Run

3/4

"Mummy, are we lost?" The little girl looks up and all around.

Trees, trees, and more trees. She hops off her mother's wolf back. She was not sure how long her mother had ran, but it must've taken a lot of energy from her as she's limping horribly. Her mother shifts from her wolf form into one of a human.

"Mummy! Why is your leg still bleeding?"

"They hurt mummy with silver, sweetheart. It takes longer to heal."

"Mummy, are you going to die too?!" The little girl starts to cry, strangled noises coming out from her, as if she couldn't breathe. She cutches her tattered shirt tightly with a hand, the position right above her heart. The other hand went to her mother's face.

"Sweetheart, breathe."

The little girl's mother calms her down by pulling her into a hug. The little girl wails as she imagines what she saw happen to her father being replicated onto her mother.

The mother brings the little girl's hand to her chest, where the little girl could feel her mother's strong heartbeat.

"Mummy's still alive, alright? Mummy is strong. So are you, sweetheart."

The little girl nods, before hugging her mother once more. She wipes her tears from her face as she
pulls away from her mother.

"Mummy, change back into wolf, mummy will heal faster."

"Sweetheart, you are so smart." Her mother praises her for remembering her lessons that she taught her. She immediately changes back into wolf form. The little girl then realises that there were other cuts and bruises she didn't realise she and her mother had.

Mummy needs to rest for awhile. Can sweetheart watch over for a few minutes? After that we can continue on. Her mother mindlinks her, unable to mask her tiredness.

The little girl nods vigorously.

The few minutes definitely turned into an hour. The little girl wanted to make sure her mummy got some well deserved rest. But after some time, the little girl too felt tired. She closes her eyes for a second. It has been a very long day, especially so for a little girl.

Rustle!

The little girl's eyes snap wide open. She looks around. She swore she saw a shadow of movement in the trees. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

She checks on her mother who is sound asleep in her wolf form. Her leg is healing faster now, almost as good as new. A little more, and she can bring her away from this place at top speed.

The little girl looks around again to make sure that there was nothing there. After making sure there was nothing, she closes her eyes again.

Rustle!

Her eyes open again. A pair of curious grey eyes meet hers. She opens her mouth to scream but the stranger put his hand over it. She raises her eyebrows. The stranger steps back, index finger to lips. The little girl must have been entranced by the little stranger, because she doesn't say a word.

He must've been only a few years older than the little girl. He had only shorts on and looked dirty, but in his element. Like he's been wild all his life.

"Are you a rogue?" The girl asks, whispering, concluding what was possibly the only reason why a boy was exploring no pack land alone.

The boy nods. Her eyes widen at the confirmation before stepping away, wanting to wake her mother. She surprisingly wasn't threatened by him, but she was wary of strangers, especially rogues. She's heard scary stories.

He grabs her hand to stop her, making the girl jump a little. She looks back at him. He looks back at her with an intensity that makes her melt. She then looks at their hands, suddenly becoming shy. The boy notices her change of expression and grins at her, blushing. The little girl giggles at his cute pink cheeks and dimples. She doesn't know why she likes him, but she does.

"Shhh," The boy properly intertwined hands with the little girl, pulling her along excitedly as if to say, 'come with me'.

"Where are we going?"

The girl was a little scared about where the little rogue was taking her. Yet funnily enough, she also felt safe in his arms.

He swings their hands back and forth like meeting her was the happiest thing on earth.

"Meet Chief!"

The girl suddenly panicked. Chief?

"Is the Chief a rogue too?"

The boy answers absentmindedly. "Cheif rogur, Chief nice!"

The girl quickly stops in her tracks and snatches her hand back from the boy. No. She only trusted the boy, not this 'Chief' of his. The boy turns, shocked at the girl's sudden attitude change. He feels dejected.

"What wrong?"

"I don't trust your Chief and my mummy needs me to take care of her."

Silence. The boy does not know how to respond. He only knows that he feels sad without her hand in his.

"Please?"

The girl stares at him for awhile before making her decision.

"Lead the way, then." She puffs her chest out. She makes a promise to return for her mother as soon as possible.