Beauty and the Bandit

[CastlesInTheSky]

"You'd better keep on running, you bastard!"

A wolf with fur the colour of rust sprinted away from a very angry young hunter with a stolen rabbit in his mouth, his mouth curved in such a way that it would have most definitely been a smile had he been human. His long, black-socked legs carried him far away from the man and soon to a part of the forest where he could eat in peace. The food did him good; he hadn't eaten in a while. Perhaps he would get some more later. After he had finished up, he looked around himself and stretched. Ah. Well, a nice meal.

Previous to this, the wolf, Connor, had been having a rough few last weeks. In the area in which he traveled now, there were lots of traps; it must be some sort of hunting season. This did him well, as he was able to snatch a few bites to eat, but some had been close calls. He had run out of money as a human yet again; when that happened, until he gained the opportunity to gain something great, he had little choice but to live as a wolf. It wasn't so bad, and he didn't mind. However, there were a number of things he always grew to miss about living as a human. It was always interesting to have chats with people, and being a naturally social man, it was fun as well. No need was there to say that he couldn't enjoy that very well as a wolf. Foreign packs were always...prickly at best.

With a shake of his head he trotted off, making his way to a small clearing. There was his horse, tied up to a tree. The animal snorted at him, backing away and making it clear that it wasn't very pleased with Connor's presence at the time. Connor only gave it a glance before he looked around himself and spotted something unexpected; another meal! This time, it was a bird of some sort. The wolf quickly dashed over to what he suspected to be another unfortunate victim of the traps and seized the fowl in his mouth, only to hear a small click behind him. It was at that moment that he became aware that there was something surrounding him. What was this? Pawing at the ground beneath him, through the leaves there was the floor of a cage revealed. As he looked around himself, only able to turn his head side to side, he realized that he was completely enclosed. With a soft growl he attempted to back up out of the cage, but couldn't push the door open with his rump and wasn't able to turn around to try at it with his teeth. After a bit more rustling around, he gave up and lay on the floor of the disguised cage, barely able to fit. It was obviously not for an animal as large as himself, and it was very uncomfortable.

As Connor sat there, he looked to the sky and thought, 'I'll find a way out. Somehow.'

[GoblinFae]

Ladybird moved leisurely through the forest headed for her favorite clearing. After a long week of serving customers she was ready to curl up in the warm midday sun and read her newest book. With the chill of autumn approaching she knew her days for such events were waning. Already she was forced into wearing a shawl despite the strong sun shining down upon her.

Yet, when she arrived to the clearing she was disgusted to that her place of peace was already occupied and by a hunter's filled cage. It pained her greatly to see a creature trapped within its confines. "Oh, you poor thing," she cooed moving slowly to the cage. Ladybird kneeled down in front of the cage but, reframed from placing herself within biting distance of this, 'wolf? He is quite beautiful. I wish hunters would not do such things. Humans take more than they need. Look at him Fern. He looks so uncomfortable!'

"Let's sticks yous in a box and sees how you feels!" The little snake hissed from his perch around her right wrist. She ignored her tiny guardian and continued looking at the poor beast trapped within the cage. "I'm sorry Little Red, I'll see what I can do about getting you out of here." The young botanist offered up a weak smile in sympathy before moving off to try and find some rope.

Noticing the horse she carefully moved over. "My, aren't you beautiful boy. Can I pet you dear?" She approached the horse slowly, left hand extended palm up, ready to be sniffed. Standing in front of the horse, she reached out to rub his muzzle. "Such a pretty boy. Would you come home with me? Hmm? Come away from serving that nasty hunter, and live in my nice warm garden? Maybe I'll take you with me. Would you like that? If you wait patiently, I'll get this fine wolf free and then we can go. How's that?"

Not expecting an answer, Ladybird continued on with her task. Gently undoing the horse's halter and begin to lengthen it into a makeshift rope. She continued her soft murmurings to both creatures to keep them calm and aware of her presence as she worked. Moving to the front of the cage, Ladybird tied one end of the halter rope to the cage latch before backing away until she was at the ropes end. "Now be a good wolf, Little Red and don't hurt me when you come out. Remember that I am trying to help you," she cautioned the wolf. In all honesty, she was more concerned about him harming the horse than herself.

