Red - 2. Chapter 2 - Following the Path

Nock walked through the early morning mist and was grateful for the cloak. It seemed as if no time at had passed before he saw beautiful women with pale green skin waving and calling to him to come sit and share his basket of goodies with them. Their outfits left little to the imagination as they seemed to shine in the morning light. He blushed but pushed on.

As he reached a spot where the canopy of trees had overgrown the broken roadway and he had to be careful not to trip over roots, he encountered a new set of strangers. Here the men and woman were again very beautiful but also very thin. They seemed pale even in the twilight of the forest. He listened as they called to him, laughing at all the ways they tried to get him to step off the path.

“Oh beautiful boy, come here and let us snack with you,” whispered a woman with long red hair.

“Come child you can spend all the rest of your time here with me. I promise not to bite you immediately,” said a gaunt young man on his left.

“No, come to us,” said a pair of twin girls whose skin was as white as their dresses.

At first he found it sort of amusing, but then it began to bother him and he moved on, quickly drawing his cloak tighter around him as he went.

It took a while to maneuver on the path he was on. His mother said the trail was smooth but the pathway was now riddled with roots and even walking in spots it was hard going. He wondered if his mother had even traveled this way since she had moved to live with his great-grandmother.

He moved on and just as he thought he had passed the worst of it, he tripped over a root and fell on the path.

“Careful, Red. You don’t want to get hurt.” Said a deep voice to the left of him.

Nock turned and looked into the gloom of the forest flanking the road. Here, the canopy of trees was much thinner than it was a few miles back. The bright sunlight shown down on the path but became dappled as it slowly vanished into the tree line. He caught sight of a tall muscular man leaning against a tree. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and black shorts that showed off his strong muscular legs. As Nock watched, he could have sworn the man was trying to catch his scent like some sort of animal.

“You better get going, Red. It is starting to get late and you never know what you might find in the dark.”

Nock was about to thank the man but remembered his mother’s warning not to talk to strangers. He carefully got back on his feet, brushed himself off and started to walk. Something about the man though wouldn’t be forgotten.

Nock found himself watching the man as he slowly walked away. The man smiled widely, showing his big white teeth, and seemed to follow Nock’s every move with his eyes. Nock lost sight of him as the path turned a bit to the right. As he started down the path again, his leg was bothering him. He had been going pretty fast before the fall and he still hadn’t eaten anything all day. Finding his leg was really hurting, he found a tree that was partway on the path and sat beneath it. He pulled out a few of the things he packed and began to eat.

The meal was eaten in the silence of the wood. Nock found himself missing his mother and father and wishing this was over already. He also kept thinking of the strange man he had seen against the tree earlier. He wasn’t like anyone back in his village. Nock found himself thinking of the stranger’s thick muscled chest and his dark-brown puppy dog eyes.

At least I think they were brown. I wish he had been closer.

Nock’s thoughts were interrupted by a call from the very same stranger he was just thinking about.

“Red, I thought I told you to keep moving. If you don’t get going it will be dark soon and you will never make it through the woods without getting lost.”

“I hurt my leg so I stopped to rest for a moment,” Nock answered before he realized he wasn’t supposed to.

“Aww. I hope you aren’t hurt too bad,” said the guy as he moved onto the pathway.

Nock looked up at the handsome stranger. His eyes really were brown. He had dark brown hair and the beginnings of a beard. The shirt he wore was like a second skin and so were the short pants which were skin tight. Nick noticed the stranger wore a strange type of shoe that left his feet exposed, but they covered the soles of his feet.

The stranger laughed.

“I guess you noticed my sandals, Red.”

“Is that what they are called? I’ve never seen anything like that before. We all wear boots that the tanner makes for us.”

“Well my … family is very familiar with hides.”

Nock again noticed how the stranger seemed to lean in and sniff the air around him.

“Why do you keep sniffing the air like an animal?”

The stranger stared down at Nock.

“So, you know a lot about animals, do you?”

“I don’t know much about animals. Just know some basic knowledge about cats, dogs, deer, fish, and of course wolves.”

The stranger smiled at that comment. There seemed to be a twinkle in his eyes as he looked down at Nock.

“Oh really. Just what would a boy like you know about wolves?”

“They are a pack animal. Usually, there is between 6 and 8 of them in a pack. There is usually what is called a dominate wolf or an Alpha male. Their mate is usually the second of the pack and they are monogamous as well.”

“Mostly right, but I’m surprised a pup like you would know anything about wolves.”

“Dad told me all about them. He was always afraid they would come onto the farm and kill the chickens or the dog. He made sure we knew all about them. Dad was always doing his best to make sure we all knew how to protect ourselves and the farm,” Nock said proudly as he described how his father was ready for anything that came along.

The stranger cocked an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything else.

