⨳ ៹ chanhan ꉂ the wolf 愛 !!

𝑶𝑵𝑬 𖥻 壱

the mountain breeze froze his lungs as his boots sank step step by step into the snow.

jisung exhaled heavily, trying to warm his lungs as he made his way through the snowy forest.

he ran into one of his traps, he had caught a rabbit, jisung noticed the small dead body of the animal trapped between the claws. he undid the trap and hung the animal on his backpack.

he kept walking his predetermined path, remembering well where he had set each trap like a good hunter.

He reached the other trap, digging up in the snow, to find something that made him sigh deeply. a stick was had activated the trap, causing it to close without catching anything. he opened and returned trap and hid it again in the snow, hoping that this time something would fall into it.

This was happening a lot lately, his traps being activated with objects that couldn't have activated them in the first place. he ignored it most of the time, but it was becoming so common that it was impossible for him to think it wasn't out of the ordinary.

"How strange." he whispered to himself, but continued on his way back home.

...

After a good walk down the mountain, he found his house in the middle of a clear, where the snow could stain its roof pure white. he opened the door to his residence and found his daughter, playing in the middle of the living room by the blazing fireplace.

"Daddy," the little girl said with a smile. she got up to run to her father

jisung walked over and intercepted her with a hug.

—Jisung! Are you back already?

—Yes, my love!— He replied to his wife and proceeded to the kitchen to give her a welcome kiss.

—what did you find?

—Some rabbit and some sticks too, if you like.— His wife giggled as he smiled.

they ate rabbit stew that night, and when it was time to sleep, jisung snuggled Annabella into her bed, covering her with the sheets.

—Daddy, tell me a story,— said the girl, half sleepy.

—Okay, but only one,— said the father as he sat on the edge of the bed. —I'll tell you the legend of the lord of wolves.— a story my father used to tell me.

the girl looked at him with hopeful eyes but her wife shot him a warning glaze, mentally telling her not to scare her daughter before sleeping. Jisung just looked back at him with a modest smile.

—Well, the legend begins a long time ago, in a not too distant kingdom, in a castle that is now nothing but ruins. A prince lived in that castle, he was noble and gentle, but he felt trapped, all the riches and silk blankets could not satisfy his hunger for freedom, he wanted to escape from his castle and be free forever in the mountain forest, like a wolf in the night. one day, a woman appeared at the castle, an old village girl, who came asking for a night of refuge in the castle. The king was hard on her, but the prince felt sorry for the lady, and insisted that her father let her stay. At night, the prince heard the door to her chambers open, and then, the woman revealed her true identity as a beautiful sorceress. She told the prince that, out of his goodness, she would grant him a wish, she saw that in his heart he desired freedom, so she proposed a way out. if he accepted her hand, he would become the lord of the wolves, the king of the forest, and he would live free for the rest of his eternal life. the prince accepted, taking the sorceress's hand in his own. When the spell ended, the prince's body transformed, turning him half wolf and half human, and when the transformation was completed, the sorceress put on his head his new crown, made of branches, leaves and mushrooms. The prince ran out of the castle, smiling as he felt his new freedom, and as he left it, a pack of snow-white wolves were waiting for him. Seeing the moonlight, the prince's body transformed once more, and he became a two-tailed wolf, disappearing into the forest foliage, now free, never to be seen again.

—And what happened after?— Asked his daughter, not at all sleepy at this point, listening carefully to every detail.

—It is said, according to legend, that the king of the forest only appears before people who are gentle and noble, giving freedom to the imprisoned, and food to the hungry. — The story ended. —But I already told you a lot, it's time to go to sleep.

—Again! Again!— The girl repeated and her parents laughed in chorus.

When they were finally able to calm her down, they both went to their respective separated beds and went to sleep.

That night, jisung had a strange dream. He dreamed that he was running through the forest, but his legs were not his, and his hands were touching the ground, he could smell everything and feel everything in his palms, while he ran after a strange white wolf with two tails.

he woke up in a moment wrapped in cold sweat, breathing erratically, it had felt so real, so vivid.

—Are you okay?— Asked his wife from across the room.

—yes yes I'm fine. Don't worry. —The man told her.