<!--(set: $diag to (text-style: 'italic'))\-->
<font size="60">Once upon a time,</font> there was a girl named Little Red Riding Hood. The moniker came from the bright red cape with a hood she wore, which was bold fashion statement for her small village near a scary forest.
By the way, //you// are Little Red Riding Hood.
[[Let's move to the present tense, then.]]It doesn't take you long to get to the edge of the forest. Your grandma lives in a clearing right on the widest forest path, which is wide and winding, and will cleanly take you to [[your grandmother's cottage->a lovely cottage]]. It is not the most straight shot, so it will take longer to get there than if you cut across through the trees. It's nice to be outside, so you can stroll there and think about your plans for the future while sauntering on the path. On the other hand, you would also like to have some time for yourself and it'd be better to shorten the walk there and spending time with your grandma. And mother forbade you from straying from the path, though her orders have never been a key factor in your decision-making process.
What will you do?
* [[Follow the forest path.]]
* [[Stray from the path.]]You may as well enjoy the weather and the landscape. The path is well lit, and takes you to the most picturesque locations of the forest. Problem is, you've seen it a thousand times, so it's not as striking as it sounds.
In order to keep things entertaining, you start thinking about how to escape this little village, where all economic activity seems to revolve around [[wood->what villagers do]].
But you're not interested in wood. You like fashion. Why couldn't you have been born in a valley with sheep, where everything is about [[wool->what red wants to do]]?
In this forest, when a girl becomes a woman, she gets married, has children and raises them, brooms off the wood shavings from the doorstep and dusts off the house, which is always covered in sawdust. It's a boring life - it's your mother's life. And you want none of it.
And before you start actually thinking about the plan, you find yourself in front of your grandmother's cottage. (display: "Grandma's cottage description")
You can figure out your plan on your way back. Now knock on the door, it's only polite.
##(text-style: "rumble")[Knock, knock.]
|dia>["Who's there?"] a feeble voice calls from inside.
|dia>["[[Little Red Riding Hood, who's bringing you food!|Grandma's house]]"]You think very highly of your sense of direction, so you think you can get to your grandma's faster if you cut through the trees. Your shoes and socks will get dirtier, but you'll be back to your own business much faster. Not that you have much to do - you're a bit too old to go to school, and you're not particularly keen to help your mother. But daydreaming can take a lot of mental work.
The key to finding your way to your grandma's place is walking decidedly and singing loud. Displaying both confidence and nonchalance, you hope, will make up for the fact that you only a vague idea of how to get there. The forest can't be that big, can it?
After a couple of minutes, you realize that the only songs you know are nursery rhymes, which give away you're still a child. You try to recall the lyrics of any of the bawdy songs that the adults sing in feasts and festivals, but mother has always taken you away whenever they start, so you only know the first few verses. [[How did that song about the butcher's wife go...?->Hello, little girl]]
"The door is open." your grandma calls feebly. "Come on in, I am too weak to get up."
(display: "Grandma's room description")
The back window is open, letting the sunshine in. Your grandma lies in bed on the other side of the room. She looks pale and more frail than usual, as if she was made of worn-out parchment. A faint smile betrays that she finds some content in feeling the sunlight on her skin. She may be okay after all, she just needs to eat.
|dia>["Is that you, Red Riding Hood? One cannot really trust anybody these days, you know."]
|dia>["Yes, grandma, it's me. Don't you see my cape?"]
|dia>["That red rag is difficult to miss, for sure, but the hood hides your face and I'm hard of hearing. Also, someone could just do something horrible to you, steal your clothes, and show up here impersonate you. And I would not know the difference because I'm becoming a deaf blind badger."]
"Why would anybody do that? Also, who else would come all the way to the middle of the forest bringing you food?" you ask a tad indignant. You'd hope that she'd be a bit happier to see you.
|dia>["It's really me, grandma."] [[You get closer.]]
Before you say a word, he spots your basket and smirks.
"I see. You're bringing food to your grandmother, isn't that right?"
"I didn't know that wolves had such good sight."
"No, darling! I have the most extraordinary sense of smell, especially for anything that's moist."
* [["I don't know how to respond to that."]]
* [["It's not for you anyways."|"I don't know how to respond to that."]]Before you open the door, the ground below your feet feels crunchy. The doorstep hasn't seen a broom in a long time. As you enter the cottage, you see it's in a bit of a disarray. The cottage is small, so it always felt cluttered, but this is a new level of mess. A tower dirty wooden plates looms crookedly on the kitchen table, while a mound of dirty clothes on one corner. The pantry's curtain has fallen off, revealing empty shelves. Everything is covered in an inch of sawdust.
