Not So Red Riding Hood [Chapter 2]
Title : Not So Red Riding Hood
Author : Carrot
Rating : PG-13
Pairings : 2min
Genre : Angst, Romance.
Disclaimer : Boys =/= mine.
Summary: It was always dark in the evergreen forest surrounding the village and everyone knew that. They were smart enough to avoid walking alone at night, knowing that the big bad wolf would come after them. But curious little Taemin couldn't help himself but to have a little adventure one night. Not believing in those myths and whatnot, he ventured through he forest with a hum serenading the dark trees around him. What he didn't expect was that a pair of bright yellow eyes was following him through the night.
The village believed that people who go out at night were night children. Night children were people born at night during a full moon, and usually during a full moon was when wolves came out from their graves to seek new blood, or so the myths foretold. Usually the village people were too afraid to go out in the night, full moon or not. Without the moon, it was completely dark and nobody was able to walk around without stumbling into something and getting lost. What made their fears worse was that the forbiddens, children born half wolf half human, would take them away and make them one of them or most likely, be kill them. There were many stories and tales about children being kidnapped at night and women disappearing without a trace after leaving their homes after sundown. Many stories were told and share throughout the years but the most well known tale was about a girl. A girl named Taeyeon.
Taeyeon was quite a troublemaker. Always breaking the rules and sneaking out at night, not caring about the untrue myths about wolves. "Mehrong! It's not like they're real anyway," she used to say before scurrying away into the forest. The people believed she was a child of the night, but her family protested, begging her to stop going out to protect their reputation before they were thrown out into the forest and left to fend for themselves. Taeyeon just ignored them. She didn't care if she was thrown out, heck, she'd actually like it if they did do it. The forest was where she lived. A place she could call home without being judged about who she was or whether she was a night child.
Some stories described her as a femme fatale, she was charming and innocent yet, seductive in her own way. The men in the village fancied her, night child or not. Some though said that she was any normal girl. A normal girl allured by the forest as it called out for her.
The night she disappeared was a night to remember. It was the festival of the moons. When two moons would appear in the night. It was very special as it only happened every one century. The people were celebrating, the alchohol draining every thought they had in their febble minds as some were busy dancing around a large bonfire. Taeyeon ignored all this celebration. All she wanted was some peace and quiet. There was only one place where she could be in complete silence.
The forest.
The two moons created a beautiful light that resonated throughout the dense forest. She hummed a tune, skipping on the stones that made a small island in the small stream as she followed it up, up and up. Her red hood clinging onto her back, she started singing a song. The tune was lovely and her voice was as of an angel.
When I close my eyes, a face appears.
When I fall asleep, love in my dreams.
After April goes by, someone should leave.
When May comes, someone should weep.
Her voice echoed through the empty forest. The cape of the hood gliding through the night sky. What she didn't epxpect was the pair of yellow eyes behind her.
As the story foretold, she then disappeared, she screamed so loud even the village could hear her. Hear the fear and terror in her voice. All actions stopped as everyone scrambled back into their homes. Panic shown on her mothers face as tears began to trickle down her already pale face. Another scream was heard and then a loud howl. The night suddenly turned red. The entire village stared at the two moons. The screams of the girl was neverending, sounding louder each time she screamed. The village people covered their ears, not able to stand the sound of her terrible screams. The moons then turned a bright red as if showing off it's power to the entire village. One final scream was bellowed until it stopped. Everything stopped. It was as if time itself stopped. The night sky was back to it's usual dark eerie self, the village people looked up at the moon as they witnessed something never to be witnessed before. They were moving, their colours turning back into a pale white as they moved together, joining back to make one full moon. It was night nobody could forget. But it happened so long ago, nobody was sure whether it was true or not.
"Oppaaa!" one of the girls, Krystal, shouted as she jumped around the living room, her old hat that Taemin gave her, that was too big for her small head, in her small hand. "Pali pali!" she chirped, tugging on her older brother's sleeve. "Alright, alright. Just be patient," the older boy cooed, taking her hand before leading her out of the house. Krystal giggled, hopping every now and then from their little walk through the village. It was an early day somewhere in autumn. It was their usual routine, one of the children would follow Taemin to the village square, where all the markets and shops were. It was also where Taemin worked. He worked as a part time florist for his cousin, Onew. It didn't make him much money but it was enough for them to survive. Krystal bounced along next to him, her small hand clutching tightly to Taemin's bigger ones.
