Creepy Hollow Fae: Urisk

Year of study: fourth
Assignment type: solo (with mentor observing)





Bald, misshapen head? Check.
Scrawny, wrinkled body? Check.
Patches of hair in random spots? Check.
Ferocious, human-devouring tendencies? Not so much.

“He looks so lonely,” I say to Tora. More than lonely, in fact. The urisk sitting on the rock beside the dam looks as though he may burst into tears at any moment.

Tora frowns. “You’re not supposed to be talking to me. I’m just here to observe, remember? Not interact.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Unless you appear to be in mortal peril.”

Now who’s talking. “Mortal peril isn’t on my agenda, so I think we’re good.” I make my way slowly toward the urisk. The Seer who passed on this assignment told Tora she’d Seen a family arrive to go out onto the dam in their boat. The urisk tried to make friends with the little girl, who fell into the dam in complete terror.

I’m here to stop that from happening.

I heard Ryn telling a first year that urisks have been known to literally scare people to death. I’m pretty sure that’s just a rumor, though. I mean, the poor guy’s not that hideous. I take a few more tentative steps forward.

“Um, hi,” I say. The urisk turns his head toward me, and the look of complete joy that lights up his unsightly face makes me feel weirdly choked up. “Um, ahem.” I swallow. “So ... I hear you’ve been looking for some friends?”

~  ~  ~

Like this flash fiction? Find out more about the Creepy Hollow series.
If you'd like to know more about my A to Z flash fiction pieces, read my A to Z Challenge Theme for 2012 post.