commissioned by me. from catherine dang @ tumblr. please do not take unless you are ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
alwaysawolf as this is just for the two of us and our PSL.
( Read more... )
alwaysawolf as this is just for the two of us and our PSL.
It's a warm spring in the valley. Very warm. It seems that just as winters are more frigid than a thrice widow's heart, the springs are near summer temperatures on and off. This can be blamed upon the magic inhabiting the valley. Since interaction of magic had climbed in the last year, the effects have done a number on the valley's climate. It makes Red shed her cloak and wear only one layer of her three dresses, not caring if her pink breasts are just visible through the thin chemise as there are only the wolves around to see her like that. The cloak is now wrapped about her waist, tied off as a makeshift carrier for Red's berries as she continues to forage alongside Wolf.
Recently, more and more hunters from different ends of the valley have started to use stronger and more vicious traps. Red uses the berries she collects to make poultices that speed and ensure recovery, and ever since she started applying this talent, the wolf pack had yet to lose any members (except to old age). Sweat gathers at Red's brow and she bites her lower lip, reaching up a hand and wiping her forehead against the back of her arm.
It's hot.
She turns away from the blackberry bushes to look back at her partner, and says, "Wolf, I think I have enough berries for my poultices, so perhaps we should start to turn back to the den."
Grandmother's health has gotten worse. She now coughs all the time and the last handkerchief that Red had put against her grandmother's lips to cover a fit came away with a bit of blood. That was two days ago, the same day she met that wolf on the path. She thinks that perhaps she'll see the wolf again -- strange feeling, perhaps? Oh, the villagers would not approve of Red's reckless curiosity. Oh no. But so long as they have Red's mother as the village baker, they for the moment they leave Red be.
Today, Red finds herself once more on the long-beaten path in the woods, on her way to her grandmother's house. She's sporting her signature red cloak and toting muffins and herb leaves in her little whicker basket. Unlike the villagers, she does not fear the forest. It is almost a second home to her; much more welcoming than the village with every day she passes through the tree-framed entrance, leaving the cold civilization behind.
Her name is RED
Jan. 4th, 2013 04:24 pmHer name is Red. Like the color. She's also a bastard. No; not like that. She's the illegitimate child of a scandalous affair between the village's baker's daughter and a simple woodsman who had been passing through the nearby forest when he'd stumbled upon a wolf pack's den by accident and gotten into an altercation with the wolf pack's leader. The baker took great care of the injured woodsman, and they grew close during his time of healing, and when the woodsman left for parts unknown, Red was eight months away from being born.
Upon her birth, she was gifted a red, hooded cloak by her mother, who cited that the cloak was actually a gift from the little one's father.
"Little Red", as her family affectionately named her, was raised primarily by her mother and her grandparents (her mother's family) but received an education with the rest of village's children. She was the child that no other parent in the village wanted to have around their own children. They feared that she would corrupt their little "angels" with her "sinful" existence. With no friends, Red turned towards the forest -- the unknown -- and found companionship there among the woodland creatures. But she never strayed far into the forest, always staying close to her grandparents' house, located a little aways from the wood's entrance. To get to her grandparents' house, almost everyday, she would walk through the woods.
And then she got older, and suddenly, Little Red wasn't so little. She'd grown into a lovely, sweet, and thoughtful young lady. While she wasn't the most beautiful young woman in the village, she was certainly the most alluring. What drew attention to Red was Red's pension for curiosity and the unknown, which served to aggravate the village elders. Things that were once unquestioned and sound were soundly doubted and up for debate. Red couldn't help her curiosity, and after countless questions gone unanswered (usually halted right there) she decided to seek the answers herself. It didn't help that her mother and her grandparents encouraged this behavior.
But after her grandfather passed away, Red became more subdued. Without the old man, the village suddenly had no top baker, and Red's grandmother could barely keep up with the baked goods' demands as she fell ill from an infection she sustained from an injury she received cutting wood late one night. Red's mother took over her parents' work, proving to be as just a good a baker as her father. But while Red's mother baked and baked, Red's grandmother became sicker and sicker. With work keeping her busy, Red's mother was unable to see much of her own mother, and tasked Red with bringing medicine and treats to the old woman to lift her spirits. Red was happy to oblige.
