Little Red, Lone Wolf
By Miaiko-sama
- Little Red Riding Hood. 17, rebellious... misunderstood. That is, until a sly wolf comes around.
There once was a girl named Red Riding Hood who lived with her mother on the edge of the wood. Her hair was fair and her skin fairer, almost an exact copy of her mother's faded youth. The girl was of the tender age of 17, and her blue eyes were much like her mothers- though hers were more innocent rather than wise and all knowing. She had been approached by many young men before looking to wed her, but she had turned all of them down and recently had been fearing love was not in the cards for her. The girl yearned for dangerous heated passion- being treated like a dainty princess by everyone churned a silent anger filled rebellion within her, yet she knew it was something she would most likely never escape. Her suitors had always been curtious towards her, and some even refused eye contact with the beautiful maiden. Being treated this way made her feel as if her jump into puberty hadn't happened at all. Was it too much to ask for a stable boy to inquire as to what was under her famous little red cloak?
She had always found red alluring, and couldn't deny that the women of the village looked awfully seductive compaired to others while donning the vibrant color. When she had asked to get a red cloak for her 16th birthday, her mother had decided against it- claiming she was 'far too young and innocent to be wearing the devils colors' as if she were a harlot in training. Despite what her mother said, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she had indeed recieved a red cloak- handmade from her loving grandmother. She had been overjoyed- finally, her red cloak would show that she was now a mature woman and not a little child anymore. Unfortunately wearing her new cloak had only caused two things to happen. One, she had recieved the nickname Little Red Riding Hood, and two- she had been filled with a crippling dissappointment that she would never be seen as a woman. She had the body of one- but having something that people refuse to see is useless. Her small, curvy frame was only commented upon by envious girls, or her mother when she told her to cover up before going into the village.
"Darling? Could you bring this basket of goodies to your grandmother? I'm afraid she's not feeling to well and I thought seeing her beloved Little Red would be good for her."
Red decided not to comment about her 'little nickname' and peered over her mother's shoulder to see what she was to bring.
"Not feeling well? Will she be alright?" She said with a slightly worried expression.
"She's just getting over a small sickness. Calm yourself child, it's just a few apples, some berries from outside and some crumb cake." Red's mother said, shooing the girl from hovering over her.
"I'm not a child mother." She groaned grabbing her red cloak as she waited for her mother to finish packing more things into the basket, including a small bottle of brandy.
"So you remind me, but until you are married off and have children of your own I'm afraid you'll have to deal with being called such things. Here. Now, remember what I've told you time and time again. Don't talk to strangers and don't-"
"Leave the main path, I remember mother. I'm grown."
"Don't let anything sway you from walking off. I know how your mind likes to wander. Wether someone coaxes you to follow or a butterfly flutters nearby and you wish to chase it..."
"I don't chase butterflies anymore mother. I'll be back soon."
"Hurry now then. It's a little more than an hour till dark."
So Red Riding Hood set off to the woods nearby, skipping quickly to the beginning of the path so she wouldn't have to rush back because she took her time. Many people believed that the forest was a foreboding and dangerous place but Red was confident she would be safe if she followed her mother's instructions and stayed on coarse.
On the way to her grandmothers, Red thought back to her mother calling her a child and grumbled.
'How can she call me a child- I'm not 12 anymore. I'm not an innocent little girl.' She thinks, slowing her speed to a more leisurely walk. A few moments pass by when the girl hears a rustling through the bushes. Normally she'd pay this no mind, but her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to stop for a moment. There wasn't any more noise and she blamed it later on a small woodland creature- just as she was about to go, her eyes caught sight of something that made her gasp.
"Oh my... Irises. Grandmothers favorite." She said with a warm smile as she looked down at the basket.
"She would love them... But-" Red looked down at her feet, inches from the edge of the path... then back at the area where the irises grew. She heard her mother's voice warn her again.
'Not off the main path.'
Biting her lips, she looked longingly at the flowers- unsure of what it was she should do.
"I'm a grown woman, It's not like instant death occurs after leaving the path..." She said aloud. Though she said this she still hesitated to move.
Just as her black shoes were about to step foward she heard another rustling in the bushes and put her foot back where it was. This time, the rustling continued- and soon after an animal emerged a few feet from the path. Red's eye widened in shock as she looked back a a large black wolf- larger than she, stepping toward her slowly. She contemplated running for a second, but another shock came soon after. The wolf spoke.
"Don't run." He said, almost as if he read her thoughts.
"...You can speak?" Was all she could manage to say.
"Oh yes my dear, I can do more than that." He said with what she would have sworn was a smirk on his dark furry muzzle. Silence followed his words, and after a moment she fidgeted.
"What is it that brings you out into this terrifying forrest, so close to sundown?" He inquired, eying the red clad girl curiously.
