Howls the Wolfwalker (A Wolfwalker! Deku Story)

Chapter 4: Free

Izuku ran through the woods as fast as he could, trying to follow the scent that the wolf he was tracking gave off.

The problem was that the mysterious wolf wasn't the only animal giving off a scent trail, and it overwhelmed Izuku. A small rabbit ran by him, leaving behind a pink trail of smoke; a buck jumped over him as he ran, leaving behind a violet-colored scent, and other animals he passed by left scent trails behind them, making Izuku look around all over the place as he ran. Whose scent belonged to who?

Izuku's eyes widened as he fell down a hill, letting out a yelp as he rolled down the grass and into a clearing. He laid there a minute to catch his breath before standing back up again, and taking in his surroundings, only to be taken off guard when he saw the mysterious wolf once again.

The wolf stared at him for only a few seconds before taking off again, leaving a dull teal-colored scent behind them as they ran, seemingly leading Izuku somewhere. "Wait!" Izuku called out once again, taking off in a sprint once again to follow the smoke trail.

He followed the trail deeper into the woods, running through a thick wall of vines that seemed to part as he approached. On the other side was a small valley with intricate carvings all along the walls. Izuku stared in awe at the carvings as he trotted, then focused back on the task at hand. At the end of the valley was a cave, where the dull teal trail ended. He hesitated to go inside the cave, it was really dark.

"H-Hello?" he called out, but was met with no response.

Instead, more yellow eyes than he could count shone from the entrance of the cave. Izuku's eyes widened and he cowered at the sight, whining in response as the eyes stepped out of the shadows, revealing a pack of gray timber wolves that were baring their teeth as they growled.

"Hey! That's enough, all of you!" a voice from the cave shouted. It sounded like a woman who was similar to his mother's age, if not a bit younger.

All the eyes moved to reveal a pair of woodland green eyes, who set their sights on Izuku.

"Only a Wolfwalker can make another..." the voice muttered to herself. "Who are you, boy?"

"I'm Izuku," he said, feeling weirdly comforted by the voice. "I don't know what's happening! I was bitten a few days ago, and weird things started happening, then I woke up like this!"

The eyes moved forward into the moonlight, revealing a blonde wolf that was three times Izuku's size, and Izuku was slightly larger than an average wolf. "You poor thing," the large wolf cooed out of sympathy, like a mother would with her child. "Please, come in." The large wolf turned around and walked back into the cave with Izuku close behind her.

Izuku was pretty well surprised that the woman's voice was actually coming from the giant blonde wolf.

"River! You are in big trouble, young lady!" the wolf called out.

"Mom! What did I do?" a voice that sounded like a girl much younger than Izuku yelled from inside the cave. Going further in revealed it to be coming from the wolf Izuku had seen a few days ago. She was accompanied by another wolf, who had black fur with white around a few ends of fur, along with the paws and ears, and had golden eyes, similar to that of the timber wolves.

"Why didn't you tell me you bit someone?! I specifically forbade you from doing so!" the older wolf scolded the younger.

"I'll be over here," the black and white wolf said as he moved to another part of the cave to let the two girls have their argument. He sounded very close to Izuku's own age.

"It was an accident!" the younger wolf told her. "Besides it's not like he got that hurt. It was just a nibble."

As the two argued, Izuku's eyes wandered until he caught sight of three people in the middle of the room, fast asleep. Izuku stepped closer to the sleeping bodies and took in each characteristic about them.