Red [Sheith Fanstory boyxboy]

ch. 01

I met someone in the woods.

I have no excuse as to why I was in the woods in the first place. I'm forbidden from passing through them. Allura always told me about something bad lurking there, something that everyone feared. Yet sitting there in the grass as the sun rose, wind tickling my skin and brushing through the tall thick trees, it was silent and beautiful. My need to explore was itching, who was I to ever obey what others told me any ways?

I glanced over my shoulder back to my house, the one I shared with Allura and the other kids she had brought in. It was old, definitely needing a new paint job, or just to be rebuilt in general. Vines grew along the sides, splitting through cracked and splintered walls, making the house blend in It was full of everyone sleeping, no one woke up this early, it was the weekend after all. Except for me.

I would have only been in trouble if someone had caught me stand up and disappear past the wall of trees. They would simply wake up, find my empty cot, and figure I had gone off to meet with Lance or anything else than sit in that rotting house.

I easily found a trail not far from where my house was; luckily I'd be able to find my way back home. To make sure I didn't miss this spot on my way back, I took the dagger I always carried with me and cut a chunk out of a tree. I sheathed my dagger and began to walk down the trail, pulling the hood of my cape over my head. The dark red color pooled around my shoulders, the fabric cutting short at my waist, the corners buttoned together at my collar bone.

For a while I found nothing, and the silence of the woods surrounding me seemed almost welcoming. My feet against the dead leaf littered path way being the only sound besides the wind pushing through the trees above me. I was hoping, expecting something big and ferocious to jump out at me at any moment, my hand twitching at my side where my dagger sat. I was nearly disappointed.

Until I caught the slightest sound, a shift somewhere behind me. My feet suddenly held their ground as I focused everything in me to sense out what was out there, eyes closing, listening. And surely I could hear the slightest hints of something breathing. It was rough, a growl like sound just thrumming in their throats.

I sucked my bottom lip in between my teeth, eyes slowly opening and scanning around ahead of me. Allura was right about something being in the woods, she was right about it being dangerous. What she didn't mention though was that it was something that was fairly similar to a human. The terror filled night time stories she had once tucked me into bed with, I would have thought it was some huge beast with multiple layers of razor sharp teeth and fur all over.

I turned around and saw nothing at first; pulling my hood further down to cover my face from whatever was watching me. "I know... that you're out there." I called confidently, yet the small tremor trailing up and down my arm would say otherwise. I stood in wait, as the sun slowly continued to raise, small glimpses of light escaping past leaves, a particular large gap letting sun shine through and press warm against my skin. I sucked in a breath as I heard a very tedious and very hesitant foot fall behind me.

"Your folk tell you to stay out of here." The sound of my own language came as a surprise, and I was tempted to turn, but the gentle grunt from behind made me freeze. "They tell you that there's a dangerous creature out here that could rip you to pieces, and yet, here you are."

"I am not scared of you." I stated, eyebrows knitted together, lip quivering despite my statement.

A low chuckle comes from behind, deep, and rough. I would be lying if I had said it didn't send a shock rocketing through my very being. That chuckle sounded so... humorous and homey. "You say that without a clue of what I can actually do to you."