Happy Halloween!
And like last year, I've put together another Halloween short story to enjoy!!

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The sun hadn’t breached the horizon when the siblings began patrolling north through the Alphaen Lowlands. Winter had proven to be the worst in either sibling’s memory with the wind’s bite being vicious and the snow deeper than either would expect.
Aurora whispered to herself and let a soft orb of light form in front of her. The orb shimmered and began to float giving her and her brother, Nova, enough light to see around them, reducing the need of their natural night vision.
“Can you refresh my memory as to why we are trudging through the Lowlands instead of getting to Gordan? You said we’d spend Frost there.” Aurora asked before blowing warm air into her paws.
“Remember Richard? That human shepherd I talked to in Cothen’s tavern?” Nova replied.
“Vaguely,” Aurora glanced away.
Nova spun to face her, “Well, Richard told me that a contract was posted weeks ago on the public notice. Evidently, someone or something is slaughtering livestock, also two merchants, and the local authority is willing to pay a fine price to whoever can end these butcherings,”
“So, suffer the cold cause you want to hunt something for coin?”
“Well it’s a nice bit of coin, enough to brave the cold,” Nova gestured to the light. “Are you really that scared of the dark?”
“What?”
“Do you really need a light spell?”
Aurora’s ears drooped even though her eyes drove daggers at Nova, “You’re one to talk. Anytime I bring up your ride through Parish Willow, you get uneasy and paranoid.”
Nova growled softly and swore under his breath while Aurora blew warm air into her paws again, the chilled bite of the wind managed to work its way beneath her winter fur. Overhead dark clouds slowly spread through the sky, the looming threat of a blizzard ever increasing.
Nova halted and dropped to one knee, examining an impression in the snow. He traced his paw along the odd three-toed footprint, glancing forward then back past Aurora’s feet. The impressions’ width was twice the size of his own paw.
Semi-fresh tracks, he thought, either moving fast or rather tall.
Nova followed the tracks as the first of the blizzard’s snow fell. The tracks lead on for what seemed like an eternity, up and down the occasional snow-covered hill. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, allowing little light to pass through, while gusts of air kicking up fresh snow and threw it into each siblings’ face.
As the siblings worked their way up the incline of a steep hill, a large sheet of snow fell free from its loose hold on the hill, pouring down on the two sending them sliding back to the base of the hill.
Aurora shivered, “Nova, let’s stop and warm up next to a fire,”
“No, we’re fine-”
“We’re freezing, don’t let your quarry exceed your basic needs,”
“If the Uksuq wishes to let loose his white fury, we’ll lose these tracks, they’re already partly buried beneath the snow!” Nova pointed at the tracks, his paw twitching.
“And if we collapse from exhaustion then what? In Rortick’s name, your paws are trembling from the freezing winds!” Aurora snarled back, “You found some stray tracks, that’s all. What indication says these footprints as relevant to your hunt?”
She’s right, these are stray tracks. I’ve never seen them before, Nova glanced down then away from her, across the white blanket that covered the land. But I got a lead of some kind and I’ll be damned if I throw it away now.
Aurora let out a soft whine, watching Nova resume pursuing his quarry. Quietly humming to herself heating her paws with magic, she rubbed the warmth over her arms. The winds whipped and whirled around and between the siblings, moving eastward. Snowfall steadily increasing into a thick sheet, the tracks succumbed to the natural order of winter and vanished.
Nova stared down at the last track as it vanished from sight. Aurora shielded her eyes from the winds and snowfall, barely managing to make out her brother twenty paces ahead. Snow accumulated on her while slowly her footsteps became ankle deep.
“Brother, enough of this. We need to keep warm!” Aurora cried out over the roaring winds.
“There has to be a track left somewhere-”
“We are going to be buried out here! Give up already!”
Nova spun to face her, ready to retort. Aurora’s dress whipping with the wind while snow buried her left side; one arm held close to her torso the other shielding her face. He bit his tongue as reality set in.
This blizzard will be the death of us… he sighed, time to throw in the towel.
Aurora smile was faint, but she was more than relieved when Nova finally acknowledged the peril of the hunt.
The eastward winds whipped around and roared violently northward, Aurora kept her back towards the winds while Nova clenched his eyes shut waiting for the rogue gust to die down. Aurora gaze shifted from her brother to beyond him to a looming figure approaching through the blizzard.
“Nova!” she cried out, getting him to open his eyes and follow her gaze.
He stood with his back facing Aurora and watched the features appear on the odious figure as it dwarfed him.
