This Little Wolfie Went to Market

[kleineklementine]

In the forest, the wolf paced. Waiting. Pacing. Waiting for a sign. The sun was sinking beneath the trees, the mist creeping into the forest.

With a sudden turn, he stopped, and huffed. It wasn't going to happen. He would have to go like this. Padding over to the hollow at the base of an old oak tree, the wolf took a careful assessment of stash he had placed there, his golden eyes moving from one item to the next: shirt and trousers; soft leather boots; a straight, long knife; a small purse of gold that was the payment for his last "odd job." It had been a grisly one. He didn't like the grisly ones, but sometimes it was unavoidable. He'd hoped to need these things tonight. There was a traders' market tonight along the routes that crossed between Adela and Serendipity. The wolf had hoped to go to the market and find a job - maybe not a grisly one - spend some of that gold, maybe flirt with the pretty girls. But not tonight. Not like this.

Carefully, he covered the stash with the leaves and the moss of the forest floor. He wouldn't need any of it tonight, after all. He paced one last circle around the tree in one last hope that there would be a change. There wasn't. Well, no reason for the night to be a total loss. Taking on look to make sure the stash was well hidden, the wolf bounded into the night.

___

The wolf waited on the edge of the market until the sun had sunk completely below the horizon, replaced by the stars and moon. The traders who had not fallen asleep were now drunk or close, busy fighting or flirting with one another. It gave the wolf the perfect opportunity. With fur blacker than night and silent paws, no drunk or amorous trader would notice him if he were careful. Taking his moment, the wolf padded quietly into the market, sniffing at the covered stalls. He paused, nosing under one of the coverings. Inside was a spread of knives and leather sheathes. The knife in his stash was getting old now. It was still fine, but these were all beautiful. After some consideration, and careful not to disturb the surrounding knives, the wolf gently picks up a long knife sheathed in leather with his mouth, then quickly slips back out from under the covered stall.

[Rhindeer]

That had to be one of the strangest things she'd ever seen.

In fact, Pepper had to do a double take, making her floppy hat go askew, and rub her eyes before she registered what she was seeing as real: a wolf, slipping out from the cover of a stall, a long knife in its jaws.

Either it was a very smart wolf or it wasn't human, but no matter what it was, it was a thief!

"Oi! You! Stop!" she shouted without thinking, not caring that this was a wolf she was dealing with. Her arms were full of scrolls she was supposed to be delivering to a scholar across town, but she started toward the animal anyway, robes rustling. "Ya drop that knife, mutt, ya hear! Afore someone finds ya and skins yer sorry hide!"

[kleineklementine]

The wolf froze as soon as he heard the voice. Damn, how had he missed the sound of someone approaching. Slowly, the wolf turned to face the girl, his muzzle wrinkling into a low, warming growl. But he know that now that she'd shouted, it wouldn't be long before others showed up, and people didn't always take kindly to wolves, much less thieving ones. He growled again, a little louder, a warning to say, 'Leave it, and don't follow.'

But when the girl starts towards him, he turns and bounds away, heading back towards the forest, still holding onto the knife. What a disappointing night this was turning out to be. He'd barely gotten the chance to see what else was in the market! Not to mention that he hadn't wanted to come here like this in the first place. At least he could take some solace in the fact that a girl carrying an armful of scrolls - who carries scrolls around at night when everyone is already drunk? - was unlikely to catch a wolf.

[Rhindeer]

"Hey, no, wait! Stay! Come back! SIT!" Pepper shouted, and several lights flickered on through the windows of nearby homes as curious villagers, woken from their sleep, lit their lamps to see what all the fuss was. Augh, drat, the last thing she needed was a bunch of rubberneckers, especially since she knew a lot of the town folk here.

They'd be irritated to be woken up at best, and at worst they'd think her crazy when she told them what she saw.

With a curse, she darted into the woods after the wolf, juggling her scrolls and clutching them close to keep twigs and branches from snagging the delicate parchment. Ugh, fine. Looked like she was committed, now. Besides, foolish as it was, she was curious; wasn't every day you saw a kleptomaniac wolf.

And in a way, retrieving stolen items was kind of a way to repent for her earlier life.

Grumbling to herself, she tromped along the path, eyes straining for a sign of the wolf and ears straining for the rustle of bushes. Old Cain was going to knock her head if she was too late, but she could just make up some stupid excuse or the other. Wouldn't be the first time.

"C'mon, mutt. Whatcha even need a knife for?"

