Baba Yaga

With a strained groan, I awoke to the scent of burning firewood and roasting meat. Forcing myself upward I took a long look at the environment, hoping to gather my thoughts.

I was in a relatively small cabin, the logs of which composed it had rotted long ago yet somehow managed to keep the place standing. A vast array of hunted prey were displayed in different ways across the room. Heads hung above the fireplace, skins used as rugs, and I could even see jewelry composed of the teeth.

“Curses! I got drunk and ran off again, didn’t I?”

Staring at the obscene environment through tired eyes, I let out an irritated sigh. It wasn’t the first time I found myself lost—and most definitely wouldn’t be my last—but it was the first time I ended up in a place as surreal as this.

‘Well, it is a large world. I suppose I should be more surprised. This is one of the more bizarre things I’ve seen.’

I reluctantly forced myself out of the (heavenly) bed I’d been lying on. Gripping the bed frame to support my sore body while I struggled to regain my equilibrium.

“By the stars…what did I do last night?”

In the middle of the pathetic struggle, I heard the wooden door on the opposite side of the room slowly creak open. A wave of piercing cold washed over me, alongside several flakes of snow. Neither were the target of my attention, however.

Rather, I was focused on the elderly woman that stepped through. Baring a large, wooden cane-like object as she stumbled through the door. Dragged alongside her was the corpse of what I could only assume to have been a deer—or whatever strange creature inhabited this region.

“Ah, you’re awake! Lovely…”

A terrifying thought perforated my mind, “No…did I…? Damn it, Lykoi, no class at all!”

Seeing my clear shame as I grasped the sides of my head, the elderly woman chuckled lightly and tossed the corpse to the side.

“You are worried for nothing, I simply found you outside during one of my hunts.”

I let out a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank the stars!”

I suppose I did have some class, after all. Good job, me!

Taking a final glance around the macabre cabin, I let go of the bedframe and prepared to leave. For some reason, my body felt overwhelmingly numb. Nothing a good walk couldn’t fix, though.

“Thank you for taking me in, honestly. But I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

Just as I reached for the door, the woman grabbed my hand. Her frail bones suddenly seemed far more domineering in my weakened state, and for just an instant her gaze seemed as if it’d pierce through my own.

“No, I insist! Stay, stay! It gets quite…lonely…in the hills. It is getting late anyhow. A youngling like you shouldn’t be trekking the night’s cold so callously.”

Looking down at my own body, I realized how someone would’ve taken me for the type of person who gets sick easily. But youngling?! I definitely had a couple millenia over this woman!

Sighing, I looked through the lone window in the cabin and narrowed my eyes. Indeed, it seemed to be getting darker, not that it was easy to tell without my eyeglasses.

There wasn’t much doubt about whether I’d be able to find the others before I succumbed to the cold, but the already biting frost was just more ruthless at night. And I’d rather not deal with that.

‘...Others? Who am I…’

Before I could get lost in my thoughts, the elderly woman tossed the deer creature’s corpse in my direction before politely handing me a crudely crafted knife.

“Of course, since you will be staying you must help with dinner! I would love to do it myself, but these old bones just don’t move like they used to…”

Shooting a skeptical glare in her direction, I inevitably caved to her demands and picked up the body. Strangely enough, it felt…odd. Far thicker than any animal I’d seen, yet velvety and soft. Was it some sort of pig?

Pushing the thought aside, I grabbed the knife and got to work. It’d been some time since I prepared a carcass for eating, but it was practically muscle memory considering my experiences on…

On…

‘What was I thinking about?’

My mind seemed fleeting these days…nevertheless I made a promise. This woman had been kind enough to offer me dwelling, after all. It’d just be rude not to help where I can.

“Hey, Baba! Is this how it’s done?”

I offered the corpse to Baba Yaga, placing it politely at her feet as I kneeled.

“Yes, yes. That’s just perfect! Come, come let’s get this cooking…”

Nodding, I picked up the animal carcass and—

‘Who is Baba? Why did I kneel? How am I…’

Right. Baba was the woman who had taken me in, I was simply offering her the meal she’d so kindly allowed me to help cook. Of course, I was here of my own…my own what exactly?

Without even realizing it, I dropped the carcass into a large cauldron. The obsidian which constructed the strange pot glistened with an alluring glow. As if beckoning one to enter it. My eyes felt glued to the infinitely expanding black of the pot.

I wanted to get closer…so much closer. I wanted to feel it. To bask in it.

Baba took no time in swatting my hand away, glaring at me as she did so.

“Do not touch! Never, never touch! It’s mine!”

Stunned, I stumbled backward before falling onto my rear. Her voice was grating, skewering my ears as if someone had driven a spear directly through my brain. Yet, the voice was equally as serenous, tempting even.

What was happening? Where was I even? How did I get here?

The questions which had previously escaped me came rushing back all at once. Even so, they seemed to struggle to remain in my grasp. Like an invisible barrier laid between my thoughts and my consciousness. Barely allowing the former to peek through.

Amidst the fog, I noted Baba’s movements. A cold sweat fell from my forehead as I attempted to ignore the pain as much as possible, but of course it wasn’t that easy.

The numbing hadn’t lessened at all, and the aching sensation was only getting more painful. So, so painful.

Stifling a quiet scream, I jumped to my feet and away from Baba. Nearly falling to the ground as I did so.

“Who are you?”

Baba’s eyes narrowed. She grimaced as she picked up a large wooden pestle from beside the cauldron, the tool was nearly twice her size yet she carried it as if it were paper.

Her steps toward me were slow and weak, even so they carried an almost oppressive strength behind them. A strength that couldn’t be seen but remained blindingly apparent.

At this point, the headache had become torturous. My head was boiling and my thoughts muddled. Even my movements seemed inverted as I fell to my feet.

“You ask questions you already know the answer to, Lykoi? Ah…none of the children who visit me ever seem very smart…shame.”

Her grip around the pestle tightened, she was barely more than a couple feet away from me. The bloodlust radiating from her was light, as if she was stalking her prey, waiting for the moment to strike.

“Allow me to ask you a proper question, child. Have you come here by your own will, or the compulsion of another?”