Snippets

A Sorta Red Riding Hood Tale

The 'wolf' blinked, and leaned back a bit, its smug grin gone in an instance to be replaced with one of unease as it seemed to realize it might have picked off more than it could chew, "Oh. Uh... do beg your pardon then. I-uh. Well, okay, to be frank, smelled the treats and got curious. Sorry again, um..."

She was growing tired of this, she'd dealt with smooth talking trolls and boastful griffins before, but now she knew that this was just another case of trying to intimidate someone for something, she was done. Alice snorted, and stated sharply, "Red. Now I may seem like a "simple little fawn girl", but I don't care for your bs. So go try with someone with less to their experience or get a life. Now good day, wolf."

She raised herself up, pulling her hood back down to shake out her ruddy curls, before marching past the stunned beast. It merely hitched its shoulders up and quietly padded towards the creek to get a drink, most likely to hide its face from her as she stormed away. She then sharply gazed back to make sure it wasn't going to try and follow. 

Alice saw its black furred face looking in her direction before it met her gaze, its eyes going pale blue in a flash, before it sharply looked elsewhere.  

She snorted and flicked her ears back, before trotting off with another huff, the dappled sunlight dancing off her form as she went deeper into the woods. 

-

The sun was setting when Alice got over a small hill clearing, the river in sight but still a ways off. She'd walked on the whole day, and as time progressed, she'd looked less and less over her shoulder. She was fairly sure the beast had gone off to try and hoodwink some other passersby, and so she begun to set camp. 

Her matches worked quickly, and as the first stars were twinkling, her tent was up as well as a small fire puffing out a small line of smoke. Then Alice got some sticks she'd gathered and scattered them around the site, so if anyone came even within 10ft of her, she'd hear them in an instant over the brittle wood, even if they didn't produce any sound otherwise.

It was getting later by the time she was comfortable, and after securing her stuff, briefly checking up to make sure the small ember salamanders were still nice and comfortable in their small compartment under the main compartment that held the treats, Alice got her bed made.

She stretched before she then curled herself up into a tight ball, and fell asleep with her cloak snuggled up around her. 

-

It was early when Alice got up and back out on the road and this time, as she traveled, she saw signs that someone, or something else, had come prior.

There were paw prints along muddy puddles, snapped twigs and branches, and even a few times, she'd think she'd see something ahead of her.

Alice was fairly unnerved by the time she was crossing the Wolven Cap Bridge, for now, the signs were barely there at all anymore. It made her nervous seeing the signs before, but at least then she had an idea where this thing was heading, but now she was alone as far as she knew. 

Alice continued along until she decided to take another breather, about an hour or so until she would arrive at grandmother's. It was a pond this time, waters a shimmering crystal bluish in color, with sparkling fish swimming around. She knew this pond, and long before she found its actually name was the Forest Cove, she had always called it the Red Family's Pond of Awesomeness. It brought a small smile to her lips.

It was a quiet spot, and she quietly chewed on one of her many packed sandwiches, birds chirping and distance dragons thrilling and bellowing. It was a greatly appreciated moment, and as she closed her eyes, Alice found herself in absolute bliss.

That was until she heard fast approaching footsteps and yells. She opened one eye, her haunches twitching slightly, and leaned further into the shadows she was sitting in. A few minutes later, and she watched the large beast from before running as though its life depended on it, and then, a little bit after, she watched a snorting golden Auroch barrage through.

Alice smirked slightly recognizing the renowned "Wood-man," as they called him anyway, his real name being Dimitri. 

Seemed the fella was giving the other a run for his money, and as she stood up to continue onwards, she glanced back to keep an eye out for when the bull returned. He was like part of the family, afterall.

-

It was a nice little skip and a hop from there out, Alice cheerfully knocking on the door before her grandmother, her red fur having gone nearly white with age, came squinting to let her in.

Alice loved the old woman, and it seemed it was just what Marie needed. Her dull silver eyes, a sharp contrast to Alice's deep brown ones, absolutely sparkled as she set out the treats that had been packed away, the ember salamanders (small little ebony critters with neon varying speckles and spots) came to crawl onto her wrinkled hands and up along her sloping shoulders to nuzzle her tight-skinned cheeks. 

It was grand, and Alice couldn't help but snuggle up to the older cervitaur on her small sofa, telling her about her travels and what she'd seen at the pond, earning a few chuckling coughs. And later, when the sun was drifting down, the wood-man returned, with the wolf, slinking obediently behind him. 

It was hilarious to say the least, and when Alice left a couple weeks later, the wood-man and his new apprentice (well until the wolf paid off the number of people he'd stolen from during the months he'd been out there, which was to say a great number) waved her off along with Marie. 

Her grandmother was looking much better off now Alice noted happily. 

And so as she begun back on her path home, with another flick of her tail and shake of her ears, and with one basket less (the ember salamanders were also part of the gift for Marie, the older woman highly appreciating their warmth and cat-like attitudes), she felt much more at ease then she was when she's first set off.