Chapter two: A wolf and a child

A strong mid-night gust howled throughout the forest, brushing the trees from side to side,fluttering the leaves into a hazy trance.

Dawn was approaching and their domain over the night was nigh. But still,they went for the hunt, gladdened by the presence of a weak prey.

Up in the unknown sky, the moon shone pessimistic of the dawn. It blossomed on the misery of many but surprisingly lived in jitters, fearful of its old fiend, the ruler of the day, the sun. It was always in a hurry,rushing presumably from the hard truth that it was weak before the might of sun. It fled, unapologetically ,to save face from the Master of the true light . The castle that it lived in was cruel to host both of them. It loathed itself for being frail and afraid ;afraid of the unknown but it's fear,though unfortunate , were a blessing in disguise.

For in the dark, monsters took pleasure in tormenting and goring of the weak. They ,untamed beasts , prowled across the kingdom hunting down their prey for the joy of it. They ravished such likings, licking their victims blood, mocking their prey with berating laughter,and seeing their victims break down in fear threw them deeper into an abyss of undeniable delight.

Men, with their own shortcomings ,agonized in pain giving a savoury meal to their tormentors to fill themselves up.But the fear of men was unwelcomed to untainted courage of the gray wolf .It was beaten and wounded in body but not in spirit. As it stood there,at the precipice of near demise, with its blood furiously gushing out and the gashed wounds becoming all too more visible,it still wouldn't cower. It's life was now on an hourglass, with sands of time trickling down as the breaking of dawn drew nearer.

"I'm not giving up! I'm not giving up on you!"It howled ,a thunderous howl, as loud as it could for the whole forest to hear and listen, for the child's pursuer to known that she wasn't ready to give up just yet. Determined,she surged forward on her last stretch, ready and willing to lay down her life for the sake of his. The dire wolf unable to notice the gray wolf advance, out of ignorance perhaps,had left it's belly wide open as she pounced, grabbing it down to her height as the dire wolf now growled in sheer pain. She swiftly in her last straw, while the dire wolf was down on the ground,sunk her blood smeared fangs deep into it's jugular. She now was unwilling to let go of the dire wolf, despite of it's resistance, writhing agonizingly on the ground, while throwing its last dying kicks onto the gray wolf's underbelly.

Her strong fangs were sinking deeper and deeper into its jugular and in an instant,she viciously ripped the dire wolf's throat out. Blood began to gush out of her enemy's dead carcass,bathing in her hard fought win .

The battle was over and the victory was gladdening but at the cost of her life. Her lower jaw hanged loose; death was certainly imminent. But still, she had won seeking not glory for herself but merely for the sake of the child's life.

It was calm,calm as it could be. It was curious of when its last breath would be . It was bleeding both in flesh and soul, for it didn't know it saviours name, in a world that was drowning in abject hopelessness. Still it was grateful.

The wolf , injured and broken , moved closer towards the child, limping, as blood continued to profusely ooze out of its bared wounds . It laid -back with its eyes open, bravely ignoring the excruciating pain running throughout it's frail looking tiny body.

It's eyes met with the gray wolf's eye and at that moment, as they exchanged glances, giving a good thankful laugh, it smiled back to the wolf it didn't need to fear. For as of that moment,it felt safe and loved, and their eyes spoke of a bond unknown to no man or beast, of a longing of belonging to a world out of touch with itself and she, neither man nor woman had found her place in the comfort of a human child, that her life had found meaning , in the joy of being needed.

Of all the beasts to have saved the child was fated to be an outcast ,banished from her pack, desolate in her loneliness. Both of them had become outcasts of the cruel world , fated to wander aimlessly with no place to call home. But it was here,in the cold embrace of the forest, that they found comfort in each other. Her eyes were sorrowful and in pain, while the child, injured and cold, was cheerful to heart. It tried to comfort it's protector, smiling and laughing at the unknown friend who had a muzzle and a pointy ear. It threw it's fragile hands in an attempt to touch her but she feared an innocent creature like it would be tainted by her filthy blood. The child, nevertheless was undeterred by the blood , with its own blood oozing out of it's clawed face. It yearned to touch her. To at least thank her for having saved it's life . It was grateful; at least that's what it tried to say.

She moved closer and licked it's wounded face like a mother grooming her new born youngling. It laid still, letting itself get nursed. Dawn was nearing and the monsters lurking in the forest darkness were desperately moving at pace to get their hunt of the night. Knowingly, she sought to move the child out of damned forest,away from the reach of the famishing beasts.

Hastily , despite her broken jaw, she bit into its blood stained shawls excruciatingly,but nevertheless she bore with it. Gingerly, she ran through the perilous maze of a forest to an unknown destination. Nothing was carved on stone, that she knew . She was on borrowed time. A stone throw away, at a running distance,smoke belched out of a chimney. I should leave the child at that home,she thought to herself as she now sprung forward in desperation as packs of monsterous beasts right behind her after having taken up their scent, with her blood leaving a trail for them to follow.

Swift as the wind, she pushed herself beyond her shortened time of her soon to end life.No sooner,she was at a small shabby cottage. The cottage entire surroundings was already taken over by weeds that grew almost everywhere, and also covering the straw roof like a blanket. In urgency, she feebly walked towards the human house, placing the child gently as if it were fragile eggs on the doorstep . She was spent but admirably ensured it's safety. In her last act of love for the child, she howled in desperation for the human living in the house to take it in. Clawing on the door, she called out. Howling and growling ,she continued calling out for the human.

Now,on her last borrowed breath, she licked the child for one last time and she was glad. Tears of joy swelled at the edges of her eye, and they evidently spoke of a time in her miserable life that her help was unneeded but here she stood, proud and unapologetic of her existence,for she was glad of having laid down her life for someone else in need of her help. And with that, her life was no more.

Her lifeless carcass slept there, peacefully with her fur drenched in dripping blood but something rare, even rare than a wandering human,an astonishing gem to find, deep within these forest of the damned,was none other than a contented grin, drawn across her wounded face,of an outcast who was now proud to have died as a true warrior of the forest.

Soon after her body turned cold,the door to the cottage opened wide, and there, donned in a black frock,emerged a woman, a middle aged woman, whose skin was a bit light tanned,as she gazed into the open with her bright as a clear blue sky eyes. Her hair red as a hot coal and long, running down the sloppy curving valley to her protruding butt cheeks, and by a second glance it looked unsually long for comfort and washing. But all in all,her face had nothing unusual to point a cursing finger at it, plainly putting to perspective,she utterly was a beauty to be admired and swooned over at with a smile that adorned her like glittering pearls. She was rightfully to be called a queen.

Upon seeing the child and the dead wolf on her doorstep , she instantly understood the predicament that had befallen up on them. Gracefully, she picked it up and held it in her arms snuggly and smiled. It, unsure of it's fate, smiled back. "Where did you come from, sweet child?" she asked, "what about your mama and papa? Have none?! How about if i became your mother? " It replied not. The day had dawned as the beasts took cover in the darkness of the forest, with the warmth of the dawning sun gracefully embracing the lifeless wolf, thanking her for her selfless deed. Truly, she had found her dawn at the very end.

"Thank you for laying down your life for his... " She muttered to the dead wolf,as she and the child retreated to the safety of her shabby cottage, closing the creaking door behind her.