Little Red

Red’s father wasn’t in the least surprised at his daughter’s disappearance. She had been very excited to know she would get to travel through the woods. She knew the map by heart because she was always prepared. He just hoped she wouldn’t try anything risky, like striding into wolf territory, or killing a wolf on their territory. She would end up with the same fate as her mother had.

His throat tightened as he thought of the surly memory. Even though he had promised himself many years ago he wouldn’t shed a tear, nor let a word of her pass his lips, he found himself shedding, maybe twice on special occasions, like her birthday, and letting tiny whispers leave his throat in his dreams.

Her father simply just suspected her daughter had gone to see that boy she spoke commonly of…Kennan? Kannon? No…Kaige!

After wolfishly eating his breakfast till his belly felt full, and he cleansed himself thoroughly, he stepped onto the streets. He ventured to the town square, planning on trading for a few chickens, and then meeting Kaige’s father. Red seemed to be very fond of this young man. Better to get to know his father if they were going to in-laws, right?

Red usually went hunting at this time, but since she wasn’t here, it was left for him to go buy fresh kill.

He passed the many people with ease, hearing the shuffle of feet and the cry of babies in tired mother’s arms. The town passed and grew right before his eyes, but he still seemed to be stuck in the past, where Red, his wife, his daughter, Evangeline, and he were a happy family.

He had thought of revenge against the wolves for a very long time, but if he did, he would most likely end up with his wife’s same fate. And he could never leave his daughter alone. Even if she could take care of herself, he couldn’t do that.

“What could I get ya?” Red’s father turned expectantly, wondering how he had gotten here. He hardly even noticed his legs had been working their way to the butcher’s.

Boris, the butcher, chopped the head clean off a small turkey, grinning a wide, toothy smile. His dark eyes glittered—business must’ve been booming. Winter was coming and people were getting stocked.

“Johnny!” Boris burst, holding his arms out wide, a thick knife in one hand. Johnny bent over the table and hugged his old friend, giving him a sturdy pat on the back, despite the fact that he hated it when Boris called him that.

“It’s nice to see you, buddy.” He threw the turkey’s carcass on the table and his wife, Theta, began to pluck its feathers.

“And you, Theta, as well.”

“G’morning, John.” Unlike her husband, Theta respected his name. Her tummy was swollen under her thin blue dress, saying she was a month or two from giving birth. She plucked the last feather from the bird and used a thin rope to tie its ankles together. Then, she hung it up on the wood in the entrance with the other hung turkeys. She smiled, her tan, thin face framed by her dark curly hair.

“I came to say thank you for letting your son escort Red to her grandmother’s.” John stated in a grateful tone.

They both looked up, and confused look on their faces. “Um…you mean Kaige?”

John nodded, and caught sight of a crying child on the ground. A mother in a forest green cape and velvet ankle-length dress picked the child up and patted its back.

John was so caught up in the sight of the crying child and caring mother he hardly heard Boris say, “Kaige didn’t tell us anything about that.”

“Yes, in fact, he’s in the storage room—“

At that moment, Kaige walked into the room, a stick of assorted meats hung over his shoulder. “Oh, hello, Sir. “

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here.”

“Oh, God.” John muttered, putting a hand to his chin.

“What’s wrong? Sir, are you okay?” Kaige said, walking over to the table John was behind.

“No. I’m not.” John replied, more annoyance than fear etching into his voice. “I think my daughter just went into the Forest alone.”

Dead silence rang, causing some of Boris’s beloved customers to scurry off. Theta stopped plucking a chicken. Kaige dropped his stick of carcasses.

“I’ll go after her.”



Red watched the dew cling to the trees, thinking she would miss it. Fall was to come soon, and when it did, all the glorious leaves would fall to their sad departure. She sighed, breathing in the familiar fragrance after the rain. It had poured last night, much to her delight.

“Hey! Will you slow down?” Oznap Evercrest chomped through the forest behind her like a drunken fool. Red opened her mouth and turned to yell at her again when a snap took forth in the wood ahead.

She had her bow raised and an arrow aimed before Oznap could even ask what the sound was. Red released, striking a small plump rabbit in the undergrowth. Red sighed.

“God, you don’t have to be quick to jump to conclusions.” Oznap stepped up beside her, hands on the straps of her backpack. “It was just a bunny.”

“Yeah?” Red replied sarcastically. “That’s ‘just’ dinner.” But Oznap was right. Red had killed that bunny because she had jumped to conclusions and thought it was a wolf.

Oznap looked away, embarrassed by her ignorance. Red held her tongue instead of adding to the fact that the girl was moody, and ignorant, and kind of selfish. Red collected the rabbit. Red didn’t need to catch anything separate for her. She had some apples in her bag.

