The Lone Wolf
Chapter 6: The Black Rose.
Link sat there in the bed of pelts, staring at the creature before him. He didn't know
what to make of her at all.
"Who is she?" Link thought. "Was she cursed too?"
The female walked over to his side and probed the cloth wrapping around Link's
scratched shoulder. Link whined in pain gently.
"I thought so, your shoulder was clawed up pretty badly. You'd better let it heal before
you go out again in this cold, otherwise, you'll never make it wherever you're going."
She said.
Link looked at her confused. "Who are you?" he asked.
She looked into Link's eyes. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself there." She
giggled. "My names Rose." she said.
"Rose huh? How'd you get that name?" Link asked.
"Well, my mother said it was because my fur was the color of a black rose, my dad told
me it was because I was birthed in a grove of black rose bushes." She shrugged
"Uh… well… my names Link, I don't know where I got the name from, I've just always
been Link. Anyway, Rose, could you tell me, where I am?"
"You're in the black forest wastes." She said.
"Black forest wastes? How'd this place get named that?" Link asked.
Rose sighed. "You are new around here. Anyway, this forest is renowned for it's many
natural Rose bushes, all of their flowers black. Humans used to live here, a long time
ago. They disappeared a long time ago." She explained.
"Humans?" Link asked confused by the strange term.
"They look like Hylains, but with shorter, rounded ears."
"Oh… uh, I found an old town, like, a few weeks ago, it was deserted, do you know
why?"
She nodded. "My ancestors lived there." She said.
"Your ancestors? What happened to them?"
"Oh, now that's a story. But, hey, you must be hungry, want a bite of something?" she
asked, and pulled over a severed deer leg.
"I killed it fresh right before I found you. You hungry?" she asked.
Link looked at the deer limb with mixed feelings. "You mean raw?" he asked.
She looked at him quizzically. "You are new at this aren't you? If you want I could
cook it a bit, do you?"
Link was about to say yes, but his stomach growled loudly and a hunger pang stabbed
him in the side.
Rose smiled. "Here." She said, and handed Link the limb. He took it and bit into the
exposed flesh at one end, ripping off a mouthful.
Like last time, it tasted better than he'd expected, much better.
As Link ate ravenously, Rose looked at him with a gaze of longing that Link didn't
notice.
Link eventually finished the raw flesh on the torn limb, and with his hunger satisfied,
and laid back down on the pelts.
"Now, where were you?" Link asked.
"Huh? Oh, right, my story. Ok, lets see…" she pondered where to start for a moment.
"Ok, like I said, my ancestors used to live in that village, but we all left it."
"Why?" Link said as she paused for a minute.
"Well, a long time ago, my ancestors lived there as a part of a vast kingdom that was in
this forest a long time ago. That town was at the western most edge of the kingdom's
territory. One day, the king of the kingdom angered a powerful sorceress to the east. The
king was a bad person they say. No one trusted the king; not even his own people!
Everyone feared him, and only his war leaders ever knew what was going on in his head.
Anyway, the sorceress was so angered by the king, for whatever reason, and cursed not
only him, but also everyone in his kingdom. The king at first laughed the curse off,
because nothing happened immediately. But when the full moon next came round, the
curse took hold."
Link looked at her intently. "What was the curse?" he asked.
Rose held up her claws. "This." She said.
Link was stunned. "You mean…"
"Yes, my family have always been wolf people, ever since about 3 hundred years ago.
The first generation to be turned tried desperately to turn back, but only a few succeeded.
And they were the most powerful magi the kingdom had. Everyone else tried
desperately, but to no avail. Eventually, the younger people of the kingdom who had
been cursed had children, their children were wolf's like they were, but when a mage
looked at one, he found that they couldn't be turned back to human, because this shape
had become their natural shape."
"You mean, because they were born like this, they couldn't be turned into a… Human
you said it was?" Link asked.
"Yes. The shape of the wolf man, or she-wolf woman became standard in a single
generation. After that, an opposing army attempted to take us over. Not very well mind
you, but after that, we stopped living in the towns. Apparently the wolf spirit was
returning us to a wild state of mind, not that any of us minded."
Rose stretched and yawned suddenly. "Oh my, I didn't realize it was so late. You'd
better try to sleep Link, let that shoulder heal. I'll explain anything else you want to
know in the morning, ok?" she said, rubbing her eyes a bit.
Link yawned himself. "Yeah, you're right. Is it still night time?"
"About midnight, I'd say." She pushed Link back down into the pile of pelts and draped
a few over him. "The wind gets bitter cold outside this time of night in winter, you'd
better cover up, or you'll feel it in that shoulder wound." She said before she went over
to her own pile of furs and got comfortable inside them. In minutes she was asleep again.
Link looked at her for a minute before he closed his eyes. And started to drift as well.
"It never fails, when I first get to know a new race, I feel so out of place and
confused…" he thought to himself before he fell asleep.
