Red Ridng (Closed)

Natalie's feet crunched on the autumn leaves that scattered about in the forest grounds as she headed back towards the hunter's wooden cabin near the clearing with a mere bundle of flowers she managed to scrounge up a little away from the area. Up beside a tree several yards away was a headstone with a cross sticking up from the ground.

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years the hunter had been there for her, comforting and assuring her that the wolf that tried to kill her when she was a child wasn't going to come near her ever again. If he wasn't taking care of her like any other parent during the day, getting her to come along with him during his hunts (as he had never trusted leaving her alone by herself in the house), he was always guarding her during the night, staying and sometimes sleeping with her in her room to make certain that wolf wasn't going to come around again.

If anything, what he did to the wolf was a sheer invitation of a challenge should the wolf attempt to take revenge.

And then five days after she turned eighteen, the hunter had suddenly passed away. His funeral and burial by his own home. It wasn't something that Natalie could quite understand on how he could have died so soon, concerning that he was good health. Even for someone in his forties.

She stood over the hunter's grave, placing the small handful of flowers beside the headstone. Ever since the hunter had passed on, Natalie couldn't help but worry about the wolf that was still seeking retribution. Then again, thirteen years had passed. There was no way that creature could still be alive, could it?

As she continued looking down at the mere headstone, the wind picked up the leaves, blowing that along with the flowers past her. She wrapped the red cloak that she had all these years around her head to prevent the wind from messing up the raven thin curls.

The woodsman would have never have come if it wasn't for that brat. When the woodsman fought him his axe sunk into the wolf's face burying itself in his cheekbone. While the woodsman checked on Natalie Rafe ripped the weapon from his face and slunk barely alive into the forest. He'd tried to leave them behind after that. He was only twenty five at the time and he decided there were other towns to terrorize, but some one always reconized him as “The Wolf” and he couldn't even live a peaceful life. Not only that but nightmares plagued him. He would wake up feeling like the axe was still there and on rainy days he could feel the scar's dull pain all day. There was only way to rid himself of the nightmares to truly live his life again. They both needed to die, painfully.

He found a poison to take care of the hunter, still afraid of his might and waited. While Rafe waited he watched them both. The man watched over her still guarding against his intrusion as he always did, but the girl had changed. She was older, her body had grown, and the way she moved hypnotized him. As he imagined himself spilling her blood and feasting on her other thoughts. He imagined what her bare body would look like and her whimpers as he took her. He would enslave her like the nightmare she'd caused had enslaved him for the last thirteen years. Forcing her back to his den was almost too easy though. It would be so much more gratifying to lure her there willingly and see the look on her face when she realized her mistake.

Once again he assumed his human form, something he had done less and less over the years and stepped out behind her a safe distance away. Rafe's wild black hair blew in the breeze and he spoke alerting her to his presence, “Its been a long time. I can't believe I outlived him.”

The sound of a male voice had slightly startled Natalie. Looking up, she noticed a man, maybe in his early thirties, standing not too far away from her. Her eyebrows raised, having not seen him before. Maybe it was an acquaintance of the hunter. Natalie wasn't so sure. Still, for someone older than her, he seemed rather young compared to the woodsman himself.

"You knew him?" Natalie's head tilted to the side. Perhaps the gentleman was some sort of distant friend that the hunter did not see too often and had only arrived to visit him. Her face wore a confused look, almost appearing to be childish when she asked that question. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a scar on the man's cheekbone. Curious as she was, she was tempted to ask how did he get such a scar like that on his face but decided against it. It wasn't her business, after all. Maybe he would feel uncomfortable talking about it.

Natalie glanced down at the headstone behind her, watching as the wind picked up bits of petals from the flowers she laid beside it, and blew it away.

Rafe smiled brushing the hair away from his face. She was so young when it happened it didn't surprise him when she didn't recognize him. This would be easier than he had thought. “I knew him a long time ago. I was supposed to help him protect this little girl, but I was frightened and I ran away. I can back to make amends, but ...” Rafe brought his face to his hand and stopped talking for a moment. He wondered how the girl would react to his lie, but he didn't give her the chance right away. “Did you know him,” he asked, “are you his daughter or something?” It took him a certain amount of willpower to keep from eying her with hunger, he hadn't been this close to her since that fateful day.

When the stranger explained to her his reason for visiting the hunter's grave, Natalie could feel her jaw drop. This didn't exactly ease her confusion but added more to it. The man who had raised her for most of her childhood had never once said that he had intended to have someone help him raise her. Then again, this probably would explain why he took her along with him on hunting trips. Her eyes lowered to her feet, her face flushing with a bit of embarrassment.

"I...I was the little girl he was taking care of." She said in a soft voice before looking back up at him.

