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Post by Kristi Lynne on Oct 18, 2012 20:25:07 GMT -8
The Wintry Woods
Wintry woods located in Queen Regina's Kingdom. Watch out for wolves!
Events occurring 5 years Before Dark Curse. |
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Post by Storyteller on Nov 4, 2012 20:56:50 GMT -8
Granny had been less than pleased with the girls' decision to go out into the forest but, after some pleading, had finally conceded with the condition that they return before nightfall. Red had quickly agreed, not intending for their adventure to last past the setting sun anyway. But she hadn't counted on the snow that began to fall as they made their way through the densely wooded landscape. Snow that would begin to cover the tracks that they needed. If they were to find the wolf, they would have to work quickly.
"So, have you ever tracked before?" she asked Mary, eyes still trained on the wintry ground before them.
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Post by Mary Margaret on Nov 9, 2012 18:18:16 GMT -8
"So, have you ever tracked before?"
"No," she lied in reply as they trudged through the snow. Those days of hunting game seemed so long ago, and the quarry was much more serious than a deer or a pheasant. "I suppose it's a skill that requires practice. Not something one might have a natural talent for," she mused through chattering teeth.
As they walked, she looked closely for any signs of disturbed powder. "What about that?" she asked Red, pausing to point at an indentation in the snow.
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Post by Storyteller on Nov 25, 2012 21:43:15 GMT -8
"No," "I suppose it's a skill that requires practice. Not something one might have a natural talent for,"
"Some do seem to pick it up more quickly than others." Red paused from her careful steps with a smile for her friend. "But it definitely can be taught to a willing student."
"What about that?"
She turned from her own area of snow that she had been scrutinizing to take a look at Mary's find. Pad marks of a paw print. It was definitely the right shape.
"That's a dog. See how small that is?" she gestured towards the snow around the print, "Don't look where the snow is drifted. It covers tracks."
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Post by Mary Margaret on Nov 30, 2012 19:39:12 GMT -8
"That's a dog. See how small that is? Don't look where the snow is drifted. It covers tracks."
"Oh. Right," she nodded in understanding before continuing to inspect the ground for signs of disturbance. Finally she spotted something. "Hey," she called to Red, "over here!"
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Post by Storyteller on Dec 16, 2012 5:45:42 GMT -8
Red bit back a smile at the tiny prints in the snow, "That is a rabbit." It must have been wishful thinking that made Mary think such a small thing was the dangerous creature they were looking for. Of course, there were the legends of a killer rabbit that guarded the mouth of a cave somewhere south but those were never proven.
"What we're looking for will be huge," she clarified. "Like a dog print, but big. Like eight inches across with big, long claws."
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Post by Mary Margaret on Dec 17, 2012 19:41:05 GMT -8
((OOC: "Look at the booooones!!"))
"What we're looking for will be huge. Like a dog print, but big. Like eight inches across with big, long claws."
Snow couldn't help but think that finding a rabbit at the end of their search would definitely be preferable to a large bloodthirstry wolf. At least Red was being patient with her feigned lack of tracking skills. Maybe they could wander through the snow a few more hours till the light faded and it would be time to return indoors for something warm from Granny's kitchen.
Well, a girl could hope. Until she found an imprint in the snow matching Red's description, and unlike anything she'd ever seen. "Like these?" she asked in a small voice.
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Post by Storyteller on Dec 22, 2012 10:47:23 GMT -8
"Like these?"
Once again she turned towards Mary, correction ready to fall from her lips. But that correction never came as she caught sight of the tracks. Large, paw print shaped tracks sunk deep within the snow like it carried a great weight. This was it.
"Yes," she breathed when she finally found her voice again. She drifted forward, searching for the next set of prints that experience had taught her would be the key to showing them just exactly what they were dealing with. "And those." The prints were at least three yards away from where the girls stood. Red struggled to suppress the cold feeling of uneasiness spreading through her. "My gods, how big is this thing?"
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Post by Mary Margaret on Dec 24, 2012 19:01:10 GMT -8
"Yes ... and those. My gods, how big is this thing?"
Snow really wished she hadn't found the right tracks, growing more worried by the fear evident in Red's voice. The howling she'd heard the night before coupled with the story so vividly told by Granny caused all sorts of nightmarish visions. "This was one stride?" she wondered aloud. "From here … To there?"
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 18, 2013 23:48:51 GMT -8
"This was one stride?" "From here … To there?"
Every reasonable instinct told Red to grab Mary's arm and go running back to the safety of the cottage. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Red did not have the best record of listening to her reasonable instincts. Instead, she searched the blinding white canvas for the next set of tracks that would lead them to the wolf.
"Come on, over there." A few steps forward. Towards danger, yes, but also towards her freedom. Towards a cozy cottage of their very own. Towards little ones huddled under their quilts as they listened to tales of how their parents overcame a fearsome beast- "Through the brush and off towards the hill."
Her future with Peter depended on this. She couldn't let fear slow them down now.
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Post by Mary Margaret on Jan 20, 2013 18:45:26 GMT -8
"Come on, over there...Through the brush and off towards the hill."
