I promised myself I'd stop setting pages in forests, and I keep doing it. This one took forever to draw.
Transcript
A young woman in a short dress, heeled shoes, and a hood carries a basket through the forest. Whispered speech around her: "Look at that sweet little dish." "All alone in the woods!" "Mmm... Let's have us a TASTE." The young woman bends over to cut some herbs from the ground with a wavy knife. Men emerge from the bushes near her with evil grins on their faces. One of them speaks: "Hey, little lady. What are you doing alone in the forest?"
The girl replies, "Picking herbs for granny!"
- One of the man grabs the girl's shoulders. "You're lucky we came by to keep you company! After all... There's all KINDS of dangerous things out here. ANYTHING could happen." "Heh", adds his friend, off-panel.
The girl replies, "Oh..."
She turns around, revealing shiny black saucer eyes and a mouth full of needle teeth. She holds up her knife in a hand with nails that are too long and pointy. It's Kayra. "I KNOW." Kayra seizes the collar of the man who grabbed her shoulder, lashing out behind her with the knife and cutting one man's chest. She grins at the terrified fellow, her hair flying in the air. "So you enjoy being a PREDATOR?"
"Oh, gods..." he says, staring at her teeth.
Kayra raises a hand, glowing with magic. "Let's see how you like being PREY." "No! Please--" says the man, as his body shrinks and starts to take on animal characteristics. Kayra now holds in her hands a rabbit, which stares up at her. Off-panel, a voice says, "Full marks for style. Good technique. The irony was a fair effort. .. But the other two ESCAPED." Kayra turns to reply to Granny Dismal. She strokes the rabbit's head. "So they'll spread the story!"
Granny smiles. "That's my girl. Now let him loose among the wolves."
- Kayra says, "Couldn't we keep him?"
Granny puts her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Kayra!"
Kayra cuddles the rabbit till its eyes bug out. "But he's all cute and fluffy now!"
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