Everything was all wrong - they weren't supposed to be here so early in the season. Not til first snowfall which wasn't due for another month according to the weatherman. They should have been heading for the surface, barely nearing the top, and yet there they were - crouched over enough of a deer carcass to keep them busy while we crept past.
Most of their eyes were either shut against the harsher surface light or focussed on their meal but a couple were trained on us. All it would take was one step too fast, too crooked or too near and they'd all lash out. Nobody wanted to add to their feast.
My nanna once told me of a trick to appease them that didn't involve a loss of life or limb. All you had to do was cut off about half a foot of hair and place it by their right paw. A harmless sacrifice to remind them that this was their time of year, their chance to reign for a while as we slunk around the outskirts of their territory.
It would have been a good strategy too but the for the fact that none of us really had hair. Lucas was the one who thought to use the horse's mane and tail, calming her with one hand while we both cut off as much as we possibly could. We didn't think there'd be any harm in offering a bit more than nana said.
We should have known better than to accidentally render them indebted them to us. They owed us blood and they were eager to repay us with interest. For five days we were trapped in our own homes as they gathered outside with foxes and fawns to offer us liquid life as payment.
Most of their eyes were either shut against the harsher surface light or focussed on their meal but a couple were trained on us. All it would take was one step too fast, too crooked or too near and they'd all lash out. Nobody wanted to add to their feast.
My nanna once told me of a trick to appease them that didn't involve a loss of life or limb. All you had to do was cut off about half a foot of hair and place it by their right paw. A harmless sacrifice to remind them that this was their time of year, their chance to reign for a while as we slunk around the outskirts of their territory.
It would have been a good strategy too but the for the fact that none of us really had hair. Lucas was the one who thought to use the horse's mane and tail, calming her with one hand while we both cut off as much as we possibly could. We didn't think there'd be any harm in offering a bit more than nana said.
We should have known better than to accidentally render them indebted them to us. They owed us blood and they were eager to repay us with interest. For five days we were trapped in our own homes as they gathered outside with foxes and fawns to offer us liquid life as payment.
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