[kleineklementine]

SIT???  That did stop the wolf, just long enough for him to turn and look back at the girl, his golden eyes narrowing. Only for a moment, however, before he took off again. Whoever this girl was, who thought it was her place to tell him to sit and was bent on chasing him through the forest, he wasn't going to find out until they were farther away from the market. He didn't want anyone else to deal with.

The wolf ran down a shallow ravine and leapt over the small creek that'd carved it. Once on the opposite bank, he set down the stolen, sheathed blade on the forest floor, and turned, looking up to see if he'd lost the girl or not. The idea was coming to him that, if she did catch up with him, she'd have followed him fairly deep into the forest. And scrolls could fetch a decent price, depending on what they were...

[Rhindeer]

Ugh, she couldn't believe she was doing this. She was crazy, chasing a bloody wild animal with a knife. Hah, what if he could use it? Yeah, right. She knew she should be more concerned about why this wolf was stealing knives and who had trained it and who it was delivering its good to, if anyone, and yet while those thoughts were there, she couldn't help feel anything but excited.

This was a lot more interesting than dealing with Cain.

Down into a ravine she went, and then across a small creek. She wasn't as graceful as the wolf--her boots slipped on the wet stones and with a yell, she toppled forward and landed hard on her knees in the water. The impact stung, made her grit her teeth--but what was worse?

One of the scrolls landed in the water and started to get swept away by the current.

With a loud curse, Pepper grabbed it and grimaced. It was...pretty wet, miserably wet, and much of the ink was running. Er...

Right! The wolf!

The words were still readable! And, well, this scroll wasn't going to get any less wet...

Shaking it out, she staggered to her feet, robes and boots soaked--and then startled when she realized the wolf was right there on the opposite bank. She froze where she was, standing in the creek like an idiot.

Looked like he'd dropped the knife.

"Whoa, there, mutt. That's a good boy. Whatcha need a knife for, anyway?" she said, eyebrow raised as she stared at him. Now that she had caught up with him, she hadn't quite figured out what she wanted to do about it.

[kleineklementine]

The perfect opportunity had just presented itself. When Pepper slipped, tumbling into the creek, the wolf darted after the scroll. Who knows what it might be? If the girl had tramped through the forest with it, it probably wasn't too valuable, but it still might be interesting. Leaping into the stream, his jaws closed carefully around the scroll at the same moment that Pepper grabbed it.

Instantly he tensed and he let out a low, warning growl. His golden eyes flashed and locked onto her, fiercely challenging. But as he held her gaze, his began to soften. Here she was, deep in the forest, in the middle of a creek, wet, dirty, probably lost. He couldn't steal this from here. She was just too... pathetic. The wolf relaxed, no longer looking fierce, and slowly released the scroll, careful not to move too fast or appear threatening. He retreated back to the opposite bank and sat down, looking at the girl with tilted head. What a sight she was. Not a hunter or a guard. What was she thinking, following him through the forest? And what now? As he watched here there, trying to sort out the scroll that was just as wet as she was, he was starting to feel a little bit responsible for her being out here. Did he have to make sure she got back okay now? What if she didn't know how to get back on her own? What if she encountered something else out here?

He was pondering these things when she called him "mutt." Quickly growling his disapproval of the term, he decided then that this girl got herself into this situation all on her own. It was definitely not his problem. And she wasn't anymore, either. After her trip through the creek, he was now pretty certain he could easily outrun her. His stash wasn't far away, and he could do a few loops if she insisted upon following him. Still moving slowly to communicate that he didn't mean her any harm as long as she didn't follow him, he turned his back to her and picked up the knife again.

But just as he was about to take off again, he felt it and froze. This was just too much. Why couldn't it have happened a few hours earlier? Before the wolf could regret this for too long, he was replaced by a tall, lithe, olive-skin man who was very, very naked.

[Rhindeer]

What.

What?

WHAT?!

Of all the things that had happened this night, that blindsided her completely, and Pepper was left staring--no, gaping openly--at the fully grown naked man who now stood before her. At first, it was purely the surprise of seeing a wolf transform into a man that stunned her. She'd heard of people who could do that, but she'd never seen it in action, and from an academic standpoint, it was fascinating. It had been seamless and quick, like if you blinked you would miss it.

That fascination soon turned very non-academic.  Because that was a fully grown and kind of actually handsome naked man. Standing in front of her. Who was naked.

She could see everything.

A dark blush spread to her cheeks and then, realizing she was looking at bits she shouldn't have been looking at, she jerked her eyes back to his face and grinned a wide, slow grin. She let out a whistle.

"Wow," she said, and then laughed. "So that's what ya was hidin'."