Nock carefully stood and noticed how swollen his knee was. He started to limp on his way down the path when suddenly the stranger was beside him again.

“Red, you just don’t listen do you?”

“What was I suppose to listen to?”

“I don’t know. Your parent’s warnings might have been a good start or me telling you to be careful, for another!”

This time Nock was sure of it. He could hear the stranger sniffing at his hair.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Sniffing me! I swear I took a bath before I got dressed this morning. So why are you sniffing me?”

The man smiled at him as he grabbed Nock’s arm and helped him to keep his balance as they walked on.

“I was just trying to figure something out about you, Red. You might say I can tell more from a scent than most people can from a long conversation.”

“Oh really,” Nock began trying to keep his voice from showing the amount of pain he was in.

“Yes, Red, I can.”

“Okay, so what do you know about me?”

The stranger smiled and took a deep breath of air.

“You live with your parents. Your father,” the man paused what he was saying and sniffed Nock’s shirt. “Your father is a farmer. Your mother works hard as well. She likes roses. The truth is that, yes, you bathed today and I think you scented your bath water with lilacs.”

Nock blushed. He had taken some of the lilac soap his mother had made and used it. She kept it for special occasions and Nock felt that this trip to see his brother was a special one so he borrowed her soap.

“So, am I wrong?”

“No,” stammered Nock. “You are right,” he said softly.

The stranger’s smile widened and Nock wished the ground would up open up and swallow him. He went to take a step and stumbled but the good looking man caught him. He was surprised at the strength the guy possessed. Wrapped momentarily in the strong arms of the stranger, Nock steadied himself, then he leaned in and took a deep whiff.

The stranger’s deep sexy laughter filled the air.

“So, who is smelling whom now?”

Nock realized he had just been caught doing the same thing. The stranger smelled different to Nock. He didn’t smell of the soaps his mother made or the fresh meadow air. Instead there was a sort of woodsy smell to him. This close to the stranger, Nock noted how muscular he really was and the scent from his body was masculine as well, but for some unknown reason it also reminded Nock of Kardel, the keeper of the town’s dogs.

The man waited till Nock was back on his feet before stepping away. He wandered momentarily out of sight and Nock thought he was being left alone again.

“Well I guess he couldn’t stay all day with me. Besides, I really am going to have to hustle to get out the woods and to Grandma’s house,” Nock said out loud in attempt to get himself moving.

Gingerly, he reached down and grabbed his basket of goodies. He was just about to test his injured knee when the handsome man wandered back onto the road.

“Good, Red. Glad to see you waited for me.”

Nock blushed as he realized how it must have looked.

“Take this,” said the stranger passing him a long tree limb.

“Um … thank you?”

The stranger looked at Nock and laughed deeply. He was laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. It took a few moments before was able to breathe normally and was able to speak again.

“It’s a walking stick for you. Lean on it. It is thick enough and strong enough to support your weight while you walk. Did I hear you say you were going to your grandmother’s house?”

“Yes, she lives on the other side of the woods with my brother. I was there once, but I was too young to remember it. My mother says it is a pretty yellow house that my grandfather built for her. Grandma Erin has my brother living with her. Supposedly, he has given up farming in favor of building now that he lives in the other village. Grandma Erin sent a note saying how Wabe has become an excellent ax man. I’m going there to help him finish his new home.”

The handsome man nodded his head as he absorbed all that Nock mentioned.

“Well, Red I really should get going. I have things to take care of.”

Nock was sort of upset. He had hoped that the stranger would stay with him for the rest of the journey.

“Don’t look so sad, Red. I’ll see you again soon.”

Nock looked up and watched the scruffy face of the good-looking guy.

“Hold still a moment. Just want to brush your back off a bit,” said the man suddenly.

“Oh, did I mess up the cape? I just got the damn thing today from my brother.”

“No,” stated the attractive stranger as his strong hands wiped off the leaves and things from Nock’s back Nock could feel the strong movements of his hands and felt very excited to be touched so. Just as he was relaxing into the gentle rubbing it ended, but when he turned to look at the stranger he was sucking on his forefinger.

“Did you get hurt?” asked Nock, his voice full of concern.

The stranger smiled.

“Just a scratch, Red. Don’t worry. I’m sure it will heal quickly. Besides, you should get moving before you end up molested and never reach your goal.”

The stranger turned and looked as if he was about to leave when Nock stopped him.

“Um … my name is Nock. What is yours?”

“Lone. People call me, Lone.”

“Loan? That seems like an odd name.”

“Not Loan. Lone, which is a nickname, because my last name is Wolf.”

“Lone Wolf? Wow, that is sort of special.”

“Yes but if I have my way, that nickname will soon be a thing of the past.”

Nock watched as Mr. Wolf moved off into the trees.

I hope I see him again soon.

Nock shook his head and began to walk carefully using the walking stick Lone Wolf gave him for support.