It is obvious that your grandmother cannot cope with housework. She needs help right now. At least you're here. As you approach grandma's bed, she reaches out and grabs your hand and holds it next to her face, to then sniff it delicatly.
|dia>["It is you, [[my child|Little Red's Name]]. I can smell the cologne your mother douses you in."]
That was a bit awkward, but seems to work for her - she's now smiling in comfort.
|dia>["Well, enough with the niceties. I can also smell some food in there."] she says, pointing to the wicker basket in your arm. You put it carefully on her lap - it's a bit heavy - and she starts lifting the cloth that covers the contents.
|dia>["[[Let me see what you brought there.]]"]|dia>["CAKES AND WINE? Is that what your mother told you to bring?"]
Grandma up holds the cloth with two fingers while she looks at the contents of the basket. There are six cakes and a large bottle of wine. She's freezes for a few seconds, unsure of how to feel about your mother's gift.
(if: (history:) contains "checking the basket" is not true)[You never thought of checking what was in the basket.
You don't know how to feel about this either - what was your mother thinking? Or was she thinking? Where did these cakes come from? Where did she find the time to bake them? And how come that she didn't think of giving you any?]\
|dia>["I'm don't think this is the most nourishing thing for an old sick woman." She looks at you looking for affirmation. You nod.]
|dia>["But I'm starving, so it will have to do. At least this will fill my stomach. And if I share with you, it'll also brighten my day. Would you like to help me eat these before they go bad?"] She finally casts off her nagging grandma persona and looks at you with bright, grateful eyes and and honest smile.
Fortunately, you're in the kind of fairy tale where nobody's thought of the damage of underage drinking. And cake sounds like a fine breakfast, since your mother send you off without thinking of feeding you first.
Your stomachs roar in unison, and you both break into laughter.
|dia>["Let me wash some plates and cuttlery, and we'll get right to it."]you offer.
##[[The end|Once Upon a Time]]As you open your mouth to respond, he puts one of his paws on your lips to keep you quiet. They smell of damp dirt and human sweat.
|dia>["Sssssh... Why don't you tell me more about your grandma?"]
This wolf is making you really, really, REALLY uncomfortable. It has to be you won't let the wolf talk. You take a step back, so you can free your lips from his paw.
|dia>["My grandmother is waiting, I cannot tarry any longer. Bye Mr. Wolf." you manage to say.]
[[You rush to your grandmother's house.]](set: $runcounter to 0)
You start running on the opposite direction of wherever he is and don't look back. He yells |dia>["HEY!"] but you don't care.
Just keep running.
[[Run.]] This part of the forest doesn't look familiar. All the plants look dark and twisted - young spindly trees and gnarled shrubery. This must be the part of the forest that was once exhausted by the woodsmen - none of these trees look older than 10 years old. The forest looks like it is defending itself from people, and growing sharp spikes and hooks, too thin to make into planks or logs.
The brambles seem to whisper |dia>["Get out."]
Will do.
There is a clearing on one side that is well lit up, and where the trees look old but bright, just like in a normal happy fairy tale. You could also try to retrace your steps... but then you may meet the wolf if he thought of following you.
What to do, what to do, what to do?
* [[Go back where the wolf was.]]
* [[Go to the clearing.]]Retracing your steps carefully and keeping a careful eye in case the wolf shows up again, you get to the stump where he was standing - the place still smells of him - but he's gone.
From here, you can retrace your steps back to the path and then to grandma´s. The path is not as exciting and picturesque as the parts of the woods you've visited, though it appears wolf-free.
You try scampering on the path, bring back the assured walk that you started with, while you sing. But you can't. It's not right. Your happy spirits stayed behind on the stump where the wolf was, and he stole them.
You now know things. One has to be very careful while walking on the forests. It is hard to hide in the woods while wearing a red riding hood. Mother is right more often than you think.
Grandma's cottage finally peeks out from behind the trees. (display: "Grandma's cottage description")
You rush to the door--seeing your grandma will make everything right.
##(text-style: "rumble")[Knock, knock.]
"Who's there?"
"[[Little Red Riding Hood, who's bringing you some food!|Enter the house]]"The clearing is a circle filled with morning light, filled with what looks like a little garden snuck in the middle of the forest. Unlike the previous spot, the shrubbery looks plump and glossy, with flowers blooming. You take a minute to breathe in the fresh scent and wash off your fear.