"I-I'm bringing a basket of crumb cake and brandy to my grandmothers since she's not feeling well. She lives in the old cottage at the end of the forrest. I wanted to pick her some flowers- over there, and that's why I stopped."
"Ah, I see. But why have you not picked these flowers?" The wolf questioned.
"My mother told me not to wander off the path so I'm not sure what to do."
"Your mother? You seem old enough to make your own decisions my dear."
"I am!" She protests defensively, looking down at the edge of the path again.
A husky, amused sound comes from the wolf as he walks away- leaving Red for a moment before coming back with a mouthful of irises. The girl's eyes widen with happiness as she looks at the beautiful flowers, then smiles at the wolf.
"Are you giving me these?" She asks happily.
"If you don't mind reaching over and taking them from my mouth, they're yours." He says slyly. Walking to the edge of the path and stopping before her. Red looks at the flowers, then suspiciously at the wolf in front of her.
"Will you bite me?"
"My dear, I am a wolf. I cannot speak for my nature." He replies, holding the flowers out to the girl with his intent unknown. She bites her red lip, then slowly stretches toward the flowers, carful not to move off the path. Her slender arm reaches out, and she realises the wolf is further away than she had thought- she would have to reach further to get the flowers.
She tries a second attempt, her thin pale fingers grazing the irises this time- missing them and causing her to lightly brush against the wolf's muzzle. His fur was soft, but she was startled by her action and retracted her hand, clutching it to her chest with a small exhale. 'That was close' She thinks, still afraid of being bitten.
The wolf, who had made a small grumble of approval when she had touched him stuck the flowers out to her again, making the blonde pause.
"Okay..." She whispers under her breath to herself, willing her hand to jut out quickly toward the irises. In a flash, the blonde found herself falling towards the wolf, who had yanked away the flowers in one quick motion. She wimpered as her shoes left the path, then she braced herself to hit the ground.
She landed with a soft thud, a foot away from the path. When she scrambled to get up, she noticed the wolf was inches from her. She couldn't even scream as she took in his yellow eyes, and sleek black fur.
"Now you're off the path little girl. You don't have to worry about getting flowers any more." He said happily, causing Red to stare up in shock.
"Y-You mean- you aren't going to..?"
"Eat you? Little girl, I'd have no enjoyment in eating someone I just met." He chuckled eerily.
"I-Hey, I'm not a little girl, okay?" She says as she picks a few fresh flowers quickly- still unsure of the wolf's motives.
"Well, you sure don't seem like a woman. Seeing as you do everything your mother instructs." He says smugly, watching her dart back to the path.
"I don't do everything she tells me. I'll prove it." She says suddenly, moving up to the edge of the path, and stomping the dirt with her shoe. A minute goes by before the wolf howls with laughter at the girl's action.
"Hey, stop laughing!"
"Oh, dear child." He says concluding his laughter afterwards.
"Fine, here." She says opening her grandmother's basket and taking out the bottle of brandy her mother had packed. Red unscrews the bottle hastily, then drinks a long swig of the alcoholic beverage before coughing violently.
"Haha. You don't have to prove anything to me my dear, I'm but a lone wolf." He says, amused as he watches the girl's actions.
"I drank too much, my grandmother will know I drank from it..." She says guiltily as looks at the bottle for a long time before tilting it halfway- about to spill it onto the ground.
"It's a sin to waste good brandy on foolishness girl. Finish the rest." He coaxes, studying the liquid in her hand for a second before looking back at her.
"...I couldn't do-" Red was about to protest before the word 'child' echoed throughout her mind- she tried to drink it as quickly as possible, finishing the bottle to show how much of a woman she was. She coughed more, gagged, then shook her head and hid the bottle behind a bush nearby.
"Thatta girl... We should get you to your grandmothers. Where does she live again?"
"The uh, cottage on the outskirts of this forrest."
"I know a shortcut we could take. It'll get you there much faster if you follow me." The wolf said to the girl, moving closer to her now that she wasn't as afraid of him. But these words sent up a red flag in her now, slightly alcohol hazed brain.
"I should really get going... I-have..." She stopped for a moment as the effects of the alcohol hit her.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She says breathlessly.
"I thought you weren't a little girl anymore. Besides-" He said dragging out the last word before continuing. "I'm not a stranger. I'm but a lone wolf." He chuckles.
"I'm sor-ry." She says before walking off quickly, fully intending to just put her grandmothers things on the doorstep so she wouldn't be caught drunk.
Authors Notes:
Hey it's been a while since I wrote something so I decided to do something smexy... I came up with this after watching Red Riding Hood- by the way I was pretty pissed about the ending. It's not hot when you're dad is the one stalking you as a wolf d00d. Lol. Anyway, this is what I came up with instead to feed my perverted mind.
I'll have the next part up when I'm done here.
~Miaiko-sama