Onew greeted the two with a small "Hello," before tripping over a vase nearby and toppling over the counter. Taemin gasped, letting go of Krystal's hand as he rushed over to the older boy. "I'm okay! I'm okay! No need to worry about me," he chuckled, dusting off some dirt before he greeted little Krystal. The girl ignored him before sticking her tongue out at him. His face in shock, Onew just smiled at the little girl, brushing off her childishness. As what he always said "Kids are like the sun. No matter where they go, they seem to just make the place brighter."
"Anything new today?" Taemin asked, going through the stock of flowers they had that day. Flowers in villages like this were important. They didn't have fancy medicine like those in the big towns miles ahead. They were used as traditional medicine to treat sickness like flu or a fever. But since it was rare that a person got sick here, they were only used as decorations or as a gift cause they were pretty.
Onew looked at a paper, a list most probably and scratched his head. "Oh, Taemin, there's an order for a heart screamers. Mind getting some for me from the forest?"
"Heart screamers? What kind of flowers are those?" the boy asked, looking up from the counter, his face scrunched up in curiousity.
"Oh, they aren't flowers. It's a kind of herb. They look like..." Onew paused, looking up on one of the shelves for something. "Aha! Found you!" he exclaimed, grabbing a thick book before he fell backwards, his back hitting the floor. "I'm alright, nothing to worry about." Even though Onew said that, there was always something to worry about when it's him tripping every few minutes.
He sprawled the book open on the counter, it's pages smelled like old wood and lavender. The book looked old, ancient almost. It's pages were a little bit torn from the side and the probably once white insides were turning a sickly yellow-brown. The pages flipped, and flipped and flipped, passing by countless hand written descriptions that were written on the pages. "This," he older man pointed. Showing Taemin a picture of a dark red plant in the shape of a heart, it's roots in a darker colour as the plant was hanging off a large branch. "Is a heart screamer. It's used in traditional medicine to cure unknown diseases. Although nobody knows why it just cures them, but it does the job so nobody complains."
Taemin nodded, a heart screamer eh? "So where can I find this heart screamer?" he asked, his elbows leaning against the counter as he watched little Krystal jumping around the store shouting "Olalalalalalala!~ Red indians attack!" with a rose as her imaginary axe. It was rather amusing.
Wrapping his red hooded cape closer to his body, Taemin ventured into the forest, a piece of paper with the picture of a the red herb on it. The forest during autumn was cold and dry, it bothered him. It wasn't like he didn't like it cold or dry, he just preferred it warm and fuzzy, like spring. The legs of his pants wet and dirty, he stepped into the small stream, not caring whether it was cold or not. His pants were already wet. No point trying to keep it dry anymore. The morning sun rose and now it was nearing the afternoon, it's rays shining down from the warm sky.
"Hmmm," he hummed out loud, looking at the paper to see where that plant is found. "Ah! Found it."
Next to the stream was a red plant in the shape of a heart. He bent down, caressing it's leaves before removing the plant from the moist ground. He struggled, pulling as hard as he could without soiling the herb. "Aha!" he exclaimed, pulling the herb out as he fell on his back, dirt flying everwhere as he held the heart screamer out in triumph. What he didn't notice was the creature behind him.
"Not so tough now, eh, plant?" he chuckled, stuffing it into his basket, wiping the dirt from his fingers on his shirt. Smiling, he turned around, following the said stream back home. A low growl was heard, he stopped in his path. The hairs on his neck stood up, his stomach in knots as his eyes widened.
I-It, it can't be. It can't be real. They're not supposed to exist. They're not rea-
He paused. A shadow casted over him, twice his size as he felt a breath coming down on his neck. The air didn't smell like wet grass anymore, it now wreaked of wet dog instead. Ever so slowly, as if time slowed down just for him, he turned around. At the corner of his eye, he saw it.
It was big.
It was brown.
It had those eyes that he feared the most.
It stared back at him.
And it was real.