Antlers, beaten and cracked, protruded from the head, the flesh so decayed that the nasal bones and mangled front teeth displayed clearly on the snout. Dead whites filled the sunken eye sockets while the body was horrifically malnourished. Digitigrade legs and shin length arms ended with three-digit feet and hands. Where decay hadn’t spread, mangy skin clung tightly to the bony frame.
Aurora gagged while Nova snarled as the creature shifted its jaw from one side to the other sizing them up, a scrap of chewed flesh falling from its maw.
Aurora blanched, “Brother, what god would allow that to walk amongst this land…”
“None that we worship,” Nova said.
Nova drew Rose from her scabbard, swinging the blade down next to him. His left paw trembled, brushing against the hilt and handle of Thorn, breath quickening.
“Draw out Thorn!” Aurora sputtered out.
“I can’t… feel my paw!” Nova hissed through bared teeth, all sensation in his paw was lost.
Nova directed the tip of Rose towards the antlered beast and flashed his fangs again. Aurora stood behind him whispering and preparing a spell. The beast let out a low hiss and lunged forth, kicking up snow in mass.
Nova made an attempt to parry the claws of the foul beast and succeeded in holding back one clawed hand. Nova relinquished his parry and dove through its legs, evading the falling strike of the other clawed hand.
Nova kept Rose directed at the beast as he recovered from the dive. As it reached out to him, a massive shard of ice ripped through its body.
“Get up!” Aurora cried out, eyes glowing blue as she formed a second ice shard in the air. Dumbfounded, the beast wrenched the first ice shard from its body and threw it away.
That shard barely fazed it, Aurora’s eyes stopped shining, the nearly formed shard shattered into the snow at her feet.
Nova swung Rose, her edge biting deep into the arm of the beast. It clacked its jaws once and swung its long arm at Nova. Growling he tugged her free and stumbled back, clipped briefly by its claws.
Dealing with both its arms would be easier with Thorn, Nova thought.
Again, Nova lunged in with Rose piercing its torso before withdrawing and evading the other set of claws. Nova swung Rose down freeing a claw from the beast’s arm. Awestruck, the beast stared at the wound then to Nova. Nova swung and struck the beast with the flat of his blade, inflicting little harm upon it.
Nova stumbled back dropping his guard; exhaustion overtaking him. Sensation in his left arm was nonexistent while his right arm burned with strain. Glancing up, Nova wildly attempted to deflect another swipe of the beast’s claws.
“Brother!” Aurora scream out.
The world froze as the beast struck Nova in the torso, launching him back several feet, landing limp in the snow.
The beast clacked its jaws and stepped closer to the downed sibling, waiting on any bit of movement. Seeing none it reached for one of Nova’s wings, ready to feast.
Gotta buy time, Aurora thought as she prepared a different spell.
Aurora outstretched her right paw and drew her left paw back holding up three fingers, her eyes glowing blue, and slammed her right foot into the snow, breeching to the grass beneath. Snow kicked up in a straight line to the beast and the air around it exploded with a thunderous crack.
Aurora watched the snow settle around the beast as it stood motionless, arm hovering over Nova’s body. She made haste, crossing the snow to Nova’s body and attempted to draw her brother away from the outstretched arm. Aurora glanced up when she heard the clacking of the beast’s jaws, her paralysis spell loosening its hold faster than she hoped. The beast drew its outstretched arm, fighting the paralysis, and posed to strike down Aurora.
Aurora stood up and over her brother’s body, snarling at the beast. Her eyes glowed red, she had to strike first.
“Kiak great and bright, let your fire smite!” Aurora sung and crossed her fists before her mouth.
Swinging them down and opening her mouth, hellfire erupted from her mouth like a dragon. Flames engulfed the beast as it let out a hissing wail and staggered back. It flailed its arms and swatted down the flames in vain; every inch of its body was ablaze. Aurora shielded her eyes as the towering inferno collapsed and smoldered in the snow.
Nova opened his eyes as something wrapped around his waist and chest. Curious he reached up to grab at whatever was holding him, finding the soft fur of his sister.
“Aurora…” he whispered.
“Be quiet and warm up,” her breath smelled like the smoke of a fire.
“Where is it?” Nova jolted recalling what rendered him unconscious.
“Rose is fine,” Aurora reached over and placed the sword in Nova’s lap.
“No that...”
“Smoldering ash,” Aurora cut him off before entering a coughing fit.
Nova glanced to his left paw and managed to twitch his thumb as the slightest sensation returning to it.
Overhead the first of warm sunlight breached the dark cloud layer.