Snow struggled to keep up with Red as she rushed forward to follow the tracks. "You’re good at this," she remarked with admiration. And slight apprehension since at this pace, they might actually catch up with the creature that was making these tracks.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 21, 2013 6:55:08 GMT -8
"You’re good at this,"
"When there's something I want, I'm good at tracking it down." she responded confidently, her feet making quick work of the deeper snow underneath the brush. For most others of the village it would be false bravado but Red had been certain of her superior tracking skills since she was a child- since she first realized she could always easily find Rose's forest hiding spots during games of hide-and-go-seek.
It quickly became clear that this would not be quite so easy. The drifted snow had completely obscured some prints, almost making it impossible in some cases to find where they could find the next set. Almost.
"The last partial print was facing this way. The trail has to be around here somewhere..."
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Post by Mary Margaret on Jan 27, 2013 16:06:22 GMT -8
"The last partial print was facing this way. The trail has to be around here somewhere..."
Snow searched the immediate area for similar tracks. "Here’s another one," she announced.
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 7, 2013 8:05:26 GMT -8
"Here’s another one,"
Red approached the print, careful not to disturb the snow surrounding it as she searched for the next part of the stride. There it was, a few yards away just like the others had been. "And then here's..." her voice trailed off as she took a good look. It began like the others but where the three front pads of a canine's paw should be, the shape was wider and had a slightly rounded point to the tip. Almost like a- The winter air suddenly felt colder. What was on the ground in front of her was impossible. Had to be impossible. When she found her voice again, it was not to deliver any sort of good news. "This print. It looks like it's...half wolf and half boot. See?"
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Post by Mary Margaret on Feb 9, 2013 17:14:24 GMT -8
((OOC: Trying to condense some of these one-liners to move it along))
"This print. It looks like it's...half wolf and half boot. See?"
Snow couldn't believe what Red was saying, until she saw it with her own eyes. A paw print and a boot print clearly outlined in the snow and too close to be a coincidence. "Wolves don’t wear boots," she declared as if trying to convince herself. A few steps further ahead showed the paw prints ceasing and the boot prints continuing. "And it just continues like it was a man?" she wondered aloud. She turned back to her new friend, hoping to find some solace in the girl's confidence. "Red, what kind of monster is this?"
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Post by Storyteller on Mar 2, 2013 20:19:05 GMT -8
"Wolves don’t wear boots,"
"No...they don't." It was an unnecessary confirmation. Of course wolves didn't wear boots. Humans wore boots. But humans did not usually have paws, either.
"And it just continues like it was a man?" "Red, what kind of monster is this?"
Red could tell that Mary was looking to her for some sort assurance. If only she was able to provide it. She remained silent as they strode forward, still following the trail of bootprints albeit less enthusiastically as before. As strange as it seemed, there was something nagging at the back of Red's mind. Something about a man turning into a wolf...it was faint but she could remember pieces of the tale.
"So...Wolf's Time is once a month around the full moon. There's a story I heard once about a creature-"
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Post by Mary Margaret on Mar 7, 2013 19:55:43 GMT -8
"So...Wolf's Time is once a month around the full moon. There's a story I heard once about a creature-" Snow's brow furrowed in concentration, not only on following the now-human tracks but also on Red's words. Stories and legends always had a seed of truth to them. After all, her stepmother dealt daily in dark magic, and Red's grandmother had seen such a monster up close. But something else was worrying her, now the scenery was starting to look familiar through the snowflakes. "Hey. Aren’t we awfully close to the cottage?" she asked. The tracks could be seen continuing up the hill, and up to Granny and Red's home. "Who’s gone to your window, Red?" Snow continued, afraid of the answer. "Is it Peter? Red, has he been at your window?" she asked more insistently.
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Post by Storyteller on Mar 28, 2013 5:53:42 GMT -8
"Hey. Aren't we awfully close to the cottage?"
Startled, Red looked up from the tracks. She had been so engrossed in them, she hadn't noticed as the woods around them became more familiar. They had indeed made a full circle back to the cottage. Finding tracks here made sense. The poor men they had found by the well proved that the wolf had been in the area. What it didn't explain was why these tracks led right to her bedroom window. Or why they were the only set of tracks there when Red knew that someone else had come to see her the night before.
"Who’s gone to your window, Red?"
Her throat was so dry that even if she had the ability to make sense of the thoughts racing through her mind, she wouldn't have been able to voice them. Maybe the wolf stepped into his tracks. As a means to...what? Frame him? It made no sense. But neither did the alternative. He couldn't be the wolf. Not the sweet boy that she grew up with. The brave man that she was going to spend the rest of her life with. There was no possible way that he was the wolf capable of slaughtering so many. Her heart knew this. The problem was that the evidence right in front of them told her head otherwise.
"Is it Peter? Red, has he been at your window?"
For a moment, Red considered lying. Denying it all, pretending that she didn't know the truth. Calling off this ridiculous wolf hunt and going back to life as it was before. Deep down, though, she knew that wasn't an option. She couldn't let anyone else get hurt- including Peter.
"Last night- before the killings. He never joined the men to hunt for the wolf." The fact that had caused her so much relief earlier now came back to haunt her. Peter hadn't joined the men...but the wolf had. Her Peter didn't have a malicious bone in his body. The wolf had to be almost a separate entity. There was no way Peter knew he was the wolf. "He wouldn't have killed them. But when the wolf takes over..." Red left the thought unfinished. They had already seen what happened when the wolf took over.
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