#1: Wolf
The sleek coat of the tall, brown wolf glistened in the moonlight as he ran, his powerful hind legs propelling him forward as he went deeper and deeper into the forest. The small veils of light shone through the thick roof of leaves, providing him his only light source, as well as a few fireflies wandering around here and there. The wolf smiled and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with air as he began slowing down. The forest's scent was a tangle of strange flowers and damp tree bark, nothing like what he was used to back at the lake, but he seemed to like it. He heard the crunch of the dead leaves under his paws, the twittering of exotic birds around him, and the buzz of busy insects doing whatever they did. The deep part of the forest was what he rarely visited, but now he was there, he felt like he never wanted to leave.
Such beauty, untouched by any wolf paw...Fascinating, he thought. If only the others would agree with me. His pack was not one to think of nature, only of slaying other packs and claiming the most territory. You could say they were the most tyrannical pack ever to roam the forest. But the brown wolf wasn't like them - he cared for any living thing and would almost faint at the mere sight of blood. The wolves of his pack would call him a wuss, a weakling, a nobody...and it hurt him. He wished there was a better way to fight back instead of attempting to buck them square in the snout.
He was just about to list a number of things as an alternative to physically fighting when an abnormal sound came from his left. In an instant, the birds and the bugs immediately silenced their songs in a fear of being noticed by the strange thing that made the sound. The wolf flattened his ears against his head and took a step back, his chocolate-brown eyes darting this way and that. What? What was that? he thought, the voice in his head quivering.
The sound came again, this time louder. The wolf lifted up his left ear to get a better hearing of it, craning his neck in the direction of the sounds. What was this he heard? Growling? No. Too high-pitched. Laughing? No. It sounded much too distressed. The wolf cautiously walked toward the foliage that blocked his view from the thing making the odd noises. As he got closer, he began straightening his ears back up as his eyes went wide with realization. No. No! It couldn't be! The forest is much too deep here! The brown wolf slowly pulled back on the bushes, his heart racing wildly.
A human girl! he thought frantically. It's not possible! How did she even get here?! The wolf, not sure what to do, only stood there and stared. He could tell she was very unhappy, noticing the tears dripping onto her white hoodie and her horrible sobbing. She sat leaning against a tree, a single shaft of moonlight conveniently placed right on her like a spotlight. The wolf shook his head as he walked around another way, this time in a place where he could clearly see the human. As he watched, helpless, time forced his feeling of sadness to rise within his chest and bubble up in his throat. He had to bite his lip harshly in a hopeless attempt to stop himself from releasing a song. He growled and told himself silently, Don't do it, don't do it…Oh, by the name of Lupus, please don't -!
He couldn't hide it. The wolf tilted his head up and burst out in a harmonious howl, catching the attention of everything around him, including the girl. His voice resonated throughout the deep forest, around the thickest brush, upward into the starry sky, yet not one bird fled. They nested there and stayed, listening, smiling, swaying to the notes of the brown wolf's beautiful melody. The girl, mesmerized by the howling of this wolf, didn't even think of running. Her tears turned into joy as the wolf sung his heart out, once meant to be a sad piece but transforming into an uplifting sort of music.
The wolf stopped singing as soon as he heard a round of uncontrollable giggling from the human girl. He looked at her, not with a sort of strangeness, but with a feeling of accomplishment and happiness. A hint of smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as he began bounding back and forth, almost laughing with the girl.
"You can sing much better than me!" the girl finally said, leaning back against the tree.
Not minding the statement, the wolf trotted up to the girl and sat next to her, cocking his head. What do you mean? he wondered. Are you saying humans sing too?
"You're cute," the girl only replied. She scanned him with her eyes. "I'm Trinity by the way." She held out a hand jokingly, not expecting the brown wolf to know how to shake hands.
The wolf looked down at her hand. Pleased to meet you, Trinity, he thought, and, like it was perfectly normal to him, put one paw against her palm. I'm Romain.
