The night hums with life in the Valley. You can hear the scurrying of hares, the thrum of wing flaps, and the melodies of all the wood frogs for miles. As you peer outside the cave entrance, you take note of the moon’s position.

The wind shifts and you pick up the scent of someone on the mountain. They’re coming closer and you pray that the traveler continues on the path.

This is a horrible place to set camp, there’s no reason that anyone else would be here. It’s too cold and wet tonight for a decent campfire. The bone-chilling frost still comes at night, this early in the season. Anyone with a brain would know that they’d be better off finding a room at the next town.

The cold ground crunches beneath their boots as the enter the cave. You tense up and try to remain hidden in the darkness, but the stranger steps closer and notices your bedroll and rations.

Fuck. You step out into the pale moonlight. At this point, the light will reflect off the backs of your eyes, revealing you as something more than human. You drag your eyes over his handsome features, the elegant brow and neat beard but try to avoid his gaze.

“Y-you can’t be here.” Your mouth feels dry and the pounding in your head picks up. There’s not much longer before you shift. If the stranger picks up on this, he makes no indication or leaving, for that matter.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

You squeeze your eyes shut and try not to breathe in the smell of his sweat and musk. This cave was remote, hence why you often spent the moon’s apex here. It certainly wasn’t an easy hike for you and this man was a human, no less. His pulse called out to you from beneath his cloak and you back yourself into the corner of the cave.

The whole time he’s been rummaging in a neat rucksack, and you can hear the clink of some glass bottles and the rustle of wrapped-up rations.

“I’m a were!” You finally blurt out.

“And I’m aware.” Comes the steady reply.

“You need to leave, set up camp anywhere but here.”

“Like I said, I can take care of myself.” He rolls up his sleeves, exposing the runes on his forearms. A mage. “And I could take care of you if you’d like. I know you’re also going into heat.”

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Feel free to comment or DM if you’d like to play along, either as the daring mage or our lovely gentle (but heat-bound) giant of a werewolf.