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“A Stranger in the Woods” by Writer_A
Murcie needs to step away from the world and find a moment of calm in his hectic life. The forest offers him that, and he is quick to run to it. However, rather than the solitude he hopes for, Murcie meets a tall and beguiling stranger that seems intent to hold his attention.
Today’s story is “A Stranger in the Woods” by Writer_A, who is a hobbyist writer and novice furry slowly dabbling in the fandom. Their story is a Halloween gift for a dear friend.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
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Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story is
Speaker:“A Stranger in the Woods”
Speaker:by Writer_A, who is a hobbyist writer and novice furry slowly dabbling in the fandom.
Speaker:Their story is a Halloween gift for a dear friend.
Speaker:Please enjoy “A Stranger in the Woods” by Writer_A Copy and paste your story here: Razor-edged leaves rasped against Murcie's clothes while crooked twigs snagged on his brown fur,
Speaker:but he paid them little mind other than making sure no harm came to his wings.
Speaker:The path he took was rarely used,
Speaker:wild and unwelcoming to outsiders.
Speaker:Many wouldn't have bothered with the trip,
Speaker:wary of poisonous plants and biting critters,
Speaker:but the bat found that to be a boon.
Speaker:The presence of other people brought with them reminders of his hectic life.
Speaker:Of noise and crowds,
Speaker:the ceaseless current of production.
Speaker:Crunching numbers, cataloguing assets,
Speaker:dealing with clients and their financial confusions.
Speaker:A laundry list of tasks that never seemed to shorten.
Speaker:The gears in his mind were always turning,
Speaker:his brain always in thought.
Speaker:Working hard to adapt
Speaker:and react to an environment forever in flux.
Speaker:Off the beaten path, however,
Speaker:were pockets of stasis
Speaker:where time held its breath
Speaker:and the world slumbered.
Speaker:In there he could let his mind still
Speaker:and empty itself of its troubles. A welcome reprieve
Speaker:in the hush. It was why his feet always drew him back to his path
Speaker:day after day, to his little secret in the woods where the overgrown foliage concealed it from prying eyes.
Speaker:No one else but him knew of it,
Speaker:an untold knowledge only he was privy to.
Speaker:The thought tickled his emotions, making him giddy like a child who managed to outsmart their parent.
Speaker:This was his cherished sanctuary,
Speaker:a home away from home.
Speaker:The sun hung low in the sky by the time he reached a spot where the brush
Speaker:suddenly opened to a glade.
Speaker:Tall trees encircled the clearing,
Speaker:their sweeping canopy obscuring the sky
Speaker:save for a small opening at the center.
Speaker:Their leaves stubbornly clung on despite it being late into the autumn,
Speaker:but a good amount of them had carpeted the ground with an ankle-deep layer.
Speaker:Murcie walked to the center and laid down spread-eagle,
Speaker:brushing a tuft of yellow hair away from his eyes as he gazed skyward to behold the autumn canopy.
Speaker:It was like a dome of gold flecked with red and stubborn greens.
Speaker:A passing breeze
Speaker:shook the leaves above,
Speaker:making them shimmer in the fading twilight.
Speaker:Memories of the day faded away,
Speaker:the sylvan ambience of rustling leaves and the gentle groan of swaying trees
Speaker:lulled his thoughts into a calm inertia.
Speaker:Murcie was content to do nothing
Speaker:but send his mind adrift
Speaker:on an empty sea. The wind suddenly died;
Speaker:the trees went still.
Speaker:An unnerving quiet fell upon the glade, violently wrenching Murcie from his repose.
Speaker:An ancient and primal emotion quaked in his heart,
Speaker:awakening his senses.
Speaker:His eyes snapped open,
Speaker:and his ears perked up for any disturbance.
Speaker:A deep instinct seemed to speak,
Speaker:warning him to be alert and watchful.
Speaker:Something was amiss.
Speaker:Heart hammering in his chest, he scrambled to his feet.
Speaker:Dread coursed through his veins,
Speaker:making his skin prickle.
Speaker:He looked around slowly so that nothing was missed,
Speaker:but there was a hesitation in his movement.
Speaker:A part of him feared what he might see.
Speaker:Things that were beyond his vision,
Speaker:watching him while his back was turned.
Speaker:Formless though they were to his mind’s eye,
Speaker:the thought of them bestowed a stifling terror.
Speaker:He would not know of them until they moved into his sights,
Speaker:making them real
Speaker:and horrifying. An irrational thought slithered into his mind.
Speaker:Maybe if he kept his head down and walked away all would be well.
Speaker:If he didn't see it then
Speaker:it simply didn't exist.
