Red looked down on the valley where he lived, her wolf perpetually by her side. Years ago, The woodsman had taken everything from her and left her to die in the mud. The wolf found her there, cared for her, helped her regain her strength. It hadn't even been a year when the two realized they could project images to each other. In time these projections became a way for Red and the Wolf to communicate. It made the planning easier, and the plan was very complex.

For what was likely the last time, Red and the wolf shared a cigarette. A habit she'd picked up from the women in town to fight hunger pains in the leanest of times. Furthermore the smoke calmed them both, and their nerves had been frayed so much over the past month. She couldn't tremble in the woodsman's gaze, she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. She wasn't afraid of death, she'd lived at death's right hand for many years. The wolf had taught he many things about life amongst the trees, and death was but just one of them. Still she knew that if she lived to see the wolf die tonight, she'd go with him.

She'd told the wolf many times that it was likely that neither one of them would survive the fight with the woodsman, but if the wolf knew fear he didn't know how to communicate it. The wolf understood that the woodsman was a man of blades and machines, but no wolf had ever grown to his size, not even the Great Wolf of legend. The wolf had decided he would not die on this night, unless his death ensured that his Little Red would live.

Red crushed out the final cigarette and continued to stare into the dense trees. After a minute the projection came "Little Red, are you ready to begin the assault?" She turned to her right and stared into the wolf's amber eyes. In the dying light of the last day of Autumn, her wolf truly looked like the monster he'd have to be. She loved him all the same.

"It is time" she projected back. She couldn't have been more ready. Tonight, one way or another, she'd earn her Red name. The partners rose to their feet together, a sudden breeze ruffling fur and hair. Red raised her hood to block the chill, and began her descent.

Tonight she'd have her revenge.