A/N: Since so many people like this story, I may as well continue with it. So, we have met the Wicked Witch, Grunion. And Sherman, our story's Red Riding Hood, and the big bad wolf is Peabody. Now that Sherman has escaped and crossed paths with Peabody and Sherman got scared of him and now he's unconscious after tripping on a root. This is where we left off, enjoy!
The werewolf followed the boy and he had guilt stabbing at his heart like knives, he didn't mean to scare the boy, he just wanted to know about him. When Sherman fell down on the root and went unconscious, the wolf gasped and put his paws over his mouth.
"Oh, lord" he whispered. He placed a hand on his neck and felt a pulse. The wolf then sighed in relief and picked his body up in his arms. Now the wolf was walking on his hind paws and walked over to a more distant part of the woods.
After a while of carrying the unconscious boy in his arms, the wolf came across a village, and it was the same village he resided in. There were other werewolves who looked like anthropomorphic dogs walking around doing things. The wolf then carried Sherman into his house and placed the boy on his bed.
"Rest, my child" said the wolf. He then took the boy's shoe off to reveal that his ankle was bruised. The wolf then took gauze and wrapped it around the bruised ankle, after that he took the other shoe off and placed it with the other shoe by the wooden bed frame. Sherman then began moaning and stirred a bit in his dreamless sleep.
"Shh, calm down, son. You're safe here" the wolf said to calm the boy down as he placed a warm wet washcloth on his forehead. Sherman's eyes then opened up and he saw the same wolf he encountered from the woods was sitting next to him and putting a washcloth on his forehead. Sherman then used his bandaged foot to kick the wolf in the face and then the wolf fell to the ground, wincing and shouting in pain.
"Stay away from me!" Sherman shouted as he got up from the bed and walked backwards slowly. He then felt that he hit something with his hip and saw that it was a table with a silver letter opener that looked like a raven's feather with a black leather grip handle. He picked it up and held it up.
"Son, please listen to me..." the wolf tried to talk, but Sherman cut him off.
"Why did you kidnap me?" he demanded.
"I didn't kidnap you, I brought you home so I could heal you. Your ankle was sprained and you hit your head, so I decided I'd make it up to you for scaring you in the woods and patch you up" the wolf said getting up from the floor with his paws up and approached Sherman slowly.
"Bringing me here against my will when I'm unconscious qualifies and kidnapping" Sherman said with the letter opener still up. The wolf then walked gently over and took the letter opener out of his hand.
"No, it's called being a good person" the wolf said ironically since he technically wasn't a person at all.
"Please, tell me your name" said the wolf guiding Sherman to the bed again and instructed him to lie down.
"Sherman" he replied. The wolf then took the washcloth, got it wet again and placed it on Sherman's forehead.
"My name is Peabody, but feel free to call me Mr. Peabody if you would" Peabody said as he caressed the human boy's cheek with the wet cloth.
"Also, I'm sorry for scaring you" said Peabody as he took the washcloth off Sherman's forehead and placed it back in the bowl of steaming hot water.
"It's alright, I guess" said Sherman as he turned around. Peabody placed a hand on Sherman's cheek and turned him back to Peabody and his green eyes.
"Sherman, please don't look away from me. I really am sorry, I would never do anything to hurt anyone" Peabody said with an apologetic face. Sherman looked into the wolf's eyes and saw regret in them.
"I forgive you" he said with a comforting smile. Peabody then smiled back and took a deep breath, now that he knew Sherman forgave him, he knew he'd feel safe with him around.
"Now, please tell me why you were in the woods to begin with" Peabody asked politely. Sherman then decided that there was no point in lying and spoke.
"I ran away from home. My step mother kept me locked away in the basement. Grunion showed me no respect at all" Sherman said. Peabody's eyes widened.
"Wait, Grunion? As in Alexandria Grunion?" he asked. Sherman nodded.
"That woman is a witch, tales have been told about how she took over a home by killing the father of a child and keeping the child prisoner for so long" Peabody explained. Sherman was shocked to know these things, that Grunion killed his father and that she was really a witch.
"And I guess that means you are the child?" asked Peabody.
