Author's Note
Under the glow of the moon nature bares its fangs.
Under the glow of the moon story turns to reality
Under the glow of the moon, anyone can be lost
Nature bares its fangs
Little Snow ran as hard as he could, quick shallow breaths escaping his lips as he barely kept himself from tripping by the glow of the moon above himself. It was hard however as behind himself he could hear screams, blood curdling and pained along with the the snapping of the first few bones as tears welled up in his eyes. He could remember right then, though it had been but moments ago the sound of his mother screaming for him to run, that image burned into his mind as wooden teeth sunk into her haunch tearing through flesh and muscle making blood splatter a hideous muzzle and the forest floor.
'Run... run... run... run....' it was all he could think, all consuming as his vision blurred with the tears, the area around him becoming blobs of blacks and greys and greens. His world finally however came to a halt, a stray root catching his hoof causing him to tumble with his momentum and tumble the ground letting out a cry as he felt his foreleg fracture with the force of meeting the tree root. Slowly he regained his bearings, the small colt doing everything he could to try and focus through the pain as in that moment of stillness the recent memory that his parents were now gone started to overwhelm him and cause his eyes to become overburdened with tears that streamed down his face in rivulets and deep shaky breaths to pass by his lips in quiet sobs... but not quite quiet enough.
In those few moments of stillness, with Little Snow attempting his best to get back to running he was frozen still nearly turning a shade whiter than his snow white coat as he heard a sound that sent shivers down his spine and icy fear into his heart. A growl. Turning slowly the colt's knees locked up in fright as just past the bushes were several sets of glowing eyes, lighting up a sickly sort green.
Step... step... step... The wolves advanced, slowly, without pressure. They could tell their prey was done for, the colt slowly turning and backing away from them with each step as he whimpered in fear and pain.
Step... step... step... The wolves advanced from the bushes, the light of the moon revealing 3 timberwolves towering over the cowering colt who seemed almost to shrink in on himself as though to try and disappear. Faces made of twisting and bending bark opening to reveal large wooden teeth sharpened at the ends like small wooden stakes. Their bodies were then revealed further as they advanced, lupine bodies made of similar bark as well as the addition of leaves and twigs/branches with their legs ending in wooden paws accented by jagged wooden claws.
Step... step... step... The poor colt felt he might lose consciousness as the wolves got ever closer the hotness of their breath finally washing over him smelling like the rot and decay of leaves and compost. The smell nearly made him want to vomit right there and then but he had little time to dwell on it as he felt his little heart nearly stop as he felt it... his haunches meeting the tree behind him cutting off his path as he stared up towards the hungry predators before him, one of which started to drool what looked like tree sap from his maw and lick its lips with a leafy tongue. Finally the wolf leading the other two let out a howl, causing the other two to join as a cacophony of howls sounded out through the forest, the sound which some found haunting and beautiful Little Snow in that moment thought was the most horrible sound in the world as it filled him with despair and crushed his hope.
Finally, the wolves advanced, the colt screaming out as the first pinned him against the tree, claws raking the colt's sides and causing blood to splatter the bark and ground around them while marring the colt's pristine coat with crimson. Sharp teeth, several inches long would then be dug into Snow's hind leg by one of the other wolves, who's head would snap side to side making the colt scream his throat raw as he felt the bone snap and shatter as well as the sinews and muscle within his leg tearing and ripping apart from the force of each pull. The closest thing to a mercy for the colt that night then followed as the last wolf surged forward, jaws clamping around his throat and crushing down piercing down and shattering his windpipe before pulling back and starting to chew. Without the vital part of his body the colt would start choking and gasping, pouring blood filling the area where air was meant to flow as his body shuddered and weakly struggled against the wolf, lasting for but a few more moments as the first wolf came back once more for its own piece, its jaws snapping shut at Snow's side as a horrible ripping sound would follow along with the wolf pulling back and tearing a chunk of the colt's side exposing his insides to the open air as steam would waft out from the temperature difference.
The feast would then begin for the 3 who had hunted down the colt, one after another moving forward and tearing out chunk after chunk of the colt who by that point lay still on the ground life gone from his body as glassy eyes filled in their last moments with pain and fear stared towards the glowing moon overhead. *snap* *crack* *rip* each bite would rend more flesh from bone, occasionally one of the wolves stopping to tear out a bone to play with or chew up. Eventually even the eyes were not left as one of the wolves leaned towards the colt's face with powerful jaws bearing down upon the colt's muzzle and side of his face, tearing off the corner of his nose, side of his face, and cracking his skull as one of those wooden teeth punctured an eye and took it along with the rest of the meal.
The moon would continue onward, slowly towards the horizon where the princess of the moon would bring it down, not yet of the lives lost under the vigilant glow of her celestial body. The wolves would lick their blood coated bark and wander on their way, leaving nothing but a collection of mangled bone and the occasional scrap of bloody skin, flesh, or fur around what had once been a happy and lively colt.
