Haunted Wood well you know november has come

Autumn was upon the land once more, and Zarina was joyful for it. Yet, at the same time, sadness cloaked her body, invisible to the eye but felt in her heart and mind. A shadow followed her everywhere—the shadow of her past—and it forced her to flee from place to place. Autumn was her favorite time of year, and her least favorite. It reminded her of every memory of her life, the good and the bad. A husband she had run from when she was too young to have such a thing. Unborn children ejected by her body. Many, many men afterwards, in an attempt to mask the pain. She forgot who she was until she became the woman she was now.

Up ahead through the trees, a golden shape slowly formed. A male. Oh, good. Perhaps she could charm him like all the others… but for what purpose? She despised the idea of joining a pack, even if it meant dying in the winter. She did not need food. She knew how to hunt for herself. What could laying with this man—if she did—accomplish? She could not hide from herself so easily anymore. Well. No matter. She would charm him all the same—or he would reject her. Either way. She approached slowly and called, “Greetings.”