“I'm impressed, woman. How did you manage to find me?”
Constance nervously fidgeted with the stone around her neck. “I have a hagstone. T'was easy enough to find you with it.” She glanced down at it; his cloven footprints were lit up like moonlight on the forest floor through the hole in the stone. “My mother taught me the old ways. In secret.”
“It's good to know they haven't died out completely. Though no one has sought me out in a long time.”
He tossed his head from side to side, snorting. His antlers alone were the size of two draft horses, and even sitting he would have towered over the village church. He idly ran his fingers through his huge, shaggy mane, an explosion of fur thicker and coarser than the deer-like hide that covered him. His expression was unreadable, though his eyes seemed kind to her.
And the smell: Constance was certain if she hadn't been able to see him, she would have known his presence by the smell alone. Even staying at a distance, she was drowning in the smell of the super-masculine, the damp forest, undercut with the wild smell of game. It overwhelmed her senses, but she thought of her husband, and stayed strong.
“Spirit of the Forest – I seek a boon.”
He tilted his head at her. “I'm listening.”
Constance took a few deep breaths to steel herself. “My… whole family is gone. I married a man… a good man… to build a new one for myself. You see, the only thing I've ever wanted was children. But you see, it isn't...”
“There still aren't any. And you've been trying now for a long time.”
“How do you know?”
“I've been doing this for centuries, woman.”
She sighed, looking away as she clutched the hagstone. “He blames me. We… barely try anymore, Spirit. But the stories my mother used to tell me; you can bless a woman with fertility, can't you?”
He looked down at her, a soft smile parting his lips. “I can. But what would you be willing to give me in return?”
“Anything, Spirit.”
“Right. I can fix this.” He stood up, and she finally was able to take in just how tall he was. She took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest as he kept rising further and further up. “H-how are you going to fix it?”
“Does it matter where these children come from?” He strode forward, closing the gap between them with a few steps, his hooves silent on the forest floor.
Constance felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. “Oh. OH. That's not possible, I-”
“They'll be as human as you are.”
“But my husband-”
“-doesn't love you, woman.”
She covered her mouth with hand, feeling dizzy. “I can't...well I...how is that going to work?”
He was looming over her now, covering her in a cascade of fur, the smell of him and the forest.
“Don't worry. I'll show you.”