Once upon a time, there was a Godly valley with mountains that could touch the sky and trees that cast long shadows. The people who live in the small mountain town are hardworking and happy, so long as they never stray into the forest where the wolves lurk in the darkness. Adults brave the trees in groups to hunt the vicious pack as they have for decades, the conflict is deep with no sign of victory for either side. But wolves are not the only threat, nor the village's only secret - and the link connecting them is a simple cloak of Red ...

Every night, from the highest peak of the uninhabited mountains, a single Wolf howls to the good folk of the valley – as a warning, as a message, and as a reminder of what they did:
"Beware, beware, the Path where the Witch once stood. Beware, beware, of the Wolf in the Wood."

"One, two, three, four, five … Where's Squall? Irvine, where's Squall?" Edea called across her garden, bundles of herbs in baskets around her and Selphie and Quistis sorting leaves on the doorstep behind her.

Irvine, an auburn-haired child who'd come to her as a toddler looked up from stacking sticks for the fire, and from duelling with them with Seifer to answer her. "He went to get more sticks with Zell," he pointed down the path that led to the village. The boys were storing and sorting wood for the winter fast approaching. However, Edea's sharp eyes quickly spotted Zell standing by the older boys without the youngest boy.

Edea's eyes widened "Zell! You didn't leave him alone!" she gasped.

Zell's blue eyes widened and he jumped back a few steps, glancing left and right as if Squall would appear from behind a bush or fence any second. He shook his head at her "No Matron! He was right behind me, he was!" he insisted, still looking about.

Edea stepped over and looked too "Oh my Lord … Squall! Where are you?"

Faintly, to the relief of the family, a reply came through the trees "I'm coming!" Edea breathed and almost swayed on the spot. Irvine and Seifer looked at each other behind her and shrugged, no one noticed that his reply had not come from any path.

Squall appeared from between the trees, holding many sticks and logs in his little arms and covered in scratches but looking down at his feet hard as if lost in thought. Edea stepped over and took several from him, using her free hand to tip his face back to look him over. "Squall, child, are you hurt? What were you doing out there alone?" she rubbed his cheek and combed her fingers through his thick brown hair.

The boy looked up at her and gave a small, half-smile. "I saw fallen wood … I could still see the path, Matron, I wasn't in very far," he insisted, a strange expression of wonder still in his eyes.

The parental guardian knelt before him and held his shoulder in a firm grip "Squall, I want you to promise me that you'll never go into the woods on your own, it would break my heart if you got hurt, or if the woods managed to spirit you away."

The silver eyes child nodded very seriously "I won't," he promised, reaching out to twist their fingers together in a childish hand knot Edea recognized as a binding promise for youngsters.

Satisfied, she took his hand and led him back to the boys who were watching and whispering to themselves. Squall took slightly smaller steps and gravitated behind his Matron as they approached his housemates, Edea sent him a concerned look and squeezed his little hand comfortingly. She knew that his quiet and thoughtful personality was often nervous around the louder voices of their little family, but she wasn't going to let him hide from those who loved him.

She put down the wood he had gathered and asked them to keep sorting it all. Zell, the moment Squall had his arms free of firewood, threw his arms around the younger child and wailed "Squall! Why'd you go away?"

Squall uncomfortably stuttered a few times about seeing something interesting before trying to escape the blond boy's smothering, Edea back on her task and not willing to intervene this time despite Squalls silent pleas.

Seifer shoved the two at last when Zell's excitable squawking grew too irksome for him. "Stop being so noisy. You two gotta sort this, Irvine and I have done it all up to now," he pointed at the large pile with a smug expression that came with being one the older children. Irvine nodded and leaned against the house with his wooden sword in his hand.

Zell began to whine but Squall just moved like a ghost to the pile and started to sort. Kindling, large sticks, and logs all had their own growing piles and would soon sever their purpose for to keep the house warm.

In the present Zell, Irvine and Seifer stared at Squall in surprise. His eyes were vacant and so was his mind since he'd just listened to Seifer without so much as a groan. Perplexed by the younger boy's lack of response Seifer continued to loom over him. "So what was so interesting?"

Squall looked up and deep blue eyes met pale grey. "About what?" two growing piles of wood to chop and kindling were taking shape in front of his knees, his eyes were slightly hazy as if his focus was elsewhere and not on his task or the conversation.

Seifer frowned, unused to the passive behaviour he had never received from Squall, he pushed the littler boy's shoulder and jogged his memory, "What did you see in the forest, idiot!"

Squall's eyes widened and his focus returned, he crossed his arms and frowned, "Nothing. Just wood."

The blond growled "You're lying," he accused in a whisper so Matron wouldn't hear them, it wasn't his place to hand out discipline but he still tried. When Squall didn't answer yet again, the older child pushed on "Did you see a wolf? Did your wolf come back to take you away?"

Squall gritted his teeth with his shoulders starting to climb. "I didn't see a wolf. Leave me alone."

Seifer snorted "Fine, Cursed-boy, you're so stupid and small not even the wolves wanted to eat you, not going to stay and get a curse from you too. Come on Irvine," he snapped turning to hold up his own sword many paces away.

Irvine jumped away from the wall, having dozed off during the confrontation and joined the other child in a mock battle.

Zell watched enviously for a moment before sitting by Squall "I don't think you're cursed," he whispered.

Squall sent him a small nod and a smile and continued to work in silence while Zell chatted about anything that was on his mind. Soon the brunet was once again lost in thought, his eyes glazed and his hands slowing as his attention was drawn from his friend to the trees once again. He stared into their canopy gloom and wondered if what he'd seen was still lurking in the thickets … probably not.

