“Good to know.” Red glanced up, giving a soft smile. She thought about his question. Truthfully, even she did not know why sh- the wolf - attacked humans. It just…sort of happened. Something to do with it’s nature. “I am not entirely sure. I only know the wolf attacks during the ‘Wolf’s Time’ - the full moon. Then it disappears until the next full moon.”
“Hmm…” The Huntsman considered her reasons. “I’ve never heard of such behavior. It’s rather strange.” His eyes flicked up to meet hers again. She must live in a very different place for animals to be so rabid.
(Source: anhonorableman)
Red chuckled. “Are we really all that bad? I’m sure there are some people who aren’t too unbearable. At least, I’m not so far, right?” She tilted her head. ”I only fear the wolf for a couple of reasons. One, it attacked my Granny when she was a little girl. She still has scars from it. Two…” Red hesitated. [You know what you did. You know the truth. He doesn’t need to know, yet.] “..The wolf killed someone I liked. Recently, actually.” She moved her gaze to the floor, adjusting her hood a bit lower.
“No. Not all of you are bad.” But unfortunately, most of the humans he had met in these woods were disrespectful to the animals who inhabited it. He chuckled, nodding. It was true, she wasn’t all that bad. The Huntsman furrowed his brows at the mention of the death this wolf had caused. He had never heard of such ruthless behavior from the creatures. “For what reason does it chose to attack humans?”
(Source: anhonorableman)
The Huntsman let out a rather amused laugh at her talk of protection against wolves. He had never heard of such a silly thing. “Wolves will not hurt a human if they respect them.” His voice suddenly grew rather serious. Other humans were so selfish and disgusting, treating animals like their property. Property they could sell, abuse or even kill… The Huntsman’s vision shifted to the ground for a moment, but came back to meet Red’s hues at the mention of her tracking. “Oh? A tracker, are you? Well, we seem to have something in common, woman.”
Red narrowed her eyes. “I’m living proof that red protects against wolves. Never been attacked at all.” [Of course no one attacks you, Red…] “Then again, I’m not about to go hunting through the woods to find one.” Red watched the Huntsman carefully. It seemed like wolves were a touchy subject for him, or animals in general. [Hmm…I wonder, if he ever were to find out-]
“Are you really just going to cal me ‘woman’, even after I gave you my name, Huntsman?” She pouted slightly, a smirk growing on her face. She was not offended by it, rather, she thought it was a bit funny. “I guess you don’t open up much, huh?”
The Huntsman gave a quick role of his eyes. “It is not often that I communicate with humans. I prefer not to be near your kind.” He shrugged his shoulders, the pelt shifting. “Then again, I don’t go hunting through the streets to find them.” He spoke with a smirk, echoing her statement.
“Now tell me,” his eyes focused on hers, “why is it you fear the wolf?”
Belle managed to get a safe distance away from the battle that would ensue. Finding a place to hide, she peeked out to keep an eye on the fight and would be near if the Huntsman would need help. She watched one arrow fire, it missed. Then another and it missed as well. She continued to watch, but then her heart seemed to drop as soon as she saw the Huntsman get hit to the ground. Just as she was about to go over and help him, she saw that the bear had turned it’s attention to her. “Oh no….” Quickly she left her hiding spot and started to run.
In a swift movement, the Huntsman jumped to his feet. The creature was now after the woman. This bear was in a furious rage at this point, a very territorial male. The Huntsman bounded to the large beast and jumped on its back, gripping its thick fur and skin. The bear growled in protest and thrashed its body around to shake the man off. He was not about to give up. The Huntsman yanked a dagger from his belt and plunged the blade into the back of the bear. The bear cried out in pain and its movements slowed down. Another stab to the back and the bear whined even louder. The Huntsman sensed the pain and released himself from the grip on the bear. He jumped to the ground, breathing heavily. The beast huffed out a few breaths and lumbered away, defeated.
“I am sorry for the pain I caused you…” The Huntsman muttered under his breath to the animal. Once the bear was gone, the man rushed to Belle’s side. “Are you hurt?” He spoke once he crouched down beside her.
Belle dare not look back, for she knew if she did it would slow her pace down and she would trip and fall. So all she did was she kept running, but though she was being careful she did trip over a root and fell to the ground with a thud. Quickly she turned around thinking this might be the end for her, until she saw the Huntsman jump on the bears back and then pull a dagger out to stab it twice. Finally the beast hobbled off defeated, and all she could do was stare. When the Huntsman came to her side she shook her head. “I’ll be fine. What about you, are you okay? That……that was amazing, and yet quite a brave thing to do.”
“I’m fine.” He said quickly, still trying to regain his breath. His eyes glanced towards the direction the bear had vanished. The Huntsman truly felt sorry for harming the animal as he did. He took his gaze back to the young woman. “Are you sure you are alright?” He scanned her body for any wounds. It was strange… This feeling to protect her. Truthfully, the Huntsman liked this woman. She was friendly and did not wish to harm, unlike many of the other humans passing through his woods.
“Many things.” The man said simply. He did not have time for such small conversation. But something about this woman peaked his interest. Why? Well, he truly did not know the answer to that. “Why is it that you wear such a brightly coloured cloak? Are you not afraid of being an easy target?” The Huntsman arched a brow, his arms still crossed at his chest.
“This?” Red glanced down at her cloak. It was rather bright, to be honest. “Don’t you know? Red protects against wolves, especially when the Wolf’s Time happens.” She shifted her weight. “I’m no easy target. See, I’m good at tracking things, so I avoid danger easily. It’s…kind of a special trick I know how to do.” Red smiled. The little this man knew, the better. She still didn’t fully know him, or trust him at this point.
The Huntsman let out a rather amused laugh at her talk of protection against wolves. He had never heard of such a silly thing. “Wolves will not a human if they respect them.” His voice suddenly grew rather serious. Other humans were so selfish and disgusting, treating animals like their property. Property they could sell, abuse or even kill… The Huntsman’s vision shifted to the ground for a moment, but came back to meet Red’s hues at the mention of her tracking. “Oh? A tracker, are you? Well, we seem to have something in common, woman.”
