Leaves softly swayed amongst the branches, making a silent echo throughout the wood. Broad daylight cast shadows along the small blades of grass that grew below. Trees' branches were dotted with the light that had managed to pass through. Almost every single branch throughout the forest remained still and empty. All except one.

A girl lied there. She slept peacefully with her body moved into a comfortable position with arms resting behind her head and long legs crossed. A seemingly normal girl. She had flowing hair that'd never been cut; a deep black, resembling the blue of a midnight sky. Her skin was pale and soft, although smudged with the colors of the earth. She wore tattered clothes; a shirt torn at the sleeves to stay cool during balmy summer days such as these.

She'd been left unbothered for several hours now. In fact, she hadn't been bothered in a very long time, with the exception of her sudden bursts of energy or the growling of her stomach. But this time, something was different. Something actually happened. The wind blew continuously and picked up something new. Suddenly, the waft of an unfamiliar scent had come through.

The scent was nothing like she'd ever smelt before. It was sweet; unlike the small animals she'd rarely find wandering the forest. But it wasn't sort of sweet she'd tasted in some of her favorite fruits. Speaking of which, she'd still had the lingering taste of them in her mouth. All of the combined senses slowly pulled her back into consciousness. As the strange scent grew stronger, something grew inside her. A sudden animalistic instinct.

It was an odd sensation. When had she last felt this? When had she ever felt this? As she rolled her eyelids open, clumps of fur slowly arose from above her head. 'Weird…' she thought uncomfortably to herself. 'This feels really, really weird…' Ears had perked erect atop her head. The teeth in her mouth grew sharper. A tail formed from behind herself. And her nails grew longer along with hands stronger than before. 'The hell is this?'

She found herself already scooting off the edge of the branch unwillingly, as she was still rather exhausted. The feeling of falling jolted her awake and forced her to stealthily catch herself on the ground. After coming to a realization, she began to move especially sly like, for she knew that for once in a very long time; she wasn't alone in the forest.

The girl gave into her instincts enough to lead her towards whichever direction the aroma had come from, but still kept herself from running wild like the animal she was born to be. Storybooks had always said acting like a wolf was "unladylike" after all.

The scent was becoming exceedingly strong at this point. The second the girl heard a rustling in the grass, she hid behind a nearby trunk. Eventually, she found the courage to peek from behind it and spotted a red hooded figure. Feeble in size and all alone. An easy meal as her pack mates would probably say. However this person seemed too slender to ambush. Too graceful.

And everything was louder. She could hear every step the outsider took. Every breath. The girl felt the need to confront them. But she was afraid. Not of whom this stranger was. But of the feelings her instincts had been subconsciously developing for her, without even really seeing or knowing the person at all. She needed to take action. "Now or never…," she whispered with a sigh and a swinging tail.

The hooded stranger strolled along with a straw basket in hand. The twigs that broke beneath her feet made almost no sound with every soft step. Beautiful brunette bangs and a freckled face were all that shown clearly. Cape flowing behind her, a young lady with such a stern expression was hidden beneath the hood. Her mind appeared concentrated yet preoccupied. However, her focus was abruptly interrupted by the sound of trampling. The reassuring notion that she was all alone in the forest as she had thought she was had been put into question. The girl was startled for a moment, but continued to move on in shortly after.

There it was again. This time, her uneasiness got the best of her. She stopped and looked around, turning to whatever direction it may have come from. Using her rapid eye movements to search around, she only allowed brave reactions. "Hello?" the girl called without the slightest bit of fear in her voice. No answer. She took one last glance around and slowly turned back to her original position.

"Hey," a voice was unexpectedly heard, with a word spoken in a slightly menacing, yet completely aloof tone. The hooded girl swiftly turned back around and was prepared for whatever monster she was about to face. The pale-skinned hybrid stood before her with loosely clenched fists. "Who are you?"

The stranger lightly made a sharp exhale. "Wha—Well, who are you?" she quickly turned the question around to avoid giving away personal information.

"Me?" the other asked in reply. "Do you see these?" She pointed at the furry ears on head with her new claws and circled around the girl with her tail trailing behind.

"A… a wolf?" she whispered breathlessly. Traces of fear were beginning to show in her once confident face.

"Yeah." The wolf was blunt. "I don't normally look like this. The only time I'm ever supposed to grow ears and fangs and stuff is when I'm feeling either one of two kinds of lusts. Blood or the regular." She continued to circle the caped girl as she gained an expression of disgust.

"Well," the hybrid rubbed her hand on her chin, "you don't seem like a very filling or appetizing meal…" Then she stopped walking, crossed her arms, and tilted her head in a pondering sense. "And you look nothing like those buff men my old friends in the pack would talk about…" She continued on and inhaled deeply. "You smell good… not like food… but in some way else…?" She paused for a moment as the stranger stared in disorientation. "So then…" she came closer and leaned in "which am I feeling for you?"

Beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, she retaliated at the wolf for being a little too observant. "Would you quit looking at me like that?"

