21 May 2012
The tent behind me gave way as I leant backwards and I tumbled down, legs sticking in the air, halfway in and halfway out of the tent. I wriggled, trying to get out the folds of the tent without embarrassing myself too much. The wolf-man laughed on the other side of the tent and I blushed furiously. Why? Why did I always embarrass myself around boys? I tugged at the material that surrounded me and it came undone, leaving me rolling down the hill, screaming. I tumbled, arms flailing, eyes wide until I came to a stop, by crashing into a bush. Not the most dignified landing. I stood up, smoothing my curly red hair and looking round to see if anyone had noticed. Good. Everyone was hard at work, no one had seen a thing. Now I had made sure my little 'incident' had gone unnoticed, I looked at the bush that had broken my fall. Ripe, dark purple berries grew amongst the small leaves. They made my mouth water, as far as I could remember, I hadn't eaten in a long time. I bent down, about to pick a few plump berries when a voice startled me.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
I turned my head to meet the source of the noise. My stomach turned a somersault. It was the wolf-man. "Pardon?" I replied, trying not to blush.
"Nightshade. Those berries, they're poisonous. Kill you in an instant."
"Oh. But they're so pretty... And yummy-looking..." In agreement with my answer, my stomach growled. He smiled a wolfish smile and said;
"Exactly. They're meant to entice invaders and thieves. We also use them in some herbal remedies."
"Really?" I said, unsure whether he was being sarcastic or not.
"Yes, they're great for keeping patients asleep."
I stared at him in disbelief, and he chuckled.
"In small amounts of course. Wouldn't want to kill anyone!"
His eyes sparkled viciously and I backed away, scared yet fascinated. Who was this strange wolf-man? And why was he so interested in me? A wolf in the distance howled, and I could see that he was trying to resist the beast within. He let out a growl, transformed and bounded off into the distance.
Nightshade Part 6 • Opuss № I