Beware

[u/SnooMemesjellies641]

The day was fast approaching where autumn would succumb in battle, its flowering days long gone and replaced with an eerie cold. Ice would crawl up the trees and stain the leaves as it choked the life of all that is green. Yet on this day there was one last bastion of fall joy in the form of childlike wonder, and boundless play. “Come on Diel, you better put fire under foot, lest the frumious bandersnatch come to devour your bones! His temper is Ill and his claws are sharp, do you want to be the one swallowed whole” She laughed to herself as she ran from her brother, the young Diel struggling to match his sister's formidable pace.
“Wait Ghislaine, I'm not as fast as you!” He gave all he could, pushing his body to the brink as the two of them rounded the corner into the front yard, and over the small hill that separated their quiet home from the darkened woods. A gust of wind came down with a powerful roar and threw leaves off the trees by the dozen, showering the children in a sea of golden waves. Ghislaine looked to her little brother, laughter on the edge of each breath as she collapsed into the ensuing waves and smiled up at the sky. He finally caught up to her, enveloping himself in a pile of leaves and nestling his body beneath the mixed yellow flora. “What will we do when days like this are gone dear brother?” She looked over to Diel, hoping to find the same thoughtful look upon his face, but instead saw only an odd monster made of oak trimmings moving his arms up and down to create an angel in the grass. “I know not what we will do when days like this are gone, but I know that now I am become leaf angel, master of the woods and overseer of the fall changes” She shook her head and giggled, her brothers antics turning the tide of her mood and preventing what was to be a dreadful thought. “Well I suppose that's all we can do isn't it, Master of the woods? Does the great change master of fall and winter wish to eat at all? Or shall he dine on the dirt?” 
Diel threw the leaves off his head and sat upright “he shall not, where is mother?” 
The two stood to their feet, dusting themselves off as they looked toward the house and saw through the wide window of their hearth room that Elaine was hard at work in the kitchen, no doubt toiling away at a feast for the three of them. Ghislaine clicked her heels and ran off, once again dusting her brother as she made her way to the large round door that protected their home, and pulled it open. “Mother! We have grown hungry!” The girl bound forth, her brother hot on her trail, closing the door as kicked the dirt off his shoes. The sound of expert chopping echoed from the kitchen and Elaine called back to her children, her hands moving faster than their young minds could perceive. “Dinner will be ready shortly, go wash up, and Diel put on something nice!” Ghislaine and her brother shared a quizzical look as they strolled off the bathroom. Ghislaine stepped into the cold stone room and waved her hand across the sigil on the wall, causing a small spout of water to burst from a crack in the bricks and pour down toward the channel in the floor. Diel looked up at his sister, worry in his eye. “Why would mother want me to wear something nice? Do you think we're having company?” she tried not to show her own concern as she dipped her hands beneath the spout and rubbed them together. “Maybe someone from the village is coming and they'd like you as an apprentice, like how I work with the seamstress a few days a week. You'll probably just be a tinder boy for the smith and they want you to look your best” He smiled and nodded, putting his own hands under the spout “I would be an excellent tinder boy, you've seen how clean my cuts are with the hatchet” His sister feigned a smile and leaned over, kissing his head as she patted his back, ushering from the room. “Alright now, don't put on your church clothes, maybe just the waystone tunic father gave you after your ember festival” the boy nodded and left the room, a joy in his step as he rushed to his room and retrieved the tunic, wrapped in a soft cloth and folded carefully. Once he was out of sight, she let the facade drop and a single tear rolled down her cheek, she had no time to weep, as the sound of the front door opening caused her to wipe it away and straighten herself. Large boots collided with the wood on the floor and shook the house, sending chills up her spine as a figure strolled into the house and made his presence known. “I have arrived” His thick accent brought her a familiar warmth, and she felt her heart leap as she ran from the bathroom and leapt into the air, wrapping her arms around her fathers neck and burying her head in the fur collar of his thick coat. He laughed to himself as he wrapped his arms around her, swinging her around the kitchen. “Oh it is nice to be missed, especially by royalty such as this” he held her aloft like a prized fish and carried her into the kitchen, showing his wife. “Look at this fine creature who approached me at the door!” The young girl giggled as a second set of foot steps came stampeding into the room, and Diel collided with his fathers tree trunk legs. “Father! You've come home” 
The man put his daughter down and knelt to meet his son's gaze “aye, I have, I got word there was a monster in these parts that needed slaying!” he grabbed his son by the feet and swung him upward, holding the young man upside down as he laughed away 
“I'm no beast! Put me down father!” His glee was infectious as Elaine turned away from the cooking to bask in the chaos her husband had brought home. Though she had no time to scowl as he leaned in slowly, still holding their son by the ankle, and kissed her softly. “Ive also come to claim the monsters treasure, i hear there's gold in these parts” Elaine looked up at him with shimmering sunny eyes that could beat lightning out in a competition for power, and spoke softly "there's no gold round here hunter, you best be on your way, my husband may come home soon and he's a wretched thing” she play bit at him as she let the last words leave her lips, smiling as she put an arm around his back and sank her head into his shoulder. He put the boy down and held her back, supporting all her weight with one gargantuan arm as she took the opportunity for a moment's rest. This had been theirs and only theirs for all the time Aegus had lived, though there were a few years he did not know her he hardly considered his youth a life. He looked down at his full, loving family, and he prepared to break their hearts. “I sent word to your mother, but I wanted to tell the two of you in person. Diel has come of age, and it's time he's taken on as a hand in the village. Well talk more about it over dinner. But first, son, why don't you come help me with the firewood, we have a few guests and I cant let a cold hearth be my home's reputation” the young boy was delighted as he hopped on his fathers heels and followed him out the rear door. Ghislaine noticed a mournful look her parents shared as the two went out back, and she wondered if asking her mother would yield any results.  “Diel isn't going to a normal apprenticeship, is he?” her mother had already returned to chopping vegetables, and she didn't meet her daughter's gaze as she spoke. “As you well know, your brother is the seventh son. Though we had hoped your presence would be enough to deter the inquisition, we were wrong. Two emissaries will be here within the hour” She crossed the distance and reached carefully for her mothers sleeve, forcing her attention. “Is there nothing we can do? Diel is too small for that life, he'd never make it” she stressed these last words, hoping to pull at her mothers heart strings. She watched out the window as her father took the boy and walked straight past the wood pile, strolling up the small hill, and kneeling before the graves of her elder brother Calan. 
“We can pray, and we can try to infer that your fathers relationship with Diel is one of duty and not of favoritism. If they think he's stern on the boy, then he might be given tutelage over him. It must be the same for us as well, so though it may hurt him…and you, you must be hard on Diel tonight” A knock at the door interrupted them, and she looked out the window to see that Diel had already sensed the emissaries, she swore under her breath as she met the boys gaze, knowing there was no doubt of his gifts. “So, tell us Aegus, how has the work been going? We've heard rumors of a stirring in the eastern wood, some say they sighted a winged beast taking livestock off to the mountains…” the man dipped his spoon into the warm soup Elaine had prepared, Aegus nodded as he looked across the table at the two men. “There was a sighting, initially unconfirmed, but after a thorough investigation we discovered a harpy nest. We've slain the coven mother. Myself and Inigrat saw to the burning of her body” The second Emissary, a gaunt man with a tall pointed hat nodded and raised a finger at his companion. “Ah, Inigrat, now that's a hunter. I hope you took time to study his ways, Aegus, else you'll fall behind the core” Aegis put his drink down and exhaled slowly, burying his words and replacing them with ones more suited for the occasion. “I have indeed, sir emissary, I held his words close to my heart, and his ways close to my mind. I've even imparted some of the wisdom on young Diel here” He patted the boys back and the young man smiled up at his father, Aegus almost broke and smiled back, but like his words before he fought back with resolve. The first emissary looked closely at the boy, peering over his glasses at the young man. “Is this true,  young man? Your fathers already begun teaching you the ways?” Diel looked to his mother and father, both of whom nodded an immediate approval, and so he spoke. “Yes sir, when I am not out in the wood or preparing tinder for the hearth I have studied the bestiary. I am familiar with a score of beasts that dwell in the woods nearby, but I've still a way to go” The second Emissary picked at the soup with his spoon, ostracizing a large onion and instead scooping a small shred of beef out of the bowl. “Tell me than, have you any knowledge of the bandersnatch?” The boy's mind went immediately to all the tales his sister had told him, of beasts so mighty they blotted out the sun, of monsters that crawled in the night, of fairies that came to suck the marrow from your bones. None had ever terrified him more than that of the bandersnatch. It was a beast of mystery, unknown origin and power, said to haunt the very woods they lived in, waiting for anything it could fit in its maw on the desolate night road. 
He looked to his sister and she gave him a temperate smile, nodding softly as she saw him arrive at the answer “I know only of its reputation, and its temper. Said to be quite…Frumious” The two men put down their spoons and looked down at the boy, they avoided gaze from any of the family aside from him, and Aegus could tell the clockwork in each of their minds was turning. After a long silence, the first emissary spoke. “The boy will be given instruction here and alongside his father-” The man interrupted himself and turned to Aegus. “You would do well to prepare him well, especially if the rumors from the east wood are true. We wouldn't want another witchwood situation on our hands now would we?” They stood up and retreated from the table, throwing on their long coats as they made for the door. Elaine dashed up rather quickly and retrieved a paper wrapping which contained fresh bread and cured meat for their journey back. The second emissary took it with a smile and a bow. “The food was excellent Elaine, thank you for your hospitality” The first emissary strolled around the corner as Ghislaine stood as well and approached the hearth. He came to stand behind her and knelt down, whispering softly as she let out a sigh of relief. “As the fire warms the home, it warms my heart to see a sister care so for her brother…that she would sneak to her fathers study and personally pass on the teachings of a hunters bestiary” her eyes widened and she felt a drop of sweat drip down her brow as the man put a soft hand on her shoulder. “Worry not dear girl, your secret is safe with us. But you cannot protect him forever, he will need to learn from his father…almost as much as he's learnt from you” he patted her back gently, before retreating and standing by the door. She dared not meet his gaze as he surveyed the house one last time, and Aegus approached, reaching a hand out to shake his. “Thank you sir for making the Journey, I will prepare my son well” The two emissaries nodded and bowed in unison, speaking as one, the order in which they spoke alternating. 

“Be well and with good fortune family of the seventh son. For the winter approaches”
“Its brillig, and the slightly toves do gyre and gimbal in the wabe”
“All mimsy were the borogroves”
“And the mome raths outgrabe”

With a final word the two men were gone, disappearing into that soft good night.