2 Worlds, 1 Love

The Reunition and loss of a friend, the Arrival of a New One

Storybrooke, Maine

Julian/Kiba (Wolf) POV

I've been in this forest for a while now, I know it's not the same as the Enchanted Forest, the scent and appearance is different and some of the creatures are missing, so it must have something to do with that curse that the Evil Queen cast. But, why I'm stuck in this wolf form I don't know, maybe it's because when the curse struck I was in this form, I can't return to human form and I can't remember much of my life, only that I have to find the Huntsman and help him remember. I've been searching for the Huntsman ever since I arrived, but, no luck, he mustn't be in the forest or this forest is humongous. This time I'm heading in the northerly direction, I refused to go in that direction mainly because all I smell is human and smoke, it must be a town. My instincts as a wolf tell me if I go there it could be dangerous and it's safer to remain in the forest, away from human eyes.
   I stealthily dash throughout the forest, dodging animals and trees, jumping over any obstacles and stop every once in a while for a break and sniff. The feel of the wind through my clean, cosy coat, the earth under my feet, the smells of the flowers and air, the sun shining through the treetops, and to be one with nature, remind me of why it feels so good to be wild and free; to be a wolf.
  The night was closing in, I can feel and see the majestic moon and the twinkling stars above me, the air cooling me down after hours of running. Stopping to take a break, I take a drink of the fresh, cold water of the river and sniff around me getting back on trail.
  Once I reach the end of the forest, I stay low and analyse my surroundings before slowly creeping around the town. There are quite a few buildings, some with lights on and some with lights off, some were louder than others. I see a few cars and trucks on the road zooming by, I wander deeper and further into the town, until, suddenly, a nostalgic smell invades my nose, it's him, it's...the Huntsman.
   I sprint, following the scent of my old friend, I dodge the humans and cars, not caring if they see me, I have to get back to his side and help him remember who he is. Turning around a corner, I freeze, I see a man running from a house in a rush, he gets to his car, but, in his hurry he drops the keys which I hear, he crouches down to pick them up and take this as an opportunity to carefully approach the man.

