disclaimer: We do not own any of the OUAT characters. Just our added characters.
Extra info: This story has two writers. One of us writes Helena and the other writes Amy. You will notice a difference in how Helena's and Amy's perspectives are portrayed, we wrote them like we ourselves notice/see things. Fair warning: we are insane. Enjoy!
A small girl sat upon bolder. Wolves howled and snarled all around her yet the girl felt no fear. In fact, she was giddy with excitement. Wiggling a little in her childish joy. One wolf, slightly larger than the rest, broke through the foliage around the pack. The girl squealed in her excitement.
"Mom!" the girl cried, practically jumping off the bolder. One of the other wolves moved to catch the child or break her fall. The small girl landed on the poor wolf's back and immediately slid off him too.
The girl ran to the larger wolf. "Mom! When can I run too?"
One of the other wolves snarled, distracting the girl for a moment.
"Quiet, Dean! She will run. She will lead. Either you accept that or you have no pack!" A tall woman shouted from the place the larger wolf once stood.
The woman then knelt before the girl. "You, my little child of the moon, will run soon. And when you do, you will run faster and be stronger than any wolf before you."
Helena sat up with a jerk. Well, that was not what Helena had expected to see when Helena dreamed. Helena had never rewatched a memory for a dream, but she was pretty sure that is what just happened. Not one of her memories though. Rieka. It was one of Rieka's.
"Rieka?"
Helena turned already starting to get used to responding to the name.
Snow sat on one of the small beds in the cabin. This one, to the left of where Helena had taken up residence on the floor. She may be inside, but she still refused to use a bed.
"Are you okay? Did you…see something bad?"
Helena had to smile. Was this what it was like to have herself around? Constantly mothered by someone your age or at least close to it. Well-meaning mothering, but still. Helena kinda likes it.
"Um…not really bad. Just…strange, I guess."
Helena let her eyes wander around the interior of the small wood cabin. Two beds, one on the South side and one on the North. One window facing the East. Wait, didn't the sun rise in the east? Where was it? Crap.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you before morning," Helena said in a lower voice. Not wanting to disturb her sister too. Wait, when did Helena start thinking of Red as a sister? A painful reminder of how long Helena had been here. Still with no idea how to get home.
"Don't worry about it. Why don't we go ahead and leave? We need to walk to the village today and Red can get more sleep without us, noise makers, around." Snow said the words in a stage whisper, a mischievous look in her eye. As if hinting at something else the two of them could get up to while gone. Helena hoped Snow's statement was not coded for something she knew nothing about. Either way, Helena did want to visit the village, badly. She had seen it while she was out on her night runs, but Helena had avoided entering, unsure where she stood with the villagers.
"Do you sing a lot?"
Helena and Snow were walking side by side through the forest. Helena had been pleasantly surprised that she did not have to pace check for Snow. Though the other woman was short, she did move quickly.
"Uh, I guess. I'm not sure what qualifies as 'A lot'." Why were so many people surprised Helena could and liked to sing? Helena's not 'Helena' right now, but still. Slightly disconcerting, people.
Snow nodded, understanding the open-ended definition was an issue. "Well," she said. "How about this, why haven't I ever heard you sing before?"
It was possible Rieka did not sing, but Helena had already found several similarities in their personalities. So, it was more likely the other girl just never did in front of people. A valid fear given what Helena knew of Rieka's life and just the amount of courage it took to willingly sing in front of or for someone. Hence why Helena normally only did so over a discord call or when she thought she was alone.
"It's not something I normally do in front of people," Helena said, making sure to add a shy note to her voice.
"Why?" Snow asked. "If you love to sing, why not share that?" Why indeed
"My Bro-…" Helena stopped herself, quickly clearing her throat hoping Snow would not notice. "My Mother never liked my singing. She would get onto me anytime she heard me." Helena was quickly realizing that her gift for lying through her teeth would be very useful here.
Snow frowned, righteous anger on her face. It reminded Helena of Faith's, a very passionate friend of hers, reaction to the same news. Though, Faith had threatened to punch Sam, Helena's oldest brother, for that comment despite never having punched someone before. Helena had a feeling Snow would have no issue carrying out that threat seeing as how she had already hit David over the head with a rock. Wait, had that happened yet? The show was unclear about how much time passed with Red and Snow living together in that cabin before Charming entered the picture. Well, technically Snow and Charming met before they ever knew it. Geez, this show is complicated.
"I think you should sing more often. I thought your singing was beautiful." Snow said.
Right, still on Helena's singing. Helena smiled. "Thanks, Snow." Helena hoped that ended the conversation.
"Will you sing for me?" Apparently not.
Helena sighed. "If it's something you really want. Do you care what type of song?"
Snow smiled. "Not particularly. Maybe not one with so many emotions tied into it though."
Helena gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, Maybe avoid that. Um…let me think for a moment."
