A juvenile wendigo

"I've been in this town for four days already, and I've collected a number of evidences that lead me to believe a juvenile wendigo is involved." Yahana said as she read her notes.

"A juvenile wendigo?" I repeated, a mix of surprise and slight fear in my voice.

Yahana gave me a reassuring smile and held my hand. "I know they share some similarities with werewolves, but they're different, Rori, don't worry. And we won't be hunting it alone, it'd be far too dangerous to try to take one down with just us two. My cousin Elan will arrive tomorrow morning. Wendigos are his specialty."

I took a deep breath to relax. "Okay... What makes you think it's a wendigo?"

"Last month, a group of three hikers disappeared in the mountains nearby. Searches were conducted and, two weeks ago, the bloodied clothes and bones of two of the three hikers were found. The third one was nowhere to be seen. The bones were broken, meaning that they probably fell from a cliff. Lost in the mountains with no way to contact anyone, the third one most likely succumbed to their hunger and ate the remains of their companions, and the curse kicked in soon after. It's still a theory so far, but I saw the carcasses of some cattle that were savagely killed and eaten three days ago. No normal animal could do these kinds of injuries. It's definitely a supernatural being."

"I see..." I replied, still a bit apprehensive.

Aurora wasn't very familiar with wendigos. She knew about the myths, about how people driven insane by hunger and resorting to cannibalism would become cursed and turn into monstrous beasts unable to ever feel satiated, but she never faced one. Yahana's tribe fought wendigos and other mythical creatures for centuries, though, she knew what to expect and how to deal with them.

And skinwalkers, too... I remembered, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Wendigos can be killed by conventional weapons, but they heal extremely fast. We'll have to go all out from the start and destroy its head or heart as quickly as we can." Yanaha said.

I let out a long yawn and stretched. It was pretty late and I drove a lot, I was fairly tired.

Yahana gave me another kiss. "Sorry, I forgot how exhausted you were. I'll let you rest, Rori. We'll catch up more tomorrow."

I hugged her and smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad to see you again, Yana..."

"Me too. Have a good night." She replied, caressing my shoulder before leaving the room.

I immediately dropped onto the bed as soon as she left, heaving a long sigh of relief.

I managed to fool Yahana for now...

My heart was beating fast, the anxiety from this time with her vividly present. I acted natural enough, but I knew I had to be even better at being Aurora and think less like Edward. I absolutely couldn't let Yahana or anyone else find my true nature, or I'd be done for... Aurora was strong, but I definitely wouldn't be able to take on multiple hunters at once.

I opened my suitcase and grabbed a pair of pajamas shorts and a shirt. I went to the bathroom, stripping and stepping inside the shower, hoping that it might help me relax. I blushed when I saw my reflection, but smiled. How I loved knowing that I was the beautiful woman staring back in the mirror. Although, I realised that it was something I would need to tone down, too. I put a hand on my chest and breathed in and out to prevent myself from getting aroused.

I am Aurora... This is my body... I need to get used to it...

I wondered why I felt so good as a woman. I knew that I wasn't transgender before becoming a skinwalker, but being Laura and now Aurora was such an insanely enjoyable feeling. A theory popped in my head from Aurora's knowledge of monsters. Some creatures, like vampires could develop certain preferences, like a better appreciation for animal blood or specific blood types, and their traits could be transmitted to the humans they turned. It wouldn't surprise me if that were to be similar with skinwalkers.

Did Dahlia somehow share some of her own preferences with me when she turned me? It would explain why I suddenly love being a woman so much...

It was something I might have to look into more in the future, but I was too tired to think about it for now. After the nice shower, I went to lay on the bed. It was way more comfortable than the one from the flat Aurora was renting in my town.

Tomorrow, I'll be hunting a mythical creature...

It was hard to get used to this, but it was my reality now. Despite Aurora's experience, I was so nervous. It would be a life-or-**** situation. One wrong move and I'd die...

I closed my eyes and tried to think of something more positive to clear my mind. It took me some time before I finally managed to fall asleep, the nervousness still not completely gone.

I was assaulted by another nightmare that night, albeit one very different from the previous one I had. I was in what seemed to be the backstreet I fought Aurora in. In front of me, laying on the ground was... myself?

I was looming over him, raising my dagger and ready to finish him off. Maybe he didn't hurt anyone yet, but I couldn't let a monster like this run wild, skinwalkers were especially dangerous due to how hard they were to track down.

I was interrupted by his sister, pointing a gun at me. She was blinded by her love for what used to be her brother. She was shaking, she was inexperienced. It was clear that she never pointed a gun at a human before, and never killed anyone. I threw my dagger above her shoulder to distract her and swiftly disarmed her before aiming at the skinwalker as he rushed towards me.