Speaker:Yet he kept watching and turning until he spotted a pair of eyes staring at him.
Speaker:They were unlike any he had seen before,
Speaker:black as ink with slit irises of gold-color.
Speaker:The eyes were nestled in a gloomy cluster of leaves.
Speaker:The forest canopy and setting sun
Speaker:made the shadows spread,
Speaker:growing thicker with every second,
Speaker:the deepness of the forest yawning wider.
Speaker:Yet the eyes shone clear in defiance to the pitch.
Speaker:By some miracle, Murcie neither screamed nor jumped. “U
Speaker:-uh… hello?” Murcie said.
Speaker:There was no answer,
Speaker:only the pair of unblinking eyes and the tense silence that continued
Speaker:to stretch on. The beating of his heart seemed to grow louder
Speaker:until he could hear it pulsing in his ears,
Speaker:a sonorous rhythm that knocked at his resolve
Speaker:and brought a cold sweat to his brow.
Speaker:Murcie started to think it was a prank,
Speaker:someone hanging a mask in the woods to give him a scare.
Speaker:It was that month after all.
Speaker:Just as his cheeks were about to flush with embarrassment,
Speaker:the eyes blinked.
Speaker:A jolt of panic sent his heart convulsing,
Speaker:his breath caught in his throat
Speaker:as he tried to scream
Speaker:only to croak out feebly. “L
Speaker:-look, you’re starting to freak me out, say something!”
Speaker:Murcie said, his voice becoming shriller
Speaker:as panic rose.
Speaker:The eyes slipped behind the leaves
Speaker:and out walked a tall stranger.
Speaker:They came silent and radiant, like a shaft of sunlight slipping through the trees.
Speaker:Their body seemed to gleam in the sunset,
Speaker:with fur so white and fine
Speaker:that it resembled
Speaker:polished marble. They approached,
Speaker:their movements graceful and ghostly.
Speaker:The undergrowth barely quivered, and neither rasping grass nor crunching leaves could be heard.
Speaker:Even as the tip of their ears nearly brushed against the canopy, they appeared unhindered and almost untouchable.
Speaker:The stranger wore clothes that were strange
Speaker:and exquisite, but inappropriate for the woods.
Speaker:A long robe that was dyed in a deep maroon color,
Speaker:rich and dark like garnets,
Speaker:with a skirt that stretched all the way down to the floor.
Speaker:From their shoulders were lengths of cloth that served as open sleeves
Speaker:and had the color of cognac.
Speaker:They fluttered in the air as the stranger walked,
Speaker:the earthly tone shimmering with a diaphanous quality
Speaker:when it caught the light,
Speaker:reminding Murcie of gossamer wings.
Speaker:Though Murcie was beyond terrified,
Speaker:he found himself rooted to the spot and transfixed by the stranger's appearance.
Speaker:Try as he might to look elsewhere, his gaze would always find itself focused on their
Speaker:eyes. It was as if he had been caught in an eddy,
Speaker:the current guiding him towards the vortex.
Speaker:The stranger was a step away from the clearing when they stopped short of it,
Speaker:their strange eyes still staring at Murcie.
Speaker:It could have been a trick of the light, but Murcie swore he saw those eyes glow like embers with amber colors
Speaker:slowly swirling in those golden irises.
Speaker:Up close, their face resembled
Speaker:an Arctic fox. The fur around their neck was quite thick,
Speaker:billowing out like a fluffy mane.
Speaker:What was most strange was the pair of antlers on the top of their head.
Speaker:It grew from above the stranger's brow and twined around the head into a shape that resembled a circlet
Speaker:with smaller branches reaching upwards.
Speaker:It was black in color, except for the curling tips that faded into an ashy white,
Speaker:and it gleamed as if it had been burnished. “How strange it is to meet a mortal,”
Speaker:the stranger spoke.
Speaker:"What is your name?"
Speaker:Murcie understood them perfectly, but the accent was odd and their voice peculiar.
Speaker:He could pick up the slightest warble at the edge of their words, like an echo lingering at the fringes of his senses.
Speaker:It was as if he wasn’t hearing the stranger’s actual voice,
Speaker:but a delay in time and space.
Speaker:A foreign tongue
Speaker:that was rendered comprehensible.
Speaker:Nonetheless, it was charming to his ears,
Speaker:like soothing chimes where the sound flowed smoothly without a note jutting awkwardly.
Speaker:But something tenebrous resided in the reverberation.
Speaker:The pleasant tone masking a persuasion that slipped inside and hooked itself on Murcie’s mind
Speaker:like burdock burrs.
