Little Red Wolf Original - 03
#4 of Little Red Wolf
Little Red Wolf - 03 - Feeling the Beast
Sunlight penetrated the darkness of the den under the old oak, causing delicate fingers of light to dance across the room and gently caress two forms. This light brought Scarlett's world back into focus, causing her to smile. The previous night had been exhilarating on levels Scarlett could never describe. She could not find the strength to move.
It made sense, considering last night... Scarlett blushed at the thought and glowed with the euphoria of good love. She was certain she had enjoyed herself more in one night than both of her sisters put together over the entirety of their life times.
Her stomach growled. Her body was trying to reintroduced her its needs. As she built up the energy to stand she remembered, with a smile, that she was naked and a little chilly. She reached back for the warm fur of her big bad wolf but touched foreign skin. With a start she rolled away and was on her feet, instantly awake.
"W-what," she stammered as he awoke and smiled at her. Her heart thumped in her chest as she stared hard at the strange man. His skin was tanned and worn from a hard life on the road. His long, black, hair was ruffled and tangled. His body was hard and full of the muscles of a very active outdoors man. As his eyes blinked sleepily she could tell they were an intelligent dark blue and it was there that she found a reason to relax.
"S... S... Scar-lett," he said with difficulty. Silence fell between them as she approached her wolf.
"How has this happened?" she asked as she sank to her knees.
"Y... You," he said as he grew accustom to having a human mouth again, "you... saved me." Scarlett's heart began to beat hard in her chest again. Her emotions were swimming and she did not know how to deal with relief, disappointment, and a flurry of ideas on how this affected the future.
"Please," she said as she tried to calm down, "tell me what has happened."
"You... re-mind... me th-that I... was... a man," he stammered as his speech improved slightly. He shook his head and held his hand toward her. "L... L... Let me... s-sh-show..." before he could finish, Scarlett's patience waned and she took his hand. She drew him close and held him for a time. Then she pressed her head against his and allowed their minds to join.
This joining was much clearer than the first. Instead of a jumble of images and feelings she felt herself being pulled into a forest. When her mind settled she was standing among the trees. Scarlett was dressed in her hunting garb but standing at the base of a large willow was a soldier.
"My name is Arthur and I am from a kingdom far from here. For generations my family has protected Kings and died in wars that were not their own." Scarlett grew fearful as he spoke in the accent of noble breading. If he was indeed of that bloodline it could mean death to a common girl like herself. "I could not live that way anymore. I fled my old life, and I had not thought of it for a dozen summers. I gave myself to Luna and every full moon I answer her call. I... change into the beast you saw when the moon is full and I return to the form of a wolf when it ends."
He walked toward Scarlett, bowed, took her hand, and pressed it to his lips. "Today I am a man again. You have brought me back to life. I can speak again."
"So now you will return home?" Scarlett was holding back angry tears. "Will you ride off, now that you are done with me? To protect your precious King?"
"No," Arthur said looking slightly hurt, "I will not go back there. I will not leave you."
Scarlett relaxed a little but she was still was uneasy. "What happens next?" She felt foolish asking this question now after a night time of not caring.
"I do not know," he said with a sigh. "I never expected to be human again."
Scarlett started to breath heavily. Her heart was beating quickly now and she had to focus hard to bring it under control. She was afraid.
"W-why... why am I so afraid?" she started to tremble and Arthur took both of her hands in his.
"It is my fear you are feeling. I'm sorry, I wish I was stronger."
"What are you afraid of?" Scarlett said in an accusing tone. "You're noble. You can go back to your castle and subjects and-"
"No," Arthur firmly, "I deserted the army. Abandoned my King. I am disgraced." It was now apparent to Scarlett that Arthur's fear was of failing her. He was not worried about appearances or even titles. He just wanted her approval. This melted her heart and she drew him in and hugged him. When they separated they were in the real world again, and in need of breakfast.
"I am not sure... how to hunt without my... my claws," Arthur said as his ability to speak improved further. He watched as Scarlett pulled her leather hunting outfit back onto her muscular frame.
"I'll shoot us a deer," she said, tested her bow's drawstring.
"You know there are other wolves out there," Arthur sounded concerned, "like me."
"Sounds like... oh what are they called?" Scarlett thought for a moment. "Werewolves."
"Werewolves," Arthur repeated as if testing the taste of the word. "I remember stories of werewolves. Do you think it's safe out there?"
"You're human again," Scarlett said in her typical carefree manner, "I'll be fine."
As she left her naked lover in his layer, the huntress stepped into the woods. She smelled the morning air and took in one of the most beautiful days she had ever seen. She swore that all of the colors and smells of the woods were brighter and more intense. She thought it might be love, but decided her hunger might have something to do with it as well.
It took her well trained eyes moments to find tracks. She smelled the air and recognized the scent of a grazing deer. She marveled at how her hunger was allowing her to detect such a thing, then she brushed the thought away so that she could focus on the hunt. The woods where her ally and she moved with almost no sound. She neared the smell and spotted a buck grazing near a tree. Crouching into a comfortable position she notched her arrow, drew it back, aimed for only a moment, and then loosed it.
