The Forgotten One

Hello there,

I would tell you my name but in reality I have none - though I was born with one paw as white as snow, the rest of my fur a dark brown - so I suppose you can call me "Whitepaw", I am a wolf - perhaps in your world wolves don't talk or think but I am not from your world.

No, you see I am from a world of magic and adventure - in my world people still live in castles and villages, they collect water from wells and hunt in the forest: of course I am not one of those people, no.. they are humans and I am not..

Humans are a strange race, mother told me that humans do not mean to be strange - she says that they have merely lost their way.. she told me a story about how long ago humans and wolves and all the other animals lived together quite happily.

Then a strange man came with a tall hat and a big caravan - filled with lots of shiny objects.. the animals did not like the man and his caravan, it smelled rotten and so they tried to chase him away.. but the humans loved him and became angry when the animals scared him off.

The humans soon followed the strange man and began to buy all the shiny objects - it was then that humans and animals began to drift apart.. mother said all the animals gathered under the Great Oak one night and decided that they would keep to themselves, that the forest would be our home and humans would have their own homes in the villages.

So it was that the animals chased the humans out of the forest, though the humans did not accept this - they frequently trespassed on our homes and hunted us - yet there was little we could do..

That's when mother decided to fight back, she knew it was shameful - the other animals hated her and the humans feared her.. yet mother had to protect us you see.. so she went to the strange man late one night and spoke to him.

Mother never told me what the strange man said to her but when she returned home she was different, she walked on two paws now and held a large axe not unlike those humans used to cut down trees - she used that axe to slay many humans and so they called her the "Big Bad Wolf".

When I was born mother raised me alongside my two brothers and three sisters, she dug deep underground and kept us warm in the winter - yet she had to leave frequently, to hunt.. though the axe made her kill things she did not eat..

This was what made mother so hated, she killed humans not for food but just to see them bleed - when she came back to the forest the birds in the trees would cry out "monster" "murderer" and worse.. yet late at night.. when she thought no one was awake.. mother would crawl out of the hole and look to the moon, howling in sadness.

One day mother went out to hunt and took the axe, as she always did - she kissed us goodbye, again.. as she always did.. then left..

Hours went by.. Then days.. Finally a sound alerted us to a large figure and we cowered as a large male wolf appeared, afraid he was going to kill us we called out for mother.. which was when we learned why the male had arrived..

Mother was no more.. the "Big Bad Wolf" had been slain..

We cried for many nights and even now I come out at night and howl at the moon, calling for mother - I know she won't come back but it comforts me.. somehow.. I can't explain why..

My brothers and sisters are gone now, the male wolf took them to be with his pack - he offered me sanctuary too but I refused.. I was the eldest and it was my responsibilty to stay and guard the hole..

Before he left however I made him tell me where mother had died, although he was reluctant, a few days later I went to the scene - a cabin which once housed a woodsman.. looking back I wish I had never went..

It was a blodbath.. my mother hadn't been slain.. she'd been desecrated.. her body lay in tatters.. I noticed that she was not alone either.. the body of a long-dead woodsman also lay in that rotting room.

Unable to allow my mother to suffer such mutilation I set fire to the cabin, watching over it as the flames consumed everything - leaving nothing but burning ashes where the cabin once stood.

It was then I picked up a scent on the ground, it was old but still trackable - I followed it down to a cottage and peered inside: the cottage was empty but had obviously once belonged to an elderly woman.

Moving along the dirt track leading away from the cottage I ventured further, ending up on the outskirts of a great city - the Royal Castle being within sight: I dared not go any further as I noticed a few children playing nearby.

One of the children fell and cut their leg, crying out as his friends laughed and ran away - I frowned.. humans were savage creatures.. mother was right to persecute them..

Yet as I went to turn I couldn't ignore the child's crying any further and turned back around, moving over to investigate.

When the child saw me he panicked, the look on his eyes was that of a boy afraid of death - I ignored his cries as I placed a paw on his wound, closing my eyes - a warm sensation passed through me as the boy's wound healed underpaw.

The child's eyes grew wide as he looked at me, I put my paw back down and smiled slightly to him - to my surprise he smiled back..

"..t-thank you.." he said, his voice and appearance suggesting he was still quite young - certainly younger than the other children who had left him crying.

"..who are you?" I asked, at once questioning my sanity, why was I talking to a human? why was I trusting this boy? ..I didn't know the answers.. I don't think he knew either.. his instincts were probably to run.. to cry out.. yet he sat there much like myself.. accepting the events as if it were fate.

"..I.. I am Simon.." the boy replied.

"..Simon? ..that's a nice name.." I replied - what was I thinking? this was madness..

"..t-thanks.." Simon replied.

"..does your mother know you're out in the forest?" I asked, not even sure why anymore.. it was as if the words formed by themselves - without much need for prior thought.

"..I don't have a mother.. the matron looks after me.." Simon said.

"..matron? ..you're an orphan?" I enquired, having heard of such things from mother.

"..y-yes.." Simon said.

"..tell me Simon.. are you happy? ..with the matron?" I asked, looking around - making sure no one else was listening.

"..not really.. the other children don't like me very much.. they always leave me behind.." Simon admitted.

"..then come with me.." I said, turning tail and heading into the forest.

"..w-what?" Simon begun.

"..come with me, Simon.. let's go home.." I replied, the boy was confused - and rightfully so.. was I really doing this? was I insane? I couldn't think on it.. I had to act..

"come on Simon.." I repeated, the boy getting to his feet as he followed me into the forest - looking back at the city every now and then as if wondering whether to run away.

Simon never ran away, he was either too young or too timid, instead he followed me right back to the hole and I dug the area out - at first Simon was unsure of his new "home" but I began to teach him and soon he was content..

Days went by.. then weeks.. then years..

Simon grew into a young man and I too grew in age - rarely letting Simon out of my sight.. he was my son now.. I had raised him from a timid orphan to a strong and capable hunter.. the time was drawing near..

For in those years I learned why I did what I did, why I raised Simon as my own - I did so because I am not my mother.. I can not simply kill humans for what they have done.. no.. we animals were as much to blame as the humans..

Which is why Simon and I are going to make our own pack - the orphans of war and famine will be our children.. be they human, wolf or other.. we will find them.. we will raise them..

We will unite the races of this torn land - under a full moon you will hear us crying out together.. the Children of The Wolf..