"But… I'm getting really confused thanks to you." The annoyed stranger unsheathed a hunting knife from a hidden holster at her side. "Woah, woah! Hold up! I don't mean to hurt you or anything, I swear!" She waved her hands frantically and took spacious steps backwards. The hooded girl held the weapon in a ready position, but after examining the wolf girl for a few moments, lowered it and simply kept an alert mind.

They spent a brief moment in an awkward silence before the caped girl started to make a curt leave. "Hey!" the wolf shouted with a cupped hand, "why're you leavin so soon?"

Too busy striding to even look back, she replied, "I wasn't even supposed to be stopped by you in the first place."

The wolf jogged forward to keep in pace with the girl. "Yeah, but, it was pretty boring around here until you came along."

"Leave me alone." The harsh demand had the wolf stop in her place and decide to give her some room. She stood and watched the cape flow gently in the wind further and further away, until it came to a stop. It had stayed that way for a while until she spoke.

"Are you lost?" the wolf yelled a little louder than before.

"No," the stranger answered in an equally strong and slightly irritated voice. She turned around. "Just a little unfamiliar."

"What're you doing out here in the first place?"

"I could be asking you the same question," she retorted. "I read that wolves like you stay in big packs. And that all of you know how to stay in your own territories." She began to take a few steps forward to avoid straining her voice.

"Oh. So you know more than I'd expected."

"I also learned that this area in specific has been completely uninhabited for decades." She returned the knife to its hidden compartment. "Animals and all."

"Well I guess it looks like you read wrong." She received a glare for her contradiction. "Or… maybe they're just a little outdated," the wolf wished to steer clear of any conflict. "I've lived out here for probably longer than you would've guessed. I'm what you might call a lone wolf, if you've ever heard of them."

"Yeah. Maybe just in a fairytale or two. But I'd expect you to be more ruthless in the very least for an abandoned animal such as you."

"You don't really have to put it that way," she chuckled. "Though, I'm not too fond of the taste of humans or creatures anyways. Fruits taste much better to me." She pointed up at the abundance of colors dotting the trees above.

"Huh," the stranger said staring up, "I'm surprised nobody's here to take all that."

"Yup. This side of the river is my pack's territory and they just happened to leave me to live in this part of it all by myself." The wolf looked at the girl, now standing just a few paces away. "Soooo, what brings you here in 'my' territory? I've never seen you around here before."

The girl looked at her as well. It only seemed fair to respond accordingly after having her questions answered and she did seem to be in an invasive position at the moment. "The path I usually take isn't safe to walk on anymore." This only sparked more curiosity in the wolf.

"May I ask why?" A quiet concern was hidden in the tone of her question. There was a short pause.

"I…" she was still hesitant to reveal her current situation. "I'm being followed… by this... unsettling man…"

The wolf felt the tension in the girl's chest.

She took a deep breath. "So please forgive my intrusion of your territory," she apologized. "I'll be more than willing to take a different route if that's what you prefer."

"Hey, hey, no need to start getting so formal with me. I never asked you to leave anyways." After all, the girl's presence was somehow comforting. Maybe it wouldn't be so lonely all the time if she could just… "My territory is your territory now. Or for as long as you'll need it, I guess..."

"Ah..." she uttered in surprise. To be given the sudden generosity from a person she had treated so rudely… "Well, uh, you really don't have to be so open with me. I am an intruder after all so…"

"Then if you ever have to come down this way again, I won't mind."

The girl was a tad touched by her strange sincerity and glanced down for a moment. "Thank you," she said softly in appreciation.

There was another silence. "I'll have to be going now," the girl stated. "I should be getting to the cabin before it starts to get darker…"

"Oh… well, uh... safe travels." She was going to miss the company. The hooded girl turned around and began to move onward once again.

"Wait." The wolf stopped her for the last time. "You never gave me your name."

"Oh, right. Forgive me." The girl pulled off her hood for the first time. And the wolf was infatuated. Her hair fell perfectly over her flawlessly freckled face. Its beautiful color had a certain shine that complemented her luminescent hazel eyes. And as the hood fell around her neck, her sweet scent grew stronger and became all she could think about for an instant.

"I'm Bonnibel. Bonnie or Bon for short." It was all said with a calm, casual smile.

The wolf could feel her ears twitch as she started to show a captivated expression. "I, uh… I'm Marceline… Marcy for short…"

"Then I hope to meet again, Marceline." She turned back around and threw on her hood. "But now I really have to go."

"Right… Bye…" Marceline waved slowly in slight disappointment. She considered asking if she needed to be escorted to wherever she was headed. After all, she was still "unfamiliar" with the area.

But Marceline remained speechless. And she stood there for a time longer before she felt the rumbling of her stomach again; and had realized that Bonnibel was already long gone. And so, Marceline climbed up a tree at her side and lied on its upmost branches. Just lying. At that point, she was still worn-out, now hungry, and her tail remained swinging.