"You are all here today for one reason alone." Mr. Badwolf spoke in front of his students. "Your stories demand that you be strong, brave, and willing to face any danger. Today will be the first step to that long journey. But you will not need to face it alone. All of you, partner up."
Dexter Charming walked up to Hunter. "Hey Hunter want to-"
"ARGH!" Alex put Hunter in a choke hold.
"Sorry, Hunter already agreed to my partner."
"Oh…okay." Dexter was disappointed. "I guess, I'll ask someone else."
"Think that's for the best." Alex cracked a smile as he saw Dexter walk away.
"GAH!" Hunter shoved Alex off. He was flustered. "Really man?!"
"Yea, well…" Alex was at a loss for words. "Yea."
"Come on, isn't bad enough you kicked him out of the dorm?"
"Oy, you act like I had a choice in that matter." Hunter didn't believe him. "Look, other than Raven you're the only other person I know. And this place does not do coed, believe me, I asked."
"Well, what's wrong with branching out? Meeting new people?"
"Now who fed you that nonsense?"
"…Ms. Yaga?"
"Why am I not surprised?"
Mr. Badwolf continued speaking. "Now that you have your partner, remember him, for this will be your partner for the rest of the school year. This class will prepare you for your stories; you will all be tested, not by me. But by the world."
"Question?" Alex asked. "What do you mean?"
"All of you will venture out into the forest. What you will see, I do not know. What you will do, I do not know. But it is up to you to return in one piece."
"…"All of the students were worried.
"Hahaha, I will now record and evaluate your partnerships. I will also issue each team a list." Mr. Badwolf held a tablet. "This list has every type of flora and fauna imaginable in the Enchanted Forest. It even has a map, in case you get lost."
"Ugh…Mr. Badwolf?" A scrawny boy next to Dexter asked.
"Yes?"
"You said we might not return in one piece, how do we… not do that?"
"My guess is that it would help to have, a weapon of sorts." With that he began to distribute the lists.
"Weapon?" Alex asked Hunter. "You got one?"
"My dad gave me this ax." He took hold of his ax with pride.
"You ever used it?"
"Yea," Hunter sounded hesitant. "Loads of times."
"…Ever used it in a fight?"
"…No…"
Alex shook his head in disappointment. "Figured as much."
"Ah," Mr. Badwolf appeared. "Young Huntsman and…?"
"Liddell."
"Yes, of course." He gave Hunter the tablet. "You two seem to make an interesting team. Are you equipped properly?"
"I've got my ax." Hunter gripped his ax.
"I have my blade." Alex unsheathed his weapon.
"That? That's just a kitchen knife!"
Alex didn't care much for Mr. Badwolf's teasing. "My mother gave this blade." He scowled at him, with a look that would have struck fear in most. But not in Mr. Badwolf.
"…Well," All it did was irritate him. "You boys will be just fine." He walked away.
"Hey," Hunter whispered. "I know you like pissing people off, but I don't think it's smart to piss off the teacher."
Alex gave him a smug look. "That's why you should leave the thinking to me."
"Very well, you have your lists, you have your teams, now…" Mr. Badwolf raised his arms out and with great force said. "Go!" There was an awkward silence. Then he lowered his hands; and walked away.
"That's it?" Alex asked.
"That's it." He called back.
"Looks like all the stuff on this list is worth points." Hunter scrolled through the tablet. "As long as we collect a sample of it, and present it at the end of the year we'll pass the class."
Alex though for a bit, then asked. "What's worth the most on that list?"
"Ugh…the head of a dragon…"
"Then that's what I'm getting. And you're gonna help." Alex walked deeper into the forest.
"Okay…wait what?" Hunter followed.
"Where can we find a dragon?"
"Wha…here," He showed Alex the map. "The Black Forest."
"Mhmm." Alex took the tablet from him.
"It's a deeper part of the Forest. Full of… no one knows what, but everyone knows it's dangerous."
He stopped looking at the tablet and looked back at Hunter with confusion. "If no one knows, how does everyone know?"
"They just do. They say that's where the Evil Queen's lair is."
"Lair? They? Who the hell is filling your head with nonsense?"
"Headmaster Grimm."
"Still, why am I not surprised?" He shoved the tablet back to Hunter.
"I don't think that's a good id-"
"Shush!" Alex stopped. "Listen, you hear that?"
"No?"
"Then shut up…" A rustle. "We're not alone. Get down."
Hunter whispered. "Maybe one of the other teams?"
"No…something's been following us…Why?" More noise…then silence. "…It's gone." Both of them got back up.
"Dude, you're starting to weird me out."
Alex walked around a tree. He moved a bush over and found…something. "Here. Take a look at this, what do you make of it?"
Hunter looked at it. "It's… a paw print."
