Wolf Song: The Ending to the New Beginning

Chapter 1

           Stumbling into the snow, I let out a soft groan. The heat from my own body warmed the snow, and it melted into the skirt of my dress. I tried to stand up again, but yet I only seemed to find my way back down into the snow. Mother sent me out into the woods, but I have a feeling I may not return for a very long time, if at all. I couldn't seem to wend one's way, so I turned to sit up against a tree I fell near. I hugged my knees to my chest, trying best to keep my skirt down as much as I could to provide any little warmth. I tried to curl inside of my cloak, but it barely helped me in my case. I looked at the ends of the fabric, seeing how mangled it was. I have had the cloak for a while, so it wasn't surprising how tattered it would be. Heat rose to my cheeks, and I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. However, I tried my best to hold the emotions down, I didn't want the tears freezing in my eyes.  I only let out quiet whimpers, and tried to think about anything other than the situation I was in. Nothing could come to mind though. I quietly accepted the near death that was approaching me as I closed my eyes, and let myself sink into it.

~

           My eyes fluttered open, and I let my gaze focus on the forest in front of me. The skies were still covered with grey clouds, but I could easily tell it was morning. I looked down at my lap, only to see a weary looking raccoon sitting there, staring back up at me. I shrieked, and the animal hopped off my lap and hid behind the trunk of another tree beside me. Once I calmed down from the surprise, I looked at the shivering raccoon. The poor thing looked exhausted and so very afraid, I pitied it.

           I tried to stand, but my legs instantly gave in and I fell back to my knees. Thus, I crawled toward the cowering creature. It only glared at me intensely from where it sat behind the trunk of the trees. I didn't know exactly what to do with the animal, I've never had any pets of my own. We both just sat there, staring into each other's eyes. It then slowly crept toward me, until it sat in front of me. It looked up at me, then off to the side of us in the forest. It then got up and started walking that way. I managed to stand and followed slowly behind it.

          Next thing I realize, I followed it for a while. I had no idea where this raccoon was going or what it was doing, but it was long enough for me to start thinking of a name for it. I didn't want anything too complicated, but I ended up calling it Miremini. It's been about an hour or so, until it finally stopped.

          Miremini sniffed the air, and quickly scurried to wherever we were going. After running after it, a small cottage came into view. But as we came closer, I saw how broken it was. The entrance had no door, and only a few loose boards for a porch. The windows were broken to the point they were gone, and the dull plum curtains were nothing more than just rags. A large portion of the roof was missing, and the dim grey light poured into the empty cottage. Miremini looked at me, then slowly crawling into the cottage. I creaked into the small place, taking a glance around. It was merely one room, the whole place seemed in no shape to be worth living in anymore. I looked back at Miremini. It was huddled over something. I couldn't quite see what it was looking at, so I decided to get a closer look, only to let my heart sink in my chest.

          Miremini stared longingly of a nest-looking bed made out of sticks, dead leaves, and other soft materials. Inside of it were other tiny raccoons, but the all looked to be in very bad shape. Some weren't moving, and others were blood-covered corpses. Miremini knelt beside the bed and rested it's head on it. I moved a little closer and knelt down beside her. These must've been her young, and she was unprepared for the winter. Since I did know that raccoons lived in dens, she had to resort to living in this place. I observed the mangled raccoon corpses, and examined the wounds on them. One had deep claw marks in its chest, and the other two were bitten at the necks. It seemed to still be fresh, so whatever did this to them had a chance of still being close.

           I gently reached out to place my hand on Miremini's back, and stroked it softly. She didn't flinch, so I assumed she was comfortable with me touching her. I scooped her up into my arms and cuddled her. The poor thing was shaking and whimpering, I could tell she needed comfort.  But just outside the cottage, the sound of a twig snapped. Without any warning, Miremini jumped out of my hands, and scurried off back into the winter outside. I didn't want to stay in this place any longer, especially not with whatever may have been outside, so I bolted out along after her.

          I wasn't able to find her, though. And then I was back to wandering alone through this damned forest. I didn't even know what I was going to do. I wondered as I walked; has this ever happened before? Has any other maiden with a scarlet cloak walked among these trees, among this land? Has she met her doom? Is she still out there? Waiting for someone to find her? Or has she been found, and is now waiting to cross paths with me?

    Perhaps not.

          Surely not, anyway. It's far too early to jump to any conclusions, such as anyone else being stranded out here. Studying this whole frozen hell that surrounds me, do I truly think I'm wrong about it? I mean, of course we never get this much snow, not even in the forest. And it's so cold to where it feels like it's slowly crippling your bones with frost. But am I just blind to the beauty of it all? I'm sure there's bound to be some magnificence to this winter world that I cannot see due to all the problems in my way. Hopefully if all my problems and fears disappear before this is over, I can see peace in this world? Maybe.

~

     A camp.

     I stood before an abandoned campsite.

          I'm not sure what or who used to be here, but I'm sure that I shouldn't stay long. The campsite was surprisingly on clear dirt ground, the snow circling around it. Animal skins and hides made up the tents, and other animal-produced items surround it. Whatever lived here must've been very fond of using animals as its prime source for survival. It was a fairly large site, so a lot of people must live here. I guess they fled when the winter came. Nobody seemed to be here anymore, so I made my way through the camp and back into the forest. But I couldn't seem to shake the feeling that I was being watched...

What are you about to get yourself into, Robyn?