Toby wasn't quite Toby right then, and that was his favorite state to be in. He was hunger, and starvation, and teeth that deserved using. He moved in a body that wasn't his own. Bigger, taller, fake parts that made up a very real feeling monster. Something deerlike, but not quite, all wrong, animalistic, stretched skin, visible bones, and rotting. Long lethal claws on bony hands, and more unsettlingly human feet. Crooked antlers that stood and branched out at the top of his head. A skeletal face- made from special effects makeup, not a mask, and his pale gold eyes were fitting enough to let show through-- vicious, dangerous, his favorite part. It was because of the teeth.
They were horribly sharp and functional, connected to his actual mouth. They could rip and tear. He could eat, like this. Toby's costumes were built for function. It was a rush, an all too genuine experience. He was far, far past the experimentation phase now. After dark, he'd been going out into the woods like this, reeking of his usual evil and keeping other creatures at their distance, getting into character and reveling in it. Hunting. Becoming the wendigo. He'd killed and maimed already, incidents piling up, his newest project a success.
He wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer without being in real trouble, as his projects usually went. He stayed at it long enough to savor the experience, to be newsworthy, to leave a mark, and sometimes to drag someone else down for his copycat crimes. It was never enough, but that was fine. He'd just move onto the next depravity, and someday, after giving it a cooldown time and allowing the caution to fade, have a chance at revisiting this one.
It wasn't over yet. He still had the time to say a sweet goodbye. Oh yes. He had people to devour.
The wendigo crept from the edges of the Forbidden Forest, wanting nothing but ripping and tearing, hot flesh in its throat, blood staining its teeth and odd patches of fur. The sun was just setting, and a group of hikers was heading down the mountainside that was so close to the wrong part of the woods. They didn't even realize, completely oblivious, as they noticed the darkening sky, shadows of tall, old trees closing in on them, they stopped and started setting up a makeshift campground. Eerie gold glints of eyes watched them from the deep, thick forest. It was very quiet here, the animals staying away. They never liked him, they knew what was wrong... It. They never liked it.
As soon as they were tucked away in their tent, the wendigo crept outside it, making even odder shadows dance at the walls, slow and unnatural. Where there had been hushed chatter before, there was none, a silence falling over them as they likely held their breath, paranoid, hoping this was a normal animal that would leave if they left it alone and didn't make a sound. It reached out. Long, long fingers and longer claws, trailing along the thin fabric, making a soft scraping noise. Then, he backed away.
It received the desired result. Squealing could be heard, then fast, frantic conversation. The tent unzipped, and a man came out. He had a dim flashlight. Adorable. Hilarious. Pathetic.
"Who's out here? Stop fucking with us! This is like, outright psychopathic, whatever you're doing! We'll call the fucking police!" And he was angry, seething, but his voice was breaking at the edges. He was afraid. Monsters are real, and they're all here. There was no cell phone reception this deep in the woods, and they both knew that was a stupid bluff. Only, this man didn't know just how stupid it was quite yet. He'd realize. In the agonizing seconds before the life drained from his body as he was eaten alive.
The wendigo lunged, taking down the man all at once, his skin yielding under sharp force, claws sinking in deep and shredding soft surface defenses easily. It pinned his head down, claws disfiguring facial tissue and slicing into an eye, to get at his neck and bite straight into open throat. Screaming garbled but piercing. It ripped and tore and ate, swallowing down fresh meat, drenching itself with blood, fluids, other bits of human, and overwhelming gore. Beautiful. Heaven. Pure, unadulterated bliss. This was what being alive felt like. Ripping apart another life with your own bare teeth made that shine all the brighter.