Arsenic and Red Lace
 

offering a hand out he helped pull the boy up and led him to the edge of the brush, not bothering to look back he slipped through and started towards the patch. if the little morsel followed him it was meant to be and his mushrooms would not be needed, if he human turned away he would have stew as he usually did

pog;
he stopped just shy of the thicket and looked back, slowly he pushed forward and found a grove of berries that made him gasp. delightedly he started picking some of the plumpest juiciest ripe berries he could find. every so often he would test one himself. the darkened fingers, sweetened with nectar, offered berries to both the basket and the man

cho
he hated blackberries all nastiness and seeds but he let the dark fingers push them past his lips even if he did spit each one out once the hand was away. they stayed there and picked fruit until the sun was starting just past the midday mark. smiling widely he sidled up close to the boy, "boy-red, it is getting late, you really should get going, it is only a couple hours if you are going to hurst but much longer if you are going the other way. if you do not hurry it would be dark by the time you made it home again"

pog;
the tongue was soft, warm, and sent tingles through his fingers as the man ate. pulling back he licked clean what the man missed. time passed until he heared him and realized he was right. he jumped and quickly left to gather his things, only then did he realize he did not know the way, "mister growl, can you lead?"

cho;
again he nodded and taking the plump dark fingers carefully led the boy back to the pathway, "of course the berry patch is a secret between you and i. it would not do if everyone knew and came and ate up all the fruit, right?"

pog;
nodding vigorously he grinned and pulled the hand close, "you and me~" he skipped happily alongside the man-beast, "i promise." he bumped into the body

cho;
the reply was both enthusiastic and devoid of all suspicion and grinning broadly he allowed himself to be pulled along down the path for a while towards hurst. after a bit he politely inquired if the boy was coming or going

pog;

He did not want to go back to the path but he followed regardless and once he had gotten to the trail he looked down its long path. He was reluctant to let go of the wolf. "Will you travel with me? Show me more things in the woods?... until we get the other side?"

he nodded through his saliva and could not open his mouth to speak until he swallowed, "why of course, it is lonely here in the woods and nice to have company." he knew of a place just a little farther down where they could cross the water safely and there he could eat his morsel without worry of dogs. taking the hand he started to lead the boy only to hear the sound of the very creatures and feeling his hair rise he let go, "oh! -uh, i just forgot, -uh, i left my oven burning, i must, um- go extinguish it to keep my humble home from burning! bye, boy!" hearing the sounds of dogs grow louder he bounded off to the opposite side of the road t find a safe place to hide. where there were dogs there was a hunter

the offering halted him and though the spice of it made his nose itch he took it obediently. when the taste of meat not bread came to his tongue however he perked up. the smell of it cloaked that it was good to eat from his nose and wanting to know if there was more he sidled close and tried not to seem too obvious as he peered into the basket, "did your grandmother like her bread?"

He crept closer as the other the man beast peered under the cloth. “Yes she did. She... well she always criticizes my father, the more and loudly the better she likes it, the same with pies, though she swears no one can out do her.” He tugged his basket back a little and removed the cloth, “would you like some biscuits and meat?”

he could care no less than he already did about biscuits but more of the meat seemed like a fine idea. pushing aside his thoughts of eating the boy he nodded and was rewarded with more of the spiced meat by the soft plump fingers

Once more it tickled to have the pink tongue lash against this tips. He could not help but look onwards mystified. His free hand reached out and scratched the strange mans ears once more. “You know Mr growl you could always come to the village with me and see what its like.” He offered. “or do you have your own village?”

doing his best not to cringe at the thought of the gutting that would await him at the village he shoot his head, "i live alone in my little cottage in the woods. i like the quiet......would you care to see~?"

He looked at the sky, then looked at Mr growl, and between the two of them he assumed he had time for a little tour. He grinned and nodded vigorously. "yes mr growl." He picked up what was left of the meal and stuffed it back into the basket.

as they walked hand-in-hand back to his home he was fed little bits of meat which suited him just fine. he was fed until after they crossed the creak and were nearly to his home. slyly he smiled as he licked his chops, "shall we go in?"

