werewolvesversus:

The protagonist of Stephanie Gallon’s WEREWOLVES VERSUS: NATURE story has had a difficult life, and there are more hardships ahead for her, but luckily she does not have to face them alone.

The wilderness was kind to her. It gave her ripe berries to gorge herself on, bursting with saccharine juices that dribbled down her chin. In the winter months, when snow had killed the crops, it provided her dry wood for the fire and small prey to keep their bellies filled.

When her father died, it offered her a home. The tendrils of the willow trees consoled her; the moss offered her a soft place to rest her head. She raised herself under the protection of no man.

Only the wolf pack did not fear her.

They came to her one cold night, on the eve of Walpurgisnacht. She was seven years old now and had been the child of the forest for a year full and then some. She had made herself a fire. It kept most creatures away. Not the pups though. They had not yet experienced the cruelty of men.

One came from the bushes. Then his brother, and then another. Three of them, sniffing at the ground and the air, taken in by the herby smoke that canopied the clearing. The smallest of the litter walked to the fire. Lucille held her hand out cautiously. The pup growled at her until Lucille’s hand cupped his forehead and scratched at his pointed ears. The growl eased to soft pants of pleasure. He barked when she stopped. The others crowded her.

Their mother found all four sleeping as the last flame guttered their legs. When Lucille awoke, the mother had curled herself around them and buried her chin on Lucille’s lap.

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More of Stephanie’s work can be found here and here.