"Squall! You're not listening," Zell complained.

The brunet tore his eyes away and muttered a quick sorry to the blond who was pouting at him, eyes suddenly fixed on the sticks as if they were the most fascinating book in the world.

Zell leaned in close and asked, "Did you actually see a wolf? Did it have big teeth and eyes and claws?"

Squall shook his head "No. Not a wolf."

The blond sighed "Aww, I wanted something to come and scare Seifer …" his face gained a grin when his younger companion snorted into his hands, smothering laughter and giggles. Zell beamed at the rare sound and pressed on "Do you think he'd run away or scream for Matron?"

Squall giggled a little more before shrugging "I don't know. Maybe both?" as they began to chat about what would scare the bossiest boy in their small family and their work got done the day drew to an end.

As soon as the shadows had leeched the warmth from the clearing Edea was ordering the children inside to gather for supper and change for bed. She closed the door tight and filled the nooks and crannies with scraps of cloth to keep out the drafts and protect the inside from the morning frosts that were becoming frequent.

Squall lingered once again to scan the trees but then shuffled in behind his makeshift family at his parental guardian's urging. He watched as she blocked the cracks and crannies of the doorway and windows, Seifer pushing Irvine, who was closing the curtains across the room and resuming his argument that he was best with the sword. Selphie instantly began to kick Seifer in the shins for hurting 'her Irvine' and Squall chuckled behind his hands. Seifer sent him a glare and he shut up.

Before she could get swept up in the chaos building across the room he reached out and tugged on Matron's hand, a blush colouring his pale cheeks and feeling very silly he asked her "Matron? Do you think I'm cursed?"

The woman gasped and knelt to cup his round face "Who said that?"

Squall shuffled uncomfortably "Seifer did …"

Edea sent the blond a sharp look as he bickered with the younger children by the table, but didn't scold him there and then knowing that it would only cause more trouble later. She turned back to the sad looking child and brushed his bangs out of his eyes with a tender smile "No, Squall, I know you're not cursed. You're a blessing, and you're so lucky. God is watching over you."

Squall looked down at his hands "Even though I came from the woods? And a wolf didn't eat me?" he murmured.

Edea kissed his forehead "Yes. Father Hojo tells us stories of Simon who faced Lions in the den and they didn't eat him, was he cursed?" she nodded when Squall shook his head "And what about Moses who was left in the reeds to be found by a new Mother? Was he cursed?" when he responded in negative once again she cheerily hugged him "I promise, Squall, you're blessed. I know that you're good and that you will continue to be good, don't listen to anything else."

Squall rubbed his red cheeks and hugged her back "Yes Matron."

"Good boy, remember that the Lord works in mysterious ways, if you start to think like that again remind yourself of those stories." she took his hands "Come, let's eat and pray for a warm winter." He nodded eagerly and sat beside her, no longer worried about Seifer's ugly words and no longer distracted by the memory of the low figure in the trees.

Squall woke early, he raised his head from his pillow and realized that Irvine had taken their shared blanket all for himself again. The brunet slept in a cocoon with the pillow pulled under his chin, Squall looked at him enviously as his little body got cold. Now freezing and without a blanket, he got up to put on his clothes and gain a little warmth by the ashes from last night's fire.

There was frost clinging to the tiny windows and his breath misted before his eyes when he exhaled. He would have been fascinated had he not been shivering so badly. He put his hands on the ashes and sighed when he realized their warmth had gone.

His fingers found their ways under his armpits and he rocked back and forth as he thought of a solution to his problem. It wasn't long before he realized that he would have to light a fire to truly chase away the chill. He hadn't lit a fire before on his own, but he had watched Irvine and Seifer and even Quistis light them many times in the past when Matron was busy.

Eventually, his numbing nose and toes decided for him.

He shuffled to the door and snuck out in the dawn to the wood pile he had made yesterday, wanting to keep warm he picked out several pieces of wood and piled them in his arms to take back to the fireplace.

A shuffle in the trees made him look up. In the dim light, a shape moved just beyond the ground thickets surrounding the orphanage clearing. Squall squinted briefly but the second he recognized the figure he gasped and the sticks fell to his feet.

Edea woke to Squall sitting by the fire he was tending to very carefully, keeping his fingers back from the little tongues of light and occasionally wiping them on his trousers. Her smallest boy appeared mesmerized by the light and he occasionally swayed in time to their dance. With his back to her, she saw that he was dressed and that the hems of his trousers were damp and had splashes of mud on them.

She sighed, she'd have to clean them again. She rose to join him, sitting by him in companionable silence to watch the fire too.

She put a hand around his shoulders and he leaned against her quietly. She smiled, her quiet one. Mindful of the sleeping others she didn't ask him why he was up so early, and she didn't comment on his dirty clothes. She took no offence either when he made no move to speak either, one look at his face showed that his mind was elsewhere. His pale visage was vacant of expression and his eyes half closed. Edea wondered if he was only half awake, she rubbed his thin shoulders and marvelled at his warmth.

When he reached for the firewood with his eyes still trance-like she grew worried. Children should be bright-eyed and lively, not like an empty husk that the dying or possessed appeared. She turned his chin to her and sighed in relief when her touch brought his vacant eyes back to life. His little brow was high in surprise and she chuckled "You got your clothes muddy again."

Squall looked down at his clothes and whispered back to her. "I went to get more wood …"

Edea nodded and went back to holding him to her side, not making the realization until the next time she washed the children's clothes that her clearing did not contain any mud, not even after the heaviest of rains. But the mossy ground off the well-trodden paths … they did.

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