The arrow entered the buck's eye and killed it instantly. Scarlett's mouth fell open. She was a good shot but a perfect shot, like this one, at such a distance was rare indeed. She had only taken the shot in the first place because she was feeling more confident than usual about herself today. Shaking off her bafflement, she approached the slain deer to retrieve her kill.
As she approached she smelled a powerful musk and crouched slightly. Her muscles tightened as she prepared to spring either toward or away from whatever was out there. There was nothing out of the ordinary at first and then a group of birds called out warnings and took to the air. Scarlett snatched another arrow from her quiver, notched, drew back, and aimed in the general direction of the disturbance.
Sweat began forming on her palms and it became increasingly difficult to steady her breathing. A predator moved through the brush, drawn by the scent of blood. It was a bear; large, brown, and hungry. He was going after her kill.
Instinct took over and Scarlett rushed toward the fallen deer. The bear heard her running and began to charge. As the two of them converged on the kill, Scarlett cast her bow and arrow aside and drew her axe. She growled as she ran and the two of them burst into the clearing simultaneously. Shifting the axe to her off-hand, Scarlett ran along the right side of the bear and hit it in the side of the head.
Both hunters skidded to a halt and faced off. The bear reared back onto its hind legs and roared with the power of the grizzly. Scarlett squared her shoulders and roared back. The two stared each other in the eyes and tried to intimidate the other into backing down. They postured and grunted and gave the other no ground to move forward. The grizzly swiped at the girl with its claws and Scarlett batted them away with her axe. He was surprised that such a small creature would fight so hard and eventually decided the deer was not worth the injuries.
Falling back to all fours, the bear gave a defeated groan and sulked away. Scarlett roared, then laughed, and then howled like she was a wolf. She felt like a part of the forest. The magic of the world filled her and she laughed from the euphoria. She had established her dominance and, once again, she had been recognized for it. After retrieving her bow and arrow she claimed her kill. Tossing it over her shoulders she was surprised to discover that it did not feel as heavy as it looked. Without giving it too much thought she turned to where her future family awaited and headed back.
*****
"... and then the bear turned and walked away!" Scarlett was telling Arthur all about her morning adventure. She did not at all feel like herself but she had never been allowed to fully be herself. She decided this new power was the real her.
"This is the first cooked food I have had in over a decade," Arthur noted as he complimented the chef.
"I'm glad you like it," Scarlett beamed at him. "You know, I can't remember ever feeling this good before."
Arthur nodded and smiled, "Luna's blessing is like that." Scarlett froze when he said that. She was not sure she liked where this was going. "Wolves have better senses and far better endurance than humans do. Mix the two of them and we get stronger, faster, and more cunning."
"We?" Scarlett put down her knife and looked at her hands; they looked normal to her, but the world had changed.
"Yes," Arthur said as if it was obvious, "Haven't you noticed the difference?"
"Well," Scarlett said as she shifted uncomfortably, "I did hunt... well... things went really well today."
"Really well?" Arthur said with a raised brow. "You tracked a deer by scent, shot him though the eye at over five-hundred paces, stared down a hungry bear, and carried a buck, that weighs more than you do, back here on your shoulders without straining a muscle."
"So... I'm..."
"Blessed by Luna?" Arthur finished for her. Scarlett nodded and Arthur put down his food. He faced her and took a deep breath. "According to the legends, werewolves pass their curse along by bitting people. Of course it's only a curse to those who don't want it; but last night you received... well," they both blushed as he finished the sentence, "quite a bit of me."
They sat and listened to the fire that Scarlett had built as it crackled for a time. Scarlett was both excited and terrified by the prospect of becoming a monster. "What's it like?" she finally asked.
"It is... wonderful," Arthur said with a dreamy quality to his voice. "The nights are alive and everything smells different. You can run for hours and not get tired, be out in the cold of winter and always be warm. It's paradise, and I miss it already."
"And it only happens when the moon is full?"
"Well," Arthur looked a little uncomfortable, "I'm... not sure." Scarlett gave him a dark look. "I can tell you that I always changed on the night of a full moon and I generally returned to my wolf form after."
"Generally?"
"Yes... well... there was this one time... but I was in a great deal of danger... and... well..." Arthur became quite impressed by Scarlett's ability to make him extremely uncomfortable with just a look. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be the alpha female in whatever pack she was in. "I assumed the man-beast form once when I was in great danger."
Scarlett waited a moment before speaking. "So, what you mean to tell me is that in the twelve years you have been running on all fours you have not bothered to find out what else you could do?"
"I... never felt the need," Arthur admitted.
"Well, I feel the need," Scarlett said fiercely. "The full moon lasts for two more days."
"I'm certain you will discover more than I, my little wildfire." Arthur's smile turned Scarlett's legs to water. His nick name for her caused her body to flush and her smile told Arthur he had chosen his words well. "I do not believe the rules can contain you," he said with a smile. "If you push your limits, the way I know you will, then I trust you'll learn more in a week than I would in a life-time."