Chapter 6: The Black Rose.
Link sat there in the bed of pelts, staring at the creature before him. He didn't know
what to make of her at all.
"Who is she?" Link thought. "Was she cursed too?"
The female walked over to his side and probed the cloth wrapping around Link's
scratched shoulder. Link whined in pain gently.
"I thought so, your shoulder was clawed up pretty badly. You'd better let it heal before
you go out again in this cold, otherwise, you'll never make it wherever you're going."
She said.
Link looked at her confused. "Who are you?" he asked.
She looked into Link's eyes. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself there." She
giggled. "My names Rose." she said.
"Rose huh? How'd you get that name?" Link asked.
"Well, my mother said it was because my fur was the color of a black rose, my dad told
me it was because I was birthed in a grove of black rose bushes." She shrugged
"Uh… well… my names Link, I don't know where I got the name from, I've just always
been Link. Anyway, Rose, could you tell me, where I am?"
"You're in the black forest wastes." She said.
"Black forest wastes? How'd this place get named that?" Link asked.
Rose sighed. "You are new around here. Anyway, this forest is renowned for it's many
natural Rose bushes, all of their flowers black. Humans used to live here, a long time
ago. They disappeared a long time ago." She explained.
"Humans?" Link asked confused by the strange term.
"They look like Hylains, but with shorter, rounded ears."
"Oh… uh, I found an old town, like, a few weeks ago, it was deserted, do you know
why?"
She nodded. "My ancestors lived there." She said.
"Your ancestors? What happened to them?"
"Oh, now that's a story. But, hey, you must be hungry, want a bite of something?" she
asked, and pulled over a severed deer leg.
"I killed it fresh right before I found you. You hungry?" she asked.
Link looked at the deer limb with mixed feelings. "You mean raw?" he asked.
She looked at him quizzically. "You are new at this aren't you? If you want I could
cook it a bit, do you?"
Link was about to say yes, but his stomach growled loudly and a hunger pang stabbed
him in the side.
Rose smiled. "Here." She said, and handed Link the limb. He took it and bit into the
exposed flesh at one end, ripping off a mouthful.
Like last time, it tasted better than he'd expected, much better.
As Link ate ravenously, Rose looked at him with a gaze of longing that Link didn't
notice.
Link eventually finished the raw flesh on the torn limb, and with his hunger satisfied,
and laid back down on the pelts.
"Now, where were you?" Link asked.
"Huh? Oh, right, my story. Ok, lets see…" she pondered where to start for a moment.
"Ok, like I said, my ancestors used to live in that village, but we all left it."
"Why?" Link said as she paused for a minute.
"Well, a long time ago, my ancestors lived there as a part of a vast kingdom that was in
this forest a long time ago. That town was at the western most edge of the kingdom's
territory. One day, the king of the kingdom angered a powerful sorceress to the east. The
king was a bad person they say. No one trusted the king; not even his own people!
Everyone feared him, and only his war leaders ever knew what was going on in his head.
Anyway, the sorceress was so angered by the king, for whatever reason, and cursed not
only him, but also everyone in his kingdom. The king at first laughed the curse off,
because nothing happened immediately. But when the full moon next came round, the
curse took hold."
Link looked at her intently. "What was the curse?" he asked.
Rose held up her claws. "This." She said.
Link was stunned. "You mean…"
"Yes, my family have always been wolf people, ever since about 3 hundred years ago.
The first generation to be turned tried desperately to turn back, but only a few succeeded.
And they were the most powerful magi the kingdom had. Everyone else tried
desperately, but to no avail. Eventually, the younger people of the kingdom who had
been cursed had children, their children were wolf's like they were, but when a mage
looked at one, he found that they couldn't be turned back to human, because this shape
had become their natural shape."
"You mean, because they were born like this, they couldn't be turned into a… Human
you said it was?" Link asked.
"Yes. The shape of the wolf man, or she-wolf woman became standard in a single
generation. After that, an opposing army attempted to take us over. Not very well mind
you, but after that, we stopped living in the towns. Apparently the wolf spirit was
returning us to a wild state of mind, not that any of us minded."
Rose stretched and yawned suddenly. "Oh my, I didn't realize it was so late. You'd
better try to sleep Link, let that shoulder heal. I'll explain anything else you want to
know in the morning, ok?" she said, rubbing her eyes a bit.
Link yawned himself. "Yeah, you're right. Is it still night time?"
"About midnight, I'd say." She pushed Link back down into the pile of pelts and draped
a few over him. "The wind gets bitter cold outside this time of night in winter, you'd
better cover up, or you'll feel it in that shoulder wound." She said before she went over
to her own pile of furs and got comfortable inside them. In minutes she was asleep again.
Link looked at her for a minute before he closed his eyes. And started to drift as well.
"It never fails, when I first get to know a new race, I feel so out of place and
confused…" he thought to himself before he fell asleep.