Special Notes: I posted this story a long time ago. I’ve done some editing to it and think it deserves another round. [The Windigo] [Daemi Major] [Corvus Major] [Darai Major] [Carina Major] “Tell us a story, Blaze.” “A scary story.” “Yeah, really scary.” Blaze and his Lounge were taking a course in older child care and had been given an after-school assignment to watch the ninth-year hatchlings for several hours. The assignment was proving more challenging than they first anticipated. The group of ninth-years were bouncing around with endless energy and wanted to be amused. Pyre and Flare were chasing down a few of the more bold hatchlings that had ran off down a tunnel while Char was pinned under a pile of the hatchlings, and Flame was bandaging a scraped knee. Inferno and Ember were off in another direction searching for several of the hatchlings that were hiding. “Okay,” said Blaze. “Gather around and I’ll tell you the story of...” *** “...the Windigo,” said Pa. Colt stuffed another biscuit in his mouth, and poked at the fish they had caught earlier. The fish sizzled in the cast iron pan over the fire. The smoky scent of fish wafted up from the pan and teased at the boy. Colt was pretty sure the fish would never finish cooking. “What’s a Windigo, Pa?” asked Colt. “A Windigo is a fierce wolf-like creature with fur, and stands on two legs, and has fangs, and...” *** “...oily feathers that covers it’s body,” said the High Priestess, her wings spread out to emphasize the size of the creature. The fledglings gathered closer around the High Priestess of Darai to hear the story. “Does it have wings, Priestess?” asked one of the smaller fledglings. “Oh yes, it has...” *** “...fins as long as a shark, so to swim fast and catch small wayward children that swim too far from home,” said the Island Chief, wiggling his aged finned arms to demonstrate. “Really, like a shark?” asked the bravest of the children. The group of children sat on a sandbar in the middle of the ocean listening to the Chief tell the story. The moon was bright and shimmered off the calm sea. Several of the children pulled their webbed feet out of the water. “Bigger than a shark,” said the Chief, “and it’s skin is...” *** “...covered in thick scales that click together when it walks,” said Blaze, tapping the tip of his tail on the ground. Click Click Click “There’s no such thing,” said one of the hatchlings, pulling his own tail in and wrapping it around himself. Pyre and Flare returned with their wayward charges. The hatchlings, seeing a story being told, rushed to the circle and pushed their way in to find a place to sit. “It first started when...” said Blaze. *** “...the first Corvian settlers arrived and the wagon trains were spreading across the land,” said Pa. *** “...the first Darians spread their wings and searched for new nesting grounds,” said the Priestess. *** “...the first Carinian walkers left the sea to walk on land,” said the Chief. *** “Some say the Windigo was a warning that we were getting too close to the surface,” said Blaze, looking up at the sturdy cavern ceiling above them. “Blaze, tell Flame to stop trying to scare me,” said one of the hatchlings. “He keeps tapping me on the back with his tail.” *** Colt pushed another log on the fire. “What happened to the settlers, Pa?” “The settlers would hear strange howling noises at night and in the morning...” *** “...an egg would be missing from the nest,” The Priestess whispered. The fledglings scooted closer toward the Priestess, and looked up at the sky in an instinctual reflex to check for the deadly shape of any predator that might be near. *** “The others in the pod would search for hours, but they would never find the missing swimmer,” said the Chief, waving a hand out at the ocean. “And there were other mysterious clues that a Windigo was stalking them.” The children moved as far from the water around the sand bar as they could, their eyes wide as they searched the waves for signs of predator wake. “What clues?” asked one small boy. “They would find...” *** “...claw marks on the sides of the tunnels where the Windigo had sharpened it’s claws.” Blaze curled his claw-like fingers and pretended to claw at a wall, the barb of his tail scraping on the ground to make the sound of the claws. Scratch Scratch Scratch *** Colt grabbed one of the burning sticks from the fire and held it up to check the nearby trees for signs of claw marks, then tossed two more logs on the fire. “If you keep adding wood to that fire, boy,” said Pa. “You gonna burn down the forest.” “Did they ever see the Windigo, Pa?” asked Colt, adding another piece of wood to the fire. *** “That’s the strangest part of the story,” said the Priestess. “When the snows melted, a search party went out…” *** “…and they searched and searched,” said the Chief. “They finally found… *** “…in a deep unused tunnel,” said Blaze. *** “…the wagons in a canyon,” said Pa. “And only one of the settlers was found, a young boy sitting on the ground in the center of the circle of wagons.” *** “…the fledgling never spoke, and nobody knew who he was,” The Priestess held up a finger. *** “…but, a month later during the highest tides,” said the Chief. *** “…the hatchling disappeared, and they never saw him again,” said Blaze. *** “What happened to the boy, Pa?” asked Colt, placing another log on the fire. “Some say the Windigo came back to finish him off…” *** “…and some say he was the Windigo, and wanders….” said the Priestess. *** “…the seas in search of careless swimmers,” said the Chief. *** “…the tunnels in search of lost hatchlings to devour!” Blaze finished the story. “Blaze, do you think the Windigo is only here on Daemi, or does he travel around to all the planets?” asked a hatchling. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” answered Blaze.