The basket fell on the floor, his red hood cape flying in the wind as he sprinted down the forest floor, not looking back. His eyes widened even more in sheer fear as he nearly tripped over a root, panting so hard that his lungs could give out any minute. They're not supposed to be real. They're supposed to be gone. Dead. Nonexistent. But no. There it was, behind him. A wolf. A werewolf. They were real. They were-
"Uff," Taemin groaned, falling to the floor, scraping his knees and elbows as he tried to get up. The sun had already set by the time he was up on his feet. How long had he been running? Did it follow him? Was it coming after him? Why do they still exist? All these questions starting bubbling in his curious mind as he curled up in a form of a ball on the floor. He was scared. More scared than he'd ever been in his life. More scared than the time he ran away from the cat that was chasing after him from pulling it's tail too hard. And trust me, that was terrifying. All claws and hiss hiss.
"They don't exist. They're not real. They're not real. They're not real. It's just your imagination," he whimpered, shaking his head in denial.
He slumped against a tree, still curled up as he rested his head on his arm. He was tired and hungry. It was dark by the time he opened his eyes again and oh! The moon looks beautiful today, a full moon too. They closed again, his breathing evened out, and if he stayed awake a bit longer, he could've heard the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps grew closer but he was too exhausted from his day out to bother. A dog. A dog sniffed the ground around him, whimpering softly as he nuzzled Taemin's foot. The boy shook him off, ignoring the animal. "Down boy. Down," a deep voice commande. The dark area around him was lit up by a lamp. He poked the boy on the head, but Taemin just droned back into sleep. The man chuckled, kneeling down to the boy's height as he drew the lamp closer to his face. He smiled, placing his lamp down before carrying Taemin and grabbing it back from the ground. The boy's body was cold. Colder than he thought it'd be. The dog barked softly, his tail wagging in excitement as he saw his master carrying him. "Hush. Keep quiet. You wouldn't want to wake this pretty thing up would you?"
The dog shook it's head, running off to god knows where as the man followed him.
"I wonder, what's something like you doing out here?" he asked, brushing away Taemin's bang's from his face as he admired the boy's soft features. A smile was painting on the man's face as he kissed the boy's forehead.
No. You're wrong. We exist. We're real. You just never noticed.
Author : Carrot
Rating : PG-13
Pairings : 2min
Genre : Angst, Romance.
Disclaimer : Boys =/= mine.
Summary: It was always dark in the evergreen forest surrounding the village and everyone knew that. They were smart enough to avoid walking alone at night, knowing that the big bad wolf would come after them. But curious little Taemin couldn't help himself but to have a little adventure one night. Not believing in those myths and whatnot, he ventured through he forest with a hum serenading the dark trees around him. What he didn't expect was that a pair of bright yellow eyes was following him through the night.
The village believed that people who go out at night were night children. Night children were people born at night during a full moon, and usually during a full moon was when wolves came out from their graves to seek new blood, or so the myths foretold. Usually the village people were too afraid to go out in the night, full moon or not. Without the moon, it was completely dark and nobody was able to walk around without stumbling into something and getting lost. What made their fears worse was that the forbiddens, children born half wolf half human, would take them away and make them one of them or most likely, be kill them. There were many stories and tales about children being kidnapped at night and women disappearing without a trace after leaving their homes after sundown. Many stories were told and share throughout the years but the most well known tale was about a girl. A girl named Taeyeon.
Taeyeon was quite a troublemaker. Always breaking the rules and sneaking out at night, not caring about the untrue myths about wolves. "Mehrong! It's not like they're real anyway," she used to say before scurrying away into the forest. The people believed she was a child of the night, but her family protested, begging her to stop going out to protect their reputation before they were thrown out into the forest and left to fend for themselves. Taeyeon just ignored them. She didn't care if she was thrown out, heck, she'd actually like it if they did do it. The forest was where she lived. A place she could call home without being judged about who she was or whether she was a night child.
Some stories described her as a femme fatale, she was charming and innocent yet, seductive in her own way. The men in the village fancied her, night child or not. Some though said that she was any normal girl. A normal girl allured by the forest as it called out for her.
The night she disappeared was a night to remember. It was the festival of the moons. When two moons would appear in the night. It was very special as it only happened every one century. The people were celebrating, the alchohol draining every thought they had in their febble minds as some were busy dancing around a large bonfire. Taeyeon ignored all this celebration. All she wanted was some peace and quiet. There was only one place where she could be in complete silence.
