Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

#7 - Strange journey

"Well, looks like we're in luck. Seems we won't be so hungry after leaving the forest."

Poro bent down, reaching his paw into a shallow trap, pulling out an injured gray rabbit.

The rabbit struggled, but Poro knocked it unconscious with a single swipe.

"Hold onto it tight; our dinner depends on it."

"Uh, this is a… trap?"

Little Red Riding Hood was taken aback. She took the rabbit from Poro, staring blankly at the hole concealed by grass and soil.

"Yep, I'm a wolf. Gotta have some skills to fill my belly!"

Poro shrugged. "My paws aren't really suited for this kind of work, but if done right, it's better than chasing after prey all day, right?"

"Uh… I guess so?"

Little Red Riding Hood thought for a moment, then followed Poro, checking the locations of several traps. By evening, she held several strings of small animals tied together with vines.

And… some dried meat.

"No, this isn't right! Wolves don't hunt like this, do they?"

Little Red Riding Hood finally said, looking at Poro with suspicion. "If Grandma hadn't said there were no traces of curses or magic in your body, I'd think you were a human in wolf's clothing!"

"Huh? Can't I just be a person?"

Poro, carrying some firewood he'd gathered, looked up and exclaimed, "What your grandma says isn't necessarily true, you know?

Besides—she couldn't even see through the wolf in rabbit's clothing!

You wanna bet I can peel off my skin right now and put it on you?"

"I don't want your wolf skin!"

Under Poro's teasing, the girl's low mood lessened considerably.

She pretended to be scared, taking a few steps to the side. "You're scaring me, you big bad wolf!"

In any case, the wolf and the girl arrived at the edge of the forest as the sun set—

That is, at the boundary between the inner and outer forests.

Here stood a unique grove of redwoods. As Poro approached, he felt a strange change in the environment. Although the changes in temperature and humidity weren't significant, he inexplicably shivered.

Since transmigrating, Poro had lived deep within this forest.

Aside from Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, and… that crazy hunter, he hadn't seen many people.

So, Poro felt that beyond the forest lay a mist of "unknowns"!

What lies beyond the forest…?

He fell silent, realizing for the first time that he might not fully understand this world.

As a wild wolf, he had very little knowledge of the world beyond his sight.

Most of the time, his eyes only saw—and could only see—the desolate plants and trees.

"Little Red Riding Hood, do you know what's in the wider world beyond this forest?"

Poro turned to look at Little Red Riding Hood, only to see confusion in her eyes as well.

That's right…

At this moment, this girl, like himself, was also forced to embark on a journey!

"Grandma told me that after passing through the forest, you'll see a town… that's also the most likely place for outside humans to pass through!"

Finally, he could see traces of humans!

At least with Little Red Riding Hood around, he wouldn't have to fumble around in the dark!

…

"Chih—"

A tongue of flame shot up from the darkness, and a bonfire roared to life.

The skinned rabbit was skewered on a stick, roasting over the flames, sizzling and emitting a faint meaty aroma.

Two eyes, illuminated by the fire, gleamed.

"Big bad wolf, you're drooling."

"Hey, why are you looking at me instead of the meat? If you're not tempted, don't eat!"

Poro's ears twitched slightly in the wind. Since becoming a wolf, Poro's hearing had become increasingly sensitive.

Distant sounds came from the forest.

Lying prone for the first time at the border of the inner and outer forests, Poro clearly sensed the difference between the two.

The movements of creatures were more obvious on the outer forest side, while in the inner forest, all movements seemed to be veiled in an imperceptible gauze, becoming hazy.

"So, what's the outer forest like?"

Poro asked.

"I haven't seen it much. I've lived in the center of the forest since I can remember."

Little Red Riding Hood recalled, then said, "But Grandma told me that the forest we lived in before was 'hidden' by magic.

To other humans, the entire forest they know is just the outer forest.

Moreover, the hidden forest only accounts for a small part; the outer forest is much larger than the hidden part!"

Little Red Riding Hood also looked towards the distant forest. Except for a few special redwoods at the border, she couldn't see any difference between the two forests.

"By the way, eight years ago, a huge fire broke out in the direction of the outer forest. At that time, the sky turned blackish-red—at night, Grandma left the wooden house and went in the direction of the fire."

Little Red Riding Hood paused. "I remember clearly, it's the direction we're facing now—

The place where that human town is located!"

"So your grandma put out the forest fire, and then…"

Hearing this description, Poro instantly thought of the silver-haired old woman's past stories about the transformation spell.

"Then, she turned the soldiers who set the fire into wild rabbits—just like she said before."

Little Red Riding Hood added, "Before she left, she even asked me what kind of small animals I liked…"

"Your grandma is so kind."

Poro opened his mouth, then thought of something. "Looks like the destination has been confirmed, huh?"

Through Little Red Riding Hood's description, Poro had roughly determined his current location. If he wanted to help Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother, there was only one destination for them to head towards.

—The only human town close to the forest!

Where did the fire-starting soldiers and the crazy hunter come from?

Why did the soldiers set fire? Why would the hunter come to this secret place in the forest for no reason?

"How troublesome… No matter what, we have to go there. I originally wanted to live a lifetime of wilderness survival, but now plans can't keep up with changes!"

Poro yawned and stepped out of the light of the fire.

But at that moment, he felt two gazes staring straight at him.

"Little Red Riding Hood, it's time to sleep—we have a long way to go tomorrow!"

Poro said, lying down, wanting to close his eyes.

"I can't sleep…"

The girl's voice was very soft, but it carried a strange sense of grievance.

"Then what can I do? It's not my fault."

Poro could only helplessly sit up again and walk back to Little Red Riding Hood.

The girl immediately smiled, reaching out and hugging Poro's furry neck.

"Right, Big Dumb Wolf, I suddenly remembered the first day I met you!"

The girl hugged Poro, lying on her side on the soft grass, like hugging a big doll.

"Uh… I've kind of forgotten."

Poro was stunned. He hadn't been using his brain much since becoming a wolf, and he felt his memory was deteriorating. "What happened that day?"

"Hey, are you getting dumber and dumber?"

The girl muttered, gently covering Poro with a corner of her red cloak.

"That day, I was just picking some wild fruits in the forest. As soon as you saw me, you pointed at my cloak and called me Little Red Riding Hood!"

"Right, I remember now! You said this at the time—"

The girl's eyes flashed, and she raised her fair fingers, curling them like wolf claws,

"Hey, Little Red Riding Hood, you know, right? There are always leopards, tigers, lions… and big bad wolves like me in the forest! Can you hear the rumbling in my stomach?

If you don't want to die, hurry up and go home and stay there, don't run around!"

Little Red Riding Hood imitated Poro's words vividly, letting out a series of laughs,

"What kind of bad guy would remind others like that?"

"Cough cough, how would I know your grandma was a forest witch!"

Poro scratched his nose awkwardly. "Besides, if you really knew the danger, you wouldn't still run into the forest alone every day!"

"I just don't want to always stay in the house with Grandma—it's too boring!"

The girl puffed out her cheeks, defending herself. "Right, Big Dumb Wolf, what story were you going to tell me to make me feel safe to go home?"

"Yeah, you said… you weren't a child anymore and wouldn't listen to stories!"

"Can you tell me now?"

"Huh?"

"I can't sleep, I want to hear a bedtime story!"

Poro was stunned when he heard this, and curled his lip: