• tab The chill November wind swept the twilight snowflakes into the deserted streets of a small village on the outskirts of a forest. Not a soul was outside, for fear of the frost bitten air. Even the children had given up on their winter shenanigans long ago, and were now retiring by their fireplaces and sipping mugs of hot chocolate. The warm glow of the fires shined out of every home, illuminating the streets a dull gold.
    tab Admist the outskirts of the village a lone creature trodded in silence. Its long, slender legs--laden with grisly fur--ended in dangerously sharp nails that went click-click-click against the gravel; the only outside noise for several miles. Due to the length of the unruly gray surrounding the muzzle, its ivory teeth remained latent, unable to be seen by any would-be passerby.
    tab As it walked under a nearby street lamp the yellow light passed over its face, exposing, if only for a second, the dangerous glint in the creature's emerald orbs.
    tab Seemingly, from nowhere, an omnipresent laugh resounded throughout the empty streets. Hearing the obnoxious sound, the creature's pointed ears immediately perked as it raised its head toward the direction of where the noise had come from. A few yards away a daring family had decided to open their window, allowing their child's shouts of glee to be heard by whomever was unfortunate enough to be walking by.
    tab The creature, his curiousity ignited, cautiously approached the dwelling. He took precaution and only came close enough so that he could see the loquacious family clearly enough, yet the shadows of the growing night still concealed him from their sight . . . except, perhaps, for his glistening eyes.
    tab Inside of the warm, rural house the atmosphere was much different than that of the desolate one outside. To the creature it seemed as if the family had just finished an evening meal, for the wafting scent of honey suckled ham and potatoes just barely reached his nose. The scrumptious aroma had the creature's stomach growling within seconds, its only contents a few scraps of meet that he had managed to collect on his journey.
    tab Inside a mother and a father sat--holding each other lovingly--while watching their two children play, fond smiles gracing both of their faces. The older of the two children, a six year old boy, was attempting to convince his little brother to stop tugging on his hair so visciously. The infant, despite his siblings' pleas of protest, continued on, laughing loudly as he did so.
    tab As the creature watched these poignant events unfold, an almost human emotion began to spread across his features. His head was cocked and what was parallel to a smile just started to form--but then the dog entered the picture and that changed everything. The creature's head snapped upright, his eyes narrowed, and a nasty snarl erupted from his throat, low enough so that the unsuspecting family still had no clue whatsoever that they were being watched.
    tab The family's pet danced around the eldest child's legs, yipping loudly. Laughing, the boy tried to escape his dog, only to be knowcked down by said animal. The puppy climbed on top of the boy, ears cocked, and started covering his owner's face in canine saliva.
    tab The unfolding scene caused the observing creature to grit his teeth in frustration. The dog's every action screamed 'feed me!' It sickened him.
    tab Revolting, the creature thought. To think that he could so much potential in the wild--just look at those teeth!-- and yet here he is, resoting to begging in order to be fed. Prancing around the human's feet like he's some kind of horse. Horrible . . .
    tab At this point in the evening, the toddler approached the pet and happily fed him a few treats. He eagerly gobbled them up, very grateful for the nourishment, and then turned and tackled the youngest sibling, his tail wagging back and forth wildly. Another growl originated from the onlooking creature, considerably louder this time.
    tab The gratiude . . . it disgusts me. We have nothing to thank filthy, worthless humans for; they are the enemy. And that pet . . . he's a traitor.
    tab The couple, rising from the couch, helped their two children to their feet, smiles once again on their faces. The mother gently held her youngest's hand and guided it to the crown of the dog's head, showing him how to stroke the animal without causing it discomfort. The tot giggled with glee.
    tab Petting?!
    tab A thunderous howl left the creature's mouth, effectively silencing the family he had been watching. The father was the first to spot the grey creature outside the window and, after a few quietly exchanged words with his wife, it was he who disappeared from the animal's view of the family room. Realizing that the man was going to come after him, he turned around and fled the neighborhood, running as fast as his legs could carry him. Soon after, though, he could hear the thud of a second set of footsteps trailing after him.
    tab What could he want from me? the creature wondered increasing his speed. He stopped abruptly, however, when his front paw caught on an uplifted tree root, causing him to fall face forward, a sickening snap resounding throught the trees. A sharp cry of pain soon followed suit, accompanied with a plethora of whimpers and whines.
    tab A low whistle came from several yards away. "Come here boy," called a man's voice soothingly. "I won't hurt you."
    tab No! thought the creature. He let out another howl and did his very best to scramble to his feet again, but to no avail. As soon as he had shifted his position a searing pain coursed through his twisted leg. Panic swelled up within him, robbing him of the capability of making any noise.
    tab The whistling came closer.
    tab No, no NO! What do I do, what do I DO? Who knows what that human'll do! They're retched creatures, the whole lot of 'em! He might shoot me and cook up some stew for that lovely family of his, or skin me for my fur, or--
    tab His thought came to a complete halt as the man from the house emerged through the nearby bushes. The animal bowed his head in shame. He had allowed man to corner him. He was a disgrace, even more so then he already was; exiled from his own pack.
    tab The man, of a gangly European complex, was completely silent. His expression was gentle as he looked at the broken animal lying on the forest floor in front of him. The ribs were clearly visible despite the mass amount of fur, and the man felt very sorry for him. And though he didn't know any of the circumstances of the animal's misery (except, perhaps, his newly borken leg), he kneeled down onto the carpet of pine needles and placed a warm hand on the creature's side. "It's alright," he whispered. "No one's going to hurt you anymore."
    tab The wolf looked up at the man, looking as small and innocent as a young child, and held his gaze for a long while. When he came to a desicion, the wolf slowly lowered his head and licked the man's hand.