LeviHan Fairy-Tail Week!

Day 1 - Little Red Riding Hood

Title: Scratch Marks

Hanji walked down the forest path, swinging a basket in her hand. The birds were chirping in the trees, and the forest animals scurried in the undergrowth. It was a beautiful sunny day, a perfect day for a walk through the forest. She was on her way to her grandfather's house, to bring him bread. Her grandfather was her only surviving relative; her father had died the year she was born, and her mother had passed away years ago from an epidemic that had spread through the city. Grandfather had taken her in after that, and a few years ago Hanji had moved out of his cottage and into the city to puruse her career - science, mainly biology. She had just finished a unit on the creature of the forest, and was especially excited to talk to her grandfather about it. He had been one of the city's leading biologists before his retirement.

The last thing her grandfather had said to her before she had left his cottage was to be careful of the wolves, and to stay on the path.

Hanji's ears perked up. She could no longer hear the tweeting birds.

Growls rose from the forest around her. She spun, and saw that behind her the path had become dark. A cloud blocked the sun, and a chill ran through her spine.

A large wolf stalked out of the shadows, and behind him two other wolves crept into the light. The leader was a huge grey wolf, and his pelt of grey, white, and black shone. Leaves and sticks were weaved into the fur, and stuck out at impossible angles. It's eyes were a cold grey, and held malice.

"Interesting" Hanji muttered. "Without any visible signs of communication, the beta wolves follow the alpha with precision, and minimal to no disobedience."

Ears perked at the sound of her voice, and then flattened in a sign of aggression.

"Hmmm… signs of aggression at a human voice." Hanji once again whispered.

When the first wolf jumped at her, Hanji spun and avoided it. It leaped again and again, and each time Hanji avoided it's teeth and claws, as well as avoiding hitting it.

"Listen now. I'm a biologist. I have no wish to hurt animals that clearly feel threatened by my presence."

They payed no attention to her words, and continued to attack her. Finally, Hanji struck out at one of the two smaller wolves, and knocked it unconscious. When the other jumped, Hanji raised her arm to protect herself, and gave a yelp when her arm was grazed by it's claw. She stepped back, and clutched her arm. She chopped down at the base of it's skull, and it fell with a thud to the ground. A small tear trickled down her cheek. She stumbled back and felt the transition from gravel to grass beneath her feet.

"I'm so sorry." Hanji whimpered.

Unbeknownst to her, the alpha had circled around behind her. Without warning, it jumped on her, and she fell to the ground, her chest hitting the grass, and all the air in her lungs whooshing out. For the first time since she had been attacked, she felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. The wolf's breath ghosted across the back of her neck, and it let out a low growl. Well, at least I will be killed by a magnificent creature… but what about Grandfather? Hanji thought, another tear rolling over her cheek.

She saw the undergrowth shiver.

A figure burst through the creepers, and tackled the wolf, relieving the pressure off her back. The sound of a scuffle can from behind her, and she turned to see who saved her. A figure rolled over the tiny purple flowers, wrestling with the large wolf. It had on grey clothes, and had black hair. When it finally disentangled itself from the wolf, the wolf squinted in her direction, snarled and turned in the other direction. When it started to run back into the forest, Hanji gave a sigh of relief.

Before she knew it, a hand closed around her throat.

"Why are you here?" a voice snarled out. When she opened her eyes, a wild face looked back at her. A young man, near her age, crouched over her, one arm raised and ready to strike, the other at Hanji throat. When Hanji didn't answer, the hand tightened ever so slightly. "Oi! Shitty glasses!"

Hanji's eyes widened slightly at the nickname, and replied "I'm going to my grandfathers."

The man looked at her for a minute, trying to read her. Finally he got off her. When she stood, she noticed that she was substantially taller than him. He came up to her shoulder, or maybe a little higher, and she looked down at the man. When he looked back up at her, he raised his hand and touched her arm. Above her elbow, three deep scratch marks raked across her arm, and he tsk-ed at her. "Come on."

Ten minutes later, she found herself in a little house somewhat near her grandfather's house. She was sitting on a bed, and the man who had saved her was washing the scratch marks on her arm. He worked diligently and silently. So many thoughts were weaving through Hanji's brain - Why did the wolves act like they did? Who is this man? How did he manage to beat the wolf? Why would he save me? Are there many wolves in this forest? But, for the first time in her life, she was quiet. For some reason, while the man was cleaning her arm, she felt like the questions were less urgent than normal, and that they could wait.

When he stopped wrapping her arm, she turned at looked at him, her mouth beginning to open. The questions began to buzz in her head again, whirring about and forcing their way to the forefront of her brain. Noticing the gears of her brain beginning to work, he placed his hand over her mouth. "No questions."

She gave him puppy dog eyes. He seemed to softened a little, and dropped his hand.

"Fine. One."

Hanji searched through the questions in her head, and finally settled on the most basic. "Who are you?"

His facial expression hardly changed, but his eyes widened slightly. She was beginning to realize that he wasn't very emotive.

"Levi" he said, and got up to go to the other room in the house. She opened her mouth the ask another, and he flicked her on the forehead. "I said one question. Come on, I'll take you to your grandfather."

"But you only told me your name. Who you are is so much more than that!" Hanji protested. Looking back at her, Levi glared. "Let's go, before I regret saving you from the wolves."

When she arrived at her grandfather's door, she didn't turn around to look at him. She felt a slight pressure on her elbow, and she smiled a little. "Go on, knock. I brought you home, now knock."

"What if I want to ask you more questions?" Hanji asked, turning to face Levi. The mysterious man who had saved her, who was still completely a mystery. Who was a mystery that she wanted to solve.

"Jut step off the path" he said, and the tiniest of grins lit up his face.

The door opened, and Hanji spun. "Grandfather! How are you?"

"Good. But what took you so long? I've been waiting for you."

"Oh, grandfather Pixis, I have an amazing story to tell you. Just promise that you won't get mad."

THE END

So, I know that I haven't been writing at all… but I'm trying to get back into it! I'm working on the final chapter of metamorphosis, and it should be up soon. But i will be trying to complete all 7 days of the LeviHan Fairy-tail week. So I hope that you guys enjoy that until I get metamorphosis up and on the go.

Basically, enjoy! And please R&R!

Anime-chan! 3