Wolf and the Cat

Chapter 3

She slowly walked up to the door and gently pawed the door for the owners to open up.

"Hello, who's there?" a voice inquired from behind the shut door.

"Sabine? It's Aera, and there is a small problem in the woods I need help with." Aera replied.

The door slowly opened and a child peered around the door looking at Aera.

"Aera, it is you! Momma, papa, Godmother Aera is here!" the child Sabine shouted into the house.

Soon afterwards two more people appeared behind their daughter. They looked at each other asking silent questions then back at Aera.

"Sweetie, are you sure that's her?" the father asked.

"Yes she's sure it's me Tatsumi." Aera said to the father.

The father welcomed the wolf into their house. In most places, people would be to scared to move seeing a wolf but in this village Aera was just a god in the form of a wolf to the village people. A visit from her was a blessing and rare.

"Welcome back Aera, it has been a while since we last saw you, what brings you to our house today?" Tatsumi said, welcoming the wolf.

"It has been a while yes and I am here to help a lost animal in the woods that is from here in the village." she replied.

As she said this she observed the father and took a slight look at him and noticed something different.

When they first met he had shaggy black hair and hazel eyes but as she looked at him now his eyes were a dark brown though his hair remained the same as it was those many years ago. Also, a rather recent scar was on his left cheek.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"What do you mean what happened to me?" Tatsumi replied.

"I can see the scar on your cheek, what happened?" she asked again.

Tatsumi sighed heavily and looked at the wolf across from him and began to talk.

"Two days ago a fight began between the House of Imperials and the House of Gods. Some the Imperial men drew blood. Unfortunately, I was one of the House of Gods members that was struck. Now a feud has begun among the Houses and I fear the village may lose itself in a civil war."

Aera nuzzled Tatsumi gently before returning to her seat and speaking.

"This feud is not in need of my judgement but if I return in five days and the feud is not resolved I shall fix it for you." she told him, "But my business here is due to a wandering animal in the woods. The closest guess I have on what it is would be a cat but I'm not sure. I will talk to Raymond and see if he has found the animal yet but I need you to get the townspeople to check for their pets because the last thing I want is to bring back dead animals that were once someone's pet."

Tatsumi nodded and thanked the wolf before offering a hare that had been hunted the previous day. Customs in the town included offering some sort of food upon a God's arrival or departure from one's residence.

She kindly took the hare and left back into the woods, back to the hunting grounds where she found Raymond and a smaller animal emerged from behind him. The smaller animal was a cat that had white fur with black spots on its face, torso, and tail.

"So stray, what is the name you go by?"

"My name is Tigress, and I'm not a stray, I came from the Blood Forest." the cat said defending herself.

The Blood Forest was a forest so feared by animals that the only one's living there are most likely insane. It lied dormant on the northern edge of the village. The name was given to the forest because the trees growing there nourished a blood red leaf that occasionally turn dark red.

"If you are really from the Blood Forest then why did you enter to begin with? It is a death wish to go into that hell." Raymond responded almost immediately after Tigress spoke.

"I did not have a choice, I was born there. The animals that do live in that forest have no laws to stop them from undescribable actions." Tigress told Raymond "Also, I know it's hell there. Why do you think I left?"

"Alright you two, you can keep this conversation going later, right now I need to know if you Miss Tigress, will be a problem here in my forest." Aera said hushing the two.

"Problems follow me every I go so I can't guarantee that problems won't arise." Tigress replied.

"If that's the case then you will have to be staying with me until we fix everything." Aera said with a smile.