ma popii

Crown was tired and needed her beauty sleep, or so they thought...

Tiny footsteps sounded in the forest as Crown waddled her way into the night. Curiosity guided her very unsteady steps as she ventured into the forest.

'No man is born into the world with fear they say, we learn to fear'.

She laughed and giggled, her voice echoing to the ears of unseen creatures. The glowing butterfly that was still in her line of sight, it's trail leading her deeper into the forest, devoid of fear of the unknown.

Sand and mud dirtied the sole of her feet, she had the soul of a true explorer, she was a tiny adventurer navigating the reality she sees.

Something moved in the shadow but she couldn't care even if she wanted to.

She finally tripped and fell, only to continue her journey on all fours, crawling as fast as she could, following the butterfly that had so nicely landed on her mother's tray back in their home.

Her pace slowed as the animal flew higher, so she stopped, then sat looking up at it with a frown. It flew down to her direction to rest for a few seconds on her chubby little fingers making her giggle. She was going to grab it with her free hand but wasn't as fast as she thought she was.

It took off again, it's blue and gold wings flapped gently in the wind, glistening against the moonlight until it disappeared into the night sky.

She looked at her fingers where the creature once landed, then around her, suddenly noticing that she may be lost and alone. A sense of wonder turned into a faint flutter of uncertainty and it grew.

The corners of her mouth turned downward and her eyes stained with tears.

_

He heard the faint laughter of a baby but waved it off. It was never seen for a human to walk the forest alone at night much less a baby. He listened for the voice or footsteps of another but heard none.

He was going to conclude on it been a figment of the imagination when the annoyingly pleasing sound came again. So he followed it's trail and couldn't believe his eyes. A human baby. Alone. In the forest of the damned. With a... butterfly?

He watched with genuine interest the interaction they both had until it disappeared into the night.

"Well that was a pleasing show," he thought.

He turned, ready to leave back to his home. Adin had given him ten minutes and he couldn't possibly waste it on a human child.

He was a wolf in transformation. He couldn't jeopardize the last eighty and seven years of his life for a moment of foolishness.

It was going to cry and cry it did as soon as he turned to walk away. Annoying him further.

He took a little while before he stepped out into the opening where she sat. His tail up, eyes glaring. His fur carried a beautiful alabaster feature and he was full three feet tall. The cries subsided the closer he got to it.

Her tear stained face now visibly filled with wonder as her gaze fixed on him. She became still for a moment simply staring blankly at him, she sighed a sigh of relief, like one would after finally finding rest from a long days job.

"Haaa!" She squealed, almost scaring him, she smiled exposing the two lower teeth that was only peeking at the root.

"Eww, it's beautiful."

She was clad in a blue dress gown that covered her legs when she sat and had sleeves to shield her from the cold. The white lace trimming at the ends of the dress now stained with dirt from the forest.

That was all the clue that made him believe it was female according to what Sir Adin had told him about them.

Shaking his head in a bid to shake off dirt from his fur as he wondered what to do next with the human before him only made her more excited as she clapped her little hands applauding his performance.

He came closer to sniff out anything on her as had been taught to do and saw no fear in her eyes.

Of course. She followed a butterfly into the forest, what could she possibly fear?

And she's a baby, stupidly innocent and ignorant. The forest held many bad memories for humans and beast alike. Especially her kind.

He wanted to ask questions, or claw her parents eyes out for not looking after their baby properly but he still couldn't talk. And neither could she.

She pointed at the sky and mumbled some words, probably trying to tell him about the butterfly.

"This is annoying," he thought again. "Truly annoying."

It was up to him to take her back to her village. that almost frightened him.

"Popii." she said in the tiniest voice.

It took him a few seconds to realize she was referring to him. He frowned when the realization hit.

"Let's go." He layed down hoping she got the message and somehow got on his back, it wasn't a surprise that she didn't. She got down on her knees crawling towards him instead, chanting "popii" over and over. It happened fast as she placed a kiss on his nose. He was taken aback and that caused him to sneeze.

An action that sent her into a frenzy as she laughed at him and ended up toppling over with excitement.

Is this what a human baby is? A tiny ball of pointless happiness and laughter. She applauded him again.

She managed to stand, and staggered towards him, with every step she took he took one backwards. Soon he was being chased around a tree and at some point he seemed to be chasing her. That little action somewhat excited him.

He only stopped when she fell on her bum and suddenly became quiet.

She was going to nibble on her fingers when he slapped her hand away with his paw, careful enough to not hurt her with his claws.

"That can't be healthy," he thought. But it must be hungry.

He looked around and found red berries, not caring or knowing to check if it could be poisoned. He snapped it from its branches to drop it in front of her, using her dress as a napkin right before she was about to cry.

She had the good sense to pick a few up stuffing her mouth with it.

Zaccai watched her face as she chewed and ate. He also couldn't find one single reason why he found her compelling and that worried him.

But it was now getting late and he needed to get back home. He wouldn't forgive himself if Adin got in trouble.

He lifted her like he would a baby cub, carrying her with by her dress collar with his mouth.

This is crazy. What if the humans think he was after her, or had stolen her from them. Who would truly believe that a baby meandered into the forest by herself with a butterfly leading the way.

But for a reason he didn't want her out here, alone. He moved at a steady pace, not slow but not so fast it scared her and was at the edge of her village in minutes.

She was calling him Popii again.

"I'm not a dog you know, do I look like one?" He argued with himself.

He remembered stories Adin once told him when he was a younger pup. But only now did he understand in bit what was said.

The humans never built walls around their city, they believed no matter how high it was, the beasts would always be able to get in anyway.

He finally found a spot to put her down. He placed her down gently giving her a gentle push to head on to her people.

She stood up, a single berry in her hand. She put it in her mouth only to remove it and turn around to force it into his mouth.

He hadn't seen it coming, and he spat it out as quickly as he could but he feared it may already be late already.

"What have you done!" He was frustrated he couldn't talk. So he growled..

She smiled and gave him a hug, holding on to his fur.

He freed himself from her hands causing her to fall.

"Popii, ma Popii," she repeated as tears filled her innocent eyes and her tiny fist clenched.

"I am not a puppy, and will never be your puppy."

He growled at her one last time before disappearing into the night, as quietly as he had come.