The forest was quiet at night. It was a good escape from life as well. Having to take care of the family, daily chores and responsibilities. It was a good way to end the day. The only real threat was the wildlife, but bears and wolves didn't roam in the parts that were so close to civilization.
Or so you thought.
You had been walking down to the stream when a twig snapping caught your attention. You turned, feeling a bit paranoid as you investigated.
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James hunted at night. Humans wouldn't see him that way, and Victor would always be slightly kinder when he brought home the carcass of a deer or something along those lines.
So tonight was just like any other night. Except for the fact that a human had heard him.
His whole life he had been told my Victor that they were different. That humanity---if they ever knew what they really were---would outcast and kill them. James knew that from his mother's reaction to his mutation manifesting, that Victors words were true.
But he had heard something moving through the snow so late at night. His acute sense of hearing could determine that the creature walked on two legs, making it a person. And his nose confirmed that fact as he got closer. He was like a wild animal. Quiet, sharp, and always sensing. Not to mention wild.
He was hidden in a bush when he'd snapped a branch, and the human had turned to him. He hadn't been this close to another person other than Victor since before his claws came in. He watched them, his curiosity getting the better of him.
And then, you saw him.