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There was a sudden flicker through the trees, darting much faster than the animals that usually prowled amidst this forest, and immediately snagging the wolf’s attention.
Watching it bounce from tree to tree for a moment, the wolf pushes himself to his feet before darting off to follow it, to perhaps catch this elusive spirit that beams brightly in the darkness.
He has only begun his run when there is a boisterous laugh echoing through the air, the flickering color going even faster, the movement swaying in a way that beckons the wolf, dares him to try and catch them.
The wolf grins, delighted in this chance to run and play after so long in the dark and pain. He speeds up as well, chasing the next hue he sees as it darts up the hill in front of him.
There is shouting behind him, yells and cries that should be worrying, but all he can focus on is the laughter, the playfulness, the wildness of whatever it is that he is chasing.
Nothing else seems to matter, nothing else seems as important. He must catch this wisp of a creature, must find it and pin it down and make it submit.
Right as that thought passes his mind, the wolf hears another laugh and the world.
Slows.
Down.
Looking at his paws, the wolf is startled at how long the action takes, that he is still mid-jump instead of having landed and running again. The shouts and cries, dim and growing ever more distant, sound echoed.
Almost as if they were underwater.
It is but a few seconds stretched out to an hour or more, before the wolf finally lands and continues the chase, the flickering light strangely closer now rather than farther away.
The shouts are silenced, not a breath to be heard.
A few more seconds before the wolf realizes that he knows these woods, as much as these woods can be known. He has always felt that they knew him better, what with the way they always seem to be watching.
The thought swims through his mind like fish through a brook, there and then gone again, before the creature is before him.
He pounces without thought, leaping into open arms and pinning this bright - rose and ruby, garnet and amber - creature with the knowledge that it wanted to be caught.
They tumble through the underbrush, the creature laughing the entire while, before grass and dirt turn into petals and fluff. The wolf sneezes, pleased with pinning the creature underneath him.
“I am happy to see you as well, my shifter. Now, let’s get this curse off of you and see about punishing those that thought to cage you, shall we?”