Red Hoods and Wolves
A/n: This will probably be a two chapter one-shot but we shall see. Read and review~!
Summary: Estelle stumbles upon a wolf-like creature while foraging through the forest. The animal leads her to her destiny. AU, basically Little Red Riding Hood with Yuri and Estelle.
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
Blankets of snow covered the forest, as far as the eye could see. Estelle adjusted her crimson hood before securely closing the latch on her front door. She wiggled it just a bit to make sure that it stayed in place. When nothing happened, the young healer gave a firm nod in satisfaction and walked away from her small home.
She had lived in this forest her entire life, and knew it like the back of her hand. Passing the tree where her parents had measured her growth as a child, she made her way out into the frozen wonderland before her.
It only took a few moments for her cheeks to turn the same color as her cloak, from the cold. Estelle didn't mind though - she hummed as she walked along, dropping dry wood and twigs into the large basket on her arm.
"Oh! Did I catch something today?" Estelle asked herself out loud, as she came upon a basic rabbit trap. There, lying frozen (and presumably dead) was a plump rabbit, good enough for at least two meals. Estelle bowed her head in prayer over the creature and thanked it for providing her with sustenance, before she wrapped the animal carcass in a pure white cloth and placed it in the basket with the other items.
She checked three other traps before she realized that her fingers and toes were growing numb.
"Time to head back then." She said, picking up one last chunk of wood. This particular piece was relatively heavy and thick, which meant more warmth for her when it grew dark.
Today must be her lucky day.
Taking up her humming again, Estelle made the hike back to her home. On the way back, however, a low howl made her humming come to an abrupt halt.
"W-What was that?" Estelle eyes darted around her, as she searched for the source of the sound. Of course, she knew how to protect herself if that was necessary, but she really didn't want to risk her life. Not when her day had been going so well!
Hearing no other noises, Estelle decided it was best to pick up the pace. If she could just make it home, the wolves wouldn't be able to come near her.
Unfortunately for the pink haired girl, another howl echoed through the woods as she neared her home.
"I can make it!"
By this time, Estelle was practically jogging, which was a little difficult to do with a basket laden with meat, herbs, and wood. Still, she ran and as she rounded the corner to reach her home, she nearly slid to a complete halt.
There, directly in front of her house, sat a wolf with a pipe in its mouth. Estelle dropped the basket next to the "marker tree," as she called it, and withdrew a small dagger from the sheath in her boot.
The creature in front of her hardly budged, taking to huffing through its nostrils as it watched her with intelligent eyes.
"Now look Mr. Wolf. I really don't want to have to fight you," Estelle stated and the wolf just stared at her, barely blinking. When she took a step closer, he let out a low whine and trotted over to her, eyeing the blade in her hand. As he walked, Estelle heard a jingle, and noticed the chain-link that the creature wore around his neck. The navy and white haired animal stopped just in front of her, and whined again.
"Are you…. do you belong to someone?" Estelle asked, putting away the dagger. She slowly reached her hand out to the wolf to touch the chain around its neck. There she noticed, carved in tiny letters on the chain, was the word "Repede".
"So your name's Repede, huh?"
At the sound of his name, Repede gave a hearty bark. Another, louder howl erupted from somewhere in the woods, in response to Repede's voice. At the sound of it, the wolf whined a third time.
"Is that one of your friends out there?"
The wolf barked again, perking up as if Estelle had guessed correctly. He circled her and barked again, hoping that she would understand him just enough.
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're saying… Hmmmm, I guess I need to go look, right?" Upon hearing another bark, Estelle assumed she was saying the right thing.
"Okay, let me put these things in the house and we can go. I'll bring Father's sword with me too, just in case." Rushing back to the tree where she had dropped her basket full of goods, Estelle scooped up her belongings. She ran inside her house, grabbed the sword, put the basket in a safe place, and then ran back outside.
Her fingers and toes had grown warmer from her haste, which was definitely a good thing.
"Okay Repede, show me where to go."
The dog barked again and hurriedly ran off, with Estelle running after him.
