“Oli…”

Gowon called softly, her tiny slender fingers intertwining with the wolf’s soft raven hair. A small smile dancing on her lips as she looked down at the figure laying comfortably on her lap. Olivia whine softly, refusing to wake up as she buried her face deeper into the comfort of Gowon’s warm abdomen. Gowon chuckles at the wolf antics, continuing to crease the girl head gently.

“It’s getting late Oli, you know I have to go.”

Gowon continued, her voice soft and tender. Olivia ear’s twitched slightly, her eyes opened slowly as she adjusts to the brightness of the orange sun before she closes it again with a sigh.

“I don’t want you to go.”

She mumbles, bitterness in her voice as she sulks. Gowon’s heart falter slightly, she stopped the soft head of hair for a moment before she continued.

“I don’t want to go either, but…”

Her voice got smaller as the words darts out from her lips. Olivia got up sluggishly, stretching her body once she sat up. A small yawn was let out thru her triangle shaped lips. She looked back at Gowon with a gentle kind smile. Gowon could feel the butterflies dancing in her stomach. Olivia looked so beautiful adorned by hues of orange and purple; it was a magnificent sight. The wolf girl got on her feet; her skirt swayed by the warm breeze. She looked at Gowon with affection in her eyes before offering an open palm to her.

“Shall we? It’s going to be nightfall in an hour or so.”

Gowon too her hand gladly, staring back at the affection.

~LOOΠΔ~

They were walking hand in hand, Olivia’s bigger one gripping to Gowon’s lightly. They walked with comfortable silence in the air as Olivia navigate through the forest with ease, well technically it was her home but it never ceases to amaze Gowon how she moved so freely in the woods. Olivia looked like a normal girl, sans the two protruding ears on top of her head. And the tail, she almost forgot about the tail. Gowon was confused as of why people was so afraid of her Olivia; she was so kind and gentle. Well sure her eyes glow red at night and she had super speed, and her canines might come out when she feels threaten and might have super strength. But still, Olivia was far more than what people had been calling her, a monster. She was definitely something else but not a monster.

They were almost there and Gowon stomach fell, it means it’s time for them to part ways. Olivia had to hide away and they wouldn’t meet again until a few more days. Going into the woods every day is suspicious after all so they hold off their wants to meet every single day. Olivia would have to let go of Gowon’s hand and hide in the shadows of the trees as Gowon come back to her village. Gowon knew that Olivia won’t leave until she was sure Gowon safely reached the border between her village and the woods, she felt Olivia’s eyes on her and she swoon every time at how protective and overly wary Olivia was about her.

They really bonded over the few months since Gowon was saved by Olivia, and Gowon couldn’t say the same for Olivia but she surely has grown some kind of feelings for the wolf girl. Gowon could only hope Olivia feel the same but their bond was a little more than just friendship but not quite lover, they never go beyond holding hands after all but Gowon felt the lingering stare and the affection pooled on Olivia’s dark brown eyes but they both stayed mum, probably too afraid to ruin what they have. Because what they have was pleasant. It was good enough for both of them, just getting lost in the moment, playing it safe. Close enough, at least for now. Olivia looked back at her, snapping Gowon out of the thoughts. That looks, she knew that looks. They were almost there and Olivia was sad but she didn’t say anything, though the longing looks in her eyes say otherwise.

Olivia ears suddenly twitched and her eyes draft upwards to the sky, Gowon was alarmed by Olivia’s sudden action. She was about to speak before Olivia drag her running toward the village, Gowon following behind dumbfounded. She soon felt trickle of water on her skin. It suddenly rained and only in matter of seconds it became downpour. They reached the border but they were already soaked to the bone. Gowon unconsciously let out a sneeze, Olivia look down at the shorter girl with worry. Gowon looked up at stare at Olivia knitted eyebrows, grinning.

“It’s okay Oli, I’ll dry myself and change my clothes as soon as I’m home so I won’t get sick.”

Olivia nodded gently, her eyes still darting around Gowon’s face as she disappeared into the shadows slowly letting go of Gowon’s hand. Gowon sneezed again, suddenly she felt colder. She tugged her soaked red hood closer to her face as she ran home to get away from the heavy rain.

