The Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter Thirteen

Something suddenly fell on Nicolas's tail and he quickly whipped around to swipe at the attacker, though it was a good thing he didn't when it was no one more than the little girl jumping on his tail. He sighed heavily and smiled slightly and picked her up off the ground. Her stained yellow dress was even dirtier, now that she found the joys of playing with mud.  The cut on her forehead was starting to heal, though it formed an ugly scab on her soft face.

"Hey, little critter, what are you doing?" He sat down and held her gently.

Her giant blue eyes looked at him curiously and expectantly. "Puppy...hungry."

"You're hungry now?" He asked, and looked over his shoulder to the little basket next to his 'bed'. It was Kathy's basket, and it had a pastry inside. He found it the day he found the girl after he went up to see if she came again - and while she did, he was upset that he missed her. But that was two days ago, and she hadn't come since, and he wondered why. So far this month she was coming every day, and for her to suddenly not show for almost three days now wasn't like her at all. But he was patient and figured she could eventually come back.

He set the girl down and reached for the basket, finding a piece of a peanut butter cookie inside. He was planning on saving it, but feeding the little girl was more important. If there was too little, he'd soon have to find more berries for her to eat, though that might be difficult since winter was slowly start to approach. He might not be able to find any. But the little girl didn't seem to want to eat much, so he wasn't sure if that would be a problem.

He took the pastry out of the cloth. "This is the last one," He said as he handed it to her. He hoped it was fine for her to eat, but then again he didn't really know what baby humans ate anyway.

The little girl saw him pull it out of the basket. Her eyes lit up and she put her hands out to reach for it. He handed it to her and she grabbed it and starting smelling it. Not having him see her do that before, Nicolas looked at her strangely. "What's wrong?"

The little girl held up the cookie and poked his nose with it. "Did Kathy make?"

Nicolas's ears perked up and his eyes widened slightly. He got to the little girl's level. "Wait...do you know Kathrine?"

She nodded, her dirt-covered curls bouncing. "Ally know Kathy. Kathy nice. Kathy give out cookies. Yummy cookies." She smiled and took a bite out of the cookie.

His eyes were wider now. He had to know if she was talking about the right Kathrine. "What does 'Kathy' look like?"

She thought to herself. "Kathy have yellow hair," she mumbled through another bite. "She wear red."

Thinking that just had to be her, Nicolas just suddenly picked the girl up and she squealed, holding onto the cookie tightly. "Why Puppy get up?" She said, clutching the little pastry as if it was a treasure.

"We're going to see Kathrine." He said it a little matter-of-factly.

The little girl smiled. "Really?"

He nodded and walked out of the cave swiftly, climbing up the muddy slope with the girl in his arms. And it was such a good thing that the sky turned a glistening shade of light lavender and sparkling orange, all with a brilliant reddish tint. Sunset consumed the sky, signaling the perfect time for him to venture out of his cave.

Also, since it was close to night, no one would hopefully be out and he wouldn't be spotted on the path.

Then he suddenly realized he'd have to go back to the edges of society if he was to go see Kathrine himself.

He shook his head. He was sure that he could find the way on his own, all with his senses alone. Her scent - the one of sugar and sweets - was a sweet perfume in the forest, and he could spot that aroma from anywhere among the thick foliage. The second he picked up the scent, he'd be able to find her shop. After all, he'd become so familiar to her scent - when he smelled it, he already knew it was her. But besides that, if Kathrine really did know who this little girl was, she'd be able to go back to wherever it was that she came from.

She just munched away on her cookie and laughed. She was happy for whatever reason. She held on to the neck of his shirt tightly and smiled, still eating. Little humans were so strange to him.

He climbed up the slope and quickly was able to sprint to the path. No one took this trail at night, thanks to that rumor that someone was lurking around in the forest - and now with the kidnapping, it was likely no one would go out alone. He walked onto the path, looking around for people regardless. He walked fast, checking the air for certain smells - if he remembered right, her shop was only a couple miles away.

Suddenly he picked up the scent of frosting. He was already close.

~~

Kathy had been busying herself all day – there was a rush of customers, though service in the shop thinned out by lunch. She yawned, wiping sprinkles from her face. She cleaned her hands messily in her apron, which was now covered in frosting. She was spacing out and a bowl of it had fallen on her. She was still shaken up – how couldn't she be?

She yawned again and walked over to one of the ovens, checked the timer, and pulled out the last tray of cookies that she was getting ready for tomorrow morning. She was hoping the shop would be busy tomorrow; she was copying Ethan, trying to distract herself from personal matters with work. It might not have been a good thing, but it was a thing to do nonetheless.

The kitchen door pulled open revealing Sarah, her dark wavy hair quite messy, up in a sloppy bun. "Hey sweetie, I'm leaving to go to Ethan's to check on Natalie. I won't be coming back."

"It's closing time anyway, Sarah. You don't need to come back," Kathy said, setting the fresh vanilla cookies on the cooling rack.

Sarah nodded. "Alright. You can still call if you need anything."

Kathy gave her a weak smile. "Hey, I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled. "Goodnight dear, sleep well." She left, the kitchen door closing slowly.

Kathy gave a shaky sigh and went back to mixing the batter she was finishing up. The smells of the orange and vanilla extracts were a little too strong. She put too much in. She sighed again, just as shakily as before. The whole situation was getting to her badly now, especially if she started baking wrong. She actually had more pastries and sweets then she needed at the moment. Why was there so many? She shouldn't have that much extra. She'd usually give some to Nicolas but-

Nicolas.

It just occurred to her that she hadn't been seeing him for three days now.

She almost hit herself with the giant spoon she was holding. How did she forget about him? She was wrapped up in her own emotions. She suddenly felt selfish. However, it was night. Maybe she'd see him now. Sarah had just left, so no one would worry she was gone.

Suddenly there was a tapping from the small window right above the table where she was working. She saw a large clawed hand rasping at the glass, then a flash of dark matted fur, then finally the dark and gleaming yet curious and familiar golden gaze. "Kathrine?"

Her eyes shot open and stared at the window. Nicolas – he was right outside the window! "Nicolas! What are you doing here!" It was more of an explanation than a question.

He smiled softly and she actually blushed looking at him. "It's good to see you, but there's something else. I have a friend who wants to see you."

Her eyes grew wider and she stared blankly at him, face pink and cheeks covered with sprinkles. "What?"

Suddenly a little chubby-cheeked head poked out from the window frame. Her dirty yellow curls hung in her face though could never conceal her huge blue eyes. The large, healing gash on her forehead made a dark red line pinch her soft skin. A little smile covered in crumbs went in her direction. "Kathy!"

Kathy literally dropped the entire bowl of batter she was holding.