[kleineklementine]

Soren dropped the knife that was still in his mouth, catching it in his hands, and turned to face the girl. After several days a a wolf, he was a bit disheveled, with burns caught in his floppy black hair and a three-day beard. But his expression was mildly amused as he patiently watched her watching him. When she was finally done, he simply gave a small smile in response to her comment, still watching her closely, considering her.

Slowly, he drew the knife from is sheath, casually inspecting it. "You know normally," he began lazily, still turning the knife over in his hands, testing it, "it isn't very safe to chase a wild animal into the forest. Of course, I'm not actually a wild animal, but," he looked up at her now, "normally I don't take particularly kindly to being pursued, either."

Soren let the words sit for a moment, keeping his eyes locked on her. He certainly didn't mind letting the girl think that he was threatening her. Of course, he had no real intention of hurting her, not if she didn't do anything stupid. But he could tell he had some effect on her, so he may as well have some fun.

"Then again," he added after some moments, "I don't normally get chased through the night by bookish little girls. Tell me: What, exactly," he stopped turning the knife over, raising his eyebrows at her, "did you think you were doing?"

[Rhindeer]

Pepper raised an eyebrow and popped her hip, one hand resting on it while the other clutched the scrolls to the point of crushing them. It was difficult to look bold when your arms were full of academia. Her eyes flicked to the knife, and then back to his face, and her heart gave a nervous flutter. Was he threatening her? She had a feeling he was, what with the way he was playing with his knife and the meaningful look he was giving her while doing so, but she couldn't quite tell--or didn't want to.

And if he was threatening her, then why on earth did she find it exciting? And exciting in a very girlish, fanciful way, at that?

She supposed there was just something about a naked, disheveled, attractive wold man with a knife, looking at her all intensely (though perhaps she was embellishing a little there with regards to "intense and meaningful" gazes)...

Of course, he went and ruined everything when he called her a "bookish little girl".

Pepper's shoulders slouched and she let out an irritated huff, blowing her bangs off to the side. "What's it to ya?" she asked, and wasn't doing a very good job of hiding the fact that she was still eyeballing him. "I don't normally chase klepto mutts 'round, but I got a little bored, s'all. Figured I'd see what's what. Don't normally catch me a naked dog man, neither, but guess it's just one of those nights."

Her grin grew. "Can't say I'm disappointed."

[kleineklementine]

"Let's get one thing straight," Soren said coolly, pointing the knife point at Pepper, "you did not 'catch' anybody. I stopped and waited to see if you would make it as far as the ravine. Otherwise I would have been gone by the time you got here. And maybe you should drop all of this 'mutt' and 'dog' business while you still can."

He waited a moment, lowering the knife, but not putting it away. "As for, 'what is it to me,'" he repeated her quip, "did it occur to you that maybe I'd rather news not get back to the village of a 'werewolf' or a thief lurking in the forest?" He didn't really like using the word 'thief' in reference to himself. His upbringing wasn't entirely behind him, and it felt like the word should be beneath him, but... Well, he couldn't pretend it wasn't apt here. He gave her a meaningful look, letting her fill in the blank of 'how would word get back to the village' and 'what he might do to stop it' for herself.

He couldn't pretend that her casual defiant manner didn't make an impression on him, though. Who was this girl? Chasing a strange creature into the forest, burdened down with all those scrolls. He couldn't decide if he thought she was an idiot, or if he found it a bit endearing. Maybe both. He found himself wondering how old she was. Younger than Elena would be now, he thought, but when he'd last seen her? She might be the same age now as Elena was then... He shook his mind out of the memories. Now was not the time. This girl was nothing like his sister. But...

Forcing his mind back to the situation at hand, Soren noticed Pepper's eyes wandering again. Clearing his throat slightly, he suggested, "You know, if this is too distracting for you, I could probably make myself a nice kilt with one of those scrolls of yours."

[Rhindeer]

"What?" Pepper's eyes locked back onto his face, her cheeks warm. And here she thought she'd been all suave about it. Frowning at him, she hugged the scrolls protectively with both arms, the wet scroll dampening the others. "Touch my scrolls again, wolfy, and I kick ya in the nuts. And honestly, I'd rather not ruin ya," she said with a huff.

But distracted or not, she had been paying attention and, running her fingers along a scroll to smooth out some creases, she cleared her throat. "Anyhoo, if ya was so worried 'bout gettin' found out, and coulda outrun me and all, then why'd ya wait up fer me, eh?" she asked, and clarified with a roll of her eyes, "Or in other words, why'd ya let me catch ya--which I'll have ya know is still me catchin' ya. Don't gotta be all pedantic about it. Ya can let a girl have her fancies. Also..."

