, he needed to let go the could-have and should-have that cursed his wretched mind.

The trail he followed showed large amounts of animal activity, much like the day he first encountered her, animals fled from the direction he was going. Instead of hesitation, he felt determination. It was hard to place his finger on it, but he felt a calling for his name, that this was where he needed to be. Gassing the engine, he raced precariously through the treacherous landscape.

He stopped the snowmobile in a harsh skid, realizing that he was not travelling in a circle anymore. The trail was going in an extremely large circle, as if a predator preyed on its game. If that was the case, that meant he could ignore the trail and head to the center of the circle. That would be where to find her.

More evidence of fleeing trails leaving from this direction reaffirmed his theory. There was a change to the climate, he could feel his hair standing on edge. Nowhere near as intense as it had been from when he rescued her, but it bubbled the disturbing memories of the event back to mind. Other images started to rise from his riddled mind, the warm smile of a mother and child having a picnic. They called out his name, inviting him to join them. His blood boiled when these images popped up, making him hot from the thought.

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He suddenly realized that it was not only the memories, the temperament was tropically warm. Impossible, he thought. Where once glistening white snow overlaid the subtly lush forest, it gave way to puddles and mud. The landscape was transformed into something entirely else, it was something unrecognizable to him. In a word, it was a battlefield.

Craters and holes were peppered everywhere, making the navigation on his snowmobile more difficult than what it had already been. Entire trees were uprooted and knocked down left and right, disturbed from their centuries long of growth. The heat was the worst, it was hotter and hotter the closer he got to the center. Loosening his scarf, this was the first ever felt like it was too hot. Mist steamed from particular hotspots in the ground, the byproduct of burning mulch beneath the surface. He had to frequently wipe his goggles to clear the fog from them.

In the distance, a human form sprawled on the ground took shape. His sweat glands perspiration, nervous if it was her. He came to a powerful halt and jumped off, stumbling across the unreasonable ground. He tripped over his steps and fell onto his knees over the body. To his satisfaction, it was not her.

He checked to see if there was a pulse underneath his chin, there were no signs of life left in him. His body was cold and eyes stared blankly into space, the glint of fear in his irises final moments were all that remained. Aput prayed for peace of his soul, so that he may find his way wherever he was now. Closing his eyes, that was the least he could do for the dead.

This begged the question, if it was not her who met demise. Who brought about his? The answer was clear to him, there was no doubt in his mind that there was more to his guest than just being a demi. It was always about a demi, he never considered once if she was one of the demis.

There was little time left, he was sure. From the levels of destruction that surrounded him, he realized there must have been others. He hoped against all odds that she was well, that whatever she caught herself in that she would be well at the end of it. Jumping on top of the snowmobile, he continued in deeper to where the trail of destruction led him.

A pile of metal loomed ahead, but he ignored it knowing that was not the woman he searched for. In the distance, he heard a loud commotion and gusts of air that bellowed deeper in the forest, then a sudden silence. There was a powerful urge, something that felt primal and sinister. This sensation was something that he felt only once before, something he had buried from long ago.

His snowmobile got caught in deep mud, frustrated and desperate he jumped off and started to climb a small hill. The sensation was behind this hill, where he desperately needed to be. He tripped and fell, but clawed his way back up in a stumbling mess. The instant he peaked over the edge, he saw his guest, no, his beast that he seeked. Lengthy fingers wrapped around a muddled woman, who sobbed uncontrollably. He noticed a missing limb, her arm was ripped clean from its place. That poor woman gagged, as if the life was being stripped from her. The scene was sickening to him, but he took a deep breath.

He let out a powerful scream. “STOP!”

The beast stopped whatever it was doing, for the first time she reacted to him. She slowly turned her head at him, her once red eyes now glowed a blue. White sparks popped from her eyes, and trails of electricity lined across from her quills on her back. This was the moment he wanted to revisit. A place man and beast meet.