Little wolf wandering the cursed forest, little wolf struggling to find home again.
Senses burned with the rush of flesh, as everything swirls and blurs, drool dripping down his teeth as his paws crush the earth.
Small mountains of dirt piled in his nails yet it doesn't seem to bother, eyes aware of everything and nothing at the same time.
Salt burning his eyes as his limbs wobble each step, his body falling to the floor and his head sinks into the grass..
"It's you again wandering."
A light illuminates in front of his face, a freckled, curly haired woman turning her head in surprise. "Does it still hurt, to move? You must feel confused, sore."
The wolf sat still, only blinking back, as she hunched down to observe him.
"I need to examine you so it might sting but not too much, if it hurts, let me know."
She reached for something in a satchel, placing them on the side of him. A knife in one hand, slicing part of her own hand and letting it drip onto his fur.
"There might be some tightening in some of your bones but it's just part of the process, I use some of my own blood to figure out what's wrong."
"Why are you doing this.." He mumbled, and she squinted her eyes, fiddling with her fingers, "I told you I want to try to do good. I want to prove to Charlotte that we can change things. She means everything to me and I just…" She sucked in tears, while taking out a bandage, "Want to make her happy."
"Char-Charlotte?"
"You don't know her, I met her before you, we studied together as witches before we were moved to our villages."
She wrapped the cloth around her hand and tighten it, putting a few herbs onto her skin and squeezing it tight.
"She was moved further away from me and wanted to-actually never-mind."
"Move in with you?"
Her eyes widened, "Yes. But she never got to make it back here, I am not sure exactly what happened but-"
"I can find out, I know you've been trying to help me…Let me help you."
"No, I am supposed to help, I don't want her involved in anything-"
"I won't hurt her because that would hurt you. But I can find out where she is just give me something of hers."
Salty liquid continued to sting her eyes as she continued her ritual, a smile crawling on her face as she waved her hand around his body.
"Regina."
She picked up a vile with a needle attached to it.
"Regina."
She thumped the side of the glass, and sucked in a breath, "Bite down on your wrist for me."
"My wrist?"
"I need a fresh bite mark, don't worry the pain will be covered with the vile."
The wolf didn't respond, and this made Regina narrow her eyes, "You don't trust me?"
"I don't know what to do."
Regina sighed, placing a hand on his paw, "You were once human, Leonardo. Then this demon came and latched onto you. Latched onto me."
"Latched on to you?"
"Yes, I have been hearing about this creature, this thing that takes the shape of a wolf and kills like it's nothing."
She holds the paw in her hand, and sticks the needle into his skin, taking blood and wiping the water away from her face.
The wolf howls, swiping at Regina, clawing at her, marks of crimson drawing lines down her shoulder.
But Regina doesn't flinch, "Doesn't hurt, I can heal that."
She tears more cloth and repeats the same motion with the herbs, wrapping up her shoulder.
"Whether you like it or not, we are bound in fate, and I will help you with this. I have to, not just for you or me but for all of the people that wolf has taken. So you can scratch, bite, or growl I am not going to back down until I figure it out."
Leo winched, struggling to come to a stand, head spinning as he reaches for Regina.
"If you know all this then you know how it ends, don't need you throwing yourself into trouble."
"I am going to be okay, but this, I am taking back to my study."
She starts to place stones around his body and crushed some spices in her hand, throwing them on top.
"As long as you stay in this circle you will be okay, I will be back but until then let yourself heal. It will bring relief to some of the nausea and after that you can move. It will also calm down your urges to attack, you will almost feel a sleep type of feeling so don't worry too much. If you leave I'll find you, so don't worry about me."
She set a hand on his head and squeezed her hand deep within his fur, "I will bring you back to humanity. Just hold onto your sanity, I will do everything I can fix this. But don't forget who you were before this please don't let this take you over. If you are as good as the person I saw you for, then let's beat this together. If you really want to protect me, then let's do this."
She smiled and started to walk away, and all he could do was watch, pity in his eyes. He really does love her but the circumstances were never something he wanted. All he wanted was to enjoy his life peacefully. Sure he was going to find someone eventually but not in the terms of a curse.
He let his eyes shut and his body rest, memories of when he was human passing over like a wave.
Simple days with family, and gathering like he used to when he was young. The sun warm and the village walls safe. Everyone at peace as he'd spend his days enjoying every second not realizing that it would be one of his last.