Paper cut

It was a paper cut.
A silly little paper cut.
Weaving through the woodland between the village and where I lived was something I always did. Sure, it was forbidden. I'd been told that hundreds of times through the years. But I didn't want to travel all the way around it every day.
And nothing had ever happened in the woodland.
Until I got that papercut.
Pressing my thumb against the cut on my forefinger, I bent down to pick up the partially opened letter. A speckle of red marred the creamy surface of the paper.
"That's lovely," I muttered as I walked over to a large rock. Climbing up, I balanced on its uneven surface. Releasing my stinging forefinger, I looked at the narrow cut.
Beads of blood welled to the surface, appearing quite bright in the early evening light.
A breeze brushed against my face, surprisingly cool for late summer.
Turning over the letter, I continued opening it. Leaning forward, I began to read.

Mystral,

I won't be home by the end of summer. We've been approached by a messenger from Kyzone, in regards to a basilisk infestation they're suffering from. The Cap's decided that we're going to help them, so I won't be back just yet.
I know I'm breaking my promise, but I hope you'll understand why.
Adventures aren't always convenient, but they pay well.
I should be home before the first snowfall, should the infestation be cleared out quickly.
Keep to your studies, and stay out of the woodland.

Sincerely,
Blaise

Clenching the money that he had enclosed within, I crumpled up the letter and threw it away from me. "Dumb brother, off to a faraway land instead of coming home." Wiping away the bead of blood from the paper cut, I tried to ignore the ache in my throat. "He couldn't have a sensible apprenticeship in baking or linen making. No, he had to run off with a party of adventurers."
Glaring at the paper cut, I knew I was being childish. My brother burned anything he tried to cook, and couldn't even patch a hole in his sleeve. Sure, him becoming an adventurer left me alone, but it was something he loved.
The crumpled letter fell near the base of my rock.
Jerking my head up, anything I might have said caught in my throat.
A creature covered in cerulean fur stood before me, its rose eyes unblinking. I returned its stare, trembling as the urge to run filled me.
Whatever this thing was, I had never seen it in the woodland before.
Its rose eyes flickered toward my hand, and its nostrils flared.
I jerked back, and lost my balance.
Piercing white filled my vision, then darkness engulfed me.