Oznap was twelve, having started training when she was ten, she wasn’t as advanced as Red. She had light blonde hair the stretched a couple of inches off her shoulders, but she never took it out of her messy bun at the back of her neck. With big bushy eyebrows, her dark eyes glinted with specks of gold. Her upper lip held a very large cupid’s bow. Red kind of wished she had her lips, because hers were thinner. Oznap’s body was thin and frail, but she was good with a dagger.

They continued walking, and after a minute or two, Oznap opened her mouth once again. “Shouldn’t we make camp?”

“Wow. That’s just about the smartest thing that came out of your mouth since we met.”

Oznap turned to her and glared, sticking out her cherry pink tongue. Oznap and Red had never really been friends. Of course (since it’s a small village) they knew each other. To the young girl in leather chaps and a light brown leather vest, Red was a gallant hero. Of course, people steered clear of her, but that was because…everyone should stay out of a hero’s way so she could do her job, right? Well, this is what Oznap thought of her. And Red thought of the girl as a rude, arrogant little bug. But she honestly wasn’t too shabby with a weapon. Maybe not the best out of all twelve year olds in the village but she was something.

Red glared at her childishness and Oznap crossed her arms. The only reason Red had chosen to take her was because she didn’t need Kaige to babysit her. She was the babysitter. Not him. So, she did exactly what her father had said, which was to take another slayer with her, just…not the person he expected it to be.

Red smiled victoriously at the way she had outsmarted her father.

“This should be good.” Red stopped in a clearing, the sound of crunching dirt and leaves stopped as Oznap stepped beside her. Red wasn’t very tall, but Oznap was short. She only came to below her Red’s breasts.

Oznap made no commentary and took thick blankets out of her bag… Did she even bring clothes?

“How did you fit all of your stuff in there?”

Oznap gained a smug smile. Red shouldn’t have asked. “I squeezed it.”

Red rolled her eyes.

She tossed the girl in the red cape a thick blank blanket her mother had woven. “I’ll get firewood," Red suggested.

As soon as that was collected, Oznap huddled into her blanket and watched as the fire ignited. Red got into her blanket also, her quiver on one side of her, and the bow in her hand under the blanket.

They both fell into dreamless sleeps.



The two slayers were in a clearing way off the main path, which forced Kanon to use his nose. He looked upward to the sky and opened his mouth, drinking in the air. Their sharp scent flooded through him. They were close. Very.

He stalked quietly through the underbrush, his golden eyes glittering in the moonlight. He melted in with the forest, sensing the Slayer’s presence.

After being sent here by the leader of the pack, his paws shook with tension. He had never been sent on a mission, no matter how small. Things like gathering prey, and searching for lost wolves just couldn’t compare to this.

Though, there was always the fact that the leader just couldn’t stand him and hoped that the slayers would finish him off.

But, that wouldn’t happen. Kanon’s claws dug into the moist earth. His laid flat against his head, he ventured from his bush and walked silently on the leaves. A bright yellow light made off in the distance, and he pawed towards it. Each step, the light grew brighter. It was a fire.

He rounded the campsite a few times, deciding from which place would be the most convient to attack from. He took a whiff through his nose—both slayers were female, but that didn’t make them easier to defeat.

Kanon melted with the tree—blended—it always made him feel like he was one with the world. He glimpsed it over the side. There was a little girl, possibly eleven. All he could see was her mob of blonde hair that fell over her sweet little face.

He made a low growl in the pit of his chest, and then melted back into the grove, knowing he should check the other slayer. Just by looking at other wolves you could find different strengths and weaknesses. Why wouldn’t it be the same with humans?

He walked to the other part of the camp, then stalked to feet away from the one in red. Why would she wear her hood as she slept…?

The girl sighed in her sleep, and then turned over, facing Kanon. Her hood fell off in the process.

Kanon blinked furiously, making sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Were…were those ears? Wolf ears?

Yes. On her head, she carried a pair of bright red wolf ears to match her hair color. Her skin was pale, almost gleaming under the small moon that hung overhead. The ears twitched, her nose wrinkling in one smooth moment, as if sensing her hood had abandoned her head. She made no motion to put it back on, though.

This has to be some kind of joke. Was the pack leader testing him to see if he would kill the girl that’s only partially one of his own? Or kill the half-breed because she might have some of his blood, but she shared the DNA of the thing wolves hated the most?

His brain torn between two decisions, he backed up into the forest, asking himself if his clan really had anything to do with it.



Red shot up at the sound of creatures moving in the underbrush. She shivered, ripping an arrow from her quiver and aiming it at the bush next to her.

Don’t overreact, she told herself, remembering what had happened earlier with the bunny. Oznap was right about something, and that something was her jumpiness.

So, in one swift motion, she lifted a few branches to reveal what made the sudden racket.

She fell flat on her butt as a litter of wolf pups tackled her, drowning her in wet kisses.