"One of your more brilliant moves for sure!" Fern grumbled inside her head. Sending a quick prayer to Kia she yanked the halter. With a soft cling the trap sprang open allowing the wolf the freedom to back out should he desire to. "Ands now he eats you!"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Though he couldn't turn around or manage to get a good look behind him, he became aware of a person entering the clearing. His first thought was that it must be the hunter, but once the person spoke that thought was obviously not the answer. The hunter wouldn't be calling him a 'poor thing'. Curious now, he wished he could get a good glance at her to see who she was, but couldn't manage.

'Little Red'? That was a new one. If he were human, he would have chuckled. However, his ears perked up at the mention of rescue. Out of this cage? Well, that was even better than what he had imagined she would do. He had expected a bit of pity and a leave but he was actually escaping without even doing anything besides looking sorry for himself. This was probably the easiest escape he had ever made. He continued to lay down on the bottom of the cage, waiting patiently for the door to open.

So she was going to take care of his horse for him too? This was getting better and better! There probably wasn't anything that could rival the convenience of this situation. Connor was extremely pleased, considering that a minute ago the situation had been unsavory at best. Thank the gods she knew how to open the cage, as if she didn't that would definitely put a damper on his mood, even if he was always smiling like eternal sunshine.

As she opened the cage, he stood and wriggled himself out of his confinement, shaking himself off in the characteristic manner of a canine and stood to face her, moving a bit away from the cage and taking a seat on the ground, looking at her curiously. He studied her for a moment, not taking notice of his horse, and gave her what seemed to be a nod accompanied with a grunt. Charisma wasn't particularly his strong point when he couldn't speak. Or, for that matter, make facial expressions that didn't scare people off. He shook his head to get a fly away.

[GoblinFae]

"Hmm," she giggled softly. Crouching down to her knees but maintaining her distance, Ladybird smiled. "Bet that feels better, doesn't it? My aren't you a handsome fellow!"

"Musts you praise every creature that crosseses your paths?"
'Why? Feeling jealous Fern? You know you are the only guardian for me.'
"Nots likely. I's better bes your only!"
'He has no fear. Amazing!'

"Would you like to come with us, Little Red?" She tentatively held her left hand out to him, making sure to keep her right with Fern well hidden in her lap. "Although, you will have to promise me something. You see, my garden has many visitors and all but the mice are welcome. I can't have you eating my visitors up. If you start causing trouble, then out you go! But, for as long as you stay you are always welcome."

Rising slowly as to not scare the creature, she moved to the horse and mounted. "Ready?" she cooed to the horse, gently running a hand along the length of his neck. Urging him into a gentle trot she took off, leading him towards home. "Yous really ares the stupidest human I's ever met! Cans I spooks the horse?" Ladybird shook her head. 'Be still Fern. You will get us both killed if you do that.' A faint smile lit up her face at feeling Fern's disappointment ring clear through her head. 'I'll make it up to you later.'

[CastlesInTheSky]

One could tell Connor would have been smiling if he could. Handsome? So she not only released him from his cage and took his horse for him but also was giving out compliments? Almost too good to be true. It was a good thing he wasn't a human; if that were the case, she would be probably frightened or something like that. In cases like these, being a wolf was always the better option. Well, mostly; hunters wouldn't try to shoot a human with arrows when he walked past. His not-as-common red fur often got him hunted.

Connor stood and padded only a bit closer, not wanting to scare her, even with her very calm attitude towards him. She offered shelter? To many animals? Was she sent by the gods? He'd never heard of someone doing something that nice, especially for animals. It intrigued him, though the prospect of new food wiped away his deeper thoughts. Right now, this was his favourite woman on the Earth. And she was pretty, too! Life couldn't get any better, could it?

Had anyone else been riding his horse, he would have been very displeased, but this woman would take good care of him he supposed. Hopefully she wouldn't look through his things and throw them out or something. That...would not be good. Especially if she took his money. Not good. But she seemed kind, and kind people didn't seem to take things, even if it seemed to be nobody's. It was a wonder how they made a living, he thought. Having never known any life but that of a nomad and a thief, he didn't understand how they went about things from day to day.

