Predator

Part Two✔️

{picture - pyper america as petra
the chapters will start to get longer i promise!}

Grey had been in that cabin for two days, reading and rereading the book on lycanthropy as much as she could, thanks to the countless amounts of google translate from her phone. She finally left the safety of her temporary home to go get something to eat at the diner, the book still in her hand along with a new one she'd picked up on the way there. At the diner, she found a lonely little booth back in the corner, still not hidden from the curious eyes of the locals. Her nose was buried in the book as she sat against a window, sipping on her coffee and occasionally nibbling on the pastry on her plate.

"Lycanthropy?" A voice spoke across from her, causing Grey to squeak and drop her book. It bounced off the table and into her lap with a thud, barely missing her coffee. Thank god the coffee survived. She looked up at the girl with wide eyes who smirked. "Interesting choice for a girl like you."

"Excuse you?" Grey glared at the girl now sat across from her as she squeezed the book tight against her legs.

"That's a dangerous subject, girl." The girl's slender fingers started to reach for the pastry Grey had been nibbling on and she slapped her hand away. She arched a brow at her actions, that smirk still on her face. "If you're not careful it'll take you somewhere you don't want to go."

"It's not real." Grey stated, not sure if she was trying to convince herself or this odd girl.

The girl shrugged and they fell into a silence as her big eyes looked out the window. She changed the topic. "Everyone's talking about you, you know?"

"What?" She frowned and she slowly grabbed the book from her lap and closed it, setting it on the table. The girls eyes found it.

She hummed. "A new girl comes to town, pretty face, long legs, gorgeous eyes, everyone already talks about the very - and I mean very - few tourists our town gets but when someone who actually doesn't look like a ved'ma comes in, we'll definitely talk."

"Look like a what?"

She kept talking. "I mean, especially with that fancy camera that had to cost more than every belonging in this town. And then, you were carrying it through the forest - which, might I warn you, is very stupid of you." The girl rambled on, leaving Grey absolutely confused. "But honestly you're not like the other tourists I've seen. You're different. You don't try to explore the town and instead explore the trees, and you don't talk to any of the natives."

"I didn't think anyone knew English. . ."

"The elders don't, but some of the younger generation is forced to learn it." The girl shrugged and flicked her yellow hair over her shoulder. "I'm Petra by the way."

"Grey."

She scanned her up and down before quirking an eyebrow. "Suits you."

Grey frowned and moved her tongue to press against the side of her mouth with a scoff like noise. But she ignored her comment, mind still on her past words. "Wait, why was going into the forest stupid?" She wasn't dumb, she knew it was idiotic to return to those trees but she thought maybe this girl had the answer to her questions.

Petra leaned back in the seat, arms folding as she perked up a single brow at Grey - that seemed to be her look. "When I was little, my grandmother used to tell me bedtime stories about this forest. There were so many different ones, I've lost track. About the trees, the original wolves, all that lovely stuff, but the one that every single elder has told each new generation was the one about the khishchnik , the predator. It scared every one of us when we were little, it was a legend of course but we were naive. It made me fear the forest."