~LOOΠΔ~

“You’re an idiot”

Cousin Yves said to Gowon without remorse while Chuu who was beside her was fretting with some apple peels. Gowon pouted at her cousin and but didn’t say anything in return.

“Yves that’s harsh.”

Chuu said as quietly as she can which was still about above average people talking volume, she was still struggling peeling the apple. Yves took the apple gently from Chuu and peeled it swiftly then cut it up into smaller chunks, serving it on a plate and put it on a table beside Gowon’s bed. Chuu grabbed a fork beside it, stabbing the crunchy fruit and feed it to Gowon who obliged quietly.

“It’s the truth, what kind of person play in the woods while it’s raining. Why are you even in the woods in the first place, you used to be a shut in?"

Gowon avoid Yves’s suspicious glare by adverting her eyes to other direction, surprisingly it kind of worked. Yves let out a big sigh and got up from the wooden chair she had been sitting for the last one hour or so, a slight creak let out by the old thing. She placed a hand on Gowon’s burning forehead before placing a fresh damp cloth on it. She walked to the door, Chuu feed the last bit of apple to Gowon before doing the same and did a little waving gesture to Gowon.

“Rest and get better quickly, don’t be dumb anymore.” Yves said flatly as she closed the door.

Gowon rolled to her side and let out a long sigh, of course she had to caught a cold. Her head was pounding from the fever. She wondered what Oli was up to, she misses her wolf badly even though they just met yesterday. Then again not a day passed by where Gowon didn’t think of Olivia in one way or another after their fateful meeting. Her train of thoughts were interrupted by a series of sneeze and coughs. Her head pounding even more than before. She closed her eyes, still thinking about the wolf girl as she was lulled to slumber.

~LOOΠΔ~

“Olivia, calm down”

Heejin said to her as she munched on some wild berries. Olivia kept pacing back and forth near the lake where she and Heejin usually hang out while Gowon didn’t come around. Heejin winched when she saw Olivia’s face harden even more, a slight growl coming out of the triangular shaped lips.

“You are being too worried. You can’t be sure that she’s actually sick. Not like you can check either.” Heejin tried to shootee Olivia with her words. But it seemed to have the reverse effect.

“Who said I can’t” Olivia said with a determined frown.

“Woah wait there baby wolf, you know you can’t. The human hates us, we are monsters in their eyes after all. If you go to this beloved human of yours, they gonna welcome you with pitch forks and torches.”

Heejin tried to reason with Olivia, she was getting desperate at this point. It worked this time because Olivia stopped trying to dash off to the direction of the village. Heejin sighed in relief, walking nearby to take a sip of water from the lake.

“She said I’m not a monster…” Olivia mumbled.

“Huh? Did you say something?” Heejin looked back to Olivia.

“No… its nothing.” Olivia walked away.

“Hey, where are you going?” Heejin questioned worriedly.

“Hunting.”

Olivia answered simply before taking off and leaving a trail of dust behind her. Heejin coughed from the sudden dust but recovered quickly to look at the direction Olivia had gone to. Heejin shook her head then got up.

“Ah… I’m late for my meeting with Hyunjin now. I hope she won’t sulk.”

~LOOΠΔ~

Olivia was out of breath; her left arm was bloody with a puncture wound. That deer had noticed her and tried to ran but end up headbutting Olivia with their antler before Olivia were able to put them down. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, she was impatient and had attacked at the wrong time. Her worry for Gowon had made her hasty and it cost her a bit. No mind though she was used to a little injury, after all she was a wolf.

Though wolf usually hunts in packs, Olivia was more of a lone wolf. It wasn’t like she had a pack to begin with anyway, she was not really a wolf nor she was human. Being something in between wasn’t that fun for her to be honest. She looked at the dying deer. Probably on its last strand of consciousness, she watched the live leave its eyes and it was dead. Olivia grumbled before taking the deer hind leg to drag it somewhere else.

