Once upon a time there was a lost little girl, and a monster that guarded her while she slept.

-Chapter 1-

May He Never Hear Your Footsteps

9:29 Dragon, 12 years before the Conclave

The first time she dreamt her wolf, Evelyn was nine years old.

Her bedchamber was far too large for one child, especially one as small as Evelyn. Her parents had far more castle than they had children; though in the daytime the main halls were always full of more brightly dressed nobles, drinking and gossiping, and servants, doing their best at going unnoticed. Evelyn liked having the space mostly to herself, though. She spent hours playing and reading alone, whenever she could escape her responsibilities. Mother was intent upon turning her into a stuffy, unspirited noblewoman; and took great offense to her affinity for folklore. Especially elven folklore, of which there was almost none in the castle. Evelyn's elven nanny, Ada, had sneaked her a few books that she kept well hidden.

Now, though, her quarters were dark. The many corners and alcoves in the domed room taunted her with what could be lurking there. It was not a foreboding place, not usually. The windows were grand, and three of them filled a whole wall in sweeping arches. They hung with heavy cream-colored drapes selected by Mother, currently drawn shut. Her bed was centered against the westernmost wall, framed by more cream drapery; a downy alcove just for her. Small, painted wooden animals and stars hung on strings from the headboard. She saw the glittering eyes of a fox totem staring back at her from the blackness, and yelped.

She remembered crying herself to sleep that night, rain pounding outside the windows, certain that something in the shadowed corners of that too-large room was going to emerge any moment and steal her away. She buried herself under her blankets, squeezing her eyes shut as tight as she could, and tried very hard to imagine that she was safe.

When she opened her eyes again, she hadn't moved, but things felt... different. The sound of the rain was gone, and in its place a soft blue-green light glowed from somewhere she couldn't see, casting everything into a haze. A slight sense of wrongness nagged at her, and she realized with a shock that she no longer felt the same clutching fear she had only moments ago. When she touched her cheeks, which had been stinging with salty tears, her hands came away dry.

Her bed sprawled out around her, a little bigger than she was sure that it was, cool sheets pooling around her tiny legs. Stuffed toys and drawings of her family stared gloomily at her from every corner, strange and woeful in this dim blue aura.

It didn't even occur to her to call for anyone as she sat up, adjusted her nightdress, and wiggled her way off the edge of her bed; which was definitely a bit taller than normal. She hit the floor with a muted thump that echoed out around her like she was in a cave, and wandered towards the overstuffed chair that Ada read her stories from. By now it had occurred to Evelyn that this must be some kind of dream; she'd just decided to explore her surroundings more thoroughly, when she felt a gentle prickle on the back of her neck.

She could feel someone watching her. The eye contact drilled into her back, and she turned around slowly, dimly aware that she should be afraid. There, between her and the arch of her doorway, sat a massive black wolf. He was easily six feet in height, and broader than the doorframe. His eyes were many, three on each side, and they burned white with intensity. He sat straight and attentive, but as she turned to face him, he cocked his head and brought his forelegs to the floor, laying down. He bowed his nose to the ground and looked up at her, blinking slowly with too many eyes.

The smile that lit her face was bright and unrestrained, as she recognized him. She ran forward, throwing her arms wide and barreling into him with a hug that would have toppled a grown man. The beast tensed, all six eyes flaring in surprise. Then, very carefully, he brought his giant muzzle to the crook of her neck, and sighed.

They stayed that way a long moment, and she noticed that time didn't feel like it should. She couldn't feel the moments pulling at her as they ticked by. Drawing herself away so she could look into his vivid white eyes, and without fully meaning to, she asked,

"Why don't I know your name?" Her words rippled out from her and all around her, the echo bouncing around her room.

you do not need it

He answered her, but not with a voice. To describe how the wolf spoke was difficult, because understanding it as it happened was difficult. She felt his reply as emotion and understanding, rather than hearing him speak. She knew he was addressing her fondly, protectively, and with an echo of something she couldn't get a handle on. It seemed sad. She somehow came to the knowledge that he was here to watch over her, and to show her something.

At nine years old, Evelyn was smart enough to know he was dodging her question, voice or no. This irritated her a bit, but she understood that she wouldn't get any more out of him, so she didn't ask again. Instead, looking around the bleary version of her chambers, she asked,

"Why did you want me to see this?"

I did not

She felt his response once more, meaning layered past what words he had conveyed. This was, apparently, a space where it was easy for him to appear to her. She was going to ask what he did want to show her, then, but she didn't have to. He sat up to his full height once more, immense canine form towering over the child as she gaped at him, and slowly leaned over. When his nose touched her forehead, she saw.

Hi everyone! I'm currently in the process of some pretty in-depth editing on this piece. If there's some continuity errors please bear with me, they'll all get fixed! I love this story, and these characters, but it's the first real story I ever started, and I'd been wanting to revise some things for a while. Massive thank you to anyone who has been reading it so far, I promise actual updates are coming soon. Dareth shiral.