It took a while for the pair to reach their destination, and by the time they got there, Estelle was gasping for breath. She pushed her hood back, taking huge gulps of air, before covering herself once again and walking out into the clearing, where Repede's low whine continued to fill the air.
In front of her was the biggest wolf she had ever seen in her life. With raven colored fur and a hulking mass that was probably two (maybe even three!) times the size of Repede, Estelle was surely afraid for her life by simply being in the creature's presence. She took a cautious step forward, noticing the crimson stains that covered the stark white snow surrounding the wolf.
"A-Are y-you Repede's friend?"
The large head turned in her direction, a single, beautiful grey eye opening wide to stare at her. She could see the creature's labored breathing and knew it was in pain from something, but she wasn't quite sure what was causing it. She looked up, back into that lovely eye, to see if she could decipher a response.
Interestingly enough, the animal gave her a nod. Clearly freaked out by the animal's precise communication, Estelle's gaze darted around the area to find what had caused all the blood that littered the ground.
"Can you tell me where it hurts? I'm afraid I can't really see anything…."
A huge sigh erupted from the larger wolf, causing Repede to whine once again. The raven colored creature lifted up its head tiredly and looked in the direction of its back legs, before lying back down again.
"Back there? Got it!" Estelle moved towards the wolf's two hind legs, only to find two large bear traps clamped on tight to the right leg. Estelle's gasp caused both wolves to look in her direction.
"Oh my goodness! No wonder you're in pain! Hold on, okay? I think I can get this off of you."
After a few yelps from Repede's friend and a lot of physical effort on Estelle's part, the traps were removed. The bloodied leg that remained however was a whole matter entirely.
"We've got to get you out of the cold. I can treat this at my house, if you can handle the walk."
At Estelle's suggestion, the hulking creature made a move to stand, only to have his hind leg give out on him, bringing him crashing back down on the snow. Repede whined once again, and Estelle patted the smaller wolf's head, in an effort to calm him.
"Oh no…. How do we get you back now? If you were smaller, I could carry you, but you're just so large."
The large wolf glared at the girl, before diverting its gaze for a moment. It looked as if the wolf was decided what to do in response to their current situation. After giving a solemn nod to Repede, an eerie glow began to overtake its form.
"Wha-? What's going on?!"
Slowly, the hulking image of the wolf in front of her shrank smaller and smaller, into the size of a human. Raven colored fur gave way to long, dark hair, large hands and a man with an extremely handsome face. Estelle's green eyes grew the size of saucers as the wolf in front of her turned into a man!
"Will this be easier?" He asked, smirking at the completely surprised look on her face. He hardly had time to be amused by the girl however, because his leg was hurting like hell.
"I-I think s-! No, it will not be easier when you're undressed!"
The man hardly had time to open his mouth to protest, when Estelle threw her red cloak over him, and covered his bare body. The dress she wore underneath was wool and warm enough for the time being.
"There. Now, we can do something about your leg. Sit tight for a moment, Mr. Ummmmmmm?"
"Call me Yuri."
Instead of giving a response, Estelle nodded and ran away from both Yuri and Repede, her cheeks stained crimson. Yuri couldn't tell if it was from the cold, or from the girl seeing him naked. He fought the urge to chuckle to himself - it was probably the latter.
Estelle came back with what appeared to be a large, flat piece of wood. She dragged the item behind her and carefully made her way over to him, grey eyes watching her the entire time.
"What's that for?"
"Well you can't walk, so I'll have to drag you this way. If I run all the way back home for my sled now, I'm afraid you may bleed to death. Can you climb up on top of this?"
Scooting his way over to the make-shift sled, Yuri nearly yelped when his back touched its cold surface.
"I'm sorry. It's not exactly the most comfortable ride." Estelle tucked the edges of her cloak around Yuri's body, hoping the item held in some of her warmth. "Let's wrap up your leg for now and then we'll leave."
Yuri nodded as he watched Estelle take out her dagger and rip off pieces of fabric from the bottom of her dress. After she had enough material, she began to wrap his injury, taking care not to hurt him any more than he already was. When she was done, she tucked his leg back under her cloak, and then turned to the smaller wolf.
"Okay, Repede. Let's go."
End Chapter 1