DarkmasterN
patreon
Drawlloween 30
🕑 Added 2022-10-30 16:01:01 +0000 UTCToday's prompt is Fae...
I've drawn a lot of fae this year, and here's another strange one. The Hidebehind.
Fae are known for being strange, silly, or even dangerous tricksters, able to sneak around and play pranks on their targets in mischievous ways. However some fae use these naturally occurring stealthy reality warping powers not just to sneak up on people, but for the purpose of hunting. The Hidebehind is a huge wolf like creature. It has pitch black shaggy fur that sometimes covers it's snout and a long maw full of grinding teeth. It has beady eyes and wolf ears to match it's wolf like appearance. It's neck is more like that of a llama or alpacca however and it's hair is bristled like a bear. It usually stands at about the same height as a large bear, standing about 9-10 feet in height when standing on it's hind legs. It's legs are very long and can reach extremely far, moving almost like snakes from behind things.
Few people have ever seen a hidebehind in it's entirety, and most have never even seen their face, but have seen only a single eye peering out from behind something. Hidebehinds have the ability to step out of reality and hide behind pretty much any object, as they pass beyond it, vanishing from view. This can only be done whenever a creature is not looking at that particular space, but otherwise seems to have no stipulations. This does not mean a Hidebehind cannot use it's ability at all when being observed, however it means that if they are being observed, they cannot sneak away from certain angles. Luckily for them, hidebehinds are master climbers and they can fold themselves to be able to squeeze into small spaces as well. Sometimes they will fully hide behind an object and peer out with just an eye, and then send it's arm moving along the ground, slithering like a snake to strike a creature. It may even lay it's arm beneath piles of leaves and snatch a creature and drag them away. They may hide behind poles, behind bushes, logs, stumps, or sometimes even another person. Hidebehinds can also move their shadow independantly of themselves, and trick creatures that they are somewhere else, though their shadow cannot actually harm a creature and just works as a distraction (Though particularly powerful ones have been able to control it like a shadow creature).
Attacks by a Hidebehind are like an attack from a bear or a large dog, that being extremely violent with a lot of thrashing and clawing as well as gnawing and gnashing of teeth. Some creatures don't even see it happen as the creature is dragged away to the otherworld before the attack fully commences, in which case the creature is just never seen again. Many stories of Lumberjacks disappearing in the woods, never to be seen again are attributed to the Hidebehind. One can listen to find a hidebehind as they tend to be unable to hold in their laughter, and make quiet hyena like chuckles as they peer out at their target. In addition the animals in the area will grow silent, as will the rustling of the trees even quieting so as to hear where it could be.
Hidebehinds are very dangerous and vile fey, however they can still occasionally be befriended. If one was caught in a trap and you free it, or if you leave it food on three separate occasions, it may leave you be, or even provide a gift or protection should someone else target you. They can speak, but usually choose not to. On occasion one may speak to you from behind an object in a childlike or feminine voice, maybe mimicking one you know to lure you over, however when they actually speak in their own voice it's a warped and ugly tone that sounds like a dog trying to speak english....
Hidebehinds are not the only kind of fae to snatch creatures out of the woods from behind trees, and even the hidebehind steer clear of anything from the dark place, but they are the reason for people going missing the woods, and sometimes bodies being found.
