Hitting everything in her way, there was no dodging or pushing. There was only on objective and there was nothing going to stop her but her frail legs giving out on her or so she thought. As she runs sporadically in every direction, a trail of her own blood follows behind her. Suddenly she hits what feels like a brick wall. Sending her off her feet and onto to the ground, but in an instant everything becomes quite there was no longer the loud growling and barking of the beasts or the sound of the branches as they broke or fought back and hit her. There was only the sound of something moving ever so lightly on the grass. now Laying on the ground, helpless and worn out yet still burning with curiosity. Lara squints her eyes, trying to concentrate, to get a glimpse what she had hit. “…it’s-it’s a person!” She realizes,
As she only saw their back and arm when they faintly turned to face her. The person had a strong physique and they held sword. One with a lustrous jewel, positioned on the tip of the handle. where it and sword would meet. “ …who are you?-” she asks, trying to get a glance of the person’s face but her eyes can’t help but be drawn back to jewel. Only to notice it had a symbol on it. It was a full moon a fairly common looking one but in front of it stood a red star of four heads. Before she could get a chance for a closer inspection, the mystery person draws their sword away. And as it seemed that they have noticed the wolves. Immediately, what was once vicious growling turned to complete silence is nothing but a pathetic whimpering. And when the person took their first step, it was no longer light or faint, it was heavy and frustrated. They do not last in front of Lara for very long as they continue to make their way towards the wolves. But she doesn’t stay awake to witness the aftermath.
“Lara…Lara” a faint sound calling out from afar, beings to get louder and closer. “Lara!!” a shout from Lyan comes knocking her back into the present. “Ah!” The shock from the sudden wake is short lived as her mind shifts to the sight of her sisters sitting in front of her with their worried faces. “You two!, are you okay?!-ah” A soft hit on her head comes interrupting her. “ you idiot!, what were you thinking?!, pushing us like that?!” Lyan yells out, tears of worry in her eyes. M:“ were you trying to get to us before the wolves?!”. A slight giggle escapes her mouth putting a dumbfounded look on their faces. Lyan: “ she’s laughing?!”. M: “omg!”. Lyan: “ why are you laughing?!”. “ I’m sorry, you guys. But hey I was right!, the wolves were after me. You didn’t have to continue running.” . M: “ they were?”. “ what are you talking about, we’d never leave you!, you dumb, idiot!,حمارا!-” Lyan yells out, rocking her sister back and forth. “ wait-” maya says, pushing Lyan away. “ they were?!” She asks in shock. “Will not initially, but later on. for some reason they suddenly shifted from focusing on all targets to only one”.
“ speaking of the wolves, where are they?. We didn’t see anything getting here” as the question leaves Lyan’s mouth, both of her sister’s heads began to turn , looking around. Something not far catches Maya’s eyes. she makes her way to it not informing the rest about it. “Did you tire them out?” Lyan asks. L:“Huh, they tiered me out”. “ did you take them out?” She asks excited in her tone. Only for Lara’s answer a confused look. “ will, did you?” Maya asks. Adding to the confusion on Lara’s face. “No!, obviously not. How could’ve I done that?, I was passed out!”. “Then who’s blood is this?” Maya says, not wanting a second to ask after her sister’s answer, while pointing to the faint trail of blood going west. “ it couldn’t be yours, since the one we followed to get to you leads northwest from here also leads right up to you” . As maya makes everything more clear, Lara’s memories start to get a little less foggy. She makes her way in hurry to the trail. Maya stopping her before she could take another step in its direction.
M: “ who’s blood is that?!”
Lara: “I’m not sure, I have to check”
L: “Then we’re coming with you!” , “yes!” Lyan adds
Lara: “No, you stay here and wait for my signal”
L: “ wha?!” Lyan yells out, “ you can’t go on your own, don’t do this!”
Lara: “ yes I can and I will, I don’t want you two in danger”
L: “ so you’d put your self?!” Lyan calls out
“ call for help if ‘am gone for too long and stay!”
Lara makes her way through behind the guidance of the trail. Lyan turns to give maya a staggered look in response to Lara’s actions. In which maya only shrugs. “Unbelievable!”. But to their surprise in that instance a sound of gasp, fast yet in complete horror, hits them.
