Haunted Wood Strange circle

Sunlight was flickering through the trees, glittering against the woodland floor in an array of sunset hues.

The pair trotted side by side through the unknown terrain. The dark and light played alongside each other in mirrored movement, each paw placed forward was matched by the other.

Pyramus turned to the dark Thisbe with a studying glance. Light seemed to stop at her inky cloak, a coat of nightwash black.

Pyramus sniffed, catching the fragrance of wolves.

Yes, let’s rest here for the evening.

Thisbe had said nothing to him, but he had known. Somehow, Pyramus always knew what it was that she thought, all that she felt, each miniscule desire.

The dark figure regarded the wooded area with fond recollection to their childhood home on the edge of the farmer’s land, where sheep would occasionally venture to graze too close to the trees. Pyramus had always come from the woods to see her, a jet of cream and that charming smile.

Thisbe sniffed at the earth and began to scout for a temporary den site.

They didn't look quite right.

She knew it from afar, even as the child of such marred parents as she. Blueberry sauntered up to them with a chin set somewhere between wary and cocky, her indigo eyes drilling into them. She and Vesper had rested here, once; she wasn't all that fond of the place, but it was too close to. . .well. . ."home," for comfort.

Who're you? she barked at them, bristling. She remembered all too well her sister's injury. Not a wolf. . .or so she'd said. Maybe Vesper had lied, to alleviate her worry.

Mama and Dad weren't any help. So she had to do it all her own. Even if it wasn't necessary.

A flash of pale fur, intense indigo eyes, and a youthful bark. My, she was a cute young thing – a child that was beginning to grow into their adult shape, their true body.

Pyramus wondered for only a moment if he had mistakenly crossed into a territory that was claimed by local wolves. If there was a younger member there, it was not likely their parents would be far.

I’m Pyramus and this is Thisbe, he introduced with a smile, a swift wag of the tail. Who are you?

Thisbe watched as the lean shape of a young wolf approached them, indignant in her cry. The dark she-wolf was immediately irritated by such a confident display from a creature so fresh from youth.

With a cold glance to the pale shape of the wolf stranger, Thisbe huffed.

Pyramus was always so quick to chat, so quick to share a few clever words. Thisbe wished at times that he would simply silence himself. When he looked to her, she nodded her muzzle downward with a blasé expression.

Speak to the child if you wish, Pyramus.

They answered—well, one of them did. Blueberry lifted her head higher, answering silently—she'd heard them. But it wasn't satisfactory.

Blueberry, she responded succinctly, giving them a hard look. Pyramus. Thisbe. You're close to where I live. What're you doing here?

She couldn't handle any more new faces. Her whole life had been change so far. These two invading. . . It would not do. She sank her lower teeth in her lip but stood firm, waiting for the response.

Vesper would be proud. Right? She was being a grown-up.

Blueberry, the wolfdog whispered softly upon hearing the young wolf’s name. He rather enjoyed that, the simplicity of it. Blueberry seemed a lovely name for a child with eyes the shade of ripe fruit.

All of that aside, Pyramus was not so foolish that he had missed the tone of the wolf, the sharp glint of her gaze. He looked to Thisbe, splayed his ears slightly, and then returned his gaze to the young wolf pup. If this was what the wild dogs were like, Pyramus did not know if they would survive long on their own.

We’re sorry, Blueberry. We’ve never met a wolf pack before, not a real one, the wolfdog admitted in a tone that hinted at tragedy. You see we’re only half wolf, Thisbe and I. We wanted to see what it was like in a real pack.

The dark wolfdog snorted with a scowl as Pyramus leapt into an apology. The child had not earned such a statement. Young Blueberry had ventured into the woods, the unmarked woods, and had inserted herself in Pyramus and Thisbe’s business.

As Pyramus continued, speaking about their lineage and reasons for wandering so close to a wolf pack, Thisbe regarded the young wolf with a cold glint of her eyes. The dark wolfdog was not pleased to have been put in an unfavorable light.

Thisbe was grateful she did not have to address Blueberry. She did not believe that she could carry half of the kindness Pyramus had displayed.

The multi-colored man showed more grace than she was used to. She found herself relaxing in his calming presence despite herself, though still feeling uneasy under the frosty gaze of the other dark she-wolf. She didn't know what to think, really, and she shifted her forepaws as Not-Thisbe spoke, ears canted to hear.

Half-wolf? Blueberry asked, never encountering the phenomenon. No pack? Weird. She kind of knew what it was like to be an outsider, but not perhaps to this extent.

She shrugged. It's okay, she replied. You look. . .fine to me. Not really, but they weren't outwardly threatening. Not the male, at least. The woman made her nervous, and she stayed stiff, watching that gaze upon her as if she would suddenly lunge.

Man, the kid had questions about the things he’d said. It checked out, given that he was speaking to a younger figure, and they had wandered much too close to Blueberry’s home. When the pale wolf repeated a few of Pyramus’ words back to him, he nodded his head softly in return.

Yes, yes, our parents are a bit of a mixture. A different mixture – we aren’t – well, we aren’t siblings. But we had the same sort of upbringing, see.

Pyramus chuckled softly when Thisbe shouldered his ribs. He drew his chin upward and shared a pleasant grin with Blueberry, hoping that his babbling hadn’t dissuaded the younger wolf from speaking. We’re only a bit odd, but not much. The halfling could almost feel Thisbe’s eyes rolling on him. There was an exasperated sigh from her nose that tickled the hairs of his ear.

Y’hear that, This? We look just fine.

Say, Blueberry, is your pack a family-only pack or does it accept travelers?

The child spoke few words, but they were enough to excite Pyramus into a fit of chattering. Thisbe rolled her eyes and sighed, weary from the talk with strange wolves. She was tired, she did not want to stand and debate their physical attributes with a wild child. Each time the younger creature would look at her, Thisbe could feel her nose crinkle and a sour taste fill her mouth.

When Pyramus inquired about the young wolf’s pack, Thisbe did not hesitate to nip at his shoulder in protest. It was bad enough that she was forced to stand there and listen to him make small talk with the natives. She did not wish to know just how the pale wolf had gotten to be so… charming.

Thisbe turned her head from the two and frowned. She sniffed idly at a nearby leaf, hoping her disinterest would lure Pyramus away.

Even as Pyramus regaled her with an onslaught of words, she noticed Thisbe, and wasn't much fond of the woman's attitude. Her lips curved downward in a frown, the man's voice moving in and out of her mind until he said her name.

What? Uh, I dunno, Blueberry said, shrugging. They're not my family, so, maybe.

But she had tired of the interaction just as Thisbe had, and began to move away, albeit still keeping her eyes upon the half-wolves in wary fashion. 'Bye, she added, grasping for some semblance of manners.

And just like that, the ghost-girl was gone, disappeared into the trees.

The pale child seemed to have lost interest, or perhaps Pyramus had said something wrong when speaking to her.

The wolfdog frowned softly, ears falling flat to his head. He glanced toward Thisbe with a questioning look, but the dark figure just stared after the retreating child with a scowl.

Pyramus could not help but wonder if he had offended Blueberry by speaking too much about himself, about Thisbe. He wondered if he had asked the wrong question when speaking of the young wolf’s pack and whether they might accept a pair of strangers into their midst.

One sad glance to Thisbe and the duo left the area, worried that others would arrive to chase them away.