red riding hood | void stiles [au]

one ; past

CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING

SHE REMEMBERED everything about that bone-chilling night; from the way the full moon danced in the sky with the bright stars as its audience to the repetitive crunch of the sticks she stepped on. Although it was hundreds of years ago, at a time where civilization was drastically different, and for one to get to the place they desired they simply had to walk there just like the blonde did. This particular time though, she was out late as darkness loomed over everything in her path, and she tried so desperately not to be afraid.

This was before the girl experienced anything out of the ordinary, so while she walked back towards her village for the night, her deep blue eyes were moving nonstop to be on full alert. The stories her grandmother had told her about wild beasts and evil creatures of all kinds that lurked in these forests certainly took a toll on her unwillingly, making her as secretly afraid as a young child, but she would never admit that out loud. The girl practically radiated innocence, though that didn't stop her from being stubborn.

A blood red cloak kept her from freezing, her breath clouds caused by the coldness clearly being visible to her, and snowflakes fell from the clouds unhurriedly to settle down and stick to the ground. Color had found its way into her cheeks also, flushed a very flattering shade of pink that worked nicely with her smooth, pale skin, which was just another side affect of the weather. At this rate, it wouldn't be long until she was in her own home with her mother and sister, warming up by the fireplace and having a peaceful night.

Just when the blonde had convinced herself that there was nothing to be scared of, a shadow swept by her vision quickly in the distance, making the poor girl halt to a complete stop. She gripped the wooden woven basket in her tiny hands, which was completely empty after dropping off goods to her grandma's, knuckles prominent as they found a way to poke out against her fair, teenage skin. The figure moved around so quickly, from bush to bush, that she could barley tell that it was some kind of medium-sized animal, but just because it was medium-sized didn't mean it wasn't harmless.

After what seemed like hours instead of seconds, the creature emerged forward slowly, directly in line of sight with the startled human it had succeeded in frightening. Its black fur blended in so easily with the darkness of the night that she almost didn't catch it, eyes some sort of dark shade she couldn't figure out due to the proximity between them, and it wasn't long until the girl figured out she was feet away from an untamed fox. Her heart pumped wildly in her chest, unsure of how she was going to get out of this situation safely.

It continued to stalk towards the blonde, her feet unable to move for no logical reason, but the closer the fox got, the more human its eyes looked until the animal was right in front of her with such a dark brown color filling its irises. The creature stared at her and she stared back, bewildered by the whole experience, because the fox wasn't showing any indication it was threatened or wanted her away. You could call her crazy but she thought it knew what it was doing, approaching her like this in such an unnerving and unpredictable manner, mischief clear behind its motives.