I stand there for a few seconds waiting for him to acknowledge my presence and once he does, he quickly grabs the keys once he looks me in the eyes, he backs away scared and shaken. It saddens me to see my old friend in such a state and the fact that he was scared and moved away from me made me feel even lonelier than what I was when I was in the forest. I decide to leave him, and wait for him to come to me, if he does.
   The next day, I go out hunting once the sun rises and find myself a decent prey for breakfast, a rabbit. I've never really liked killing the innocent, a part of me feels like it's wrong and makes me feel bad. However, in order to survive this is what has to be done, so locking my eyes onto the chocolate rabbit as it hops around and nibbles on the grass, I lay low and sneak closer and closer to it. It doesn't seem to hear me which is a good thing, I wait patiently for the right moment, but, then something goes wrong, the rabbit makes a run for it. Then, I realised, it wasn't me but the Huntsmen, he was in the forest, speedily running and dodging the trees. I stay in place and watch as he speaks to another human talking about finding a wolf, he was searching for me. I better make this easy for him, let him find me, so as soon as he left that other human, I howl and run near him and howl again, he hears and follows me throughout the forest. It was fun, kind of like playing chase, he eventually catches up and looks at me before, "What do you want?!" he exclaims, I think he's mad at me, I walk away and leave him, that's when I heard him whistle and that's my call, I walk towards him and he starts to stroke me the way he used to. He stops petting me and stands frozen, I can smell that he's starting to sweat and his heartbeat is thumping rapidly in his chest, just at that moment I see the rabbit from earlier and chase after it, after all I'm a wolf and I'm hungry.
    I followed the Huntsmen, but, kept hidden, i felt like he was in danger and I had to be there to protect him. I remained hidden in the shadows, I watched him interact with this blonde women, it was as clear as day that they liked each other, I stay put not wanting to interrupt. I hear the Huntsman saying that he's lost his heart and he needs to find me, I take that as my chance to make myself known, I stride over to him and the lady. When they see me they freeze, I heard the majority of their conversation so I know what I have to do, take them to the place where the Evil Queen took my friend's heart and stored it. Getting the hint they follow me through the forest and into the graveyard when I run, the blonde looks worried and slightly scared, meanwhile the Huntsman looks determined, that's the Huntsman I remember. I stop at the graveyard and wait for them to catch up and after a few minutes they finally do, I notice that they are quite out of breath, I can feel them staring intently into my different coloured eyes making them stop. I hear the Huntsman telling that woman that it's fine and that i won't harm them, I walked around and then trot off past their location, they make chase, but, stop at their destination.
     Right after I left my best friend, only companion and family, the Huntsman, also known as Graham in this world, I sensed that something was terribly wrong. Holding my head up, I sniffed the air as I turned my head from left to right, I caught his scent as well as the blonde female companion and someone else's...I didn't like the scent it was all too familiar to that Evil Queen's back at the Enchanted Forest. I follow the scent back to where I left him, I find that he isn't here, I had another sniff around quickly before returning to the trail. The scent lead me out of the forest, it was risky, as a wolf I can't be discovered, especially by humans. I can't remember why I feel this way, but, something about a human seeing me as a wolf that isn't the Huntsman gives me a bad vibe, like danger.
   Cautiously, I peer my head around a tree to see if there is any humans around, I don't see anyone, I poke my nose in the air retaining the man's scent and follow. I dash as fast as my legs will take me, making the scenery around me a blur, I can't shake of this feeling that the Huntsman is in trouble, danger even, I have to warn him, protect him.
   After following the scent for 5 minutes, I finally come to a stop at the front of a building, the name at the top of the building reads, Sheriff's Station. I can smell that blonde woman's perfume and the Huntsman's sweat, they must be together, I decide to just lie down in the lane across the road until the Huntsman comes out.
     "GRAHAM! GRAHAM, WAKE UP, GRAHAM!" my eyes opened in the instant when I heard the women shouting my partner's name in a panic, I bolt over not caring if anyone saw me, and barged through the door. I go around the corner leading to the Sheriff's office to see the Huntsman on the floor and the women crying on his chest. The Huntsman didn't have a heart, but, I did hear it in the forest and when I reunited with him, but, now, there's nothing I can't hear a heartbeat or feel his warm blood temperature, it was cold. He's dead, I couldn't protect or save him...I'm all alone now, the lone wolf.
    I slowly tread over not wanting to startle or scare my companion's friend, I gently nudge her and try to get my head through her arm. She jumps, looks down and sees me, I don't know what she's thinking so I  whimper, tap my nose against her nose, give her a little lick on the cheek and rub myself against her body in attempt to cheer her and myself up. It appears to  work when I feel her soft hand tenderly caress my fur and and her give me a gentle kiss on the forehead, she wraps her arms around my neck gently and cries.
    I wake up to see that the blonde was still hugging me, it was quite nice and calming, I could hear and feel her heart, it was like a lullaby, gentle, steady and soothing.  I decide to just stay like this until she wakes up, she looks so peaceful and I don't like it when somebody interrupts my sleep either, I go back to sleep. Later, I feel something stir and I know it's the blonde awakening, I reawaken and watch her while she stretches, yawns and rubs her eyes. She looks at me, smiling, something that looked happy yet so sad. I hear her say good morning, in a croaky shaky voice, I figure it must be due to what happened to the Huntsman last night and all the crying she was doing. I jump up and stand on my hind legs, trying to walk like a human, I manage a few steps closer but I had to return to my original form; 4 legs not 2. I can hear her chuckle at what I done which is a start, so I do it again, this time I was able to put my forepaws on her shoulders and give her a few licks on the cheeks again. She started to laugh harder which made me smile in a wolf way, wag my tail.
    After, the exchange of affection and support between the women and I, someone's voice and footsteps could be heard around the side, this made me panic a bit and dash through the door and back into the forest, fleeing to safety. I could see the women follow me outside and call for me, but, I didn't respond to her calls and stayed hidden amongst nature, watching the humans interact intently. Once the humans left, I stealthily made my way back into the Sheriff's Office to the blonde who was sitting in a daze at the Sheriff's desk, I whimper to get her attention and walk over to her side. She seems to snap out of it when she hears me and smiles at the sight of me again, I give her a lick on the cheek and she strokes me, scratches the spot behind the ear where it feels good. I know I can't stay, more humans will probably return, I have to let her know that I'm saying goodbye, I sit wondering what I can do. Suddenly, an idea flashes before me, I gently tug at the red jacket at the sleeve urging her to follow, to which she does. I make it clear that I have to return to the forest, I give her a lick on the cheek, butt my head under her chin, run towards the forest and howl my goodbye, to which she tries to respond to by howling herself, it was a good attempt at least. I disappear into the forest.