[Sale Bête]

 

[The Wolf and the Builder's Son]

[x]

 

Once upon a time there was an isle. And on that isle there was a Grave. And beside that Grave, there was a Gate. And beside that Gate, there was a Tower.

 
And in that Tower lived the Son of the Builder.
 
One day a Wolf came to this isle. A wild beast, a monster which hunted the woods and ate the hearts of good men.
 
The Son of the Builder found the Wolf upon the isle. He did not strike, but he spoke unto her:
 
"O' Wolf. Why have you come to this isle? Your kind are not welcome, those that serve the King of Beasts."
 

And 'lo, because the Son of the Builder spoke softly and moved slowly the beast did not bite. Instead she spoke in kind unto the Son of the Builder:
 
"I came to see the Gate of Death. I came to see the Grave of the Hare.
 
I have spoken with your Mother, that Highest of Masons, that Greatest of Builders.
 
I asked her how she could love My Sire. The Great Wolf of the Empty Heart - He who brings glory to the King of Beasts, who seeks ruin and despair of men."
 

The Son of the Builder stayed his hand. He asked again unto her:
 
"Can a Wolf feel love?"
 

Then the Wolf spoke:
 
"My Sire cannot, that greatest of Beasts who gave me many gifts, to whom I owe my life.

But I do."
 

But Wolves are careful, wary creatures. They are not so quick to trust, if they ever do at all. How could she tell the Son of the Builder of all that she had cared for once and still?
 
Of the once Lamb, so soft and sweet.
How he had shared laughter and the taste of cinnamon and the single seed of Oak.
How he had been slain by hunters, his blood staining snow, his last bleating breath carrying her name.
Of the once Golden Knight, determined and hopeful.
How he kept her words as a balm against the cold.
How kind he had been before he left to never return, how he had never learned that she'd devoured greedily the heart of his brother.
Of the once Tender Hare, so meek and mild.
How she had been so soft to the wolf, her words so sweet and rich with honey.
How she had led the Wolf on such a chase, driving her to cruel thorns before being taken by the hunter's snare.
And of that Prince of the Sun, who held her heart in his hands.
How she had gone mad in the hunt for him when he was lost. How she brought to him jewels and riches, her love for him so vast. How he brought her flowers and tender words and in the night embraced her.
And how he returned each day to the hunters that paid great coin for the hides of Wolves.
And how he would not speak that most sacred name.
The Son of the Builder spoke a query, now thrice, unto the Wolf:
 
"Could you not live with the world as it is? To join in its harmonies and to learn its dance? 

Leave behind your hide and claws and go to it."
 

Then the Wolf beheld her teeth and her claws and her hide, all the things that made her whole and safe and strong; these were the things that the Wolf had known for so long, that which was part of her. Then the Wolf beheld all that she had loved and did love that was left to her.

The Wolf wept.