I picked up this as a discount holiday-ey special from  UlarioGryphon. I'm so glad she was willing to actually draw something this complex for a background for what was essentially a quick commish - I was worried about overloading her! I might pay her to actually finish the background at some point. (EDIT: I did! Image has been updated!)

Meredith normally keeps to herself in the woods, but her agenda is mysterious. Occasionally she drops by the local villages within the fringe parts of the woods for winter solstice celebrations, striding through town in decidedly light clothing for the winter weather, as if she did this every day, leaving baffled villagers in her wake. She stays to watch the celebrations, sometimes disappearing and reappearing, and then she leaves. Why she comes and why she goes is a mystery, at least to most that see her.

Though her appearance is often rumored to coincide with members of the village disappearing, they often return later without explanation, unharmed and indeed usually a fair bit more stable than when they left. Despite this, some think of her as a bad omen, or worse, a childsnatcher, none so far have had the bravery to confront her directly, for the rumors about her power are even more fearsome. The townsfolk often talk of a fabled time during her early visits in which one woman, instead of simply defending her home warily as the rest of them did, actually attempted to rush at and stab the witch. The villager's arm stopped an inch from the vixen's bare midsection, and then her arm snapped in twain, as if struck by something. Meredith simply kept on walking, leaving the villager crying in pain in the snow, holding her shattered elbow.

Though none of the average folk have the desire to confront her, some of the village elders are said to meet with her - some say to arrange 'tribute' in exchange for her protection from whatever lurks in the deepwoods. Other than that, those who actually manage to have a conversation with her are rare.

Whatever her business, it is done quickly, and she never remains past nightfall - of course, some say that even after that, they have felt as though they were being watched by the owls hooting in the darkness...