Crimson Red

Lupus intrat

Lindow was a fairly small (and exceptionally poor) town. They weren't big enough to warrant a police station and only had one Sheriff's office.

Hard criminals - such as murderers - would get sent to the nearest city (Yupolis) for trial, and that alone was a ten day drive with little to no pit stops. Failed kidnappers, rapists, vandals, brutes, and thieves, however... well, those would be sentenced by the cranky people of Lindow for disturbing what little peace they had.

This... was one of the many reasons (Y/n) had never considered asking for help.

It was why (G/n) couldn't just take him against his mother's will; why (M/n) had never tried to get protection before receding into her own mind.

Lindow was a place of silent suffering. The population consisted of poor souls who couldn't afford to live anywhere else, recluses searching for someplace quiet, and old folks too feeble for travel. They were never kind to the criminals they charged...

The streets were barren as (Y/n) scurried along the sidewalk, his duffle bag gripped tightly in both hands. Fluffy peaks of snow bathed in a golden-orange glow from the slowly setting sun.

Worry bloomed in his chest when frozen crystals began to rain from the sky, prophesying a cruel fate of trudging through thick snowfall with night's darkness steadily closing in.

Boot-clad feet slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the wood.

The treeline had mostly been fenced off in an attempt to keep wildlife out of Lindow. Of course, they still had the occasional deer or wolf anyway.

A large opening in the fence allowed huntsmen and woodcutters to pass through with ease, making the woods look more like a public park than a long stretch of wilderness.

The sign above it didn't exactly help.

Ringberg Woods...

Despite being fairly well-documented, it was easy to get lost within Ringberg Woods. Some say that loosing the path for even a moment could spell your doom.

(Y/n) simply stood there for a minute - snow already clinging to his cloak in fluffy clumps - and gazed through the lackluster entrance.

He almost felt like that opening was really the yawning jaws of a beast just patiently waiting for him to wander a little bit closer...

"Something troubling you, toots?"

The (h/c) jolted. Spinning around, he found himself looking up into a pair of smug yellow-green eyes.

"Oh, did I startle you?"

(Y/n) held his bag closer to his chest, but the stranger only smirked down at him. His canines looked unnaturally sharp in the dwindling daylight.

The smell of cigars radiated off of him, and (Y/n) wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tounge?"

He tilted his head slightly; his piercing eyes half-lidded as he leaned further into (Y/n)'s space. The shorter subtly shuffled backwards, slowly taking in all of this stranger's appearance.

He wore a black waistcoat over his white dress shirt; a silky blue tie fastened around his neck that flowed freely in the winter wind. His dress pants were black as well, but his Oxfords were a dark brown. Sitting atop his short honey-blonde curls was a black fedora adorned with a silk ribbon to match his tie.

Simply put, he didn't look like the type of person to live in a place like Lindow.

A pale hand reached out for a section of his hood. (Y/n) slapped it away, glaring in disapproval. The stranger's smirk fell into a childish pout.

"Hmph... didn't expect this rabbit to have fangs."

"What do you want?"

His firm tone was painfully artificial. That smug smirk quickly returned.

"Oh, nothing much. Name's Oliver Grant. Yours?"

(E/c) eyes narrowed in distrust.

"(Y/n)... (Y/n) (L/n)."

Oliver's eyes slightly widened and his lips changed into a wide grin.

"(Y/n), huh?"

The taller laughed, his teeth on full display.

"What a lovely name."