Connor trotted after the two (as he was unaware of the third companion) and made sure to stay a distance that kept him in clear view of her but also wasn't too close as to not spook his horse too terribly. He could have been grinning. This was great! He slowed down as they neared her home.

[GoblinFae]

Riding on horseback took half the time to get home as it took Ladybird to walk to the clearing in the first place. Sliding off the beautiful equine's back, she led both of her new guests into her stables. There she unsaddled the horse and took care in grooming him and seeing that he was well taken care of. By the time Ladybird was done, his coat shone and his feed trough was full.

"Good boy," she whispered, patting him on the neck as she exited the stall, saddle in hand. Hefting the heavy piece of leather onto a rack, she made quick work of removing all the saddle bags and placing them on a shelf away from the mice. The young woman had no interest in finding out what was in them. The idea that the horse's owner could return any minute and demand his things, kept her from any such snooping.

Fern lazily slept still coiled around her wrist. Making her way over to the gate of her garden she wondered briefly over why the wolf would be insistent on following her. "Bleeding heart," her familiar sleepily mumbled into her mind. 'Indeed, dearest.' Earth-stained fingers glided over the cool blue scales as she smiled fondly down at him.

"Well Little Red, are you ready to see my garden? But, remember no eating or disturbing the other guests. Otherwise you are out on your ear before you can say 'Petal and Frond.'" Shaking her head and not expecting the wolf to understand, Ladybird opened the gate and went inside. If he wished to follow then he could; she would close it later when she left. For now, she planned to read under the shade of a tree that basked in the warm autumn sun. "By your leave," she mock-bowed, settling herself down with her newest tome.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor was very appreciative of her for caring for his horse, and he would have said so if he could. It had been a bit too long, he'd have to admit, since the horse had gotten a good brushing. It was good that he would be fed and taken care of well here. For once, there was someone who was actually being charitable without expecting anything in return it seemed.

The wolf trotted to the side of the woman, pleased. No eating the other animals, got it. That wasn't too hard. He would just go off the property to hunt, he supposed. The idea of being fed by her didn't occur to him. Hopefully he wouldn't run into any more traps or hunters. Well, he'd be more careful next time. But, for now, the garden was very nice. He glanced around and looked at the foliage, admiring how everything seemed to be growing perfectly.

Amused, he watched her for a moment, trotting off to look around and coming back in a moment. He creeped up and nudged her book, curiously, as if to ask what it was, studying it curiously. Whatever was on the pages looked like scribbles, so he paid no mind.

[GoblinFae]

She would look up at the wolf from over the top of her book from time to time. His inquisitive nature amused and distracted her from becoming fully engrossed in the book. His muzzle bumping her book out of her hands finally did it though.

"Oh, you!" she laughed. "You are just not going to let me read today, are you Little Red? First the clearing and now my garden, are you saying I am meant to only have my attention focused on you?"

Still chuckling, Ladybird brought her hand up to scratch gently behind the wolf's ears. "You're so pretty. Yes you are. Such a handsome boy." As she continued to coo nonsensical praises to the animal, Fern decided it was time to make his prescence known.

Carefully uncoiling from his pet's wrist he positioned himself on the ground between the wolf's two front paws. Raising himself up, the snake placed himself directly in front of Little Red's chest and began to hiss angrily at him.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor had the wolf-grin on his face once again, amused. He wouldn't mind that, being the center of attention, especially from this kind and fair lady. Absently he wondered what she had been reading about before he had nudged her book and distracted her. What did people read about, anyway? Politics? Regardless, it didn't concern him.

The canine did appreciate being scratched behind the ears, tilting his head as she did so. His tail swished back and forth as she complimented him. He stayed still, pleased at being petted and praised. Yes, handsome, of course he was. Though he did wish he could tell her his name. He wished he could spell his name. That would be useful.

Suddenly, something seemed to have crawled up to him. Connor leaned away from her to get a better look at the serpent that had placed itself between his paws. As it raised itself up, he leaned away from it, and as it hissed, he growled briefly but obviously had no intention of attack. Connor seemed a bit annoyed but nothing more. He leaned away from the hissing snake and took a step backwards to appease it.