The forest path crosses the clearing. The one your mother told you to follow.
What will you do?
* [[Take the path to grandmother's after all.|Go back where the wolf was.]]
* [[Go back home.]]
|dia>["The door is open,"] your grandma says in a weak voice from the back of the room. |dia>["Come in, I am too weak to get up."]
(display: "Grandma's room description")
The shutters are mostly closed, so you can only guess that grandma is laying in bed, buried under a bulging comforter.
|dia>["Is that you, Red Riding Hood?"] Grandma's voice is much raspier than you remember. She must be very dehydrated.
|dia>["Yes, grandma, it is really me. Don't you see my cape?"]
|dia>["My eyesight is getting worse and worse, little girl. You must get closer so I can make sure it's you."]
[[You get closer as she requests.]]
(set: $listentograndma to false)
(set: $lookatgrandma to false)
(set: $grandmashands to false)The morning has been more eventful than it should, so you decide to return home, basket and all.
Mother is surprised to see you come in early.
"Back so soon? How's grandma?"
"I don't know. A creepy wolf jumped on me on the way there, I didn't like it and I ran away."
As you speak, you feel a wave of fear climbing up your throat. Reliving the meeting with wolf makes you realize how wrong everything was.
"I want to bring the food to grandma, but..."
Your lip starts quivering and your voice breaks. Your mother looks at you, shocked, and extends her hand to hold you.
You push her back. You need a minute. She stands back.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Each breath turns fear into anger.
You look at your mother. She should have known better than to send you into the forest alone, telling you to look straight ahead like a good girl. Wolves can lurk in the corner of your eye.
Mother also told you not to stray from the path.
A girl should be able to go run an errand and take whichever damn path she wants without having to meet an asshole wolf wearing no lower garments.
Everything's wrong.
You explode and you start sobbing. Your mother moves to hug you and this time you take up her offer.
"I'm sorry, dear. I thought you'd be able to walk on the forest alone, but perhaps I should teach you a thing of two on how to deal with wolves."
Perhaps.
And with that hug, you both have learned an important lesson.
##[[The end|Once Upon a Time]]As you approach the bed, you can smell the rose oil that she dabs on her neck every morning. The scent is much stronger than usual, she must have doused herself in it to disguise that she has not really bathed them in what smell like weeks.
It's strange that your grandma doesn't quite recognize you. You know your grandma may see blurry, but she is not color-blind. Also, "little girl"? Grandma has never used that kind of generic epithet.
Something's off.
(display: "Examining Grandma")(if: $listentograndma is false) [* [[Listen to grandma.]]]
(if: $lookatgrandma is false)[* [[Look at grandma in the eye.]]]
(if: $grandmashands is false)[* [[Look at grandma's hands.]]]
* [[Look at grandma's mouth.]]
* [[Wait a minute...->Creepiness in the cottage]] (set: $listentograndma to true)\
|dia>["What is wrong, my dear?"] says Grandma.
|dia>["Grandma, what a deep voice you have!"] you remark.
|dia>["The better to greet you with!"] she responds.
If you want to greet someone sounding like a chain-smoker, that is.
(display: "Examining Grandma")
(set: $lookatgrandma to true)\
Your grandma's eyes lie under unusally bushy eyebrows, and behind a pair of thick spectacles which hang precariously on her face, so it is difficult to meet her kind gaze. They look darker than usual, but there's not a lot of light in this corner of the house.
|dia>["Grandma, what dark eyes you have!"] you venture.
|dia>["The better to see you with,"] she says.
It's unclear how the color of one's eyes influences eyesight instead of the large, heavy spectacles she's wearing.
(display: "Examining Grandma")
(set: $grandmashands to true)\
Grandma keeps her arms under the comforter. You can only glimpse the tips of her fingers--long, very dark, and in urgent need of a manicure.
|dia>["Grandma, what big hands you have!"] is the only thing you can muster to say.
|dia>["To better hug you with."] she says.
You know she's old, but she should know that hands are not the key body part to hugging.
(display: "Examining Grandma")
You look at her mouth. Her sweet smile has turned into a very wide grin, with some of her teeth peeking out of her lips. Also, her upper lip and chin have got way bushier since last time you saw her. She must be really sick.
"Grandma, what a big mouth you have!" you observe.
#"[[TO BETTER EAT YOU WITH!!!!]]"
You also have a big mouth - that was the wrong thing to mention. (if:(history:) contains "Look at grandma's mouth.")[Grandma jumps off of the bed and you recoil. Did she recover her strength all of a sudden?