She shifted the scrolls in her arms. "If ya don't want me callin' ya mutt and all, maybe ya should gimme a name. And maybe stop actin' like one and put yer fangs away." That was said with a pointed look at his knife.

[kleineklementine]

Soren grinned at her threats when he suggested turning one of her scrolls into a kilt. "Actually, I stopped because I thought those scrolls might be worth something... Something more than a means to modesty," he added, making sure she still has her eyes on his face. "But I suppose now that they're all soaking wet, whatever they might have been, they probably aren't worth very much anymore."

Not worth much anymore... Suddenly, something occurred to Soren. No, the scrolls weren't likely to be worth very much anymore. But there was something here that could be worth quite a lot. He'd never considered this sort of thing before. Never even considered considering it, but... His last job, the grisly one, had been for someone in that line of work. Taking out a competitor.

No, how could he even be thinking of this? Just a minute ago he'd been thinking of Elena. But this girl was nothing like Elena, and he didn't owe her anything. Anyway, she'd gotten herself into trouble on her own. He wasn't responsible for that. This was just the situation he found himself in. And the question was, what to do with it?

"Alright, alright," he conceded, "maybe I am arguing semantics. Maybe this still counts as you 'catching' me." He paused and, with a conciliatory nod, sheathed the knife again. "But if that's the case," he mused, taking a long step towards her and flashing a small, curious smile, "I suppose the question is: What are you going to do with me now?"

[Rhindeer]

Pepper decided it best not to argue the scrolls' worth. After all, it wasn't the scrolls themselves that were worth something; it was the knowledge they contained. Knowledge she herself had no access to, because they were in old Serenian, and though she was studying it, she was still a beginner. Cain was an expert linguist, however, so he was to translate them, and she was to write it all down.

Oh boy, he was going to kill her. And yet she found herself in no rush. This was worth the trouble.

And her mind flew even farther away from that stern old man when the shifter asked a rather dangerous question--one that sent her mind swan-diving into the gutter. She stared up at him, blinking slowly. Then her cheeks puffed out and, with a sound much like deflating air, she burst into roaring, shoulder-shaking laughter.

"...There's a lotta different ways I could answer that," she snickered when she finally got her giggles under control, reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye. "I don't think ya wanna know the first five."

[kleineklementine]

Soren waited patiently while Pepper laughed, not losing his smile. However, somehow, while she was laughing, he got considerably closer to Pepper. Not too close, though. He was still more than an arm's length away. He didn't want to change tracks too quickly, or too dramatically.

Maybe it wasn't too late to just steal the scrolls? Of course, it wasn't too late to just not do anything at all. But this was entertaining, profit or no. And if there was also a profit?

When Pepper finally responded, he gave her a quizzical, almost disappointed look. Then, after half a moment, gave a laugh and shook his head, making it clear that he thought she was bluffing. "You're exactly what I thought you were," he told her pointedly, his eyes still meaningfully on hers, "a little girl that has no business chasing after a wolf, or a man."

It was a challenge, and he meant it to be. It was also a little bit of a gambit. She could decide that that was enough and go huffing off. But whatever he said, his eyes said that he didn't want her to huff off.

And if she did, anyway? Well, then he could probably still take her scrolls by force if he wanted to. Did he want to? Maybe he'd just let her go. Maybe he'd even follow to make sure she got back. But maybe she wouldn't go. All of these plans were, of course, morally disjoint. But, such was life.

[Rhindeer]

It was only when her laughter faded that Pepper realized how close he'd gotten, and her cheeks darkened and pulse quickened. He was very close to getting in her space, and for all her teasing and posturing, this was the closest she'd been to a naked man. The view was not unpleasant, but the closeness was getting a wee bit...intimate, and that was wreaking all kinds of havoc on her mind.

And deep inside, she reminded herself that this was crazy! This was a naked wolf-man thief! A criminal! With a knife! And she was alone in the woods with him! Her danger instincts should have been firing up! She shouldn't be talking to him, much less flirting (in her own way, that is), and this was all kinds of inappropriate.

Yet she held her ground, especially after that comment. The amusement and girlish flights of fancy quickly turned to annoyance.

She scowled at him. "How old d'ya think I am?" she asked, brow knit. "I ain't no little girl. That's some awful big talk fer someone that's...someone's got burrs all in his hair!"

Not her most effective insult, but it was the first thing she could grasp at. If it wasn't his body that was distracting, it was his eyes.