The forest.
The two moons created a beautiful light that resonated throughout the dense forest. She hummed a tune, skipping on the stones that made a small island in the small stream as she followed it up, up and up. Her red hood clinging onto her back, she started singing a song. The tune was lovely and her voice was as of an angel.
When I close my eyes, a face appears.
When I fall asleep, love in my dreams.
After April goes by, someone should leave.
When May comes, someone should weep.
Her voice echoed through the empty forest. The cape of the hood gliding through the night sky. What she didn't epxpect was the pair of yellow eyes behind her.
As the story foretold, she then disappeared, she screamed so loud even the village could hear her. Hear the fear and terror in her voice. All actions stopped as everyone scrambled back into their homes. Panic shown on her mothers face as tears began to trickle down her already pale face. Another scream was heard and then a loud howl. The night suddenly turned red. The entire village stared at the two moons. The screams of the girl was neverending, sounding louder each time she screamed. The village people covered their ears, not able to stand the sound of her terrible screams. The moons then turned a bright red as if showing off it's power to the entire village. One final scream was bellowed until it stopped. Everything stopped. It was as if time itself stopped. The night sky was back to it's usual dark eerie self, the village people looked up at the moon as they witnessed something never to be witnessed before. They were moving, their colours turning back into a pale white as they moved together, joining back to make one full moon. It was night nobody could forget. But it happened so long ago, nobody was sure whether it was true or not.
"Oppaaa!" one of the girls, Krystal, shouted as she jumped around the living room, her old hat that Taemin gave her, that was too big for her small head, in her small hand. "Pali pali!" she chirped, tugging on her older brother's sleeve. "Alright, alright. Just be patient," the older boy cooed, taking her hand before leading her out of the house. Krystal giggled, hopping every now and then from their little walk through the village. It was an early day somewhere in autumn. It was their usual routine, one of the children would follow Taemin to the village square, where all the markets and shops were. It was also where Taemin worked. He worked as a part time florist for his cousin, Onew. It didn't make him much money but it was enough for them to survive. Krystal bounced along next to him, her small hand clutching tightly to Taemin's bigger ones.
Onew greeted the two with a small "Hello," before tripping over a vase nearby and toppling over the counter. Taemin gasped, letting go of Krystal's hand as he rushed over to the older boy. "I'm okay! I'm okay! No need to worry about me," he chuckled, dusting off some dirt before he greeted little Krystal. The girl ignored him before sticking her tongue out at him. His face in shock, Onew just smiled at the little girl, brushing off her childishness. As what he always said "Kids are like the sun. No matter where they go, they seem to just make the place brighter."
"Anything new today?" Taemin asked, going through the stock of flowers they had that day. Flowers in villages like this were important. They didn't have fancy medicine like those in the big towns miles ahead. They were used as traditional medicine to treat sickness like flu or a fever. But since it was rare that a person got sick here, they were only used as decorations or as a gift cause they were pretty.
Onew looked at a paper, a list most probably and scratched his head. "Oh, Taemin, there's an order for a heart screamers. Mind getting some for me from the forest?"
"Heart screamers? What kind of flowers are those?" the boy asked, looking up from the counter, his face scrunched up in curiousity.
"Oh, they aren't flowers. It's a kind of herb. They look like..." Onew paused, looking up on one of the shelves for something. "Aha! Found you!" he exclaimed, grabbing a thick book before he fell backwards, his back hitting the floor. "I'm alright, nothing to worry about." Even though Onew said that, there was always something to worry about when it's him tripping every few minutes.
He sprawled the book open on the counter, it's pages smelled like old wood and lavender. The book looked old, ancient almost. It's pages were a little bit torn from the side and the probably once white insides were turning a sickly yellow-brown. The pages flipped, and flipped and flipped, passing by countless hand written descriptions that were written on the pages. "This," he older man pointed. Showing Taemin a picture of a dark red plant in the shape of a heart, it's roots in a darker colour as the plant was hanging off a large branch. "Is a heart screamer. It's used in traditional medicine to cure unknown diseases. Although nobody knows why it just cures them, but it does the job so nobody complains."
