Puca Problems

Figured I'd try and do something from Irish folklore for a TF since it's St. Patrick's Day, so here is a Púca TF.

Cait's grandmother always visited on St. Patrick's Day for a family dinner. Cait had always been fascinated by the older woman's tales of her home and "the old country" as she was wont to refer to it. Cait's parents had been born in the states and the closest she had ever come to Ireland was her grandmother's tales. This years story had been about Púca, the frightening but benevolent creature that both terrified and helped those it met. The tales she spoke of said it could take the form of a goat, a yellow eyed horse, a fox, a large rabbit, or even a goblin, but some things remained clear. You must give the Púca an offering of the harvest, though gran said a portion of a large meal such today's would do in it's place. She told tales of mysterious pools in the woodlands, of wild rides through the forests at night, and of helpful warnings for those who did not offend the spirit.

Cait loved hearing the tales, even though she knew they were just that. Her lack of belief in the stories didn't make them any less interesting, but what really caught Cait's attention was her gran leaving a small plate of food on the front steps before she retired to her bedroom for the night. Cait had remained silent as her grandmother preformed the act and waited for her to return upstairs before she laughed at the thought of her little old gran leaving food for a shape-shifting spirit. She walked over and reached down to pick the plate. The distant sound of a howl caught her attention. In the dim moonlight of the evening she saw a shadowy shape in the distance. It looked like a rabbit, but it was moving fast and seemed larger the closer it got. Soon it looked as big as a dog, and by the time she heard it galloping into her yard it was the size of a horse. Dark flowing hair, glowing yellow eyes, and the horns of a oversized goat betrayed its otherworldly nature. Cait dropped the plate to the ground and it shattered, scattering leftovers on the porch. The beast in the yard gave her a glowering stare.

"You shouldn't have done that." The sound floated through the air like a fog, coming from the horse beasts direction despite it's mouth never having moved. "You will come for a ride to make up for your mistake?" It asked in a menacing tone.

Cait swallowed hard and started to back away but a snarl and the faint memory of angry spirits causing many troubles in the stories gave her pause. If this thing really was a... Púca, then she couldn't refuse it's ride.

Cait summoned all the courage she could muster and push herself toward the beast. Her legs dragged like iron weights and she moved at an agonizingly slow pace under it's withering gaze. As she reach the halfway point, a few feet from the porch, it bolted forward and without really knowing how she found herself straddling the beast. Cait clung to the dark hairs of it's mane, and tried to grab hold of a horn, anything to keep her grip as it galloped at a maddening speed through the woods. The trees moved in a blur and Cait felt a little sick from the sheer speed at which they moved. The girl could only hope that the beast was as harmless as the stories told, and that it simply wanted to scare her a bit for stealing it's meal.

The breakneck pace continued for ages, and just when she thought the creature would never stop the trees gave way and they entered a small glade. The black beast came to a sudden lurching stop and Cait was thrown forward, she crashed into the thick grassy meadow and landed roughly in the thankfully soft grass. Cait lay there, the wind knocked out of her, staring up at the stars. She heard the voice for the last time.

"That was... fun. You still have much to learn girl, maybe you should learn about the old ways first hand before you mock them." The rolling whisper lingered and she felt her eyes grow heavy as the beast reared back and howled.

-----------

It was already midday when Cait awoke. Her head hurt like crazy, and her body was still and cold. She slowly got to a sitting position and was confused to see what looked to be a reddish maned tail resting on her leg. She reached out with a long clawed hand and grabbed the fuzzy shape. Her golden eyes went wide and she scrambled to her feet. This thing was attached to her, it was part of her. She had-

At that point she became aware of other changes. Her head felt heavy from the weigh of two curled rams horns, and her rabbit-like ears and nose twitched at sounds and smells. Cait didn't need a mirror to know that the Púca had decided she needed to walk a mile in it's shoes. She was grateful that she didn't have hooves, but at least then she wouldn't have to walk so far barefoot. The reality of her missing clothing was apparent and she hastened into the woods to hide in the cover of the trees. If she had her clothes she could have called somebody, she could have called her grandmother and asked her if there were any stories about a girl turning into a Púca, or more importantly, about a girl turning back into a human.

I do not own the rights to the original image used for this photo-manipulation, if the owner requests its removal I shall do so 
~The Warlock