A Wolf's Tale (Drafting)

[3]Dementia

Kate had spoken of a village before but as both wolves approach the edge of the wood, the only building that came into view is that of an old farmhouse with a faded red barn to its side. Even looking into the distance, Ethan can't seem to find another humanly made structure suggesting a village nearby. His concerns of wolves being seen in the village abruptly turn grim the further he follows Kate into the open space of the farm. In his village, wolves were seen as monstrous beasts that served no purpose amongst man other than to cause chaos. Wolves only came to take livestock and other times steal children away from their beds, causing great strain for the people trying to live there. Ethan knows well what men do to wolves that venture too near to men's homes. His stomach twists uncomfortably not knowing what to expect from this place.

"The girl that knows me lives here in that house. Her name is Callie. Oh, I can't wait for you to meet her!" Kate's words snap Ethan out of his thoughts, but the pit twisting in his stomach remains unchanged.

There's an open meadow closed in by a rotting fence just beyond the barn, but other than that there's nothing but long overgrown grass and trees further off. Perhaps Kate mistook the village to be farther away from this farmhouse, or maybe she doesn't quite understand what a village is.

From a distance, the house looked grey, but now that they're practically a few yards from the porch he can tell at one point the siding used to be white. The house must have been withered down by months, maybe even years of weather. Vines and other vegetation overtook the house as well, claiming it back to the earth. The barn is no different, lacking any rich coloring with wood that seems to be rotting away just like the fence. This place isn't suitable for living. There's no way a family can still be living here.

Ethan watches as Kate rears up on her hind legs to paw at the frail wooden door. She whines loud enough to be heard before sitting back down with her ears perking forward. He should feel panicked at the thought of a man barging out with a loaded shotgun but he doesn't. The house looks abandoned, and Ethan can't tell which thought is worse. The people living here had long passed or somehow they are still here.

"Kate?" He says more in a whisper.

The she-wolf's right ear folds back towards Ethan before turning her head to smile, "No need to worry. Callie's family is nice folk. Now we wait for someone to answer the door." As she turns her attention back to the door, Ethan grimaces. She seems so detached from the obvious abandonment of the place but for some reason, she's acting as if everything is normally this way. If a family is still living here, why haven't they fixed up their home or the barn? And if this is a farmhouse then where are all the animals? He hasn't seen or heard any cattle, pigs, or sheep since they've arrived. He hasn't even heard the clucking of chickens or cry from a rooster. Moments pass and soon Ethan grows more worrisome. Kate, however, doesn't falter.

Finally, the silence is broken when Kate suggests, "Maybe they're at the market. It does seem like a nice day to travel. We can stay in the barn until they come back."

"The m-mar-ket?" Ethan stutters, but she leaves the porch hastily without a response, sprinting towards the barn. Her actions startle the brown wolf more than they did before. Seeing Kate vanish into the barn, he waits for a moment for her to reappear to ask if he's going to follow, but she doesn't come back out.

He hesitates but decides to take a look around for a bit and maybe find clues as to what exactly happened here. Everything about this place feels off. It's so quiet, unlike a farm should be with all the animals. There's only the wind brushing against the grasses and trees, a creek and groan from the house every so often maybe, but that's all there is. This feeling in his stomach, it's the same feeling he got during a few of his hunts. Those that have stuck with him that is still fresh in his mind, like a bloody curse.