Taemin nodded, a heart screamer eh? "So where can I find this heart screamer?" he asked, his elbows leaning against the counter as he watched little Krystal jumping around the store shouting "Olalalalalalala!~ Red indians attack!" with a rose as her imaginary axe. It was rather amusing.
Wrapping his red hooded cape closer to his body, Taemin ventured into the forest, a piece of paper with the picture of a the red herb on it. The forest during autumn was cold and dry, it bothered him. It wasn't like he didn't like it cold or dry, he just preferred it warm and fuzzy, like spring. The legs of his pants wet and dirty, he stepped into the small stream, not caring whether it was cold or not. His pants were already wet. No point trying to keep it dry anymore. The morning sun rose and now it was nearing the afternoon, it's rays shining down from the warm sky.
"Hmmm," he hummed out loud, looking at the paper to see where that plant is found. "Ah! Found it."
Next to the stream was a red plant in the shape of a heart. He bent down, caressing it's leaves before removing the plant from the moist ground. He struggled, pulling as hard as he could without soiling the herb. "Aha!" he exclaimed, pulling the herb out as he fell on his back, dirt flying everwhere as he held the heart screamer out in triumph. What he didn't notice was the creature behind him.
"Not so tough now, eh, plant?" he chuckled, stuffing it into his basket, wiping the dirt from his fingers on his shirt. Smiling, he turned around, following the said stream back home. A low growl was heard, he stopped in his path. The hairs on his neck stood up, his stomach in knots as his eyes widened.
I-It, it can't be. It can't be real. They're not supposed to exist. They're not rea-
He paused. A shadow casted over him, twice his size as he felt a breath coming down on his neck. The air didn't smell like wet grass anymore, it now wreaked of wet dog instead. Ever so slowly, as if time slowed down just for him, he turned around. At the corner of his eye, he saw it.
It was big.
It was brown.
It had those eyes that he feared the most.
It stared back at him.
And it was real.
The basket fell on the floor, his red hood cape flying in the wind as he sprinted down the forest floor, not looking back. His eyes widened even more in sheer fear as he nearly tripped over a root, panting so hard that his lungs could give out any minute. They're not supposed to be real. They're supposed to be gone. Dead. Nonexistent. But no. There it was, behind him. A wolf. A werewolf. They were real. They were-
"Uff," Taemin groaned, falling to the floor, scraping his knees and elbows as he tried to get up. The sun had already set by the time he was up on his feet. How long had he been running? Did it follow him? Was it coming after him? Why do they still exist? All these questions starting bubbling in his curious mind as he curled up in a form of a ball on the floor. He was scared. More scared than he'd ever been in his life. More scared than the time he ran away from the cat that was chasing after him from pulling it's tail too hard. And trust me, that was terrifying. All claws and hiss hiss.
"They don't exist. They're not real. They're not real. They're not real. It's just your imagination," he whimpered, shaking his head in denial.
He slumped against a tree, still curled up as he rested his head on his arm. He was tired and hungry. It was dark by the time he opened his eyes again and oh! The moon looks beautiful today, a full moon too. They closed again, his breathing evened out, and if he stayed awake a bit longer, he could've heard the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps grew closer but he was too exhausted from his day out to bother. A dog. A dog sniffed the ground around him, whimpering softly as he nuzzled Taemin's foot. The boy shook him off, ignoring the animal. "Down boy. Down," a deep voice commande. The dark area around him was lit up by a lamp. He poked the boy on the head, but Taemin just droned back into sleep. The man chuckled, kneeling down to the boy's height as he drew the lamp closer to his face. He smiled, placing his lamp down before carrying Taemin and grabbing it back from the ground. The boy's body was cold. Colder than he thought it'd be. The dog barked softly, his tail wagging in excitement as he saw his master carrying him. "Hush. Keep quiet. You wouldn't want to wake this pretty thing up would you?"
The dog shook it's head, running off to god knows where as the man followed him.
"I wonder, what's something like you doing out here?" he asked, brushing away Taemin's bang's from his face as he admired the boy's soft features. A smile was painting on the man's face as he kissed the boy's forehead.
No. You're wrong. We exist. We're real. You just never noticed.