Food, before the moon disappeared.
Even now, in this broken state, it knew that the moon was safe and the sun was not.
It sniffed. The twin scents of snow and ice filled the air, but beneath that was the distinct aroma of…
Life.
The faint beating of a heart could be heard beneath the howling wind. It might as well have been a drum in the creature’s ears.
Lunging forward with renewed energy, the ancient being’s lips slanted into a semblance of a smile.
Hungry, hungry, hungry?—
A sharp pain speared its foot. It howled, mouth opening in agony. When it looked down, black oozed from its foot from where a rock had sliced it open.
The creature shuddered and kicked the rock away with its good foot before limping along.
It refused to stop until it found the source of the delectable scent.
Even though the creature’s name was lost to the recesses of its memory, even though its love for the moon, snow, and cold had long been forgotten, it would never forget that scent.
It spoke to the deepest, darkest part of its soul.
Following the tantalizing aroma, the ancient being wove through trees. It stumbled across a frozen stream, climbed a riverbank, and trudged through deep snow. Its foot throbbed, but it didn’t stop.
The scent grew stronger and stronger.
And then, the creature saw it.
Deep in the woods, with a stack of charcoal smoke rising from the chimney, was a homey one-room log cabin. Snow covered the wooden roof, a lantern sat in the window, and two raised garden beds were stationed on either side of the front door.
The creature stood behind a tree and stared at the cabin, unblinking.
It wasn’t long before the door opened.
A mortal stepped outside. Dressed for a hunt, the man had snowshoes strapped to his back. He wore a hooded cloak, and scruff decorated the bottom half of his face. The creature could no longer differentiate ages. The human might have been in his second or fourth decade of life. In the end, it didn’t matter.
Blood was blood.
The man hummed a tune and strode into the woods, his gaze unwavering as he unknowingly turned his back to the creature.
“Fool,” the ancient being hissed, its raspy voice cold and foreign to its ears.
Death was here, even if the man didn’t know it yet.
Drawing in a deep breath, the creature inhaled the human’s tantalizing scent. His heartbeat was steady, and his scent lacked all traces of illness. He was strong and well-built. His blood would flow like a river.
Maybe that would be enough to quell the never-ending ache in the creature’s stomach.
It was that thought that pushed the creature forward. It stumbled after the man, its foot still hurting, but it didn’t care.
Nothing mattered more than the hunt.
It raced through the forest until the man was a few paces away. He was still humming.
It was just like a mortal not to be aware of their surroundings.
The scent of life was stronger than ever.
