Narrative: Wendigo WHO: Wendelin Golightly, Mr. Cavanaugh and Ms. Menides WHEN: The night of the 20th WHERE: Inside the woods
Jack had learned to recognize the drop in temperature.
A few years ago, a Wendigo terrorized the school. A horrific spirit that fed on fear and flesh and that even managed to kill. Due to a botched ritual, not Jack's fault, the Wendigo was made flesh, invading the school with an army of wights. It had taken the combined efforts of the students and the teachers to repel the Wendigo, and they succeeded.
But Wendigo do not die. They are spirits, bound to the soil they haunt. And so, every year, Jack made sure that the Wendigo remained dormant. He'd set up the ritual again this year, knowing it would be easy to keep the Wendigo at bay. Jack did not realize that he had grabbed the wrong kind of bones this year. Instead of a deer's, he had grabbed a wolf's. Instead of a herbivore's, he had grabbed a carnivore's.
Ribs. They look so alike.
The backlash was so great that Jack was thrown out of his circle, landing heavily into the snow. He blinked and looked at the circle, where a pale, naked body had appeared. A boy with white hair. A boy that looked at him with pale blue eyes. A boy that should no be there. The circle he had drawn was still glowing. Jack knew what he was looking at.
He reached for the knife he had on him - he had used it just now, to carve markings into the branch he had used as a focal point for the ritual. That same branch the white-haired boy was now clinging to. Jack got to his feet and stalked towards the boy. He knew what he had to do.
"Don't."
Jack froze. There, among the trees, stood Ms. Menides. He had not even heard her approach, and it was heard to sneak up on a banshee. In her hands, she held a bundle of clothing. She shook her head once. "Don't kill him," she said, stepping forward. "We will need him. He is... Of vital importance."
Jack rolled his eyes. "But he's a murderer."
"As are more of our students. Let him live. We will take him in."
Jack wanted to protest more, but he knew better. He saw how she crouched down in front of the boy and handed him the clothes. He looked at her with large, surprised eyes. "What is your name?"
"Wendigo." he croaked.
After a moment's thought, she said: "Wendelin. Wendelin Golightly. Listen to me. Look me in the eyes. Look at me. You will not kill. Understood? If you kill, I will end you. Forever."
The boy gave her a blank stare and then nodded. "Yes."
Ms. Menides rose to her feet. For a brief moment, Jack thought he saw a fiery shape behind her: a female, wreathed in fire and darkness, with eyes as bright as endless stars. When he blinked, it was gone. Ms. Menides sighed. "I must go, Mr. Cavanaugh. I've been a bad girl."
Jack blinked. "You interfered with fate."
She nodded. "In my absence, you will serve as Headmaster. Enroll Mr. Golightly. He is in House Hydra. He is dangerous, but not lethal. Show him how..." She shook her head. "No. I must not share more. Farewell, Mr. Cavanaugh. Hopefully, I will be back soon." And with that, she vanished, leaving Jack and a newly-born Wendigo-boy behind.