Speaker:An unexpected calm came over him,
Speaker:quelling his anxiety and slowing his heartbeat.
Speaker:What was it about the stranger that made him so cautious?
Speaker:He couldn’t recall nor find a reason,
Speaker:it all seemed so silly.
Speaker:The stranger was quite pleasing to the eye with their fine fur and alluring eyes.
Speaker:Maybe they were here to help?
Speaker:A compulsion grew in Murcie,
Speaker:a desire to freely give his name to the stranger.
Speaker:With tongue loosened and lips parted,
Speaker:he was ready to let his name slip out.
Speaker:Then, a sudden fulmination shocked him back to reality,
Speaker:aghast he could be so friendly with someone he hardly knew.
Speaker:"You tell me yours first,
Speaker:I'm not about to give mine to someone I don't know," Murcie
Speaker:said. The fox-creature regarded him silently,
Speaker:their face smooth like porcelain and just as inanimate.
Speaker:Not a single crease or twitch betrayed their emotions.
Speaker:Their intent, whatever it was,
Speaker:remained unknown.
Speaker:Murcie could feel a shiver crawl up his spine at the sight,
Speaker:to see someone so in control of their expression was beyond natural.
Speaker:"Look, man, if you're trying to sell something, I'm not interested," Murcie continued.
Speaker:"And how the hell did you find this place? I've walked here a ton of times, and never seen anyone else."
Speaker:At that, mirth fractured their pristine face.
Speaker:The fox-creature chuckled with a lush and pleasant sound,
Speaker:like water bubbling forth from deep within the earth.
Speaker:"It is we who should be asking you that question, mortal,"
Speaker:they said. "For we have walked under the shade of these trees for countless of your generations,
Speaker:seen the sway of the stars, and witnessed the land before your coming.
Speaker:Rarely have your people graced these woods."
Speaker:Visions shimmered at the edge of Murcie's sight,
Speaker:glimpses of a time when the forest was wilder than now.
Speaker:A canopy so thick it blotted out the sky and turned day into night.
Speaker:What little sunlight found its way through looked more like stars in the heavens.
Speaker:Freewheeling between those vast sylvan halls were colorful phantoms
Speaker:frolicking underneath the vaulted canopy
Speaker:in blithe merriment. Murcie shut his eyes tight to try and drive away the visions,
Speaker:but they only grew more intense,
Speaker:and their vibrancy seared themselves into his memory.
Speaker:The phantoms surrounded him and danced,
Speaker:forming a ring of colorful fire.
Speaker:They giggled and whooped with voices so thunderous that
Speaker:he could feel it vibrating in his bones.
Speaker:Murcie could only whimper,
Speaker:collapsing to his knees
Speaker:as he clutched his ears.
Speaker:The visions faded as quickly as they came,
Speaker:but the sounds of revelry still rang.
Speaker:He slowly gathered his wits,
Speaker:hands cautiously slipping down to rest at his side.
Speaker:He stared dumbstruck at the stranger,
Speaker:jaw slack and eyes wide with awe.
Speaker:He had been ready to write the person as insane,
Speaker:possibly some hermit high off the local flora,
Speaker:but the things he saw
Speaker:were beyond imagination.
Speaker:Murcie made a mad scramble to get back on his feet,
Speaker:kicking up leaves and dirt in his hurry.
Speaker:He was eager to bolt
Speaker:and put as much distance as he could from the stranger.
Speaker:"I ask you again, mortal," they said, unbothered by Murcie's panic.
Speaker:"What is your name?"
Speaker:A strange glimmer came from their eyes,
Speaker:like the oily iridescence of a beetle's carapace,
Speaker:and Murcie felt that strange attraction again.
Speaker:His mind softened and he felt his limbs go slack,
Speaker:tension fleeing from his body.
Speaker:The energy he had built up for his escape was now wasted,
Speaker:spilling out into the cold night.
Speaker:The stranger made their move
Speaker:and walked into the clearing.
Speaker:It was enough to startle Murcie, and he tried to make a hasty retreat,
Speaker:but his legs were disinclined to move.
Speaker:Rooted where they were and content to let him tip,
Speaker:Murcie’s heel dragged against an unevenness in the ground.
Speaker:He was sent falling back
Speaker:and his heart plummeted.
Speaker:His arms windmilled,
Speaker:frantic to regain some balance that was far gone.
Speaker:He shut his eyes tight;
Speaker:prepared to feel his head slam against the unmoving earth.
Speaker:But the impact never came.
Speaker:The stranger was upon him,
Speaker:cradling Murcie in their arms.
