Running With the Wolves

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Fate has never been on my side, so luck and good fortune worry me; in light of the sudden gift I'd received, I felt as though Fate was trying to deceive me.

She was too beautiful.

- - - --

It was an accident.

She hadn't meant to venture that far into the woods; that deep. And when she had, she discovered something.

Something crazy.

There was a legend of a mighty, ferocious beast that prowled throughout the Northern woods. It was said to be mean and vicious, and to kill anything that bothered it. Any and every thing in the forest was its prey.

This beast was said to be most powerful at night, when it could hide among the shadows and kill you before you had the chance to see it. Because of this, no one went into the woods at night. And no matter what time of day, no one ventured into the Dark Woods. There you could see nothing, and nobody could hear you scream.

Erza was chasing a particularly fast rabbit the day she made the mistake. It was her last catch before retreating to dinner. The wolves she had become closest to, Kōri- a raven black wolf, Ichigo- a unique pink wolf, and Kī- an odd yellow wolf, accompanied her. She did most of the hunting, but the wolves were kind and often retrieved her kills for her.

Erza eventually managed to catch the rabbit, but she had entered an area she was unfamiliar with.

Where am I? She thought. The woods where she was were dark, almost pitch black. She could hardly see her hand in front of her face. It was odd, she noticed. The sun couldn't have gone down yet.

Erza let her crossbow hang on the belt over her waist. She tightened the leather bag she had slung over one shoulder. Something wasn't quite right.

She couldn't tell where it was she had arrived, so she called for her friends-- the wolves. She whistled loudly with two fingers in her mouth, then waited. She waited for what felt like a long time. None of them came.

Odd, she thought, for them to ignore her call like that. There were always wolves nearby in the Northern Woods, everybody knew that. Never assume you're perfectly safe.

Erza decided to navigate her way out of the woods on her own. Or at least get out of the Dark Woods. She never really believed in the legendary beast of the Dark Woods, but who knew what dangers might've lurked.

With her things secure, Erza headed east. What she presumed was east, anyway. In the Dark Woods, even the skies were black, and nothing shone on such a blank canvas but the moon, ironically. Day or night. And without the stars, Erza had no other way of really knowing which way was which.

Erza walked on for minutes in the darkness of night, minutes beginning to feel like hours. Then she froze.

Rustling; in the leaves; behind her. A twig- snap! A disturbance in the air.

She could sense another presence-- a dangerous one. It was times like these Erza was grateful for her keen senses. They were more than just hunting tools; they were survival tools.

Things that escaped other people never escaped her. From the day she could walk, she'd had a knack for analyzing an atmosphere others lacked- couldn't even fathom. There was just something about sounds and smells and small details that stood out to her strongly, she couldn't explain it. Others praised her for her abilities because they made her one of the best hunters the village had to offer.

Erza watched the shadows with a careful eye, took small, silent steps. Her hand hovered right above her crossbow. Her other hand squeezed the leather strap of her bag tightly.