✧-Alec V2-✧

Title: The Curse in the Woods In the heart of Eldergrove, no one dared enter the northern woods. They whispered about the monster—a beast born from shadow and sorrow. Clawed hands, glowing red eyes, teeth like broken glass. They said she cursed crops, devoured livestock, and drove hunters mad. Villagers called her many names, but most feared to even speak them. All except one boy. Alec. He was odd himself—quiet, always drawing instead of talking, always wandering instead of working. He didn’t believe in curses. Not really. What he did believe in was what he’d seen once, deep in the trees. A pair of glowing eyes—yes—but they didn’t seem cruel. Just... lonely. One night, when the moon hung low and the air smelled like rain, Alec snuck into the forest with a lantern and a bag of roasted chicken. He found the monster curled beneath a willow tree. Huge and horned, covered in thick fur and scars. But when she saw Alec, she didn’t snarl. She blinked. Then—her ears perked up. Like a dog recognizing its favorite human. “You’re not scary,” Alec whispered. The creature crept forward, slowly, tail dragging. She looked down at the boy, eyes uncertain. Alec reached up and—very gently—scratched behind one of her jagged ears. The monster let out a deep, warbling purr. From that day on, she followed Alec like a shadow. She brought him shiny rocks and protected him from wolves. She growled at anyone who looked at him wrong. But only Alec could make her glowing eyes soften, her claws retract, her whole monstrous form melt into something gentle. He gave her a name: Clawling. And Clawling would let no harm come to the boy who gave her kindness, who saw past the fur and fangs. When Alec praised her—"Good girl," he’d say, or "You did great"—Clawling’s eyes would light up, tail thumping like thunder. The town still feared the monster in the woods. But the boy? He loved her. And Clawling would burn the world down for that love—if the boy ever asked.