Varisvaara

Miranda lazily sat up and stretched as the warm rays of the sun hit her. Looking at the clock on her bedside table, she gave a groan. I’m late! Now I’ll never get to finish my picture of the fairy… she thought gloomily to herself, as she shrugged her patched jacket on over her pajamas. Stifling a yawn, she headed toward her art studio, or so she liked to call it. The small room was filled with her paintings, no matter if she wants to sell them or not. She looked at her latest one carefully. A fairy was resting at a small pond in the middle of the forest. She cocked her head and regarded it carefully. She spent so much time on it, but it was not quite perfect… Miranda sighed, adding a few spots of light here and there. The recent rumors of mystical creatures in the forest have seemed to stir up a storm throughout the city. Well, it was not like she was complaining about business. But give me a break, aren't those people getting too overexcited? They completely don’t exist, but they try to believe that they actually do so much. Well, they'll soon move on to propaganda one way or another. She sighed, adding a tear to the fairy’s closed eyes. “Why did I draw that? I must be feeling down nowadays…” she murmured to herself quietly. “Oh I know! Going to the forest might just cheer me up! I might just get inspiration if I’m lucky too!” Deciding that, she strode off determinedly toward the forest, not caring if it was seen in the morning, or the fact that she was still wearing her pajamas under her jacket. After all, the forest was one of her only quiet havens, where she could think without being interrupted.

“Dog with three heads huh… Cerberus?” Miranda leaned back and gave one of her longest sighs ever. Why would a three headed hell hound be in the middle of a forest anyway? The internet was not providing her with a lot of answers. The only conclusion she came to was that it was a creature from the Greek myths, but that's not helping anyone. It’s best to go to the forest to check again, but it was too dangerous. After all, she was pretty sure that creature saw her. Even if he did not, knowing dogs, their sharp sense of smell will have sniffed her out in an instant. Letting her thoughts flow, she vigorously picked up a pencil and started doodling on a piece of paper. I probably have an advantage, knowing the forest as well as the back of my hand, but how do I know that monster does not know it better than me? Annoyed at her haplessness, she flung her pencil down. Putting her fingers to her temples, she tried to concentrate and move the cumbersome thoughts out of the way. So, the forest was dangerous, a place she ought not to go, and the rumors were true… there really are creatures out of this world, some of them roaming in the forest itself. And the monster apparently might kill me because I saw it. Wow, that’s a nice situation I got myself into, she thought.“Why did I even want to go in the first place? Why?” She bit her lip in sheer frustration. Still, she got herself into trouble, so she’d better get the hell out of it. “I have to go in there again, don’t I?” She groaned inwardly. Although the forest was one of her favorite places in the whole world, she did not relish the idea of it teeming with monsters and people trying to kill her. “Well, you only live once.” Pushing her cap down hard on her head, she headed out again, once more towards the forest.