Spirit of the Forest

There is always one that rules the forest...

It was a dry morning, and it was as if there was no sign of life. The birds chirped quietly that morning. Fog laid low on the ground, and small creatures hid within it. The crunching of grass alerted the birds in the swaying trees, making them all scatter into the sky. As they peeled away from their trees, the crunches of the grass stopped. There was an intense silence. Then a pair of bright, fiery amber eyes shown through a hollow spot of a bush. 

A snout suddenly protruded from the thick bush, and then a powdered gray and white wolf appeared. It sniffed the still air and its mouth bared open, showing its sharp white teeth. This strong male wolf did not search for prey. But instead, he was seeking for the safety of his forest. Every morning he patrolled to be sure that nothing disturbed his quiet forest. He simply looked around for anything out of the ordinary.

When there was nothing for him, he headed off to his next destination. His steps were light as a feather as he padded along a bright, grassy path. He glanced at the treeline on either side of his path, as a heavy feeling weighed down on him. He felt uncertain by this, and as he drew closer to his next destination, he came to a sudden stop. He could hear the faint sounds of something in distress. He perked his ears up, and carefully lifted up his head. 

Suddenly the wolf lunged forward and ran towards the cries. It sounded like a forest animal, and he quickened his pace. He then began to slow down. He carefully stepped out behind a thick, old, dusty brown tree trunk and came out onto the grassy shore of a pond. He looked across the pond with his strict eyes and saw a small human child crouched down low on the other side. He stared at it with interest and concern. What was it doing here? They never come into his forest. He could see that the human was unhappy, so he decided to take action. He leaped into the cold, dirty water and began to paddle towards the small human child.

The child turned around in alarm and stared at the wolf with curiosity. Black strands of hair hung over her hot and tan face. She had dried tears on her cheeks and her hands held close to her face. She fell back as the wolf slowly hauled himself out of the water. 

The wolf stood over the child, dripping wet. He sneezed, making the girl chuckle. He looked at her with confusion. Why was she laughing? He lowered his head, and the girl suddenly grabbed his snout. He jerked back in shock, and shook his head.

The girl sniffed and began to cry. Her wails echoing through the forest.

The wolf frantically shuffled his paws and lowered his head back down. He nudged the wailing girl, and whimpered.

The girl giggled, and hugged the wolf's snout. She looked into his eyes, and smiled. Her bright blue, round orbs gleamed like the pond water in the sunlight. She kissed the young wolf's forehead, and slowly got to her feet.

The wolf then immediately decided to take the small girl back to her pack. So, he carefully grabbed the neck of her dirty white dress, and slowly lifted her up. Then he began to trot off, in search of the child's pack. He searched for such a long time, making his paws become sore. He began to think that he would never find this creature's pack. But soon, he finally heard the calls of concerned animals. He quickened his pace, and leaped out from a gathering of bushes. His eyes widened when he appeared in front of two tall creature's just like the girl. 

The tan woman, that had the same looks as her daughter, took a step back. Her eyes wide with horror as she stared at the wolf. Her husband yelled at the wolf, trying to get him to let go of his precious daughter.

The wolf confused, set the girl down. He jumped back when the man tried to throw a punch at him. He watched as the child's mother hugged her tightly, and stroked her long hair. He felt proud of himself for doing this, but sad to let such a sweet creature go.

The woman looked up and stared at the valiant wolf. She gave him a smile as bright as the sun and gave him a slight nod. 

The wolf puffed out his chest, but his pride was ruined quickly as the husband tried to push him back. Though, the wolf gave in reluctantly and ran off, back into his forest. He then became known as some type of spirit by those humans. He was a spirit of the forest. It's protector. Heart and soul. One who did not let any suffer.