Skipping across the rocks across the river, Girl made sure not to slip on the ones that were wet and was soon on the other side of the bank. Kneeling down in her spot, she looked over the valley. Bellflowers swayed in the breeze on either side of the riverbank flowing down the hillside, marked as splashes of pink and blue along it.
The sun had just fully risen above the horizon and shone brightly, casting a beautiful golden hue over the world spread out before her. It sparkled in her eyes like a golden fire, contrasting the flowing water that shone there originally.
Jumping up, she hurried away from the edge to the waterfall. Her waterfall. Girl never saw anyone else up here but birds, butterflies and rabbits. It was her own little paradise that she only had to share with those few animals. And she was fine with it that way.
Girl had never gotten along well with the other children in her village, so when she went off on her own before, she had been overjoyed to find such a beautiful spring protected by the canopy of trees that watched over her home.
As she pulled the ties from her hair and slipped into the pool, she didn't notice the pair of yellow eyes watching her from behind in amongst the trees and the sweet smelling flowers and grass all around masked the foul stench.
As she emerged once again from the pool as the sun began it's descent, hair and clothes dripping, Girl still didn't notice being watched as she combed out her hair and began to tied the ribbons back in. It was only when something behind her started growling hungrily that she turned.
Girl screamed when she saw the huge demon wolf standing there, ready to pounce on her. And it did. Fangs bared, it jumped for the frightened girl, trying to sink its claws into her.
Girl did the only thing she could think of, she ran. And that's probably what saved her. The demon, which had expected an easy meal of the small child, missed her; its claws grazed her back as it tumbled headfirst into the pool of water.
It splashed around there, trying to get out of the deep water, as Girl turned on her heels and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. She sped through the trees and ran down the hillside on the long way back to the village. The demon crashed through the trees behind her, wet and angry, as it took pursuit of its fleeing prey.
As she ran, Girl stumbled over a rock she had not seen there and fell headfirst into the river. Sputtering, she attempted to drag herself out of the water on the opposite bank than the wolf was on. The bank on the side that her village was on. The wolf, not keen on getting wet again, leapt the gap of the river, landing right before the scared Girl.
She slipped farther into the river as it struck at her with its sharp claws. It missed her face by inches but hit her arm dead on, slashing across the poor girl's thin skin. She screamed and fell back into the cold water, dragged under by the current.
The demon wolf was not about to get its fur wet a second time that day and turned towards better animal prey nearby. The animals that had heard the girl's scream had come, saw, and now fled as the demon took chase after them instead.