Rafe looked away from her. He couldn't help but smile a toothy grin and if he hadn't looked away he felt certain she'd remember that smile even through all those years. He took a moment and then turned back stoney faced. “I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. Is there anything I can do. I have to do something for him,” Rafe told her pointing to the hunter's grave, “if not for you.” The wind kicked up for a moment and he shuddered. His eyes ran over Natalie again taking in her lovely form and he fought down the urge to take her that moment. He was so close to finishing his vengeance, he would do it right.

Natalie leaned up against the tree, looking down at the hunter's grave, trying to make sense of the entire thing. Particularly with the hunter being in excellent health right before he died. She wrapped both of her arms around her, feeling the stranger still staring at her.

"I don't think there's anything you can do. It's not like you could bring him back or anything." Natalie attempted to sound casual, shrugging her shoulders.

Could the hunter had predicted his own demise when he told her that he would watch over and protect her until she turned eighteen? Did he know something like this was going to happen to him. She kept her back towards the man, feeling a few tears streak down her face, muttering along the lines on how the hell could this whole thing have happened.

Rafe walked over and put his hands on her shoulders. "Anything you need me for, even if its just a shoulder to cry on or someone to help you along until things get better. I want to be here for you now, since I ran so long ago." He wasn't sure how she would react, but he brought his arms around her in a hug. The scent and warmth of her body nearly drove him wild, but he kept his senses.

"You haven't told me your name. And if you were supposed to help him out, why did you run away?"

As Natalie felt more tears streaking down her face, she quickly brought her hand up to wipe them off as fast as she could so it wouldn't be noticeable. What startled her more was when he approached her and wrapped his arms around her. For a moment, she wanted to pull away from his hold but for some reason, something she could not quite put her finger on, the feeling was surprisingly comfortable.

Yet even in this awkward embrace, there was something about it that made Natalie feel a bit uneasy. As if there was something familiar about this encounter.

He held her and his voice grew heavy as he began to spin his story. “He didn't have anyone else to watch over, but I did. The wolf killed my parents. He didn't even eat them he just left their bloody torn bodies ripped apart on the floor. I ... There was a girl I thought I loved in town. I didn't want the same thing to happen to her. I could've stayed. If I had worked with him it would've been fine, but I was young and afraid.” Rafe let his story hang in the air and though he didn't want to he let go of Natalie and gently turned her to face him. “My name is Rafe.” He gave her a gentle smile and left his hands resting on her shoulder.

A bit startled as Rafe turned her around, she was more concerned of the fact that he might notice that she was about to cry, or appear to be. As he smiled down at her, Natalie gave a nervous smile. As comforting the situation was slowly turning out to be, she couldn't help but feel nervous, a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her something was not right with this whole scenario. Her eyes slowly glanced over to his face, noticing the scar.

"What happened to you? I mean, how did you get that scar?"

At that, her hand slowly reached out, touching the spot where the scar line ran across one side of his face.

As her fingers brushed against it he could feel the old pain again. Though just barely there it never truly went away and with her touch he jerked away, anger flashing in his eyes. How dare she when it was her fault it was there. “I don't like talking about it,” he told her curtly. Rafe took a deep breath, he could tell he was scaring her. “I'm sorry, its been a long journey,” he explained, “and its full of painful memories.” He brought his own hand to the disfigured flesh running it across its length. “Can we not talk about it?”

Just as Natalie poked at the scar, she saw Rafe pull away angrily. Like a curious child, she wanted to ask questions on how he got the scar, namely who had done it to him. Or was it an accident of some sort. As he told her off about it, Natalie's gaze lowered, her face flushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry..." She said quietly. "I didn't mean to. Just...well..."

Natalie trailed off at that sentence. Having seen the anger in his eyes, she had thought twice on questioning him and the story of how he got the scar. She took a few steps away from him until her back hit the tree.

Rafe followed her to the tree standing very close to her. "Don't be afraid. I'm just touchier about it than I should be. I might tell you about it some time, just not right now." His body pressed against hers as he moved closer still. "You've grown so much, I never thought ..." Rafe suddenly pulled away, this harder than he'd thought. "I'm sorry, I've just been alone a long time now ... I should go, I'm sorry." He hoped to bait her into inviting him in or at the very least showing her how trustworthy he could be before going.

The approach and touch had left Natalie all the more confused about this whole thing. Did the hunter really want someone to help him out in raising her? If he did, why did he not mention it in the first place. Maybe the hunter was mad at his friend to bother bringing up his name or make any sort of mention.

As she saw Rafe about to leave, as if out of instinct, she called out to him. "Wait!"

Feeling her face turn red, embarrassed at what she had just done, she pondered what to say next. However, the words began to spill out long before she could have any time to stop them.

"Maybe you could come inside for a while. I mean, you did say you traveled from afar."

Rafe smiled. "If you're sure," he said walking to the door instead of towards her. "It has been a long road and I would greatly love to sit for a while, maybe have a bit of something to eat?" He opened the door for her and smile widened.