Not a second goes by, before they make their way to Lara. “Ah!!” Lyan lets out a frightened scream as she buries her face in mayas back, in response to the monstrous sight that they gaze upon. The brother wolves laying on the ground, eye-to-eye, in a puddle of their own blood with their throats slit. No words could describe their immense shock, in so they remained silent. The two sisters began to slowly roam around trying to inspect the scene but not Lyan she stood in her place, pinned to the ground once again. A shallow feeling of rage at her self.
“ who-who could’ve done this?” Maya asks still in shock. “There was somebody, i bumped into before I passed out”. “And you think they could have done this?” Maya asks, continuing to roam around the wolves, now focused on their eyes more than ever. The same eyes that brought levels of fear she never thought she’d feel, the same she thought could be the end of her. Are now so quiet, so still, helpless as ever. “ yes, they had a sword on them but anyways I think we should go now. Right Maya?, maya?”, her sister’s voice was but a murmur in the background for her. As her entire focus was on their eyes, beyond all the glumness and sorrow they brought with them, there was something off. In a moment of pure concentration, maya notices what she thought was impossible. The monster’s eyes are- “ dilated!?”.
“ what?!” Both Lara & Lyan shout. “ their eyes are dilated!” Maya answers as she kneels down to check the chest movement and their breathing. L:“ well, isn’t that normal if they haven’t been dead for too long?”.“ I don’t think that’s the case here”. Maya says, as she felt a feeble and weak movement from both of their chests. She rushes her hand near its nose, to confirm if her fears were true. “They’re alive.” She announces, stern in her tone yet there’s a hint of sadness and sympathy in her voice.
Lara stands in her place, not a word uttered from her. She cannot deny the feelings pity and sorrow she felt towards the now miserable and defenseless animals in front of her. “ what will we do now?” Lyan asks looking over at Lara, concern and fear on her face. “ …we’ll leave.” Lara answers with a strong manner. Although she sympathized with the wolves, the fear of what will become of their fate if they remained in this forest on their own was much greater. “ come on maya, ‘cmon on!.” Even with a gradually frustrated attitude, she does not give her response. instead her eyes stay focused on the wolves. Lara lets out a frustrated yet pitiful sigh. “ don’t give them that look maya!.They’re not some poor cats on the street, they’re dangerous, vicious, wild anim-”
“They’re are not wild!” She says interrupting Lara. “ look at their necks , they’re clear markings of a collar, a tight one!. Their body are full of scars and bruises as they were beaten. I wouldn’t put it past the person who owned them, to throw animals used to human care or at least a crumb of it to the wild, and let them fend for themselves” maya voice grows more vengeful and cheerless. “ they looked pretty good at it a second ago, remember that” Lara says. “Imagine if they were ‘Caramel’!, would you want them to have such a miserable ending!” She yells out, frustrated at her sister. “ they were trying to give you a miserable ending!”. In the midst of the fights and dispute, the shouting and screaming. A pitiful whimper for one the wolves comes quieting the air in an instant. “ I want to help them” a cry for help like that made maya as confident as ever in her choice. While filling Lara with more hesitance than she already had. “I-I… even…even if we stayed to help them, what would we do?, there are no veterinarians, we know nothing! and who here would possibly have any idea of how to help us”. As soon as these last words left Lara’s mouth, it all came to Lyan, the person who could help them. “Vernon!”
L: “ Vernon?!”. “Yes!, he’s the one who’s supposed to help us, isn’t he?” Lyan responds. “Well, he hasn’t done a very a great job of it” Lara answers while giving a quick glance at the wolves. “ I think he’s our only option now” maya says. “ alright, but who will go get him?” As Lara asks that question, lyan finally sees her chance to be of use. “Me, me!- I will get him!. I want to help!” Lyan says, ever so excited. L: “ on your own?” She says, with a bit of concern on her mind. M: “ let her go, I doubt there’s actually anything else in these woods” and that’s all what Lyan needed to hear before she off “yes!”. L: “ alright go get Vernon, and don’t lose your way!” The last words she heard as she went farther and farther.