Unfortunately for Helena, the second Snow asked her to sing the only songs she could think of were Disney songs or songs with things in them she did not want to have to describe. Like cars.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh." Helena decided to go with 'Try Everything' by Shakira. She figured Snow would like the idea of the song even if she did not know the story behind it. "I messed up tonight. I lost another fight. Lost to myself, but I'll just start again. Keep falling down. Keep on hitting the ground. But I always get up now to see what's next. Birds don't just fly; they fall down and get up. Nobody learns without getting it wrong. I won't give up. No, I won't give in till I reach the end. And then I'll start again. No, I won't leave. I want to try everything. I want to try even though I could fall." By Snow's smile, Helena would assume she was enjoying the song. When the song was over Helena did a little bow.
Snow clapped. "That was beautiful. You sing whatever you want whenever you want. If you have music in your heart, you should always follow it."
'When you see the future, irony is everywhere' Helena hid her smile at the memory of Rumple's quote. Oh! Rumpelstiltskin! Would he help Helena? Nope, bad idea Helena. Never ask Rumple for anything. Stupid plan. Bad Helena. Helena shook her head. Physically dispelling the thoughts.
"We're still pretty far out from the village, how about you ride to save time?"
Snow stared at her blankly "Ride on what?"
"Uhh, me? Don't you do that with Red?" They had done that right? Yeah, definitely.
"Well, yes, we do, but I thought… never mind. Yes, sure, riding would save quite a bit of time."
Helena nodded, letting instincts take over as her body contorted. Hands becoming large paws and tan skin becoming thick fur. Eyes glowing gold for a moment before fading into a neutral green-brown color. A large wolf now stood where Helena had been. Its fur was a beautiful mix of white, gray, and red with a black tear-shaped smudge on its chest. Helena knelt for Snow to climb on, before letting out a howl of excitement. And they were off streaking through the enchanted forest like a comet and its intrepid rider.
Helena had underestimated how much her senses had been heightened by the wolf inside her. She supposed, now, it was a blessing, that she awakened up in the woods with only two humans around her. At the very least it had gifted her the opportunity to accustom herself to the smells of the forest around her and the smells of both Snow and Red, along with their heartbeats. Maybe that was creepy but there was not much she could do about the things her heightened senses picked up. Though Helena desperately wished there was at the moment. The smell coming from the tavern alone was enough to make her lose any breakfast she might have eaten. Not to mention the things she could hear men discussing. Thankfully, Snow did not head in that direction. Instead, she headed to, what Helena assumed was, the village market. Twenty or so wooden stands stood along the dirt path with families selling their goods. Much the way she did when she went to the store with her mother, Helena simply followed Snow around like a, well, like a lost puppy. Taking in all the sights and smells. Trying not to let them overwhelm her. Instead, Helena focused on Snow. Her calm breathing, her heartbeat. It was a trick Helena often used when her senses became too much for her to process. Or even those times when…one, two, three. Don't think about it, Helena. It won't happen here. One, two, three.
Snow did not buy much. Sugar, flour, carrots, potatoes, two loaves of bread, and some kind of fabric, probably for patching clothes. Helena stopped paying attention when the pair passed the weapons stand. A beautiful, handcrafted longbow happened to be laid out on display. Helena reached out to touch it, stopping her hand halfway.
"May I examine the bow, sir?" she asked of the villager manning the stand.
The man gave her a scrutinizing look before nodding. Probably deciding how likely it was for her to take the bow and run. To be fair, Helena could have very easily stolen the object, being a wolf and all, but did not harbor any wish to create a scene.
With permission granted Helena took the bow in her head. Fitting the leather handle into her left hand before lining her body up and carefully drawing back on the string. The bow settled nicely against her body and fit well into the palm of her hand. She let the sting down and pulled it back a few more times. Smiling at the familiarity of the action.
"How much?" Helena asked the man.
"Ye a hunta'?" The man asked, maybe he paid more attention than Helena had thought.
Helena nodded, figuring whatever the man asked of her would not be difficult to acquire given her state at the moment.
The man considered her for several seconds, thirty-eight to be exact, before stating his price.
"Ye bring my wife three red fox pelts 'n two days 'n I'll hold h're bow for ye. Not sur' why the woman wants red fox pelts, but a man gotta get his wife w'at she wants or lose 'e wife." The man shrugged as if it were simply a fact of life. Helena had to stifle a laugh.
"You've got yourself a bargain, sir."
It took Snow several feet to realize Rieka was no longer following. When she turned back, she found the other woman to be examining a bow with a familiarity she should not have. Or at least, Snow did not think the younger woman would have been taught how to shoot. From what Snow knew of Anita, the woman did not put much stoke into anything that was not related to being a child of the moon. Snow watched as Rieka put the bow down to converse with the man who owned the stand. When she came striding over toward Snow Rieka's face sported a very pleasant smile.
"Do you know how to shoot?" Snow asked
"Shoot what?" Rieka asked
What else? "A bow,"
"Oh, yes, kind of. It's been a while." Rieka said, never losing the faraway look of joy plastered on her face.
Snow just shook her head, glad a trip into town had done something to lift the younger woman's spirits.
Thank you. Thank you. Hold the applause...
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