Speaker:The feel of their fur was like lying in a bed of silks,
Speaker:delicate and cozy.
Speaker:He could see nothing as the fall had disturbed his hair,
Speaker:a tuft of it falling over his eyes and obscuring his vision.
Speaker:Remaining still, fearful of making a move,
Speaker:he listened to the drumming of his heart
Speaker:as he trembled in the stranger's arms.
Speaker:"You needn't be so afraid, dear mortal,"
Speaker:they said. His hair was swept back with a white-furred paw before it stroked his cheek with a single finger,
Speaker:making his face prickle with heat
Speaker:and his breath quiver.
Speaker:The stranger's face was all he could see;
Speaker:his eyes could go nowhere else.
Speaker:"Tell me again, mortal,
Speaker:what is your name?"
Speaker:That panic-stricken voice in Murcie's head had fallen silent when the stranger touched him.
Speaker:He found the contact akin to the dawn on his face,
Speaker:gentle and kind. It beckoned him to trust the stranger while it placed
Speaker:a graceful hand over his inner voice
Speaker:and smothered it.
Speaker:He could no longer heed the warnings, too enraptured by the beauty before him. "Murcie,"
Speaker:he finally uttered his name.
Speaker:A grin grew on the stranger's face,
Speaker:lips pulled back to reveal needle
Speaker:-like teeth. "Murcie,
Speaker:such a wonderful name for a mortal."
Speaker:The effect came explosively,
Speaker:a joy so intense
Speaker:that it made his heart race and body shake.
Speaker:Euphoria drowning his mind in a flood of emotions.
Speaker:Nothing else mattered but to hear his name
Speaker:uttered by one so magnificent.
Speaker:The world seemed to turn grey,
Speaker:its colors diminishing with the dwindling sunlight and growing gloom. Yet,
Speaker:the stranger remained ever brilliant.
Speaker:A lone star in the void.
Speaker:They brought Murcie back on his feet and took a few steps away,
Speaker:letting their paw run along the length of Murcie's arm as they moved.
Speaker:The touch left his arm tingling, like static nipping at his fur.
Speaker:A familiar warmth bloomed on his cheeks.
Speaker:The luminescence around the stranger seemed to swell,
Speaker:and Murcie noticed something else
Speaker:glowing behind them.
Speaker:He peered around to see two rowan trees that had grown towards each other,
Speaker:their intertwining canopies forming an archway.
Speaker:Between the two trees
Speaker:was a sight of scintillating colors.
Speaker:Like peering through a window into a resplendent world;
Speaker:vibrant and ever youthful,
Speaker:shining bright despite the night.
Speaker:It delighted Murcie’s eyes as he stood transfixed by the scene.
Speaker:"Would you like to come with me, mortal?"
Speaker:the stranger asked.
Speaker:"To my realm?" They raised an open paw and extended it for Murcie,
Speaker:who raised a hand and was eager to take the offer. But his hand trembled
Speaker:and his eyes blinked several times.
Speaker:The enchantment started to wane. "N
Speaker:-no… I sh-shouldn't…" he spoke,
Speaker:voice ringing hollow.
Speaker:The yearning in his heart tugging him down either path,
Speaker:their reasons wholly different.
Speaker:He felt so lost, unsure, and uncertain.
Speaker:"I promise you there is a better life beyond,"
Speaker:the stranger said.
Speaker:"You will not want
Speaker:nor worry for anything,
Speaker:for you will be under my care
Speaker:and become my charge.
Speaker:I will shower you with gifts and blessings beyond measure.
Speaker:You will know naught but bliss."
Speaker:The stranger slipped a paw under his chin to caress it
Speaker:before they gently brought up his face so that their eyes could meet.
Speaker:"Please, Murcie." His name
Speaker:was evoked once more with that heavenly voice.
Speaker:Its deepness exerting a power that coiled deep into his spirit,
Speaker:binding it to the stranger’s lustrous soul.
Speaker:His breath quickened
Speaker:and his thoughts became mute.
Speaker:He reached out to hold the other’s paw.
Speaker:The stranger grinned,
Speaker:their fangs gleaming in the dark.
Speaker:"Forget your worries for a spell,
Speaker:let your old life vanish into the fog.
Speaker:You may come to like staying with us...
Speaker:forever." They walked towards the trees,
Speaker:and Murcie followed with a smile on his face.
Speaker:He passed beyond the edge;
Speaker:his footfalls never gracing the glade
Speaker:ever again. This was
Speaker:“A Stranger in the Woods” by Writer_A,
Speaker:read for you by Khaki,
Speaker:your faithful fireside companion.
Speaker:You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.
