Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any way, shape or form.

Fourth day, fourth story. Albeit, later than the previous days. (I'm getting farther and farther from posting it on the correct day when based on my timezone. If I base it on overseas timezones, then I'm still punctual for the prompt.)

This one was a definite toughie. I probably should've done something simpler, but I ended up writing something which completely veered off what I was gonna do at first. Interesting way of approaching the prompt maybe? Heavily influenced by ideas of girls with red riding hoods and wolves.

I hope you enjoy!

NaLu Week, Day Four: Promise

Red

Her crimson cloak was her most beloved possession, and anywhere she went she donned it over her shoulders and head, feeling it would protect her from any dangers that she might've ever been exposed to. Often she was seen with it that in her village, she was infamous as 'Red'.

Asked by her Mama, she, 'Red', was tasked to venture into the nearby woods so that she could deliver a basket of food to an old woman named Spetto. Excited about the idea of going out – it was the first outing that her Mama allowed her to go by herself – she heartily agreed to the request. Naught a day later she was skipping off into the woods, a basket laden with breads and fruits to give.

Before she left, her mother had given her parting words of warning. "Be careful of the woods, sweetheart. Some of the villagers had talked about a beast lurking amongst the trees. Promise me that you'll stay safe."

She was well spooked about the idea of a beast hiding within the woods, but was much too enthralled about the adventure that lay in wait, that she brushed off the comment with a smile and a nod. Her Mama seemed happy enough, smiling as she bid her farewell. In knowing that her Mama approved of her departure, she set off.

Red thought that the woods were the most gorgeous place that she'd ever laid eyes upon. The light from the sun shone through the leaves, creating fractal pillars that created an ethereal glow. The leaves were coloured for the Autumn, a scattering of reds, oranges, yellows and browns immersing her in a world of warmth. Dried leaves that had fallen to the dirt path crunched underneath her feet, adding to the atmosphere of adventure. Birds harmonised within the trees, and gentle winds enable leaves to dance. She allowed herself to close her eyes – lose herself into the magical world that was fraught with danger and beauty.

Her Mama had said that she only needed to follow a single path to reach Spetto's home, no other side routes towards it, and for a moment she allowed herself to be jealous of the old woman that lived in the otherworldly woods. But the emotion was fleeting – maybe when she was older, she could follow her wish and live within the woods and its beauty.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed the fork in the road. The right path appeared worn, with its lack of leaves and clear route. The left one was the path less travelled, shrouded in leaves not stepped on and an overgrowth of trees that masked the luminance of the sun. Unwittingly, Red took left.

A crunch of stepped leaves that didn't match her own footsteps had her stop in her tracks. She whipped her head round to look behind her. A wind's howl had answered her, but she saw nothing except the path already traded upon. Thinking herself far too confused – maybe her thoughts of the woods addled her brains – she kept walking, wondering just how deep Spetto's home was within the woods.

Another crunch had her frozen. Red looked all around her, fear igniting from within her at the thought of something else being near her. A few more crunches reached her ears, and she cowered away from wherever she thought it originated from. She clenched the weaved straw of the basket closer to her chest, and felt scared in what her Mama would think – she'd broken her promise, didn't she?

A small howl and Red shut her eyes, hoping that she'd remain safe from whatever it was out there. A soft whimper drifted its way to her ears, and her shallow breaths evened out. Her right eye peeked open, and she didn't see any great beasts lurking about. She opened both her eyes and looked down, heart lurching as she saw a small canine near laying near her feet, crimson liquid matting its gray fur. Black, beaded eyes appeared to stare at her – pleaded for help. Her heart went for the poor creature, and she knelt down to scoop it up.

"Hey there little fella," she whispered, cradling the pup in her arms. It appeared to be a wolf pup, and although her Mama had once told her about the dangers of wolves, a part of her couldn't let go. A part of her also deemed the pup as male, and so the 'it' she'd been referring to quickly became a 'he'. "You're pretty hurt now, so lemme help you out."

She took off her infamous cloak and wrapped it around the wolf cub, making it secure around the wound that hurt the animal. She smiled at her handiwork as the pup calmed in her arms. She looked around her, finally noting how her surrounding appeared far too dense and dark than what she presumed an old lady would be living.

