Wolves!

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Gaston was closely surrounded now, the wolves encircling him. This made it hard to keep an eye on all of them at once without turning his back.

He took his handgun and pointed it at the wolves' feet, firing a shot, not aiming to kill just to try and frighten them off. They gave a small yelp and jumped back a little but quickly recovered, growling. Great. Now he had only succeeded in making them more angry.

Suddenly he felt something heavy hit his back, followed moments later by a searing pain in his shoulder - a wolf had bit him. With all the strength he could muster he threw it off him, causing him to also throw his handgun, which smashed into some rocks. The wolf flew into the rocks as well and fell limp to the ground for a moment before shakily standing, shaking itself off, and growling in his direction, teeth bared, eyes narrowed. Hunger had made the pack vicious.

The wolf gave a yelp then as a small rock flew through the air and hit it on the head. It shook its head and turned growling to the side, the others following. Gaston also followed their gaze to see none other than Belle, a long branch in one hand and another rock in the other.

As Belle approached them she tried to keep calm. She took the rock and threw it at the wolves again, this one narrowly missing hitting them as this time they leapt out of the way. The rock gone and her other hand free now she took hold of the stick in both hands with a firm grip, holding it over her shoulder, ready to swing.

"Belle!" Gaston cried as he watched in horror as the lead wolf bounded towards her and took a great leap. She managed to dive out of the way just in time, and just as another wolf charged at her. She took a swing at it with her stick, managing to hit it. Again, this only seemed to make them more angry.

She could tell the wolves were hungry - she could see their ribs. This however didn't take away from their menacing appearance, but instead enhanced it. As she swung again a nearby wolf grasped the end of the stick in its jaws, teeth bared. It grabbed the stick with such great force that it was pulled from her hands and she crashed to the ground. The animal lunged at her feet and she kicked at it.

She jumped and a shrill scream escaped from her throat when Gaston aimed and fired at the wolves again, attempting to scare them off. This time they slowly began to back away, Gaston slowly making his way over to Belle, gun pointed at the vicious pack.

Then, suddenly, the wolves seemed to turn to one another as if in silent discussion before bounding back off into the trees, a few looking torn between leaving and continuing to attack. Soon though, they were forced to follow the pack or be left behind, and they too disappeared.

The tense silence that was the aftermath of the attack slowly faded away, Gaston and Belle both breathing heavily as they recovered.

"W-what h-happened?" Belle was the first to break the silence.

Gaston knelt at her side, gently taking her arm to help her to her feet. "They fled. They sensed something." He cast a glance around them, but all seemed quiet again now. "Are you alright, you aren't hurt?"

She shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine. Just a little shaken." She rose to her feet, her gaze still locked on the spot where the wolves had just fled from. "What could possibly scare away a pack of vicious, hungry wolves?"

He shook his head, wondering the same. "I don't know."

--------------------------------

Gaston was wounded, so they headed straight home, as quickly as they could due to his injury. When they finally reached the tavern he was pale, sweating heavily, and appeared faint.

The village physician was hurriedly called upon, Belle tending to the wound - wounds, she soon realized - in the meantime. First she dealt with a large scratch on his arm.

"Alright, this may sting a little." She dipped a cloth into some hot water. "Just hold still," she instructed. She barely touched the cloth to his arm before he jerked it away, grimacing in pain. "Ow! That hurts!"

"If you hold still it won't hurt as much," she insisted.

"I told you to come straight to the village," he grumbled. "And did you listen? No, of course not. You just had to come back."

His sudden bitterness surprised her. "I helped you," she reminded him, her tone growing cold as well. "I am helping you. I couldn't just leave you to the mercy of the wolves."

"I'm a hunter, I'm trained to deal with that sort of thing."

"Well you were outnumbered. What, did you want to play the part of the dashing hero who saves the damsel in distress." She hadn't believed this before, but now she felt differently.

He threw her a disproving look. "Yes I was trying to save you, but not because I wanted to be the hero, but because it was the right thing to do. I put you in danger, and if something were to happen to you I-" He cut himself off and sighed heavily. His words shocked her into her own silence, not because of his harsh tone, but because of the genuineness behind them - he genuinely cared about her and her well-being.

His eyes went from her back to his wound. This could have easily happened to you, they said.

She snapped from her quiet trance and gently dabbed his arm. "Now hold still."


(Awwww Gaston! ;) haha! And so I know the GIF at the beginning has Beast in it, but I couldn't find one with just her fighting the wolves. Oh well, you get the idea! Thanks so much for reading! :))

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