Oh no.
It's Mister Wolf. ]He's standing in front of the kitchen, where the light streaming from the windows reveals the clumsy plan you just fell for. Grandma's clothes hang from his thin frame, as he walks towards you like an ill-dressed scarecrow.
He throws out his spectacles, and you can feel his dark hungry eyes boring on your flesh. His mouth is unnaturally wide open, stretched as tight as it gets.
You step back and back and back, trying to find the door. After a few steps, you realize you stepped on the wrong direction and trapped yourself against the wall.
The wolf is almost on you. His breath is hot and stinks of dead thin rabbits.
[[You close your eyes.]]
All is dark. A roar wraps you in.
#(text-style: "shudder")[["GRAAAAAAAAAAAR!"]]You open your eyes. The wolf's body is sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. His head looks like a pulp. There are splats of blood everywhere.
|dia>["Are you okay?"]
A man in a plaid shirt appears in front of you, shaking you by the shoulder.
|dia>["... yes?"] You push him aside and stare at the corpse of the wolf.
|dia>["I saw you come in here and I heard the growling. The door was open, so when I saw the wolf coming towards you, I didn't hesitate and shot. You were lucky I was carrying my gun."]
You finally turn your gaze at the woodsman. A green woolen jumper on top of two long sturdy legs and topped by a satisfied smile and a woolen hat. He holds an hunting rifle, so he's one of the rare hunters in the area. The forest yields great wood but poor game.
He looks like an oaf full of himself. On the other hand, you're grateful he's a nosy idiot with a gun and a happy trigger.
|dia>["Thank you. Thank you for saving my life."]
|dia>["Oh, any time. I'm glad you're safe. Name's Florian."]
|dia>["Good."]
You hope he doesn't expect you to marry him or something.
[[Now, where's grandma?]]|dia>["I don't know where my grandmother is."]
Florian is overtly shocked. |dia>["Let's find her then!"] he says, striking a pose. He relishes in his role of the hero.
He starts opening cupboards, as if your gradma could have ended up somewhere in the shelves. There's only empty containers and the dishes are all dirty on the counter, so it's not a completely silly idea. It is not a show of smarts either.
You prefer to stop and think. The wolf looks too thin to have eaten her - surely anything in his stomach would bulge - so there's hope. You call |dia>["Grandma! Grandma!"], but there's no response.
While Florian tries to open the pantry, you go directly to the only space in the cottage where she could be hiding--[[under the bed]]. Grandma is sleeping soundly under her own bed, though she doesn't snore. You shake her gently and she wakes up very confused.
|dia>["What? What? What happened? Why am I on the floor? Who is this man? What is he doing in my house? AND WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?"]
That's a lot of questions. Let's start with telling Florian to look away and finding her clothes. The nosy idiot.
Helping your grandmother to get up requires a bit of wrestling; you find an old gown in the pile of dirty clothes. You find your grandma's spectacles lying next to the laundry and pocket them for now. She doesn't need to see the mess in the kitchen. Your grandmother grumbles as she gets dressed, you gesture to Florian to take away the wolf's corpse. Grandma gets alerted by the rustle anyways. Her hearing is sharper than she pretends.
|dia>["What's this man doing? Is he stealing a rug? I don't have a rug. What's that mess on the floor?"]
She throws a slipper at the head of the woodsman, which she barely misses in spite of not having her spectacles.
[[Things are a bit tense, for a good reason.]] Grandma doesn't seem to remember your name either. Though now that you think of it, do you recall hers? Or your mother's? What's this world where women can only have nicknames for people to call them?
Also, grandma should chill out a bit. [[You're saving her life!|You get closer.]] ****DONE * An option + conditional to let players check the contents of the basket before getting to grandma's.
****DONE * related to above - in the grimm's version, she's carrying "cakes", which seem more practical than a whole cake. Also gives me room to comment on the what ther mother spends her time doing.
****DONE * Make the run passage into different passages, the user needs to keep clicking to mimic the effort.
* Some of the asides or expansions should be something the user clicks on. The idea is that the reader needs to make an effort to find the subtext - though each link needs to cue that well.
* From Into the Woods - shall I include a reference to Little Red gathering a bouquet of flowers? She can decide to do it from the forest clearing (the wolf kinda cues her into it already)
* check consistency - grandmother should be referred to as grandma, the mother is just "mother"
***DONE CSS for dialogue formatting.
* maybe the gun should be an axe? cut off the wolf's head?