"C'mon now. Let's go to Granny Spetto's place together. Hopefully you can rest up there," she said to the pup, who nuzzled her arms in reply. She smiled, feeling comforted by the action, and began to retrace her steps to find the correct path.

..O..

"Granny Spetto," Red began, piquing the lady's attentions. "Why was Wolf hurt?"

She smiled at her. "You named him, Wolf?" Red nodded, and Spetto continued. "Wolves are rare creatures. Hunters who manage to track one down are richly rewarded for their efforts. Numerous villages find them to be a threat to their wellbeing. There are those greedy enough to want wolf pelts to use as decoration."

Red was horrified at the information that Spetto divulged. Her gaze went back to Wolf, the pup fast asleep within bundles of blankets that the elderly woman had brought out to use as a makeshift bed. Her chest ached again, sad at the fate that the innocent creature was to be subjected to. Red reached her hand out to pet Wolf's fur, and the creature appeared to relax at the touch.

Spetto watched the interaction with an enigmatic smile, and Red wondered what more the woman knew about wolves. "Mama warned me about wolves before, but I never thought that there were any in the woods. Mama said that I needed to be aware of beasts, and I promised that I'd do my best to stay safe. Are the wolves the beasts she was talking about?"

"The wolves are mysterious creatures. As magical as the woods they live in. Whether or not they're beasts depends on the person. Do you think Wolf's a beast?"

Red shook her head, eyes never trailing away from the injured creature. "I haven't known Wolf that long, but I don't think he's the kind that is, or ever will be, a beast. Y'know Granny, I think he was trying to lead me back the right way, since I was lost in the woods until he found me. He needed help, but I needed help as well, and we both helped each other. Or maybe my brain really is just too addled that I'm making imaginary stories…"

The old woman smiled further, but said no words, standing up to busy herself in the kitchen to prepare a meal for herself and her guests, thus leaving Red and Wolf alone. Red continued to pet the pup, gazing fondly at the creature that she helped – and that inevitably helped her along the way.

"I won't let you get hurt anymore, cross my heart. So you better promise to help me when I need it most, like you did back then, okay?" she asked the Wolf, and the creature continued to slumber on, but a soft nuzzle of its snout into her hand had Red believing his answer was 'yes'.

..O..

Wolf left her. It was one random day, after she had taken the pup to live with her and her Mama. Her Mama had been taken with the cute little wolf, and whilst they had to hide him from the other villagers, it was nice to have a companion with her. She'd never had much friends previously, so Wolf became her first and best friend. But one day, after she and her Mama had gone out into the village to buy food, he had gone missing. No matter how many she cried out for the canine to come back, it never responded, and much to her regret, her Mama had told her that he had most likely run away. Betrayed, she cried her heart out, wondering why it hurt so much to lose him.

Her Mama left her, a time after Wolf did. The reason she had let Red go out that first time was because she was beginning to get sick, and although she fought it hard as she could, in the end the illness took her. Once more, Red cried her heart out, mind feebly wondering whether Wolf would remember the promise she made him accept, but she shook it off. Silly she was, thinking a creature would remember a little girl's promise.

In the years as she grew from girl to woman, the wolf hunters became more prominent – treated as gallant and daring heroes that protected the townspeople. Red was singular in her hatred for them, not willing to think that men who hunted and killed animals were worth celebrating. She was ostracised by the rest of the town, women telling tales about her and men jeering at her. At least she still held her promise to Wolf, in one way or another, even at the cost of companionship.

With the loss in her life, she often took to the woods as a means of escape. Through the years, the woods appeared trapped in time, and she wouldn't have changed it for the world. As she trudged through the fallen Autumn leaves, the scent of the earth she walked on shrouded her surroundings. The woods lacked the wind that let the branches sway. It also lacked the sound of birds whistling their thoughts to each other, which left her feeling oddly lonely. However, in recent years, the feeling of isolation wasn't a stranger to her.