And so, began Red's continuous trek through the woods to deliver goodies to her grandmother, who had refused to move in with Red's mother and leave behind the house that Red's grandfather had built with his own two hands.
Things began to tighten in Red's life. Not only was she caring for grandmother and helping her mother, but she was also receiving pressure from the village men to settle down and become a proper woman. Red is reluctant upon the idea, as she does not love any of the men in the village, but at the insistence of the village elders (believing that a husband would calm the young lady down) Red allowed herself to be courted. It was awkward, awful, and Red felt cheapened by the prospect of being someone's property.
One particularly frustrating day, after spurning the advances of the mayor's son, she came upon an injured wolf on the path to her grandmother's house. Wolves were a constant danger to the village, as they stole livestock and attacked hunters and woodcutters. Red had always been told to stay far away from wolves, but this poor, poor wolf on the path to her grandmother's house captured Red's sympathy. She made a makeshift splint for the wolf's injured paw, and then fed him water and two baked, fluffy muffins before going on her way. Later that evening, when she was walking home, she was relieved to find the wolf gone, hopefully feeling better. Imagine her surprise when not even a week later, she met that same wolf once more on the path to her grandmother's house, and so on the next and the day after that. The wolf continued to follow Red...
~ -*- ~
Perhaps some extra background before we go further into Red's story. You see, the forest is enchanted, as is the valley beyond the forest. It has mystical and magical properties with age-old stories of witchcraft, changelings and other magical sort, for which it is perceived as a gateway to sin by the village who fears the unknown that lies beyond their little homes. The wolves are included in this fear of mysticism. While the wolves may not appear dangerous beyond their sharp, jagged teeth and sharp claws, they have ability to become human like the villagers. Yes, changelings. But it has been so long and the relationship between the wolves and villagers have deteriorated to the point of conflict. The wolves no longer see any benefit in likening themselves to their human neighbors, seeing the villagers as monsters (irony, for which the villagers see the wolves as just the same).
Wolf (as he is known further more) is curious about this villager who did not shriek and run from him in fear. A villager who wanted to genuinely, selflessly help him despite the harm he could have done to her alone on that path in the woods.
If he can choose to turn into one, he stays a wolf initially then as he gets closer to Red he changes into a human to hang around her grandmother's house and be near Red more easily. Then, he might start slipping into town to see her if he gets obsessed enough. And he's risking something here because magic is unpredictable, even magic that wolves have, so it might decide to one day not let him turn back into a wolf until he spends a night under a roof or some other typical limitation that these kinds of things set. This disturbs Wolf and he returns to his natural form.
But magic has a mind of its own. You can't really control it. Or you can, but you need years and years of study and lots of willpower and probably a long white beard or the right incantations to chant. But even then you have to be careful. Wolf magic is minor stuff, usually, that can't go terribly awry. But changing skins is kind of a big deal (hence why most successful wizards and witches are older folks; they've spent a lifetime learning it) Wolf did not understand his feelings about Red at first, either.
He first thinks, "I should just devour her and that'll solve it." But he finds himself unable to devour the human girl with the red hood, so he spends a few days just stalking her to and from the edge of town and her grandmother's house. Wolf even finds himself entering the house a few times to watch Red more closely, though spooking the sickly, elderly woman resting comfortably in the bed.
After Red's grandmother passes away, Red buries the woman the next day in a marked grave in the forest next to her grandfather's.
She decides to leave her village to be with Wolf.
Red's father was actually the odd wolf.
Upon her birth, she was gifted a red, hooded cloak by her mother, who cited that the cloak was actually a gift from the little one's father.
"Little Red", as her family affectionately named her, was raised primarily by her mother and her grandparents (her mother's family) but received an education with the rest of village's children. She was the child that no other parent in the village wanted to have around their own children. They feared that she would corrupt their little "angels" with her "sinful" existence. With no friends, Red turned towards the forest -- the unknown -- and found companionship there among the woodland creatures. But she never strayed far into the forest, always staying close to her grandparents' house, located a little aways from the wood's entrance. To get to her grandparents' house, almost everyday, she would walk through the woods.
