Six

Pale-green eyes narrowed, and he snarled, jaw snapping, more than enough to have her sprinting back into the recesses of her abode, but he was faster. He latched onto her leg, teeth breaking skin, throwing her off balance and smacking against the wall of her home. A tad dizzy, but in one piece, she calculated.

The glint of her green water hose didn’t escape her notice, and she managed to snatch it time, successfully blasting the wolf away with ice-cold water. Firmly training the hose on his figure, she watched as he calmly paced back and forth. Cautious, she inched her way towards the door and a good foot away, she threw herself inside her home, slamming the door firmly shut.

She slid to her floor and endured his paws clawing at her door for a good twenty minutes. Chaerin waited in silence for another hour before daring herself to open the door and scan the backyard. Clear of wolves, and of danger, she sighed, relaxed against the unlocked door.

Unsure of how to handle this new situation thrown at her, she frowned, turned back to her kitchen to at least put away her items. However, she wasn’t alone, the wolf breathing heavily by the front door that she had forgotten to secure when she arrived home. 

Oh, .

He bolted towards her and she instinctively swung the door shut in his face, her legs pivoting and carrying her farther away as soon as she gathered her wits about her. Fiercely she cried out for help, and dwelling in a neighborhood of older folks that probably wouldn’t have heard an ambulance as it drove by them was suddenly an awful choice on her part.

Her hands searched around in her pockets, perhaps she could drive away, but the keys were left with the bags, and she doubted wolf-boy would allow her to get past him.

By the time she fell back onto a familiar road, she had a stitch in her side, the sound of crackling twigs behind her the only thing motivating her to ignore the pain. Trees stood tall, mysterious, shrouding the sky from her and it clicked – she was running down the path Kris had laid out for her. Remembering the long, thick branches hovering near the ground gave her hope that she could climb up and save herself from becoming mincemeat.

She rested her eyes on the oak tree, her puffing body almost within reach of a precariously placed branch, and wondered if just maybe she would survive, until he burrowed into her and she fell. Her body rolled in the dirt, crashed against the oak’s trunk; he roughly landed himself, his hind legs giving out. In the time he adjusted himself, she grasped onto a jagged rock, a crude weapon should her life depend on it.

She whispered his name, praying it would ring a bell in his hollow mind or give her a little more time to prepare for the onslaught of his attack. His name failed to register to his wolf form and he leapt, she braced for impact.

This time he latched onto her left shoulder, his teeth practically drilling into her flesh, dragging out her agonized scream. Pissed, she smashed the rock against his face, and kicked at him as she tried to ignore the sting of his tightening bite. Her hand tightly grasping the rock bashed his snout and he released her with a whine.

Gasping, she clutched her torn shoulder, her eyes wary of his presence. He shook his bruised snout and bared his teeth, the white decorated with her blood. Weary, she inched back, prepared for round two that was surely to come. Again he leapt forward, however, she surprised him as her arm shoved the rock inside his mouth, scraping her arm in the process and forgetting how much blood she was wasting, she heaved his massive body aside, adrenaline aiding her.

Her retaliation fell short, her energy depleted by her brash move. Sitting back against the bark, she wondered if this was how she would die. And she had finally discovered her path in life, too.

She wanted to be a teacher or a social worker, perhaps major in the former, minor in the latter. Shame, she had farther to go.

Blazing with fury, he charged after her, vengeance the only thing ringing in his mind. He never made it, his body knocked away by another wolf, his intention fully to intervene. The newcomer barked harshly at him, communicating, Chaerin believed, her mind a bit hazy. This one was just as large, only slender, the fur lighter in shade, and fluffy?

As she tried to study these details in her weakened state, they tumbled, the fresh wolf dominating her companion.

Chaerin blinked and was puzzled to discover that Baekho was gone when she realized the recently admitted wolf was staring her down, his snout inches from her face. Her train of thoughts were abruptly ended by the sight of his eyes.

Red was all she paid heed to, the acquainted color inducing a smile, and earning him a gentle pat to his snout; she felt so safe just from the sight of red eyes – his eyes.

Sleep embraced her, absolved the mischief of the day.

She faded in and out from consciousness, her eyes cracking open as they pleased. It felt as if she were being held, her head lolling to the side.

On one instance, right before she was swarmed by utter darkness, she swore she saw the face of an angel, his skin pale, lustrous, carved to resemble a child. His appearance was soft, perhaps even effeminate, his face turned away from her. Her last glimpse was of a moon beaming down on the earth; she found it strangely beautiful.

Chaerin awoke with a start, her chest heaving, her heart pounding against her rib-cage. She hissed, an unrecognized soreness hitting her figure. She pulled at the bandages on her leg and shoulder, the events of the day before gradually washing over her. Tensed, she looked around, found the room to be foreign, a place she had never set foot in and possibly never would by the looks of the marbled floor and white furniture.

Regardless of the pain shooting up her leg, she hauled herself outside the room, and the silence as good as a sign it was empty, fled from the home. Frankly, she was sick and tired of surprises, she needed to get back to normalcy.
All ears, she made her way onto the path she had walked back and forth on for months, although it tickled her curiosity to see it was so close to the white home…

She trudged forth to the oak, sweet salvation not too far off now, but the throbbing in her shoulder and leg proved too much and left her slumping against the trunk. Stubborn tears filled her eyes now that she could fully process the recent events.

“Holy ,” She muttered, her hand grasping her head, trying to make some rational sense of what she witnessed.

“I think we might need to address your bad habit of cursing every chance you get,” He commented, his deep tone of voice something she could never erase from memory.

Her head snapped up, faced her enigmatic guide.

“Among other things.” His whisper was not lost on her.

"Kris."