The house is covered with cedar shingles, greyed and tattered by time, with windows peering sadly at the trees around it. The outside of the cottage looks slumped, as if the walls could hardly hold the weight of the thatching above them. The roof is dark, tangled, solid - perhaps too heavy for the precarious walls. In spite of the lack of maintenance, the whole thing is still standing, the legacy of your late grandfather's talent working with wood and brambles. You take a second to peer into the contents of the basket. There are six cakes and a bottle of wine.
When mother said your grandmother was sickly, you imagined you'd be bringing her bread and butter, or soup, or something that is actually nourishing. Why mother decided that cakes was the best thing to bring to an ailing old woman?
Also, mother is always complaining that she is so buried in housekeeping, but where did she find the time to bake these cakes? If there are six here, she must have made more--and she didn't give you any.
(if:(history:) contains "Stray from the path")[Well, you don't feel so bad about having strayed from the path now.]\
(link-goto: "Back to business.", (history:)'s last)
(set: $runcounter to it + 1)
(if: $runcounter is 8)[Run... out of breath.
[[Stop.]]]
(else:)[[[Run.]]](set: $breathecounter to 0)
You take a minute to rest and look around. The wolf is nowhere in sight.
Phew.
[[Breathe.]]
(set: $breathecounter to it + 1)
(if: $breathecounter is 4)[Why didn't the wolf chase after you?
Perhaps he's out of shape too.
Wait.
You didn't pay attention to where you were going.
What's this place now?
[[Look around.]]]
(else:)
[[Breathe.]]At times you wonder if your mother actually remembers your actual name, which is actually shorter than your nickname. Certain things in fairy tales have nothing to do with practicality.
(link-goto: "Where were we?", (history:)'s last)You're sitting below a tree, musing how you could move to the big town in the county--you are way too fashionable for this village. It's nice outside, sunny and with a fresh breeze.
Your mother calls you from the kitchen window.
|dia>["[[Little Red Riding Hood!->Red's name]] Come here!"]
|dia>["I'll be there in a minute, mother!"]
|dia>["I want you here right now!"]
Mother also knows well you prefer daydreaming about the future to actually doing anything. You get up and trudge your way back home, the whole thirty seconds it takes to go from tree to door. She is already waiting at the doorstep with a basket in her arms, taping her foot. Her patience is inversely proportional to how willing you want to follow her orders.
|dia>["The postman told me your grandmother looks sickly. She's too old to come to the village for her groceries, so she's probably hungry. Hurry up and take this to your grandmother's house."]
You could ask your mother why she doesn't set up a food delivery for your mother every week, just like everyone else who lives in the forest does. But you know that she'll then make //you// bring her food every week. And you have bigger plans than becoming a delivery girl.
You set out to the forest path to get grandmother [[the basket->checking the basket]]. At least it's a nice day.
|dia>["And while you're walking there, look straight ahead like a good girl, and do not stray from the path,"] your mother says as she hands the basket over.
|dia>["[[Do not worry, mother.]]"] you respond.A cottage the middle of the forest made sense when your grandfather was alive and worked as a woodsman, and your mother and her siblings were also there to run errands for the family - just as you now do for your mother. Picturesque and cosy as the cottage is, it's probably not the best living arrangement for an elderly woman living alone. It's something that probably hasn't escaped her children, but they seem too preoccupied to do anything about it. Mother thinks she's alright because she's the only one who keeps an eye on grandma. But you know well that your mother hasn't seen your grandmother in weeks - that's why the poor thing is starving.
[[Okay, back to the situation.->Do not worry, mother.]]The forest is the only thing that could be considered remarkable after all. The villagers - well, the //men// in the village - make a living from cutting down trees, and turn them into planks, logs, and wood chips. In turn, these become cabins, sheds, fences, thatchings, furniture, firewood, wooden poles, shoes, plates, utensils, toothpicks, canes music instruments, and seesaws, to name but a few. The life of the town is sustained by wood, from the cradle to the coffin.
[[That's not what you want to do->Follow the forest path.]] Shearing, spinning, weaving, knitting, dying the wool in many colors - that's all much more to your liking. It's also more acceptable to be a working woman in a place where the economy depends on wool, since knitting seems to be an acceptable feminine chore. Making woolen garments could be so fun - coats and riding hoods, jackets, waistcoats, jumpers, hats, mittens, scarves, and socks. And there's probably more clothes that you could invent once you learn the trade. |dia>["Hello, little girl."]
