Tales of Tavàri and Gabriel

Irrational fears

He spots the tracks of a deer and readies his bow. He moves silently, his footsteps barely making a sound as he creeps closer to his prey. 

He felt a sense of unease creeping into his mind. It was as if the forest itself was warning him of danger. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing up, and he knew that something was amiss. He paused, listening intently for any signs of danger, but all he could hear was the distant sound of a stream and the occasional chirping of birds. 

Despite the lack of any obvious threat, Gabriel couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He scanned the area around him, his eyes darting from tree to tree, but he saw nothing unnatural. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Movement from ahead of him caught his eye. He looked towards it and saw the antlers and ears of a deer sticking out from behind a bush. He knocked his arrow and aimed his bow, breathing deeply and relaxing his shoulders.

Slowly he moved sideways trying to get a better shot at the deer's heart. As he moved the eery feeling grew in the back of his mind. A shiver went down his spine. He watched the deer intently, slowly stepping closer and to the side. His concentration was broken and his attention was momentarily drawn to the snap of a twig under his foot. In the blink of an eye, the deer had suddenly disappeared. His eyes flitted between the dark trees searching for any indication of which way the deer had gone. 

An eerie sound resembling that of a crying deer echoes throughout the forest behind him. Another shiver makes its way up his spine. 

Ever so slowly with his bow still raised he pivots to look behind him.

From the bushes behind him, a creature emerges. Its frame, tall and bony, skin like torn shreds hanging over its empty ribcage. His eyes are drawn upwards, trailing up its long forelimbs to its face; the skull of a deer with glowing eyesockets and a great rack of antlers, sharp teeth protruding from its jaws.

He wants to scream, to run, to let go of the arrow in his grasp sending it into the Wendigo's chest but he is frozen in place unable to move a single muscle.

The creature stares down, its head turning sideways as it inspects him. Even as the rest of him freezes his mind continues to race, analyzing everything about the creature and his surroundings, trying to find a possible way out.

The creature is well over 8 feet tall, dwarfing Gabriel himself who is a lengthy 6'5. The glow of its eyes seemed to exude hunger and intimidation as it slowly moved closer inch by inch. As the adrenaline kicked in Gabriel started to regain the feeling in his fingers. That seemed to snap him out of his stupor and quick as lightning, without hesitation, he pulled his bowstring tighter before letting the arrow fly.

It's a direct hit, or it should be. As soon as the arrow touches it the Wendigo vanishes into thin air and the arrow hits a tree behind where it stood.

Gabriel's mind races. Wendigos don't have any teleportation abilities as far as he knows. As he looks around, panic clear on his face, a snort erupts from a bush nearby. In a flash, he knocks another and shoots it into the bush. The bush ...yelps?

"Hey! Watch it!" Comes a very familiar voice from the bush.

From behind the bush, Tavàri emerged with a half-angry, half-amused look.

Gabriel was unsure if he should be angry, confused or embarrassed. On the one hand, Tavàri had just seen him become terror-stricken, on the other hand, Tavàri herself probably set this whole thing up. On the third hand: how did Tavàri set this all up?