Riding Hood

Redri sat on her knees in the sandy floor of the river and thought about what Hound had told her a few days earlier.

'Who was Hound. And why had he been looking for her? Why didn't he mention it earlier?'

She was so confused, her head felt dizzy. She touched her forhead before submerging her entire head under the surface, where she blew air bubbles in the water, feeling them rush over her face.

A hand suddenly touched her upper back, which was the only exposed part of her body, and Redri's head shot up from the water as she got ready to dodge a hit that never came. She looked at the person's face. Relaxing as she realised that it was only Hound.

She smiled softly at him, deciding to forget about her questions for now.

"You're finally up and walking!" She cheered.

"Sorry, I just needed some air." She sighed, first then realizing that Hound was leaning on a cane made from a sturdy stick, his bandaged leg lifted so it did not touch the water.

Redri hoisted her arm under Hound and helped him back to shore, where the boy put on his boots, and she put on a simple, tan dress, dark, tight trousers and shoes.

"Come, let me show you around. With your leg damaged like that, it will be a while before we can help you back to your village, I assume." Redri said. "What did Cherry say about it?"

Hound's face turned sombre and he looked away with a defeated sigh.

"She said there is a good chance I will have to use a cane for the rest of my life." He said. Redri looked at him with a saddened expression. Giving him a one-armed hug, while they made their way to the large animal field, where horses, cows, sheep and alike wandered amongst one another.

"Hey, Redri, new kid." Merlot shouted from behind as he sauntered up to them. Redri had to cock an eyebrow as Hound was both taller and broader than Merlot.

"Kid?" Hound asked, seemingly also confused by the statement. "I am nearly 18, According to Redri, you are sixteen. I am no genius, but I believe you are closer to being a kid than me, Merlot."

The ginger crossed his arms but had to give in. "Redri is giving you the tour, Hound was it?" He asked with a sigh and smiled slightly to Hound, whom nodded in response.

"Yes, that is correct, and she is. This looks like a very lovely village." Hound agreed while he leant more over his cane and watched the people walk about.

"My father, our chief wanted to see you, Hound. It is rare that we get visitors, with how close we are to the land of the Missing." Merlot said. Hound nodded and saw Merlot starting to head off and followed, slowly due to the cane he was still getting used to. Redri helped him, and the trio soon found their way to the longhouse, wherein, on a throne of stone, draped with the fur of a large grey wolf, sat Crimson Jäger. He wore a crown fashioned out of a wolfs skull, an item passed down from chief to chief. It was said to be the skull of the very first wolf killed by the village.

The village chief leaned against the pelt-clad throne, his long, blonde hair slightly covering his face. Laying in his lap was a small cat, and stalking in the room were three more.

Hound let out a horrified gasp at the amount of wolf pelts were hung on the walls and near the throne. Redri couldn't blame him. For someone not grown up in the village, this decoration would be jarring and terrifying to say the least.

"Hound Blaublot. I hear my son and his partner found you in the forest? Chased by one of the beasts." Crimson stated, looking straight at the stranger with a calculated expression. Hound kept his gaze down and nodded. "Tell me. Does your village hunt for the ferocious wolves?"

"No. We do not interact with the beasts. We stay away from them, and they stay away from us."

"You reason with the wolves?" Crimson asked, and Hound nodded.

"Yes. It is quite simple. They leave us alone, if we can offer them a few people every year. But this time, I was next for the chopping block. As I stood there, ready to run out into the maws of a wolf, I accepted that I only had two choices. To become an offering and die, or flee, and maybe survive. And I chose the second."

"We all deal with the wolves in our own way. I cannot fault your people for your passive approach. Yet, I can judge it. When you are well enough to return to your home, I want you to bring a Huntsman's cape to your people and show them our way." Crimson said and stood up. "Merlot. I give you responsibility over Hound. Teach him to become one of us."

"Father?" Merlot asked, confused.

"You heard me. Teach him what we know. If more villages do alike us, perhaps this will be the last generation of the wolf kin." Crimson walked closer and looked at the young man. "You seem strong. You have to be fast, managing to run from a wolf. Do you have any practice with weapons?"

"I used to be fast, sir. With my new condition, however," Hound trailed off, and Redri felt the disappointment and fear in his voice. "I have some practice with Axe throwing."

"Good. Perfect in fact." Crimson nodded. "Merlot works with axes as well."

Redri looked over at the two boys, then her attention got stolen by one of the cats, which was rubbing their head against her leg. Red got down on one knee to pet the animal. She zoned out of the conversation, scratching the cat's chin and stomach.

She opened her eyes again, standing beside Mugwort in the animal pen. She gasped, as if she had held her breath and she fell to her knees, hyperventilating.

"Redri?"

She could hear the sounds of feet running to her through the tall, wet grass.

"Redri!" She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, and a hand lifted her face. She saw the worried, green eyes of Merlot and she felt tears well up.

"I lost time again." She whimpered, shame quivering in her voice. She gazed away, spotting Hound looking up at the two of them with a worried expression. "I lost time, but I moved. This doesn't happen. It never happens this way?"

Merlot hugged her tight to his chest, breathing deliberately, his deep breaths calming Redri's own ragged gasps, as her heart began beating in rhythm with his own.

"It's fine, you're fine. I'm here, Rose." Merlot whispered and began leading her down to a worried-looking Hound.

"What happened, Redri?" the crippled man asked, hobbling closer to the two, placing his free hand on her shoulder.

"I," Redri clenched her jaw and looked at Hound. His soft eyes caused her to falter slightly. "I loose time. I drift away, sometimes for hours." She looked away, embarrassed at her unusual condition.