[GoblinFae]

Ladybird watched the wolf pull away from her and begin to growl. "Hey none of that!" she scolded him, bopping him on the snout. "If you are going to act like that you can waltz your way right out of my garden. I won't stand for it Little Red, you hear?"

'I guess you were right Fer-Fern?' She had reached down to pet her familiar only to find him missing. "Fern?" Looking around frantically, the female botanist finally spotted him posturing in front of the wolf. "Fern you idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Angrily, she snatched the snake up and glared at him. "You scared him, you little fool," she continued. "I'm sorry Little Red," she whispered now addressing the wolf and reaching her hand out to him. "I didn't know Fern was being mean."

"I wasn'ts being mean! I was protectings you!"
'And what would have happened when he stepped on you or decided to bite you!'
"I's woulda bites him first!"
'You are just lucky I don't throw you out on your ear Fern.'
"I has to have ears for yous to dos that," the familiar replied smugly, much to his pet's consternation.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor blinked and snorted out of surprise, shaking his head. What? Scolding now? But...well...okay, fine. He wouldn't growl at the snake again. Even though it could be poisonous and was hissing its little head off at him. Okay.

Ah, so the snake was one of the creatures of the garden. That explained some things. Connor gladly pressed his face against her hand, wanting to be petted more. He rarely got any attention as a human or an animal, so this was quite nice.

He moved to sit next to her, very content with the situation.

[GoblinFae]

"You poor thing," she cooed, cupping his face in her hands and rubbing his soft ears. "Mean little snake gave you a hard time. I'm sorry about Fern, Little Red. He is my familiar, my guide, and can be a bit overprotective. He didn't mean any harm, honest!"

She would have continued her protests, with Fern grumpily fuming at her wrist if it had not been for the cold plop of liquid that landed on the tip of her nose. Brushing it away caused another to replace it on the back of her hand. More drops began to fall and faster. "Bathtime for the flowers. Come Little Red, if you don't want to be stuck out here in the rain you better hurry along. Wet animals aren't allowed in the house."

Laughing she gathered up her book and dashed towards the house, trying to avoid getting too wet. Fern continued to hiss at being jostled so, but Ladybird did not care. She loved the rain, as did her flowers. Complaints would not be forthcoming anytime soon from her.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor was loving the attention. He closed his eyes as he was fawned over, listening to what she was saying, but not as much as he would have were nothing happening. The fact that the snake of hers didn't like him didn't bother him much; if the other animal were a threat, he would just avoid him.

The wolf looked up curiously at the sky as it began to rain, then shook his head. He leapt away when it started to pour, following her quickly towards the house. Before he went inside, he shook himself off and entered fast.

Sitting on the floor, he looked up expectantly at Ladybird, as if she was about to have a conversation with him.

[GoblinFae]

Smiling fondly, Ladybird patted the wolf on the head before proceeding further inside. The lower level of the house was entirely the shop. Every surface and wall was occupied with plants and flowers of all different varieties from all over Le'raana.

"Are you hungry boy? I'm going to make a bite to eat," invited, heading up a creaky staircase to her living quarters. She moved about the room effortlessly, seeming to glide on air as she flitted from one place to the next. In under an hour she had a hot bowl of stew for herself and a few choice pieces of meat for "Little Red."

Scattered about the room were other animals in various states of healing. A rabbit munched on a carrot on the desk, a cat cleaned her kittens on the quilt at the end of the bed, and a flock of different birds roosted on shelves about the room.

Ladybird crawled into bed without another thought, snatching up her book with every intention of settling in for the night. Between pages 8 and 9 she soon forgot about her newest "visitor" and became once more enthralled by her reading.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor was just as pleased if not even more so to be fed. He didn't go about afterwards to go see the other animals; being a wolf, he would probably scare them off. Or, at least accidentally frighten them needlessly. That wasn't what he wanted. The meat was very good, and he appreciated it very much. This really wasn't so bad!

When she walked off to get settled, Connor wandered around the room for a bit, observing the others from afar to keep from frightening them, then turned his attention back to Ladybird. What was she reading about? Well, he would never know, he couldn't read or write. For a minute he sat nearby, then went to explore again aimlessly.