"Uh...sure." She watched as Rafe headed rather excitedly towards the door of the cabin several yards away. Natalie was unsure what to make of this situation as she followed Rafe from behind, heading inside the home that she had grown up in since childhood. Her grandmother having been killed, her mother having died in the same fashion several days later, this was the only place she had left to call home.

Attempting to be a good hostess, she maneuvered around the kitchen, about to get Rafe some leftovers from the night before from the mini fridge that the hunter had kept, but stopped herself. She didn't know what this guy liked to eat.

"Um...is there anything you want to eat or drink." Natalie called out to Rafe, who no doubt settled himself in the living room. "I'm not sure if what I have is good enough for you. There is some wine in the fridge if you want."

"Anything would be fine for food and the wine sounds lovely." Rafe circled the living room remembering it. Though a few little things had changed, it had largely stayed the same. "I feel bad, I came here to make up for things and all I've done is take advantage ... of your hospitality." Rafe set his pack on the sofa and began scanning the wooden floors. Finally he knelt down at a rug and folded part of it over on itself. There it was. His blood was still there.

It took Natalie a few minutes but she brought out a bowl of roast beef and wild rice in one hand and a bottle of wine in front of the other. As she settled it down on the table, she noticed Rafe looking over the carpet but didn't think too much of it. After all, once in a while when acquaintances of the hunter had stopped by to swap stories of their hunting days, they often check to see if that rug was actually from a real animal or store bought in the market.

"Sorry. I know it's not much. It's all I have at the moment." She sat down on the arm couch adjacent to the sofa, switching on a lamp nearby.

Rafe moved the bit of carpet back to where it had been. “Don't worry, roast beef is a favorite of mine. I hope you don't mind if I sit on the floor. Its strange I know, but I don't stop in towns often, I'm a hunter, like he was.” Rafe took the bowl and sat on the rug resting it in his lap. He tore into the meat hungrily and eyed Natalie for a moment. “Are you all alone now? I'm hope I'm not being insensitive, its just ... I didn't expect this. He and I were friends once, I didn't expect you.”

Natalie shrugged casually, not really caring if Rafe sat on the floor or the couch. People tend to do the strangest things after all, especially those that the hunter knew who lived around the area. The nearest cabin in this forest land was a few miles away, separating them in to isolation from the bustling cities and towns.

When Rafe asked if she was now alone, Natalie was unsure of how to answer that. She crossed her leg over the other while her fingernails gripped on to the arm rests. As if she were uncomfortable with that position, she crossed her legs the other way, resting the other leg on top of her thigh.

"I guess you could say that," She replied in a meek tone. "I didn't have that much friends when I grew up. He was pretty cautious on where I went and who I talked to ever since that day I was attacked by the wolf. Couldn't really blame him, I suppose."

"Not at all. He was a dangerous and cunning beast." Rafe quickly finished off the roast beef and didn't bother with the rice. He set down the bowl and began licking his fingers. "Do you know if he's still out there? Do you think he still wants you?" There was something dark about the way he asked her the questions, curious to see how wary she was.

That was the one thing Natalie didn't want to think about, and that's if the wolf was still after her. Her body sank in to the couch only slightly, feeling rather uncomfortable of the whole situation. Her fingers drummed on the armrest, as if trying to figure out a way to word her answer without making her fears obvious.

"Well, I thought about it at times, but I don't think wolves or any animal could last that long. I mean, it's about thirteen years since it attacked me. Plus, he did try to attack the wolf with an axe but the wolf apparently got away. I don't know how he tried to attack the wolf. The hunter never really got in to detail about how he tried to finish it off."

Sitting herself back up, she noticed that Rafe had finished his meal. "It would probably make sense that the wolf would be dead by now, especially if it was a grown wolf at that time."

Rafe rose, set the bowl on the table and walked over to her. "He never told you, did he?" he asked her sitting down very close to her. "The wolf was so much more than just an animal. He could become human, he was intelligent, and very strong. He told me the creature should have died that day, but when he came back from comforting you the creature had torn the axe out of its body and run away." Rafe's voice was low and probably frightening. He rested his hand on her wrist. "I know because I almost killed it, but it reverted back to its human form and I couldn't do it. That's why I had promised to help keep you safe and why I was coming back to make amends. If I had killed it ..."

Natalie did not think too much of it when Rafe approached her and sat down beside her. But when he touched and held on to her wrist, a cold chill ran down her spine. Maybe it was the way he spoke in that low, cynical manner, or the story he was telling of how the wolf was capable of shifting in to human form to fool anyone.

She scooted back slightly until she was near the armrest, though his hand still kept hold on her wrist.

"N-no. He didn't tell me that the wolf can change shape. I didn't think wolves can actually disguise themselves as humans. I mean...well...I always thought they were just stories people made up about them in order to have some sort of scary story to tell during the night."