And then she got older, and suddenly, Little Red wasn't so little. She'd grown into a lovely, sweet, and thoughtful young lady. While she wasn't the most beautiful young woman in the village, she was certainly the most alluring. What drew attention to Red was Red's pension for curiosity and the unknown, which served to aggravate the village elders. Things that were once unquestioned and sound were soundly doubted and up for debate. Red couldn't help her curiosity, and after countless questions gone unanswered (usually halted right there) she decided to seek the answers herself. It didn't help that her mother and her grandparents encouraged this behavior.
But after her grandfather passed away, Red became more subdued. Without the old man, the village suddenly had no top baker, and Red's grandmother could barely keep up with the baked goods' demands as she fell ill from an infection she sustained from an injury she received cutting wood late one night. Red's mother took over her parents' work, proving to be as just a good a baker as her father. But while Red's mother baked and baked, Red's grandmother became sicker and sicker. With work keeping her busy, Red's mother was unable to see much of her own mother, and tasked Red with bringing medicine and treats to the old woman to lift her spirits. Red was happy to oblige.
And so, began Red's continuous trek through the woods to deliver goodies to her grandmother, who had refused to move in with Red's mother and leave behind the house that Red's grandfather had built with his own two hands.
Things began to tighten in Red's life. Not only was she caring for grandmother and helping her mother, but she was also receiving pressure from the village men to settle down and become a proper woman. Red is reluctant upon the idea, as she does not love any of the men in the village, but at the insistence of the village elders (believing that a husband would calm the young lady down) Red allowed herself to be courted. It was awkward, awful, and Red felt cheapened by the prospect of being someone's property.
One particularly frustrating day, after spurning the advances of the mayor's son, she came upon an injured wolf on the path to her grandmother's house. Wolves were a constant danger to the village, as they stole livestock and attacked hunters and woodcutters. Red had always been told to stay far away from wolves, but this poor, poor wolf on the path to her grandmother's house captured Red's sympathy. She made a makeshift splint for the wolf's injured paw, and then fed him water and two baked, fluffy muffins before going on her way. Later that evening, when she was walking home, she was relieved to find the wolf gone, hopefully feeling better. Imagine her surprise when not even a week later, she met that same wolf once more on the path to her grandmother's house, and so on the next and the day after that. The wolf continued to follow Red...
~ -*- ~
Perhaps some extra background before we go further into Red's story. You see, the forest is enchanted, as is the valley beyond the forest. It has mystical and magical properties with age-old stories of witchcraft, changelings and other magical sort, for which it is perceived as a gateway to sin by the village who fears the unknown that lies beyond their little homes. The wolves are included in this fear of mysticism. While the wolves may not appear dangerous beyond their sharp, jagged teeth and sharp claws, they have ability to become human like the villagers. Yes, changelings. But it has been so long and the relationship between the wolves and villagers have deteriorated to the point of conflict. The wolves no longer see any benefit in likening themselves to their human neighbors, seeing the villagers as monsters (irony, for which the villagers see the wolves as just the same).
Wolf (as he is known further more) is curious about this villager who did not shriek and run from him in fear. A villager who wanted to genuinely, selflessly help him despite the harm he could have done to her alone on that path in the woods.
If he can choose to turn into one, he stays a wolf initially then as he gets closer to Red he changes into a human to hang around her grandmother's house and be near Red more easily. Then, he might start slipping into town to see her if he gets obsessed enough. And he's risking something here because magic is unpredictable, even magic that wolves have, so it might decide to one day not let him turn back into a wolf until he spends a night under a roof or some other typical limitation that these kinds of things set. This disturbs Wolf and he returns to his natural form.
But magic has a mind of its own. You can't really control it. Or you can, but you need years and years of study and lots of willpower and probably a long white beard or the right incantations to chant. But even then you have to be careful. Wolf magic is minor stuff, usually, that can't go terribly awry. But changing skins is kind of a big deal (hence why most successful wizards and witches are older folks; they've spent a lifetime learning it) Wolf did not understand his feelings about Red at first, either.
He first thinks, "I should just devour her and that'll solve it." But he finds himself unable to devour the human girl with the red hood, so he spends a few days just stalking her to and from the edge of town and her grandmother's house. Wolf even finds himself entering the house a few times to watch Red more closely, though spooking the sickly, elderly woman resting comfortably in the bed.
After Red's grandmother passes away, Red buries the woman the next day in a marked grave in the forest next to her grandfather's.
She decides to leave her village to be with Wolf.
Red's father was actually the odd wolf.