This is an introduction chaper.
Wolf & Hunter.
An adventure filled with fantasy.
When I was just a little child, my father used to take me in the forest in order to learn the basics of hunting. As a future kunoichi and huntress, I was told to pay great attention to my father's instructions.
The war we were in lasted for centuries; the war between us humans and the creatures of the night. My father called them 'the messengers of the underworld' and warned me to never have mercy of them. Quite frankly, I never fully understood my father's attitude towards them, since they never openly attacked us; I believed that they weren't as harmful as they were rumoured to be.
I remember being only six years old at that time, as I was following father deep inside the forest I noticed the most beautiful eastern redbud I had ever seen, circled by a small group of lightning bugs. As a child, I was very curious and decided to contemplate at the beautiful sight. Unconsciously dazing-off, I realized that I lost trail of my father, hence getting myself lost.
Suddenly the unpleasant feeling of being alone and left out in a forest full of unknown creatures took over the best of me, and as a harmless six-year old, I've done what I could do best; cry.
I cried and cried non-stop, yelling for my father to come and pick me up, but in vain. He never came back for me, and I was there... alone.
I thought it was the end, that a monster would come and get me any minute now and devour me without leaving a trace of my body, that I would be painfully ripped into pieces and nobody would have ever known of my disappearance.
But as soon as I thought I lost hope; that a small and lovely black puppy appeared from the bushes and came towards me. I looked at the little creature while rubbing my teary eyes, still frightened by my current situation. The puppy looked at me with its big black onyx eyes and didn't move from the spot, instead; it kept looking at my pathetic trembling figure without a word.
I didn't pay attention to the puppy, I didn't even try to acknowledge its presence, my mind turned blank while my spirit and body fell into despair. As I held my shoulders tightly while rocking left to right, the puppy slowly approached me and jumped on my lap, looking at me.
For a brief moment I stopped crying and looked at the little fur ball. A voice reached me suddenly, a warm deep voice that whispered in a reassuring tone...
'Don't cry... your father is near...'
I glanced at both sides of the forest but saw no one. Thinking that my fright bought me to insanity, I decided to ignore the voice I just heard until it whispered something else.
'He's coming... he's near... I sense him.'
Again, I tried to look for a person but found none. My eyes who were searching for a humanoid figure explored the whole horizon until they fell on the small animal on my lap. Looking at the creature, I whispered; my voice trembling.
"Was that you?" I asked in disbelief.
The puppy didn't blink, instead it lifted its paws and rested them on my chest; expending himself to reach my face and lick my salty tears away. The act of kindness from an animal managed to ease my heart, the warmth of the little puppy appeased me. I looked into the little guy's eyes and held him tightly, without further thought I whispered a 'thank you' before a small tear dropped from my eyes.
I then glanced at the darkest path, then stood up; the puppy still in my arms.
I didn't want to wait, I didn't want to be left out, and so I walked. Walked without looking back, in search of my father. With the warmth of my new companion, I felt like I was ready to challenge everything, no one scared me at the moment. I felt strong.
As I walked deeper inside the forest, the same voice haunted me.
'Stop... don't go any further.'
And I stopped, just as I was told.
'... run...' it whispered, then repeated the word with a higher tone, 'run!'.
And I did, I ran and ran as fast as I could, as if my own life depended on it. The puppy that was still in my arms was stern, it didn't move a muscle nor did it bother looking back. I didn't bother looking behind me knowing full well that something is chasing us, I felt the presence awfully well that my hair was rising up from fear.
Without paying much attention, I tripped and fell on the ground, hurting myself. I was so frightened that the pain in my knee suddenly didn't matter anymore; instead I turned around to face at the dark path behind me, feeling the menacing aura get closer. The puppy remained close to me, not leaving my side.
This was it, whatever it was that chased me; it won the chase. Now, I am under his mercy.
I closed my eyes, perhaps if I didn't see anything, perhaps if I tried to pretend it wasn't there. Then maybe... maybe it'll be less painful?
The steps got closer and closer; I hugged my own shoulders and bit my bottom lip fiercely. The taste of blood, the sound of the creaking wood branches on the floor, the breathing of puppy, my heart beat...
All at once... time stopped... and then, a gunshot was heard.
I opened one eye, very slowly. And then, I noticed my father's tall muscular figure next to a bloody corpse. He turned around and rushed towards me, hugging my small body with all his might and told me everything was okay, that he's here now and that he won't let any demon get me. And thus, I cried quietly on his comforting chest.
But as we were about to head back home, I realized the puppy was gone...
After describing the little animal to my mother, she revealed to me that it wasn't a puppy but a wolf cub. Being the young girl I was back then, it was hard for me to decipher which race is which whenever they have a similarity between the two. Mother warned me not to get too close to the wolves of the forest, since they aren't ordinary canines but mystical creatures with the ability to take on humanoid forms.
While I nodded silently, a small voice in my head told me that the little wolf meant no harm. Remembering his gentle act of licking away my tears, remaining by my side and giving me his warmth.
I glanced at my window to admire the forest in its full beauty.
But deep inside the forest, I spotted an unknown figure standing there. As I looked better; it was a small boy over my age looking towards my direction.
A familiar pair of onyx black eyes.
I whispered in disbelief, "Was that you?"
Intro End.
The actual first chapter will be updated soon. Please review if you enjoyed this introduction. Support is appreciated.