"I could go talk to Cherry. She might have an idea for why it escalated." Merlot said. "Stay with Hound, In case it happens again." Hound smiled at Merlot and nodded. Merlot glanced to Hound and nodded in return, before he jogged off toward's Cherry's hut.

Redri blinked slowly, looking at Hound. "Wait. You are suddenly friends now?" she asked. Hound looked at her, confused, before he shook his head.

"Oh, yeah. You don't remember. We kind of bonded over axe craftmanship earlier." He smiled and turned his head. "Want to go toss rocks into the river? It's good for the nerves."

Redri smiled and nodded, following the limping man down to the water. On the trail down to the river, Redri spotted Sanguine work on tanning a wolf skin. "Oh, seems like they did kill one during their hunt." She pointed out. Hound nodded, keeping his eyes on the trail.

That was when she heard it. Howling. Howling everywhere, surrounding the village. Her eyes shot up as she was about to pull off her boots, and she saw a large, white she-wolf bound between two houses.

Merlot. She had to find Merlot. She looked behind herself and saw Hound, face paler than before as he leaned on his stick. She couldn't just leave him there. The wolves would eat him in an instant. Redri grabbed her cape from around her neck and put it on Hound, whom yelped and tried to get it off. The brunette girl grabbed Hound's arms and her piercing, ice blue eyes bore into his brown ones.

"Lay against a tree, with this covering you. They can't hurt you if you lay still. I will come back for you, but Merlot; Merlot and the others need me." Hound nodded and Redri watched him curl into a red ball up against a tree. She exhaled and unhooked her crossbow from her belt and loaded it before sprinting near soundlessly to the wall of a nearby house, where she pressed her slender, yet strong frame clad in earth-toned clothing to the wall.

She looked around She needed to dress in red, to blind the wolves if they found her. She spotted something red hanging from the window of a house not far away. She just had to clear 30 meters of open space. She inhaled and calmed herself as she crouched onto her hands and knees, cursing slightly at the dress she wore. She pulled it up, and tied it around her waist. She exhaled and sprinted.

As she ran, she spotted a brown wolf launch at Rouge. She shouted at her fellow hunter to dodge, which she did, just in time. Redri saw that three other wolves had turned towards her and she swore to herself, under her breath. She reached the window and pulled out a small, red riding hood. It only reached her elbows, but it was better than nothing. She pulled it over her head and continued to run. She heard wolves running after her. She wouldn't stop, she couldn't stop, her legs were acting on their own. The trees surrounded her as she sprinted into the woods. She did not feel tired, the usual burning in her legs was not present. Her body just acted, adrenaline pumping in her veins. The howls grew more distant as she ran. She spotted a hollow nest tree and leapt into it, hiding in the trunk, trying to calm her own breath.

The hollowed tree trunk was quite large for a hollow nest. The inside was lined with dried wolfsbane, and there was a supply of water, dried lamb and a silver dagger. Redri leant against one side, and she was able to sit down, with her feet against the other side, knees as high as her head. It wasn't the most comfortable seat, but it was not entirely horrible either. Her breath calmed as she drank from the water container. Her throat was so much drier than she had realized. Her pulse pounded in her ears, as the howling wolves ran past her hiding spot.

Her eyes opened and Redri gasped as she crawled to her feet, a cloud of orange foliage whirling up around her. She was standing in the dark woods, the sun had long since gone down and the grasshoppers sung around her.

"No, no, no, no." She whimpered. 'Another blackout. Where am I? How long have I been out?'

She looked around, her pale eyes getting used to the lack of light. She looked down, her clothes were filthy, her feet bare and bleeding. Every step sent a jolt of pain through her.

'This can't be from only one night? How long was I out? People have always brought me out of it every time I have lost time. It must have been days. But why am I not hungry? Did I hunt? Oh goodness, what did I do while gone?'

She began panicking, her breathing turning shaky and irregular as she fell to her knees, arms wrapped around herself. She sat there for a while, trying to get control over her fear.

For a long while, she sat there, trying to gain control over herself, and slowly, her breathing calmed. She blinked her tears away and gritted her teeth before she stood to her shaking, sore feet and looked around herself. She spotted a robust birch and began climbing it. When she reached above the immediate woods, she looked around to see her location.

Her breath hitched as she saw how far away she was. Based on her location in relation to the mountain, she was almost five days' walk from the village. She looked around, seeing if there were any closer villages she could reach.

She spotted the village of the unknown "Men of gold" in the horizon, and, to her horror, the land of the Missing, a birch wood which began where the Wolf woods ended, a birch forest none had ever returned from. She climbed down the tree and removed her bodice, ripping it in two and tied the pieces around her feet. With no other good choice at hand, she began the long, agonizing journey back to Rosenröt.

Her feet turned numb after only a few miles, her wounds never getting any rest. Her vision turned blurry; her breath hitched for each step. Tears welled up in her eyes.

The young Huntsman collapsed after what felt like hours, her knees gave out under her, and she hit the ground hard, a rock slammed into her ribs as her body landed on it, snapping one of them. The raw agony of her broken rib had her let out a blood-curdling scream. She gasped, sobbing in pain as the rib poked at her lung.

"This way, Rose Red."

Redri turned her head, managing to quiet her sobs. She was certain that she heard Hound call for her.

"Hound?" She whimpered, voice raw, the taste of blood in her mouth.

With a whimper and rapid breathing comparable to a woman in her first labour, Redri managed to force herself onto her knees. She placed her hand over her broken rib, to keep it from shifting as she stumbled to her feet, which were barely able to keep her standing.

trying to spot the crippled, brunette man. She noticed something moving in the trees, and slowly stumbled towards it.

"Hound? Why are you out here? You should be in the village." Redri's mouth dried up as she saw the dark brown wall of fur in front of her. A snarl reached her ear, a pain struck her in the back of the head and the world blacked out yet again.