Little Red (Jacob Seed)

2. Lupin

Red was just sitting in her cabin, enjoying a cool beer in front of the fire. The sun was going down and the air was becoming cooler, the fire rarely failed to warm Red up. She smiled to herself, enjoying the peaceful life that she found after moving to the Whitetail Mountains. Her relaxed state was disturbed when she heard the sound of an animal whimpering.

Red quietly placed her beer down on the coffee table and grabbed her hand gun. Just because she lived a life of solitude doesn't mean that she isn't usually armed to the teeth. She is always carrying a gun around and has hidden guns and knifes around her cabin. Living alone in the woods, especially at the moment with the cult forcing people to join them, is a dangerous choice but she knew this when she made the decision.

The woman grabbed the gun firmly and walked toward her front door, peering out of the window only to see that nothing was there. She hummed before cautiously stepping out of her cabin and looked around. Her face softened and her heart melted when she saw an injured wolf that seemed to have been left behind by it's pack.

Red quickly returned to the cabin and grabbed a raw steak before returning to the scene. She carefully approached the wolf, extending her hand with the steak. The wolf growled at her and that's when the girl froze. It wasn't just a wolf, it was a Judge. The Judge cowered slightly before limping over to her, this was the most scared that Red has been of an animal before. She gently placed the meat by her feet and the wolf didn't hesitate to eat it.

She took this time to visually examine the wolf, his leg was wounded but that's all she could see. Once the wolf finished eating he looked up at her cautiously, she nervously held her hand out towards the wounded animal. The Judge gently and cautiously rubbed his head against the palm of her hand, allowing her to pet him. Once she believed that she had earned the trust of the unfortunate wolf she stood up straight and walked towards the cabin, followed by the Judge.

Once the pair entered the cabin she lay the wolf down in front of the fire before cleaning and wrapping his wound. He licked her palm thankfully before drifting off to sleep in front of the mirror. Red smiled at the sight before preparing him a bowl of water and food for when he wakes up. The girl went to bed that night after assuring her bedroom door was locked, after all there is a deadly wolf down stairs.

The morning came around and she woke up to the sound of scratching at the door. She opened it cautiously but smiled when she was greeted by a grateful and loving wolf.

It's been a week since Red found the injured Judge and even though she gave him many opportunities to leave and return to his pack he never seemed to want to leave. He would follow her around and be by her side no matter what, she even gave in and allowed the wolf to lie on her bed as she slept. She actually enjoyed having the wolf around all the time and eventually named him "Lupin", which comes from the Latin word for wolf.

Red was outside of her cabin, the mid day sun beating down on her as she chopped some fire wood. Her large hood was up and covering her face, protecting her fair skin from the harsh sun. Lupin was sniffing around, just enjoying the warmth and extra meat that she had hunted for him.

Red's attention was turned to Lupin when he growled and stood in front of her protectively. The dark haired woman began to panic slightly as she placed her axe down and pulled her hand gun from her holster. "The Judges don't usually take to people so well" a voice came from among the trees and bushes.

Red never replied, she just aimed her gun at the sound of shifting leaves and crunching branches. Her breath caught in her throat when Jacob Seed himself stepped in to the opening where her cabin stood. "And they never protect against me" he informed the girl, who hands began to shake. "What is my Judge doing here?" he asked sternly, not even bothering to pull a gun out as he didn't believe that she would shoot him.

"He was injured and I took him in, later on he refused to leave" The girl, wearing the red hood explained nervously.

"Lower the gun little lamb" Jacob almost rolled his eyes at her before scanning the wolf who was still growling. "We usually just kill them when they are injured" he told her, almost disapprovingly.

"It was just a flesh wound" Red assured the large man as she lowered her gun, she gently ran her hand over Lupin's head making him calm down instantly. "Lupin would be fine as long as I cleaned it" she shrugged as the wolf sat by her feet.

"You named him?" the soldier asked in disbelief. He didn't want to believe it but he liked how good she was with the Judge. They are usually aggressive and attack any strangers, Jacob concluded that 'Lupin' didn't attack the girl because she is too small to be a threat to him.

"It seemed like a reasonable thing to do" she shrugged again and feeling intimidated and insecure under his gaze. "Why are you here?" she asked but she was also wondering why he was alone.

"The pack returned, missing one, I came to find it" he said, not seeing a need to explain himself to this woman.

"You came to put him down?" Red asked, her face hardening as she became protective over the wolf.

"Calm down lamb, you can keep it" he rolled his eyes and she instantly calmed down. Jacob's radio crackled to life making him huff slightly. "See you around little Red" he nodded at her before turning around and disappearing into the woods where he came from.

Red watched him leave in disbelief, he knew who she was. Jacob Seed knew who she was. She told herself that it was his job to know everyone who passes through his region but it didn't decrease the strange feeling of pride and awe.