The night air was cool and the forest was alive with the songs of the nocturnal chorus. It was a peaceful night. After a long day of labor most of his companions had turned in early. Windthrow Zerzan was alert.

  He was convinced that the other members of the village were much too comfortable. They took Cleyre’s magic for granted. Or they relied on Gorefang’s tactical experience. But the Weald had creatures that even Cleyre couldn’t handle. In fact, something had noticed them already.

  The last few nights something had been watching them. He felt the eyes on them. He heard the way that the wildlife occasionally quieted when it was nearby. The other shrugged it off, so it was his responsibility to catch it. Windthrow was content that his skills could be used to help those he cared about, instead of at the behest of the awful Empire.

  He’d built a series of traps early that day, and now he was just waiting for the signal. He’d finally find the monster that’d been stalking their camp. So Windthrow waited, watched and listened. Carefully tuning out the sound of the few stragglers still awake and the uncomfortable sounds of the current lodgers in the “couples” tent.

  Clank! Clank! Clank. There it was, the sound of several borrowed pots smashing into the side of a tree…a wave of murmurs washed over the camp.

  “It’s okay everyone! Go back to bed, I’ll check it out,” Windthrow shouted down to everyone.

  The rising clamor calmed. Windthrow grabbed his bow and leapt down from the lookout tower. Then he dashed in the direction of the noise, taking wide strides, barely touching the ground. Windthrow disappeared past the line of torches, into the darkness of the forest.

  He followed the rustling and noise of a wild monster caught in his trap. It sounded fierce. Windthrow notched a single arrow.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Announce yourself, intruder!” he shouted.

  No response. The sounds of struggle went silent. His heart rate increased with each step forward. He froze.

  Hanging upside down by its, or rather, her leg was a humanoid creature. A woman. She was covered in pale violet scales, including her tail. She had three long talons on each “foot”, and three claws on each hand. Each of them looked razor sharp, especially her talons. Her mouth was open in apparent surprise, revealing her equally wicked teeth.

  She was slender and lithe. Quite short. Despite his best effort, his gaze was drawn to her exposed chest. Her mesmerizing scales were more delicate around her chest and thighs. That is, despite her scales, certain parts of her still looked soft.

  Her facial features were gentle and feminine. Even her eyes shone in the low light like two emeralds. Her long black hair reached the ground from her hanging position.

  On the ground below her was a spear, and a -surprisingly nice- green cloak. The lizard women had already sliced through much of the rope wrapped around her legs

  Windthrow, regaining his composure, put the arrow away.

  “Are you hurt? Can you speak?” he asked, slowly enunciating each word.

  “Sor- sorry,” Vylet responded.

  Then in one movement, she flexed upwards and cut the remaining strands of rope and fell to the ground with a thud. A moment later, she was on her feet and running. Windthrow jumped back to grab another arrow, expecting some kind of attack. Instead she sprinted into the darkness of the forest, leaving behind her cloak and spear. Windthrow stood their dumbstruck.

  After a while he grabbed her spear and cloak. They had a new neighbor, someone who could speak. From a species he didn’t recognize. But that didn’t matter. He’d trapped someone who already lived here! He vowed to return her things and give her a proper apology. And he wasn’t going to wait! He took off after her, sprinting in the direction she ran.