A dark, tall, anthropomorphic wolf stands on a stump, scanning you from head to toe. His tangled, matted fur is dark as charcoal and stands in his hind legs. His bloodshot dark eyes peer at you from below a top hat, which badly hide his pointy ears. In what looks like a further attempt to poorly conceal that he's a dirty wild canine, he wears a waistcoat but nothing else. You don't want to look between his legs.
|dia>["You must be Red Riding Hood."]
You're hoping that he guessed your name just by looking at your clothes.
|dia>["What's your rush? You're missing all the flowers"], he sneers in what's supposed to be a sexy tone but that is actually really creepy.
|dia>[* "[[I'm going to grandmother's house to bring her food.|Wolf's meddling]]"]
|dia>[* "[[That's none of your business.|Wolf's meddling]]"]#(text-style: "outline")[BANG!]
(event: when time > 1s)[//thud//]
(event: when time > 3s)[ [[You're still alive.]] ]It takes a few minutes for things to calm down. You hardly have a minute to process what's happened--taking care of your grandma is more important right now. You get her to sit down at the kitchen table, while you get some water from the well to clean some mugs and be able to drink. While he was rummaging the cupboards, Florian found some tea - the man has been helpful after all - so you boil some water.
Grandma catches her breath and finally puts on her spectacles.
|dia>["Now, much better."] She looks around. |dia>["What are those stains?"]
Bits wolf's blood and brains went splat all over the walls. Florian didn't think of cleaning after his own mess.
|dia>["Grandma, look at me. We'll take care of that later. We have to talk."]
You three sit down and figure out what happened. The wolf must have known the area well, including where your grandma's mother lives. There cannot be many old women living alone in the forest around here. He must have run after meeting you and entered your grandma's cottage - door has never been locked. Grandma was sleeping so profoundly that he managed to get her clothes off - the pervert, the pile of laundry was right there - and put them on, then shoved grandma under the bed.
When you explain the scene of how you encountered the wolf and [[Florian came to the rescue]], your grandmother erupts.
|dia>["How on earth could you mistake a wolf for me?? I thought I was the one with the poor eyesight!"]
She's furious and she has a point.
|dia>["This is all just so ridiculous. And all because my children are all too busy to check on their mother once in a while so I don't starve. And I'm still starving. Where's that food that you were bringing to me?"]
Ah, right. [[What happened to the basket?]]This is dedicated to all the women in the games industry who've been hurt by the wolves. Something feels wrong here, and it's not that your grandma is so hungry she's become someone else.
Your instinct is to step back. Get some fresh air.
"Something wrong, little girl?"
She doesn't remember your name, but never says "little girl."
You need to arm yourself. Grab a knife. Who knows where the knives are. They're all made of wood, everything in this place is made of wood. Stupid wood. Run outside. Grab grandfather's axe. It's rusty but sharp. Cuts firewood.
You move back, then turn around and run.
A black shape jumps from the bed and stands in front of you. [[It's the wolf.->TO BETTER EAT YOU WITH!!!!]]Florian, all dilligent, fetches the basket from the foot of the bed and places it on the table. You all look inside it.
|dia>["Cakes and wine? Really?"]
(if: (history:) contains "checking the basket" is not true)[You never thought of checking what was your mother gave you.] The basket's contents seem to have survived the struggle. There's six cakes and a large bottle of wine.
|dia>["Under other circumstances, I'd think that this is a careless thing to send to a starving old lady," remarks grandma. "But this is exactly what we all need right now. Let's clean some plates."]
You haven't had a full cup of wine before, being still a child and all, but you trust your grandma that it'll do you good.
##[[The end|Once Upon a Time]]You keep thinking maybe you could have defended yourself. You could have nabbed a knife or aced the axe... and then what? Neither would help tear the wolf to shreds, even when that's what you felt like. It was you against that thing. He intended to overpower you and knew he had a good chance.
You were alone. Grandma was nowhere to be seen and mother was far away in the village. Nobody would hear you scream. He roared to intimidate you and to show you that, even if you made ruckus, nobody would come help.
Joke's on him.
Wolves thrive on having a pack. They intimidate, they wail, they follow their dirtiest instincts. Because they know together they can chase away anyone who gets in their way to their victim.
But once the pack disbands and someone decides to fight them back, wolves are not good for shit. When wolves come to realize little girls can kick them in the balls, and that if they try anything filthy they'll turn them into a rug, they'll limit themselves to be forest predators and eat rodents in the forest like the cowards they are.
(link-goto: "Little girls need to know and feel they can fight back.", (history:)'s last)