[kleineklementine]

Soren had to laugh at her "insult." An honest, hearty laugh. It faded into a wide, wolfish grin. This he was genuinely enjoying. "Oh, 'burrs in my hair,' you're right," he said, feigning hurt. "How could I talk at all to a lady before I'm properly groomed?" Running his hand over his four-day beard, he asked, doing his best to look oh-so-sincere, "I suppose I should shave, too? And, oh dear" he looked down, pretending to just notice that he was naked, "I should probably dress, too. How careless of me."

He paused for a moment, then with a small shrug, tossed the knife to the ground. Using his free hands, he ran them through his hair, in clear effort to remove the burrs. Or at least appear to remove them. He mussed it about a bit, then looked to her for approval. "I'm afraid that's the best I can do at the moment. Better?"

"Now, now that I'm a little more presentable..." He looked her over, up and down, considering. "Well, I think that floppy hat says that you can't be more than... Twenty?" He thought she might be younger, and he wouldn't normally guess a woman's age as older, but he wanted to give her something to prove.

[Rhindeer]

This was one of those moments where she really wished she could have stopped the words before they left her mouth, because it sounded so stupid once it was out in the open. And as the wolf-man went about humoring, she got the distinct feeling that he was making fun of her.

Her face was warm for a different reason then, which had nothing to do with the fact that mussed hair, free of burrs, suited him rather well.

She cleared her throat and shifted her weight awkwardly. "Well, ya don't gotta shave..." she muttered. Or dress, as far as she was concerned. But she humored him right back and swept her gaze over him, head to toe and head again (any excuse to scope him out more), and then she nodded her approval. "Better."

His guess at her age, however, perked her right back up and she broke out into a grin. "Hah! See? Ain't no little girl," she said, puffing out her chest. "Yer two years off, anyhow. Ya guessed two years older. So knock it off with the 'little' stuff 'cause not even ya believe it!"

Reaching up, she cocked her hat for good measure. She knew it worked! So many folks had given her grief over it, that it looked stupid, but this right here was living proof that it did something for her. So they could suck it.

"Not like yer an old man, anyway, so stop tryin' to sound it with the whole...bein' all worldly and all."

[kleineklementine]

She just kept him laughing. It was almost... adorable that she thought that being younger than his guess made her... older? He couldn't follow that logic, but he shook his head, looking at her with some combination of delight, amusement, and 'who are you?'

"Well, well," he said, closing the distance between them a little bit more. He was definitely in her personal space now. "Eighteen. Practically a lady! A very grown-up teenager, indeed."

"But maybe," he studied her, putting a finger to his lips in a look of concentrated consideration, "if you lost the hat..." He let the words hang for a second, then snatched the silly, floppy hat from her head. Moving quickly back a step, he put the hat on his own head, giving a wide, proud grin. "There we go! Now you look two years older, and I look two years younger! Just a little bit closer to you being as worldly as I am."

He winked at her. For the moment, he'd forgotten what his actual aim in this was. Right now, he was just having fun with her.

Before he'd lost the cheeky grin, the floppy hat flopped down over his eyes. "Oh gods," he complained, "how do you pull this off?" He took the hat off with a look of disgust, holding it at arms length. He looked back up at her. "Well... do you pull it off, really? You look much more better without it, you know." This last bit was said without airs. Just an honest statement. Even if it was a calculated one.

[Rhindeer]

He wasn't the only one that had forgotten his original purpose. Pepper had long since forgotten her goal of retrieving the stolen knife, and it was pushed farther from her mind the closer he got. When he got up in her space, it took every ounce of willpower not to move away, but she held her ground. After being called little and teased so, she was that much more determined to prove she wasn't, even though she was quite red and jittery.

At least, until he stole her hat.

"HEY!" She snatched for it and missed and was about to chase after him, because she loved that thing, but when he put it on his own head she froze.

She had to admit, it looked really silly on him. Especially when that was all he was wearing. But also...kind of endearing...especially when he was smiling like that. He looked really good when he was smiling...

She laughed when it flopped into his face, then reached out and snatched it back when he took it off. His last statement gave her pause, though, and stalled her from putting it back on. Honestly, she couldn't tell whether he was being flattering or insulting.

She shook the hat out, scrolls transferred to one arm, and sniffed. "It's all in how ya wear it, y'know," she said, rolling her shoulders back. "Ya can't just plop it on! Anyway, it's a perfectly good mage hat! All the great wizards of legend an' whatnot wore 'em! Least, they did in the pictures..."

Still, she didn't put the hat back on, mulling over what he'd said.