Fetter Folk Week 2 Event Entry

“Do not fear, you’re safe with me here.” The voice came from the dense fog that surrounded the strange fetter approaching. It seemed to speak without movement of its mouth, words swirling through the mist emitting from the creature itself. The collar shrieked in alarm, something was off, something was wrong. Midnight seemed to freeze where they were standing, some force not allowing them to move away from the figure. It walked upright, similar to fetters who also decided to shift to a bipedal form, but the leg movements were jerky and stiff. Tendrils, or something of the sort, sprouted from the base of where a tail would be and from behind the creature’s head. The voice continued to whisper safe words, almost lulling Midnight into a calm, but the sound of the collar kept sounding off, keeping Midnight rooted in reality. They bristled their fur, feeling a charge in the air as the creature continued to step closer. It wasn’t until Midnight bared their teeth that the creature finally stopped moving. The wind seemed to have died around them, though not outside of the strange bubble that seemed to be surrounding them. The sounds around them were muted, the snow falling softly within the space between them. Time seemed to stand still. The creature blinked. What was it waiting for? Why had it come here? Midnight finally was able to flex their claws into the freezing snow. Using this, they pushed the energy that had built up to push off and run. All they could think was run. Run. Run! RUN! The wind and sleet stung Midnight’s eyes as they ran. The collar continued to sound the alarm, as if there was no where away from the thing causing this weird weather. Finally finding some trees, Midnight slowed down to search for some sort of shelter to wait out the blizzard. There was a small inlet in a rock covered in snow that Midnight took used as shelter. It wasn’t until the sun was beginning to set that the storm let up. Midnight was cold, hungry, and worst of all, lost. They couldn’t see which direction they had come from, nor which direction led them back to the research outpost. Groaning, Midnight pulled themselves to their feet to search for food. They didn’t find much other than a few buried acorn-like seeds near a clearing of trees. They needed to reach higher ground to look for landmarks. Turning south, they began heading for a mountain range in the distance. Hopefully they would reach it before dark, but it seemed unlikely. The collar had finally quieted down, but Midnight didn’t know if it was because they were safe or if it was low on power. Trudging through the snow that was now neck deep, Midnight was just starting to climb the foothills of the mountain range. There was a strange static coming from the collar, but Midnight hardly noticed. Their feet and legs were numb, tail dragging behind them, and the sun was beginning to set. The outlook seemed grim, and there was still so much to go with the climb. Reaching a small flat area, Midnight spotted a frozen waterfall, hoping there would be some sort of shelter behind the frigid ice shards cascading down. Stepping closer, Midnight was stopped by a calm breeze and a loud sound. The collar, it was alarming once again. The fog billowed from behind the waterfall, bringing with it a familiar charge in the air. A figure could be seen through the sheer ice of the falls, a figure all too familiar. Midnight turned to run, lost their footing, and plummeted. Midnight cried out as gravity took over, trying to will their numb limbs to grab onto something to stop their momentum. How had they fallen? There had been no way to fall in that alcove they’d found. Had there been something beneath the snow that they had missed? Regardless, Midnight was falling into somewhere dark, feeling the snow falling down beside them. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Wind knocked from their lungs as they collapsed into a pile of soft snow. At least the landing wasn’t as bad as Midnight had thought it was going to be. Midnight’s body groaned at the impact, unable to do more than flex lightly at the time being. The device around Midnight’s neck no longer sounded. The screen was still intact, and showed that the alarm was ringing, but there was no sound. In fact, there was no sound within this cavern whatsoever. No wind, no dripping of water on limestone, no sounds of footsteps as Midnight watched in horror as the figure from before approached. Midnight was helpless this time, unable to move at all, and paralyzed by fear. They closed their eyes, and everything went black.