"So you will do it?" the hooded figure mumbled, a puff of fog escaping from under the hood. The hooded figure was short with a small red curl exposed even through the darkness from the shadow of the hood.
"Just don't forget my stuff." the wolf said leaning back against a tree as if this were a conversation he'd had before. His eyes glowed a deep yellow that sliced through the darkness of the forest at night. He moved his large body by the hooded figure. The wolf stood on all fours but he still had to bow his head to be even with the figure. He growled to the hooded figure "Forget my stuff and you shall suffer the same fate."
The hooded figure dared to lay a hand on the wolf and pushed him back in confidence it shouldn't show. It spoke in an aggravated tone to the wolf who was exposing his teeth accompanied by a low growl "You'll get your prize. Just do the job right." The wolf let out a puff of fog into the the figure's face before the figure turned and crunched back through the snow.
--3days later--
"Get up!" Red's mother shouted causing her to leap from bed, her red curls swaying back and forth. Red rubbed the fatigue from her eyes and dressed her body. She made her way to the kitchen. There, stood her mother, their hair the same bright red color, making a series of pastries. Without looking at her daughter Mother said "You will be taking these to Grandmother today in the forest." Red nodded lowering her head so her hair created a curtain covering her twisted smile. Her plan was falling into place.
Two hours later Red is walking through the snow covered forest. She pulls the hood of her cloak over her head casting a shadow on part of her face. She pulls the basket under her cloak scanning the woods. Red can't help but rub her hands in a nervous fashion.
Red reached a wooden cabin, her grandmother's cabin, and walks up the steps to the door. She let out a puff of air leaving a ball of fog against the cold. Red tucked the checkered cloth around the basket before raising her hand to knock on the door. Before her hand and the door made contact, the door squeaked open revealing a dark inside of the cabin.
Red walked in standing tall so not to show fear. There, in the darkest corner was the wolf, only his eyes visible. His low growl echoed through the cabin. "My stuff?" the wolf stated. Red moved her cloak revealing the basket. The wolf moved forward into the light. His fur was an array of colors between gray and black as dark as the night itself.
He pushed forward an elderly woman, her hands bound. The woman looked up to Red and her eyes filled with shock and a broken heart. "Red?!" her feeble voice said to her granddaughter. Red just smiled as the wolf engulfed her grandmother.
Seconds later the wolf looks to Red. "My payment?" he growls. She rolls her eyes and tosses the basket to him. The wolf took one step forward, pushing the basket over with his massive paws. "What is this?!" He barked. He dumped the basket forward with his paws releaving that it was empty except a note. It read:
"You may have beat me to Grandmother, but you be a fine replacement.
- Mother."
Red's eyes got huge at the realization her mother had sabotaged her payment to the wolf and had set her up for death. Within seconds Red was engulfed in darkness, the last words she heard being "Your payment was not right so you will suffer the same fate."
A few moments later a hooded figure walks into the room. The wolf looks to it before bowing it's head and leaving. The hooded figure remembers three days ago.
--
"I want you to take her out." the hooded figure says. The wolf moves to a tree, his eyes glowing.
"My payment?" he growls
"The child will be your payment."
The wolf's eyes opened wider as he asks " Your own flesh and blood?"
"She beat me to my intended victim, so I'll take her instead." The hooded figure had no regret in voice. The wolf nods, obvious he is unsure. The hooded figure removes her hood revealing Red's mother.
"So you will do it?" she mumbles as a puff of fog escapes from her.
"Just don't forget my payment." the wolf growls, "forget my payment and you will suffer the same fate." he warned.
"You'll get your prize, just do the job right."