(fed him half and he will molest, fed him all of it and he will let you go. the cottage is a bit rundown and rather dreary, it is two rooms and the only furniture is a chair an old broad creaky bed, a three-legged stool and a large pot)

He had ran out of the dried meats that was suppose to be for him and licking his fingers he was not sure what else he could offer Mr growl. He felt something slightly wet against his hand and jumped a little only to realize it was the strange mans nose oddly against his fingers. He continued to walk as a ramshackle hobble came into view and this time a lick with a slight pinch jolted him from his steps. “Mr Growl? Is that your house?”

it was hard to restrain himself when the other stopped feeding him and a lap at the boy's fingers were not met with any revulsion or fear. picking up the hand with his own he lapped off the spiciness and the bit of meat grease that was left behind though when the question was asked he broke away to look up, "indeed, this is where i live. come in boy-red"

One last look backwards down the path he had come before he stumbled forward. “Mr Growl I am not sure this is such a good idea. I have never been this far away from the path.” He said looking down at the eager face. He smiled and touched the ears . “As long as you promise to lead me back.”

the lie came easily to his lips and with a lowering of both his tone and his lashes he promised to lead the other back. tightening his grip he led the boy inside and discreetly locked the door behind, "i have lived here all my life, it has been my home for as many winters as i can remember and it has been mine alone." smiling reassuringly he led the other to the low creaky bed and sat them both down on it's middle so that they faced the ember-filled fire instead of the door, "it is cosy"

The click of the lock was drowned out by the roar of the fire, and his unease was some what settled by the reassurance of the promise. He smiled, letting himself fall into the spot beside Mr Growl where the mans fingers climbed up his hand. He found himself flushing a little, though he was not sure why. It was indeed cozy and made even more so by the tickle on his skin from the fur beside him. He bounced a little. “You aren't afraid your house will burn keeping a fire so long with no one to attend to it?”

carefully he shrugged then finding it to be the perfect opportunity to do so shrugged off his coat as well. he could not see a fire only embers but he had brought one or two fleshy young things in the past and they tended to see what was not there, "it has never burned before and i have noone to watch it"

Turning he caught a glimpse of the white rounded shoulder and slid back on the bed. “But it was burning when we walked in... I have been with you for a long time...” He looked again at the fire and bit his bottom lip unsure if he had seen a plume of smoke from the roof or not. 'I-i think I should go home Mr Growl. I may be sick and seeing things.”

it was too soon for that, or more, it would never be time for that. offering a reassuring smile he twisted so that he was facing the boy-red and sliding an arm around him pressed close, "you look fine to me red... you should stay a little while longer.." letting his eyes go half-closed in a way he knew would charm his morsel he leaned in to nibble at the soft neck

He was not sure he liked how invasive Mr Growl had become. There was not much room to scoot away into his own personal space and the touch reminded him of something his brother in law would do to his sister. The bite on the neck made it worse. “I feel so hot.” He raised Mr growls hand from his side and placed it on his reddening forehead. “see?” He ducked from under the arm and moved away from the man. “I don't know if its contagious but I feel delirious.. .I think its best you take me home. “

smoothly he slid up to stand against the plump little body and putting his hand back to the boy's head held it there for a moment before running his hands through the brown curls, "now now, you don't seem so warm to me sweet little red...i think you should stay just a little longer." he offered a smile and moved in to kiss and nibble again when the sweet little mouth brought up meat. pausing in his advance he listened as the other threatened him with a hunter. shivering he contemplated whether he could get away with killing a hunter's family, finding that it was not worth it he grabbed his coat and unlocked the door before pushing the boy-red out. mutely he grabbed the little human by the arm and dragged him off to the deepest part of the woods to abandon him

This was not the way, and once his fingers slipped from Mr Growls he was sure it was not the way. The thick brush over head almost made it seem as if it were night time completely. He pulled his hand away from the other and gripped his basket. Pausing refusing to go any further. “MR GROWL!” He yelled loud enough to wake the birds. As soon as he let go he realized he could not see the man any more. “Where are you taking me? This isn't close to my home.”

it did not take long to lose the boy and as soon as their hands parted he slithered away into the woods. he would keep an ear out just in case though. he knew better than letting the human make his way back to his home and would not mind taking a bit of the meat should a hungrier beast than he come along

When there was nothing in return, he cried. His steps took him in direction he thought was home, and it turned into a panicked run as the shadows of the night crept into his fears. Eventually he found a hallowed tree to offer him protection and that is where he made his bed.