"Of?"
"A…dog?"
Alex, tired of Hunter's folly, wearily asked. "…How many dogs are in this forest?"
"Uh…some?"
"How many wolves?"
"Uh…" Hunter didn't like where the conversation was going…
"At least one."
"Man, that's huge." Dexter was impressed. He held the tablet and passed it back to Hunter.
"I know right." The boys sat in the Castleteria looking over a picture of the paw print.
"You're lucky," Dexter's partner, Hopper Croakington, spoke. "If you can find that wolf it's like an automatic C."
"I want an A," Alex said. "But this is a good start."
"…Yea." Hunter was edgy again.
"I say we go back into the forest after school," Alex picked up a slice of pizza. "See what else we can find."
"Yea… but I'm kinda busy after school…" Hunter looked guilty, as if hiding something.
Alex bit the pizza. "Look I'm just saying-AH!"
"What?"
"Dear god! What did I just eat?!"
"It's pizza."
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's vegan."
"It's what?"
"Vegan, you know made without animal byproduct?"
"Wait what? I thought you said it was ham?"
"It is, the ham is made of a soy-"
"A what?!"
"It's a meat substitute."
"It's not real meat?!"
"No. Look I'm vegan-"
"This is…this…god, the taste is in my mouth and it's god awful!"
"It's not that bad."
"Yes it is!" Alex looked around. "…I need help, I need…" And then he saw. "Raven!"
"I just don't know what to do. Do you?"
"Raven!" Alex interrupted.
"Oh, hey?"
"Raven, you're evil right?" He spoke in a rapid tone.
"I guess?" She was confused.
"You know magic right?"
"Yea, but-"
"Kill me!"
"Wait."
"Kill me!"
"What?"
"Kill me!"
"Why?"
"Hunter, he fed me some… veg-soy… something and I can't… get the taste out of my mouth, so kill me."
Raven pouted. "Don't you think you're being over dramatic?"
"No! I think I'm being the right amount of dramatic."
"Here." A girl with a teacup in her hair gave Alex a cup.
"Thank you dearie." Alex calmed down and drank the cup in one sip. "I still can't get it out!"
"Not even tea can help?" She frowned and looked to Raven. "Raven, I think it's best if you did kill him."
"Maddy?!" She was stunned.
"It was nice knowing you Alex." Maddy took off her cap in respect.
"Likewise."
"Look I'm not going to kill you…" Raven continued to speak, but her words fell on deaf ears. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw something. Something amazing. It was ham, real ham, spiral cut with a honey glaze. And it was in the hands of an angel.
"…what?" She spoke as she noticed Alex gawking at her. Then she realized it was the food. She rolled her eyes and handed him a piece.
"…" He ate it. "Oh…that's good." In an instant the taste was gone. Alex melted into the seat next to her. "I like you. So tell me dearie, you got a name or just a magical box of meats?"
"Ha, aren't you a… sweet talker." She felt awkward. "I'm Cerise Hood."
"Hood? As in-"
"Daughter of Red Riding hood."
"Oh, I see."
"Hey Alex, there you are."
"Hello Hunter, I made a new friend, and she has real meats."
He was confused. "Uh…"
"Hey Hunter."
"Hey Cerise." He noticed her lunch. "What's with the lunch box?"
"Oh, it's my mom." Cerise lowered her head. "She just wants to make sure I eat well…"
"That's a good mother." Alex took another piece. "She made all of this?"
"Yea."
"Dear god, she knows her way around ham."
"I'll let her know."
"Hunter you have to try this."
"Ugh…no thanks."
"Right. Say, you have a lot of meat; think I can have a bit, for later?"
"What are you going to do later?"
"Hunter and I-"
"I haven't agreed."
"Hunter and I are going out into the Enchanted Forest, and looking, for a wolf."
"A wolf?!"
"Yes, show her the thing." Hunter showed her the picture of the paw print.
"…wow, that's a big paw print."
"Indeed, if we can catch that thing, it'll put us on the right track to acing BadWolf's class."
"You sure you can catch it?"
"No, but that won't stop me from trying."
Cerise was unimpressed by Alex's confidence. "Not the best plan."
"But it is a plan."
"Right, well I should go." She got up and was about to leave.
"Hey wait, can I get some, woah…" Alex noticed that her lunch box, once full of all sorts of meat foods, was now empty.
"Heh-heh, sorry." Anxiously, Cerise ran away.
"Well that was odd. But! I still liked her. At least she didn't try to poison me with false promises!"
"I'm vegan!" Alex and Hunter continued to argue about the lunch; neither one willing to admit the other right. But that didn't matter to her…
"A wolf…" She wondered in the shadows; and once she had a clue, she jolted away in a hurry.