Unfortunately, the sister didn't remove the safety, and I narrowly escaped a dire fate, my arm heavily injured in the process. It hurt like hell, but I was used to the pain... I was starting to get anxious, but I had to stay collected. I held his sister hostage, aiming the gun at him again. It was hard to keep my arm up... I wondered how long it'd take for this injury to heal... He offered to heal it, but I couldn't trust a monster, especially not a skinwalker.

His sister used my injury to break free and throw me onto the ground, and my eyes opened wide in shock and terror as I felt the skinwalker's spines piercing me. It was the end for me...

I jolted up awake, breathing heavily. I relieved Aurora's last moments... I tried not to look at her last memories until now... They were... even more terrifying than I thought...

Being a skinwalker's victim is horrifying...

I got up and opened the curtains. The sun was slowly rising, it was early morning. I lit up a cigarette and observed the sunrise. The guilt I felt for stealing Aurora's life came back in full **** after this nightmare, but I couldn't let her go, it was far too dangerous.

After finishing the cigarette, I went back to bed. Even if I couldn't get back to sleep, I needed to rest a bit more. I stayed like this for a moment until I heard a knock on the door. I groggily got up and opened it, seeing Yahana on the other side.

"Morning, Rori. How was your sleep?" She asked smiling.

"Morning, Yana." I replied, weeping my eyes. "It wasn't great... "

She hugged me. "Another nightmare?"

I nodded. "I'll be good after some coffee, don't worry."

"Okay. I'll let you get ready, join me in my room when you're done. Last one on the right."

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

I got dressed in some clothes fitting for a hunt. A pair of cargo pants, combat boots, a black shirt, and a leather jacket. I only applied a light makeup this time, it wasn't like it would help in fighting a monster. I strapped large spiked bracelets on my wrists and left the room, joining Yahana in her own room.

"Hey Yana." I said, kissing her as soon as she opened the door. "So, what's the plan?"

She was also fully dressed in a fairly traditional hunting outfit, with camouflage motives to hide among the vegetation.

"We'll talk about it in more detail when my cousin joins us. Are you good in terms of equipment?" She asked, walking towards a suitcase.

She opened it, revealing a hunting rifle that she took out and inspected. It was her main weapon to hunt monsters in the wild. Bullets were extremely effective to deal with most creatures, modern human weaponry helped a lot in completely exterminating some of the most dangerous monsters. Aurora herself had a pistol and a revolver she kept in the guitar case and a rifle in her van. Since she mainly hunted in urban areas, she tried to avoid using them unless it was necessary.

"I have my guns and my daggers. It should be enough, right?"

"It should if you aim right. I also made some molotov cocktails just in case, but considering that we'll be hunting in the wild, I hope we won't have to use them." She said while pointing at a bag next to the suitcase. "Starting a forest fire is the last thing I want."

"We'll have to be careful." I commented. "Your cousin is arriving soon?"

"He arrived earlier, but had some preparations to make. He should come back in a dozen minutes at most."

"Alright. I'm glad to know that he'll be helping us."

Aurora met Elan once before. He was a very chill man, but he could be serious when the situation needed it. He was a skilled hunter and easily took care of a slippery vampire the three of them had been hunting down the last time they worked together.

Another person to be extremely wary of...

I went back to my room and checked my weapons, making sure that everything was ready for the hunt. The guns were loaded, with a few magazines in reserve, and I sharpened the dagger. Wendigos had a very thick skin, so I chose one with a serrated side, just in case. I then went to the van to check the rifle. It was a fairly standard semi-automatic one you could buy in most gun stores, but it was far enough to deal with the majority of creatures Aurora hunted.

As Edward, I only ever held a gun once in my life before, and it was pretty recently. I was curious and went to a shooting range with Claire after she joined the police. But as Aurora, I was already experienced with them, having been trained by my parents from a young age. It was a very strange feeling, having all this knowledge that I didn't have just two days ago so naturally flowing inside my mind.

If a skinwalker were to get their hands on multiple trained souls, they would most likely be extremely dangerous...

It probably already happened, some skinwalkers who survived fighting hunters and skinned a whole team, gaining all their combined experiences as their own... The thought made me shiver. It was possible that I would need to hunt other skinwalkers in the future, and I had to think of how I should deal with them.

"Hey, girl. What's up?" I heard coming from behind me, making me immediately turn around.

It was Elan, waving at me. He was a very tall but slim man, with a dark skin like Yahana and long black hair put in a low ponytail.

"Don't sneak up on me like this again, you might get a dagger lodged in-between your ribs next time." I commented flatly.

He chuckled. "Noted. Anyway, mind joining us upstairs? It's time to plan our hunt."

I nodded and stored the rifle back in its case, locking the van and following him to Yahana's room. The Ed part of me was getting more anxious about facing the wendigo, so I tried to fully immerse myself in Aurora's personality to stay calm.

With Yana and Elan, it should be easy... but I can't let my guard down...