~LOOΠΔ~

Gowon eyes fluttered open; her head was still pounding. A series of cough attack her as soon as she woke up. Gowon hurriedly took a swig of water on her bedside table trying to shootee the cough away. The liquid felt cold but painful through her sore throat. Gowon felt tired even though she had been laying all day not doing much, her body was burning up but she felt cold. She brought her blanket closer to her body. Covering past her chin. A sneeze them came followed with another set of coughing fit. She felt so weak and miserable. Some tears came out from her eyes because of the cough. She sighed heavily getting slightly frustrated by this flu. She rolled to her side; her back was getting numb hoping it would make her body feel more comfortable. It still huts and her mind came back to Olivia. She wondered again what Olivia was doing.

“I want to see her…” Gowon whispered to herself.

“Are you sleep talking?”

Yves suddenly said as she opened the door. Gowon jumped a bit but not enough to alarm Yves. Yves came in with a tray of what seems to be a bowl of soup and a cup of tea. Gowon sat up on her bed and Yves placed the tray on Gowon’s lap. It was chicken soup, still fogging with hotness along with the cup of tea.

“Auntie made you soup. You should eat a bit; you haven’t eaten today. Well except for the apple. That tea is herbal infused or something, supposed to be good for your flu.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Gowon looked down at the tray of food. Truthfully, she doesn’t feel like eating, but she probably should if she wants to recover. She took a sip of the tea after blowing it, it was bitter. It was medicine alright, whatever her mom put in there, it was nasty. She forcefully gulped down the tea, it was hard not to gag. Yves looked at her with a grin, knowing the tea probably doesn’t taste that good. She took the glass of water and gave it to Gowon, which Gowon thankfully received. She took a sip of the water to wash down the bitter taste on her tongue, it didn’t work that well since the taste still linger on the back of her tongue. She took a sip of the piping hot soup, it hurt her tongue a bit but didn’t help the bitter taste in . It wasn’t just the medicinal drink, everything tasted bitter. Guess it was to be expected since she was sick after all.

“I know you probably don’t want to eat and everything taste bad, but force yourself to eat a bit or you won’t recover.”

Gowon nodded lazily then forced down spoon by spoon of the soup. It was a struggle but she managed to down half the bowl, feeling sick to her stomach and felt like it will all come back out if she forced another spoonful into . Yves seemed to understand and took the half empty bowl away from Gowon, heading to the door.

“Get some more rest. The tea should help you feel better.”

“Thanks unnie.” Gowon got under the cover and close her eyes once again.

~LOOΠΔ~

Gowon was awakened by a knock on her window. She quickly got up, staggering a bit on the way because she was still disoriented. She was shocked to find a pair of protruding ears on her window’s sill. She opened up the locked window to find a blushing Olivia. Gowon’s heart swell, she was so happy to see the wolf girl in front of her at that moment. Olivia hastily jumped in; Gowon stepped back to gave her some room to land. Olivia Closed the window and the blinds, leaving them in almost darkness only the light of full moon that went thru the thin white blind illuminating their faces.

“Oli…” Gowon whispered in awe.

“Uh, hi.” Olivia throw her face to the side, trying to hide away the redness on her cheeks.

“Oli! How are you here? Oh my god, isn’t it dangerous for you? Did anyone see you?” Gowon questioned franticly.

“I don’t think so. I sneaked in so…” Olivia scratched the back of her neck.

“I’m happy to see you Oli, but why are you here?”

Gowon took Olivia’s fingers and intertwined it with her own. Dragging Olivia gently to her bed as Gowon took a seat at the bed while Olivia still standing stiffly in front of her, her other hand behind her back.

“I’m worried you might have gotten sick, so I came to check on you. I was right after all.”

Gowon heart skipped a beat, Olivia was worried about her and risk being spotted and might get attacked by the villager to see her. Gowon covered her face in embarrassment trying to hide her blush but ended up coughing in the process. Olivia brows furrowed and her eyes filled with worry.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh, yeah It’s okay.” Gowon said with half closed eyes, trying to catch her breathe.

“I brought this for you by the way.”

Olivia pulled a handful of flowers tied with thin tree root from her back. It was colorful with pink, yellow, purple and white. Gowon wasn’t sure that kind of flowers they were but they were beautiful. Gowon blushed once again, remembering how her cousin Yves used to get a lot of flowers from the village boys that tried to court her. Could Olivia be? She shook her head, making Olivia panic.

