Information

Dezember has a minion!

Omen the Arctic Frost Ptarmigan

Dezember
Legacy Name: Dezember

The

Custom Glacier Neela
Owner:

Gold

Age: 6 years, 4 months, 3 weeks

Born: December 11th, 2017

Adopted: 6 years, 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Adopted: March 15th, 2018

Pet Spotlight Winner
September 30th, 2018

Statistics

Level: 2
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Speed: 10
Health: 10
HP: 10/10
Intelligence: 1
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

The pub was as quiet as the night just outside its closed door, and nearly as cold. A flickering fire was the only thing keeping the place from frosting over, though the few patrons who had found their way into the small building were more than grateful for even that.

A young man sat alone in the corner, nursing a hot coffee in his nearly frozen hands. His eyes travelled along each of the other people who had ventured out during this cold December night, briefly wondering what each of their stories were, before his gaze fell back to the steaming mug. He had decided to risk the cold for a chance at bringing home a doe or two, but had yet to find even a single track.

The pub door swung open with a gust of wind, a group of three men stumbling in and quickly forcing the door closed before any more heat could escape the small shelter. The trio were speaking to each other quickly in German, hands animated as they argued with one another.

The young hunter barely glanced up at the disturbance, his gaze falling once more to his coffee as he tried to decide his next course of action. There was still a few hours of sunlight left, so he would go into the woods again and hope for the best. At the very least, he could leave a few traps out for some small game and return for it in the morning.

“...and I warned the both of ya that not a single critter was gonna be scurrying around! Not with the Dezember Teufel out there!”

‘December Devil?’ The young hunter raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look up. The trio that had entered earlier were now sitting at a nearby table, mugs in hand. It wasn’t his place to eavesdrop, but he was a curious fellow at heart, and new lore was always entertaining.

“Oh, come off it, Lewis! Ain’t no such thing in these woods as your December Devil. That’s just an old drunk man’s tale!"

“Oi! I’ve seen the beast myself! When winter comes, it haunts the woods and controls the snow! Drives all the game into hiding with its storms!”

“You haven’t seen no Devil!”

“Oh, but I have, you old goose! I was out hunting my last doe’s for the season, but there wasn’t even a single pellet of scat to be found, let alone any tracks to follow. I had hunkered down in a high seat for about two hours when I finally saw some movement. I looked through my scope faster than a dog eats his breakfast and saw a huge white beast with brown spots walking through the woods like it owned them.”

The man paused, taking a long sip from his mug. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, as if reliving the memory, before he continued.

“Wasn’t sure what I was looking at, at first, cause of the snowfall that had started, but then the blasted thing stopped dead in its tracks and looked at me. Not in my direction, but directly at me, its nasty eyes boring into my scope. This thing had the body of a deer, but the head of an owl! With a long tail and huge horns! Startled me something fierce and I fired my gun without thinking. It let out this ear piercing screech and bolted. I scrambled out of that high seat and into the woods where the thing had been before I could even talk myself out of it. Found where my bullet went, but no blood or tracks. But I did find this…”

The young hunter glanced up when he heard something placed on the table, though was unable to see what it was from his position. Finishing off his coffee, the young hunter stood and walked towards the bar, passing by the trio’s table. He let his eyes dart down quickly, spotting what appeared to be a chunk of black stone sitting in the middle of the gentlemans table as he did so.

“A piece of the beasties horn. My aim was off, but I hit it at least.”

Handing the pub owner some change for his drink, the young hunter made his way to the exit. The outdoor air was beginning to get colder and he needed to move quickly if he was going to set any traps before night fall. Stopping by his trusty old truck, the young hunter grabbed his hunting rifle and a few small traps, slinging them over his shoulder carefully before heading into the woods.

As he walked, he let himself think about the lore of the Dezemeber Teufel. A creature that could control the snow and storms of winter? An impossible combination of two very different animals? It wasn’t the most unusual lore he had heard, Germany was full of legends and myths that made even the most creative people shake their heads. Still, it was an interesting story.

Kneeling down, the young hunter set up one of the small game traps he had brought along with him. It was a common area for rabbits, so he baited the trap and moved on, hoping for the best.

After walking for another few minutes, he paused again and bent down in front of a bush. He reached out and grabbed a tuft of fur that had gotten caught by one of the branches and swiftly set up a trap there as well, baiting it with ease. A piece of fur wasn’t the most promising sign, but it was better than nothing at all.

The young hunter stood and stretched, his back cracking. Glancing to the sky, he noticed clouds moving in and the sun getting low. He’d have to make his way back earlier than expected unless he wanted to get stuck out in a winter storm.

Beginning his walk back, he wasn’t surprised in the least when snow began to fall from the sky. It was a gentle fall, but the flakes were huge, and the woods around him were quickly being covered in white. Thankfully he knew these woods well enough and even from his position he could see the smoke rising from the pub in the distance, so he didn’t need to worry about losing his way.

A fluttering of wings made the young hunter pause and glance up, spotting an odd white and brown colored bird of prey high in a nearby tree. Its head turned every which way before it took off, circling the sky above, and the young hunter smiled. A good omen. Where there was a predator, there was bound to be prey. Maybe his traps would yield some results after all. He watched as the bird circled a few more times before it suddenly dived down. He followed it with his gaze, wondering if the raptor would be successful in its own hunt, before his eyes snapped to the woods.

The snow was making it difficult, but he could faintly make out movement in the distance. Pulling his rifle from his back, the young hunter lifted the scope to his eyes and searched the forest. When he gazed over something brown and moving, he had to stop himself from shouting in joy. Perhaps he wouldn’t be going home empty handed after all. He followed the creature with his gun until it suddenly stopped. The young hunter took this chance to move his aim to a proper position. However, as he did so, he caught sight of the beasts eyes, staring straight back at him through the scope.

His gun fell from his hands as he stared back, his breath caught in his lungs.

A huge beast, with the body of a piebald deer and the face of an owl, stood in the woods before him. It’s long tail thrashing in the snow behind it as it took a step towards him. The young hunter took an equal step back. Deep gold eyes remained locked to his own, the beast’s pupils dilating and contracting. The following moments were silent and tense, neither the hunter or beast moving from their spots, each waiting for the other to do something.

After a mere few seconds, the beast let out a sudden huff, an odd sound coming from the face of an owl, before it turned away. It was at this moment the young hunter noticed the sharp horns atop its head, and the missing chunk on one of them. So the old man at the bar hadn’t been lying...

A blast of wind suddenly rushed through the woods towards the young hunter, causing him to shield his face from the biting cold. It only lasted for a single breath, but when the air settled and the young hunter looked back up, the beast was gone. Not a single track was to be found. Turning his head in every direction, but finding no trace of the beast, he stepped forward to retrieve his gun. With it safely slung behind his shoulders, the young hunter backed away from the area before turning and walking quickly towards the safety of the pub and his truck.

When he made it back, he went straight for his truck. He didn’t run into the pub to see if the trio of men were still there, he didn’t shout and scream about seeing the beast, and he didn’t question his sanity. What he did do, was start his truck, and start driving. Until spring came, he would not be setting a single foot into that forest again, traps already forgotten. If the man was right about the Dezember Teufel existing, then he was right in the statement that if that beast was making its home in those woods, not a single creature would be wandering around.

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