Feeling curious, he nudged a potted plant to get a better look at it but ended up knocking a small other one off the shelf, sending it crashing to the floor He yelped and sheepishly scooted away from the scene, standing a few feet away.

[GoblinFae]

She squealed and banged her head unintentionally against the headboard in front. 'It was just getting to the good part too!' Looking around, Ladybird was relieved to see it was not an axe-wielding huntsman who was really a vampire wanting to suck her blood and only Little Red.

"Sweetie, you shouldn't do that! Oh, what a mess," she sighed, dragging herself out of bed. Distractedly patting the wolf on the head, she surveyed the extent of the mess. Ladybird sighed again just shaking her head. "Well, don't eat it or play in it and I'll clean it up in the morning, I guess."

Ladybird wearily made her way back to bed and had just slipped between the sheets when a heavy clap of thunder reverberated overhead. Squealing again, she dove further under the covers, pulling them up over her head. Rain was one thing but, thunderstorms frightened Ladybird to no end. She was a shaking shivering mass underneath the warm blankets.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor heard her cry out and felt bad for scaring her. He was lucky to find someone so accommodating to let him stay, and it rather hurt his chances of remaining there if he was breaking things and such. Well, hopefully she wouldn't be too angry with him and hopefully it wasn't a magical plant or something that was extremely important.

Hm? 'Sweetie'? Endearments were not something he was used to but they were indeed welcome. At the same time, he wished he could tell her his name so she could at least know he had one. He was also glad that she wasn't too cross with him. A nice woman, she seemed to be, to give many a creature a place to stay.

Just as he was about to lay his head down to rest, he heard her cry out in fright. Hastily he trotted over to see if she was alright. Puzzled at first, he wasn't sure why he was afraid, but soon discovered it was the lightning that frightened her. He nudged the bundle of covers with his nose.

[GoblinFae]

Another clap of thunder had Ladybird curling in tighter around herself. The gentle nudge from "Little Red" made her flinch slightly before she popped her head out enough to look at him. Her eyes were wide in fear and discomfort as she looked over at him pitifully.

Lifting the edge of the blankets up, she motioned to the wolf. "In or out?" She did not get to hold the covers up for long before she was quickly dropping them. The sky rumbled again, forcing yet another fearful cry from her lips as she clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. The young woman completely forgot about her newest companion as she rocked back and forth in a self-soothing motion and tried to ignore the storm raging outside.

Distressed, she dived back under the covers, pulling the covers up high. There was still a pocket of air where the covers folded over on themselves and she could reach a hand out to pet the wolf in the moment of silence. But, that hand was sneaking back to its refuge as the storm continued to torment her.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Connor wasn't able to react much before she dived back under the covers in fear. Though he did feel bad for her, as she was terrified, he was somewhat amused. He felt a bit bad for being amused at her misfortune, but he couldn't help it. It confused him as to how a noise and a flash could frighten a person so badly. Of course it was loud, but the way she reacted to it was as if it were the end of the world. Then again, everyone is terrified of something, he thought.

With mild amusement he poked his head into the area which the hand had retreated to and licked her hand in a guesture intended to comfort, at least a bit. It was lucky for him that he even had a place to be hiding from the storm in; he could very well have been in a cage, soaked to the bone, or worse, turned into a coat. Unsavory idea. Very much so.

In a motion he withdrew from the covers and hopped into a part of the bed she wasn't occupying, scooting next to her and nudging her again to let her  know he was there. Well, it was the least he could do to attempt to comfort the frightened lady who had been so kind to him. He began to doze off as he lay there.

[GoblinFae]

Despite her discomfort and fear though, Ladybird was able to smile at the comfort the wolf was trying to provide. It saddened her though when he pulled away. She was just preparing to spend the night hiding her covers and fully awake when she felt a pressure outside the blankets against her back.

Turning slowly she peeked out to see her newest visitor curled close by. Ladybird smiled warmly and curled up close enough to him to reach a tentative hand out to pet his head and side. "My little hero." As she faded into sleep, her fingers slowed their movement until at last they stilled, tangled loosely in his fur.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, the young botanist slept through the night without waking from the storm. If she could have seen herself she would also have been shocked to see the little smile remain there all night too.