“Ah, I’m sorry. You don’t like them huh? I’ll throw it away.”

“NO!”

Gowon exclaimed too loudly; she covered right away. Olivia turned her head to the door so fast; she heard footsteps and hastily hide behind the darkness. Gowon didn’t even know where Olivia went when her bedroom door was slammed open by her mother who heard Gowon voice. Gowon awkwardly sat at her bed, having a bit of staring contest with her mother complete with look of bewilderment painted on her face.

“Why are you screaming?” Her mom questioned.

“Um, I had a nightmare…”

“Oh geez, don’t scare me like that. Do you feel better?” Her mom scolded her.

“I’m sorry mom and yes I felt better.” Gowon said while trying to contain her anxiety.

“Okay then.” Her mom eyed suspiciously while closing the door.

A few moments later Olivia emerged from the corner of the room, actually the corner near the door. Gowon exhaled in relief and Olivia gave her a small smile.

“You are really good at hiding Oli.”

Gowon said with amusement now that the crisis was over. Gowon went to her door and locked it; afraid her mom might come in again. Olivia watched Gowon closely while stepping to the middle of the room. Gowon sat on the bed again, Olivia still watching closely. Gowon gave her a tender smile and patted the space beside her, telling Olivia to sit next to her. Olivia was hesitant but she did, feeling the soft matters sink in to her weight. Gowon took the flowers from Olivia’s hand, saying a soft thanks before smelling it and placing it on a vacant vase that just happens to be there. Gowon leaned her head on Olivia’s shoulder, releasing a sigh of bliss. Olivia felt so warm; her smell reminded Gowon the forest in a pleasant way. They stayed like that for a while not saying anything to savor the comfortable silence, at least before Gowon had another series of painful cough. Olivia rubbed the small of Gowon’s back.

“I should probably go now, you need to rest.”

Olivia lifting herself from the bed but Gowon grasped her hand. Olivia looked at Gowon, unsure of what the human girl wants. Gowon looked up with hopeful eyes, her brown eyes gleaming from the faint moonlight but Olivia could see her face clearly as day. Gowon mouth was agape, she wanted to blurt out the words but it just swallowed back into . Gowon bit her bottom lip, looking at Olivia who patiently wait for her, her eyes kind and soft.

“Oli, stay…”

Gowon managed to said it, it was quiet just a tad of whisper but Olivia heard it clearly. Olivia took the chair near a desk and moved it near Gowon’s bed. She sat down and took Gowon’s hand, placing it on her left cheek gently.

“I’m here.”

Olivia held Gowon’s hand for a while, waiting for the girl to fall asleep but Gowon didn’t. She kept staring at Olivia and Olivia stared back, they end up staring at each other with a content smile on their faces, enjoying each other presence. Gowon suddenly shudder, her body felt cold. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth to which Olivia panic about.

“Gowon, shall I bring you more blanket? Where is it? I’ll bring it to you.”

Gowon shook her head, instead she lifted her blanket while looking at Olivia. Olivia blushed, and shook her head. Gowon pouted and kept looking at Olivia still lifting her blanket. Olivia exhaled in defeat, she laid next to Gowon on her small twin bed covering both Gowon and herself with the blanket. Gowon nuzzled her head to Olivia’s neck, seeking for warmth from the wolf. Olivia held Gowon close, keeping the tiny girl nestled in her arms. Gowon was soon lulled to slumber. Before she was completely asleep, she heard Olivia whisper at the top of her head.

“I have to go at dawn, but I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

Gowon nodded, understanding why Olivia have to go before morning. She nuzzled closer to Olivia’s neck, her tiny hand resting on Olivia’s waist. And then soon she was off to the dreamland. When morning comes, she rubbed her eyes to fend off the sleepiness that creeping back and sure enough, Olivia was gone. Gowon was tucked perfectly inside the blanket and an extra one on top of it. She wondered if it was all a dream but she saw those flowers and smiled widely to herself. It wasn’t a dream.

A/N : I haven't proof read this, so sorry for any mistakes, Finally made an extenstion from the first chaper. Hopefully y'all like it.