"Yeah, that's me" Sherman said sadly. Peabody then pulled Sherman off the bed and into a comforting hug.
"I'm sorry about all that's happened to you. You didn't deserve it, any of it" Peabody whispered into the boy's ear. Sherman returned the hug and cried freely into Peabody's pristine white fur.
"But I know a way we can make it right" Peabody said. Sherman then pulled away from the hug and looked to Peabody.
"What? What can we do?" Sherman asked wiping his tears away.
"I know this is hard to believe, Sherman, but I knew your father personally. We were close friends, when I found out the witch killed him, I was heartbroken and angered beyond belief" Peabody explained. Sherman then stopped crying and spoke back.
"You were?" asked Sherman. Peabody nodded.
"I swore I would wait until his child broke free and ran away. Then we would find the one who would help us destroy Grunion forever" Peabody said. Sherman then began becoming very intrigued in what Peabody had to say.
"Who?" he asked.
"Your Grandmother" the wolf said simply.
"I didn't know I had a grandmother, I never met her" said Sherman.
"Oh, believe me, you have a grandmother. She lives high up in the mountains in a cabin by herself. She is also a witch, but she uses her magical attributes to help others. She is the one who will help us" Peabody told him. Sherman then stood up and began walking towards the door.
"What are we waiting for, let's go" Sherman said. Peabody grabbed Sherman's wrist.
"You can't just go out there" said Peabody.
"Why?" Sherman asked. Peabody then walked over to a black trunk and opened it. He pulled out a dark red cloak, with no sleeves, it went down to the knees, and it had a hood on it.
"Because you're gonna freeze out there if you're not warm enough" he said. He handed the cloak to Sherman who took it and smiled at him. Sherman placed his hands through the arm-holes and buttoned the cloak up to his collarbones, then he put the hood over his head.
"I like it" Sherman said. Peabody smiled as he gazed upon Sherman wearing the red cloak.
"Good to know. It looks very nice on you" Peabody said as he looked all over to see Sherman veiled in the red cloak.
"Oh, there's something else" Peabody said walking over to the trunk again and pulled out a knife. A hunting knife to be exact inside a black leather case.
"This was your father's knife. He told me to keep it safe for someone special. And now I believe that that special someone is..." Peabody was about to say, but Sherman cut him off.
"Me? It was me wasn't it?" Sherman asked as he got on one knee to get to Peabody's eye level.
"Exactly" Peabody said with a smile. He handed Sherman the knife and he placed his hand on the brown felt grip handle with a silver wolf's head with rubies in the eyes at the bottom tip of the handle. He gazed at the silver blade. The blade was like the one of a bowie hunting knife with an image of a wolf was engraved into the knife in black paint.
"It's amazing" Sherman whispered as he looked at the beauty of the blade and placed it back in the case.
"And the special thing about it, is that it was forged here in this village. Wolves are good at forging weapons as good as that, most of us are the most gifted craftsmen in the world" Peabody told him. Sherman then lifted his cloak a bit and he clipped the knife in it's case to his belt and then let his cloak drop back down to his knees.
"And there's one more thing I should give you" Peabody said walking over to a dresser and opened up a drawer. The wolf then pulled out a pair of knitted gray fingerless gloves. He slipped them onto Sherman's hands.
"It's gonna get colder than you think on this little quest" Peabody said.
"Thank you, for all of this" Sherman said gratefully. Peabody then grabbed a black leather bag. He filled it up with fruits, vegetables, spices, medical supplies, blankets, and a whole bunch of other things.
"Let's go. Time waits for no man, nor wolf" said Peabody as he walked over to the door and opened it. Sherman smiled, put his shoes back on, and walked out the door and Peabody followed behind him.
A/N: So now, Sherman, and Peabody (The 'Big Bad Wolf') are friends and now Sherman knows that Grunion is a witch and that she killed his father, and that the grandmother he never knew is a witch and they have to find her. Now, Sherman has the red hood and he's become 'Red Riding Hood' officially. And I also added the 'Going to Grandmother's house' part of the 'Red Riding Hood' concept. More to come in the next update. Please review, thanks!