2 Chapter I : Unexpected Encounters

Life can be so strange. You can never know what will be thrown at you until you find yourself ovaries deep in it.

One moment, you're sitting on grass admiring the scenery of the beautiful lake you stumbled upon after nearly dying of thirst. The next thing you know, a 5 meters tall angry mammoth tries to trample you to death.

"That's just how life is. Or rather, how my life is."

Arya couldn't help but think about this as she ran from the monster trying to end her young life.

She really didn't see how her day could get any worse.

It was at times like this that she couldn't remember why she came alone to this god-forsaken place. It's like the monsters had unanimously decided that the Black Forest was their turf and any beautiful and delicate woman would be their prey. The mud tripping her feet and the thick rain blurring her vision didn't help either.

"Aren't you supposed to be an herbivore? What's the point of killing me if you can't eat me?" She yelled at the animal.

Just as its trunk lashed out at her, she jumped to the side. Arya raninto the denser part of the forest to slow it down and it worked for the most part.

"Why are you so angry anyway? It was an accident!"

How could she have imagined that he would step on a trap she had set 5 minutes before and injure its feet?

When she suddenly saw it charging towards her, her life flashed before her eyes!

In her panic, she ran into the forest instead of jumping into the lake and swimming to the other side.

Arya decided that talking was a waste of breath since it wasn't listening anyway so she might as well think of a way out of this.

At that moment, she saw a massive egg-shaped rock buried in the ground and ran towards it.

The rock was three times bigger than the mammoth and surrounded by giant and thick trees. It seemed hard enough to shield her for a moment.

She ran behind it just as the mammoth plunged its tusk into the ground where she once stood.

'Okay! I need a weapon! A branch, a rock, anything!'

She looked around frantically but couldn't find anything. The mammoth was battling out with the rock and she was afraid it would crack.

She considered running while it was occupied and trying to lose it. However, she was afraid that if she ran any further she wouldn't be able to find her way back to the lake. This forest was massive and she was discovering that she has a pitiful sense of direction.

She stood there, undecided until she heard a threatening growl coming from the other side of the rock. The mammoth had stopped its assault but she couldn't see anything from where she was. So she decided to climb up a tree.

'At least I'll be safe from whatever is happening over there.'

As she climbed up slowly because of the rain, she could hear the struggle that was happening on the ground. When she reached a branch thick enough to support her weight, she climbed on it and turned around.

What she saw made her slack-jawed.

A huge black wolf, almost the same size as the mammoth tore through the latter. The wolf had seeped its claws into the mammoth's stomach and was biting through its neck trying to tear it open. The poor beast lay in a pool of blood, struggling with all its might. But it could do nothing against the wolf's overwhelming strength.

Arya almost felt sorry for it. Almost.

After a few minutes, the deed was done. The mammoth was dead. Arya got down from the tree and walked towards the corpse.

"What took you so long? I was about to be trampled to death." She said to the wolf.

The wolf glanced at her, then turned around and left.

"Hey! You're not planning to leave me here, are you?" She yelled, running after it.

The wolf kept walking, ignoring her.

"I thought you and I were friends. How can you act so cold to me?"

She caught up to it and climbed up into its fur. After she got seated on its back, she let out a breath of relief. Now she was safe.

"Where were you? You weren't there when I woke up this morning." She asked, lying down and stretching her body.

"Hmm. Your fur is so soft."

Arya had the bad habit of talking to animals even if they couldn't answer her.

The fact that she had been alone in this forest for a week with no amicable company other than wolf under her made it justifiable. Right?

"Don't leave me again. I'm lonely here, without you."

After being ignored a few more times, Arya decided to leave him alone and enjoy the ride. She started thinking about the reason why she was here in the first place. In order to find others like her. Her mission, her promise.

Soon, she drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

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Arya dreamt that she was drowning. She couldn't breathe and felt like a huge rock was on her chest. Her body felt heavy and soaked. Her eyes snapped open and she saw a huge pink tongue coming down towards her face.

Her scream got caught in her throat as her whole face and body got smothered in saliva.