As she makes her way through the hills and broken branches as fast and focused as she could be, there’s only one thought on her mind “get Vernon, get Vernon, get Vernon…” she notices a drop of blood on a tree. “ is that mine or Lara’s?” She asks herself. “No, no Lara didn’t get injured here…or did she?. Where did Lara get injured?!” She thought, as she started to get confused. “ do I not know where Lara got injured or did I get injured?” The lingering fear and doubts began consuming her mind. “ no, no, if there isn’t a small puddle on the floor then it’s not where I got injured… or-or… was there even a puddle?!.I-I…” as she rises her head to look around her and try to make sense of her thoughts, she realizes just how identical and maze like the woods are when you’re not trying to escape with your life. Which only sends her into a worse panic. “ oh, crap… am I lost!… no, no I just have to continue in the same direction, it was right a moment ago, why would it suddenly be wrong… ah,, I’m scared!, no!, you’re not, you’re strong!” She says as she tries to take a step forward but her legs defy her as they shake in place. “No, no don’t freeze, don’t freeze, please don’t freeze. Just go, go!”. “Go!!!” She yells out before sprinting a head in her same direction with her eyes closed. But no matter far she ran she had to open her eyes eventually.
And as so she did. Her speed began to decrease, her eyes roam around the place once more as they were trying to escape it and her legs began to shake again. But this time she was determined not let it get to her, she hugs herself and begins repeating to herself “ you’re strong, you’re strong, you’re strong…” as she makes her way with her back forward. “ you’re stor- ah!” She trips and falls but only to find right before- “ my rock!” Along With that discovery she starts to notice the faces she drew on the trees. Suddenly light is back in her eyes and all hope is not lost. All was left was to make her way back to the carriage, and so she does not wast a second.
The carriage is just in sight. she makes her way in a hurry , slamming the door open. Standing at the doorway catching her breath, not a word said. “ well, it’s been a while but doesn't this place look nice-ahhh!” The proud tone in his voice quickly fades into shock and concern. “Lyan! Your hand!” As Vernon runs up to her. Lyan slowly rises her head, to reveal a waterfall of tears, a snotty nose and a red puffy face.
Now being dragged across the woods, Vernon confusion only worsen. “ so, can you give like a rundown of what happened” Vernon says as he tries to talk through the leaves in his face. “Sure, sothierwasthisoldladyandshetoldsomestoyabouthopeorwhateverandthenshesaidwierdstuffinthethisforst…” she says, her mouth in just as much hurry as her legs. “Wait, slow down!” He says. “ I CAN’T!, sothenwecamejustlikeshesaidandtherewasnothingatfirstbutthemwolvesattackus…”. “ wait, wolves?. Ah!, wolves!?” He screams, falling down on the ground at the sight of what seemed beyond the unfeasible. “He’s supposed to help us?” Lara says, skepticism in her voice.
“*Sigh*, Vernon i know this is shocking, but i ask you, if there’s anything you could do please do it” Maya pleads, in a desperate manner. Getting a closer look he notices the heads of the wolves were put to rest on leaves, their necks covered with leaves as well.
And their mouths covered with little droplets of water. It was obvious from first glance that someone tried to take care of these animals even in their last moments, and that person stands in front of him now, desperation on their faces, hoping he’d be able to do what they couldn’t and be the one to save these miserable creatures. Vernon’s face was full of nothing but hesitation, despite that, he kneels down closer to the wolves. Giving maya hope with his every move. As his eyes scan the wolf’s body, they cannot help but focus and wonder about the leafs on its neck. He goes to remove it but he does not proceed before asking “may I ?”. Which in response he gets an aggressive nod of the head from maya.
As he removes it, his expressions tighten at the gory and vicious wound yet a surprisingly clean cut, it didn’t look like whoever done it struggled very much. it was that of an execution, which made the shallowness of the cut even stranger to him. “ how did you even do this?” He asks, unsure if they’re even capable of doing this. “ we didn’t” Lara answers, maya continues right after her “Lara says there was somebody with a sword we think they’ve done this”
“Do you have any idea as to why?” Vernon asks raising confusion among the girls.
M:“No, they were probably just defending themselves”
V: “ more like pouring their anger out on them, they definitely wanted these wolves to suffer”. Maya’s face falls as her head fills with more anguish and sorrow towards these helpless creatures. “Well maybe they’re not very good with the sword and couldn’t tell that the cut wasn’t deep enough” Lyan says naively. “ I doubt it, whoever can get a cut this clean knows what they’re doing, they probably have the ability to send their heads flying if they wanted to, but they didn’t, they wanted this. This was intentional”. “ well, that’s not the point!, can you help them or not?!” Maya yells out, anger and fury clear on her face.
No one shouts or yells back not even an upset frown dares to wear their faces. They know her fury wasn’t meant for them, and under what was masked as rage was nothing but sorrow. The wolves stood to maya as no longer vile beasts but fragile creatures who have been wronged and mistreated all the way till their death.
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