it had been a while since he had let the boy-red get lost and both times when he snuck up to see how things were coming he found tears but during the daylight hours there was nothing but gumption. it was strange but he found himself growing oddly sympathetic with the boy-red and on the dawning of the third day he did something he had never done before. he showed himself to the other

He was miserable, and his brother in law the so called best hunter had not found him or had not cared. By the 3rd dawn he was low on bread. Using what little he had, Red caught himself a greedy little bird hoping to get sedated off the stale bread. Returning to his tree he saw the most peculiar thing. It was Mr. Growl approaching his tree. He stumbled towards the man happy but hesitant. He held his basket tight containing his prize though he could not hide his relief. “Mr Growl?”

making himself look relieved he moved to meet the boy, "boy-red! i lost you and tried calling but you were nowhere to be seen, i am glad i found you now i-" he was interrupted by an odd chirping that he knew to be bird. looking around he could see nothing but the boy

His laugh came mostly from relief that his impressions of the other were wrong. He grinned. “Its alright Mr Growl, I should have trusted you... I couldn't see and I thought we were going the wrong way... I do apologize.” His basket chirped again and this time the creature tried to take flight. “... I caught a bird, but...” He greened at the thought of killing the creature. “I...” He fell silent. He really wanted to go home.

he could tell this one would not grow to be a hunter though that was evident enough and reaching in he found the slender neck and broke it before withdrawing his hand. curiously he watched the other, "it is fine. i am sure you've learned from this so i forgive you. i can finish taking you home now though..." he paused and looked meaningfully at the basket that housed the now-dead bird, "would you mind sharing? i have not had time to eat since i was looking for you"

He handed Mr growl the entire basket, and while he could see the man flash a row of teeth in thanks, Red went to gather berries. His stomach was churning and he needed something to settle it.

left alone to the bird he quickly found some rocks to start his fire before he skinned and gutted it. quickly he ate the heart and liver so he would not have to share and laying it down gathered a few small brush-sticks and dead leaves to nestle around the large stone he places inside of a ring of small ones before striking his flint and catching the tinder, once it was going he used his nose to find out where boy-red went

He had come back, and hidden behind a tree he watched Mr growl. He was able to spy until the other ate the whole insides of the bird and once more he shied away. He prefer his meat already cut into silvers or on the steak. Silently, Red waited until Mr Growl called for him before sitting beside the warmth of the hickory flames. He recalled the mans house.

they sat there in silence after he brought the boy back and though he did not mind he was beginning to think there was something about it that meant his little would-be dinner was not happy. poking at the blackening meat hea rolled it over once more on the rock and as it sizzled he spoke up, "you are not quiet. why the silence now?"

He looked up with a small smile. "I am not used to spending so much time in the woods. I'm just tired. " He never realized how dark or lonely or how dangerous it was to stray from the path. If he ever made it home, he made swears in his head to give Mr Growl a basket of every treat he could think of.

it was understandable. watching the meat a minute longer he sniffed the flames and broke his cooking stick in half to spear them each part of the meal. handing half to the boy-red he let his own cool a little off of the stone before hungrily eating it

(it is a half, there is bone and the leg is still attached)

Now the bird was familiar. He easily laid the cooked meat on a leaf and pried the meat way from the bones. He tossed out the hard bones in favor of the savory meat inside. “Thank you Mr Growl.” He said tearing off a bit of the white meat and eating it. He quickly became more engorged by the berries he picked then the meat and offered what was left of the breast meat to Mr Growl.

it was better uncooked but that he had it at all was enough and though it would have been more to wait he was glad at least that he was fed. taking the proffered piece he ate that as well. once all the food was consumed he looked back at the human and found him looking tired, it made sense given that the other had slept little and feeling generous he made an offer, "if you nap boy-red i will watch out for predators, just climb a tree and i will keep guard below"

The man had not abandoned him, and though what he said was true, Red felt safer in the hallows of the tree. He shook his head. “Mr Growl? Will you keep me company in the hallow?” The man looked as though he was about to decline but stopped and nodded. Smiling Red found his tree again and crawled into the decay. With the wolf man at his back he was easily able to fall asleep peacefully.