"Ew! Stop!" She croaked, her voice coming out strained.

It took her a moment to realize that the wolf's huge paw was pushing on her stomach.

"Get off me! I can't breathe!" She choked out.

The wolf obeyed. It sat down on its hind legs and watched her cough and gasp on the ground.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?" She asked glaring at him.

The wolf tilted its head sideways and stared at her.

"What?" She snapped.

The wolf lowered its head towards her then nodded towards the lake. She stepped closer and peered into the lake. Her reflection stared back at her, with a pair of bright amber eyes.

"Huh?" She looked around, "Are we on the other side? Oh, did I fall into the water or something?"

The wolf nodded. Arya sighed, "Well, thanks for fishing me out, wolfie." The wolf snorted and walked away. Arya followed, and soon the two were on their way. Since she was the kind of girl who couldn't stand silence and liked to hear herself talk, she chatted with the wolf while looking around.

"You know what? I think you've changed a lot since we first met. It seems so long ago when you were just a regular, everyday Big Bad Wolf! You know, growling at me every time I try to make conversation or trying to bite me whenever I come enough?" She glanced at the wolf and snickered. "Now you're just like a cute puppy!"

The wolf growled at her. Arya ignored it.

"Really, you've been such a huge help. Surviving here would have been so much harder without you. By the way, want to know why I'm here?"

She looked at the wolf expectantly. It gave her a glance and looked away.

"I'll take that as a yes. So, I'm looking for someone. But I don't know their gender or appearance. Crazy, right? All I know is that I'll know if they are who I'm searching for when I see them."

She waited for the wolf to respond. It didn't.

"But it's not like I'm searching blindly, you know? I heard a rumor from one of my friends about some strange things happening here. Like rain pouring down at random times of the day or the lake freezing to ice one day and turning boiling hot the next. I'm not sure if it's true, but it's worth checking out. The person I'm looking for is, most likely, the one behind these things. By the way, since you live here, do you happen to know something?"

In response, the wolf turned around and lowered its head towards her. She instinctively took a step back, but after thinking, she decided to hold her ground. The wolf grabbed her by the collar of her black sleeveless top and carried her away.

"Wait! What are you doing? Put me down! I'm not your pup!"

The wolf burst into a sprint. Arya couldn't open her eyes, much less speak because of the wind pressure. As a result, she let herself be carried away wherever the wolf pleased. After what seemed like hours, the wolf slowed down to a trot. Arya opened her eyes and saw a beautiful meadow in the distance. As the wolf and Arya approached, Arya noticed a small cabin nestled in the center of the meadow. The wolf stopped at the cabin's doorstep and, with a gentle nudge, encouraged Arya to enter.

"What? You want me to go in? Wait, is the person I'm looking for here?"

The wolf just stared at her. Arya knocked on the door but received no response. She tried to open the door and found it unlocked. She slowly stepped inside the cabin. As she looked around, Arya noticed that the cabin was empty but it was clear that someone lived there. There were clothes folded neatly on a sofa in one corner, a bed in the other and a small kitchen area.

Arya couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Of course, it couldn't be so easy. Finding that person in a forest full of monsters one week after getting here would be a miracle. Especially with her luck. She considered waiting around to meet the person from the cabin but then changed her mind. She didn't know when they would come back and she was on a time crunch.

"Well, at least you tried Wolfie. Thank you. I'll just keep looking. I ran away from the mansion, you know? I can't go back empty-handed. I can't let them think they were right!"

She heard a noise from outside toward the back of the cabin. She approached the window then let out a gasp.

There, in the clear water of a stream stood a girl. She was very beautiful but, that's not important. The girl was singing a sweet melody, and the sound of her voice filled the air like a gentle breeze. But that's not relevant either.

No. What shocked Arya was, the stream the girl was standing in was making waves at her feet with water columns swirling around her. She was molding the water into different shapes and forms, floating around her in a mesmerizing dance. Arya felt shivers running down her spine. 

"Well, Wolfie, guess who's not going back empty-handed after all."