A crunch of something stepping in the leaves stopped her movements. The sound hadn't matched her footsteps. Soon enough, numerous footsteps were echoing from behind her, and she turned round to see a despicably jovial band of three – hunters. She chose to ignore their presence and persevered onwards, wondering where she could find shelter from the horrid acts they were to commit. She could've hid in Granny Spetto's house, but considering the old woman's passing years before, she didn't know whether the home would've been open. Thus, she walked, reaching a nostalgic fork in her path. She took left.

Her meagre hope that the hunters would move right was shattered as she heard their footsteps behind her, closer than they had been earlier. By then, they would've spotted her, and she felt her heart stop when she heard one of the men call out at her.

"Hey! You! Don't you know the woods are dangerous? There are beasts that lurk amongst the trees," one of them warned, his nasally tone making her cringe.

"If you want, you can stay with us. We'll protect you from the big bad wolf that's gonna come to eat you up," another one of them said, his voice heavy with implications that made her shiver in disgust. She forced herself to keep moving – anywhere but near them – but her body failed to comply.

"Wait. Look at that cloak. Isn't that Red? She's the strange girl on the outskirts of town that seems to dislike the fact that we hunt for wolves," the third voice said, and she looked back, surprised they knew of her existence. The three of them had imposing figures, only made worse by the weapons hitched onto their backs.

"What're you doin' here, Red? Off to find your furry friends and warn 'em how the hunters are gonna come slashin' at them?" the nasally brute taunted. She stepped back, desiring to keep the distance between them as far as possible. The boys appeared to have different intentions, swiftly moving forward to approach her.

"Probably a bad idea to do that, Red. How about staying with us to have some fun? I don't think we'll mind the company, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't mind either," the flirtatious one suggested, and she cursed her luck as her back hit the trunk of one of countless trees.

"For all the slander you've given, I think having a nice… chat with you would be beneficial for both parties," the leader – who appeared the most intelligent – said, and all three men grinned at her, ravenous and bestial looks etched on their faces. She knew that if she screamed, no one would hear her, so she closed her eyes and thought about the promise she'd made to her Mama before she went on her first outing. She promised to be careful of the beasts that lurked the woods, but never knew who she spoke of.

There was a growl, and from beside her, there was movement that felt like a swift wind passing by. Soon, there were sounds of a scuffle, and she opened her eyes to see the three hunters fighting against a wild stranger. Whilst his vivid rose-pink hair was striking, what caught her attention were the wolf ears atop his head, matching the tail that emerged from his backside. The strange hybrid man glanced back at her, and eerily familiar black eyes made her heart lurch in a way that only happened once in her lifetime, in the same woods.

The man leapt up and flipped over the hunters. The hunters were caught unaware as the man threw a kick that left the flirty one sprawled on the ground. Before the brute could take revenge, the stranger let loose a series of punches that were too quick to block. The brute ended up on the ground, incapacitated with his friend.

She cried out as the leader approached the stranger from behind. Her noise appeared to alert the stranger, who spun round in time to slash at the leader with his clawed hands. The leader fell to his knees, hands flying to his wounds as he howled at the pain. The stranger, with his laboured breaths, stood for a moment to collect himself. She waited with bated breath as the stranger looked at her once again, with those strangely familiar eyes, and grinned. She noted his pointed canines, but was more mesmerised at the innocence of his appearance.

"Even though I like the colour red, it's strange to hear them call you by it. You normal name's better, don't you think Lucy?" he asked, and she recoiled, her heart swept by a flurry of beats. How could he have known her? She'd never met someone like him in her life.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, wondering why her voice shook out of anticipation rather than fear.

He continued smiling at her, moving closer to her. Unlike her reaction to the hunters, she wasn't afraid when he approached. "You kept your promise of protecting me. No way was I gonna let you down and break the promise I made with you. I'm supposed to help you when you need it most, right?"

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Questions whirred through her mind and betrayal swept through her, but it was accompanied by an overwhelmingly warm feeling of happiness that threatened to make her burst. She didn't know the last time she'd smiled so widely.

"You didn't break your promise," she whispered to herself, and her body finally succumb to movement as she bounded across to wrap her arms around him. "Please don't leave like that again."

He returned the favour, and the bout of loneliness that had struck her ever since he had left was quickly being filled by his mere presence. "Cross my heart."