After The Last Petal Fell

The Harder They Fall

Chapter 2: Part 1
Written by wise_girl_32
Edited by: @queenofgeeks

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"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

It had been nearly 4 months since the great Gaston had been cursed into hideousness.
The once vibrant young veteran had all but completely descended into beasthood.

It was his 104th day as the monster and once again he awoke starving in the nest of leaves he had made for himself.
The morning air was getting colder with each awakening, and looking up at the gray sky from his makeshift bed, he knew snow would fall soon.

Grumbling to himself he rolled over onto his back, body cramped from the tight ball he had slept in; for without his warm wooden cabin or even a simple blanket, a fall night spent in the woods was always bitter cold, and curling himself up was all he could really do to combat it.

Shaking the leaves from his now dirty and mangy brown coat, he stood up onto his hind limbs and walked to the nearby stream for a drink of water.
He did his best not to catch his reflection in the water, for it always angered him, but then again he was always angry.
Today was different though, for even the anger wasn't there anymore, and all he felt was hollow and empty.

Each day was the same, alone in the enchanted forest, he would wake up, get a drink, and then try to hunt for something, anything to eat.

At first, it was alright, he would let the monster take over and hunt for deer and rabbits, but the longer he stayed the scarcer food became. More wary had the animals gotten of his intense scent, and now often he would have to hunt for days, and the animals of which he still had to cook though, and could not just eat raw because while his outer constitution was that of a monster, his inner remained cruelly and ironically human.

The lack of nutrition had taken its toll on him, for at first, he had been much like the beast he had originally tried to kill; an intimidating and towering mass of muscles and rich glossy fur; but the scarcity of food had withered him down to nothing. His skin hung off his bones, making his appearance all the scarier.

He didn't have much will power left to move either. His skin and fur weighed on him and drained him of energy to carry it as he walked, especially if he was out hunting. He would often have to stop to catch his breath before he continued his hunt.

In the midst of what he felt would be just another fruitless search for food, he caught a strange but familiar scent. It was one he knew, but not one that he had smelled as the Beast; no this was the scent of man he knew in his old life.

Through an exhausted, starving haze, he found himself following the scent, even though it tired him. He hadn't been in contact with a human in forever. He couldn't face the people of the village even if he could step foot outside of the forest he was trapped within. 

                     
Lafou looked around at the unfamiliar part of the forest. He was on his way to the castle to join in to celebrate Lumiere's birthday. After his royal majesty Prince Adam's curse had been broken, and all the servants, maids and castle staff had been turned back into humans, Lafou had befriended many of the people working there, and would occasionally drop by for a visit.
The castle staff were people who knew him as something else other than the late not so great Gaston's second banana, and to be treated like his own individual was a change that the veteran welcomed.

Today, he was running late and had decided to take a new path. He believed this way would be faster than his normal route. He chosen a smaller, less used path to follow, and the forest felt unfamiliar. Lafou looked around, not seeing a lot of animals, which was a little unnerving, for along his normal path, he would often hear many birds chirping as if having conversations. Here it was quiet, almost silent.
Even the smallest noises sounded loud.