Work Text
Germania, 3rd Century AD
Ferrutius stripped the corpse of it's clothing before hastily removing his armor so that he wouldn't be recognized as a Roman soldier.He took another look at the dead man after successfully changing. The man's appearance was typical for those of his tribe and Ferrutius guessed that his large stature alone would be enough to attract plenty of potential slave owners in Rome.
"Although, your size didn't exactly make you agile..."
Ferrutius wiped the blood off his short sword with a smirk, sheathed it, then tucked it beneath his new belt. The dead man's clothes were a little large and hung loosely off his body, but he was quick to tell himself that such a hassle could be solved if he gained weight.
"And stopped shaving. We Romans groom ourselves too much..."
He rose to his feet to start fleeing the scene, only to realize it was too late when he sensed another presence approaching."Papa! Papa, where are you?!" A childish voice called out faintly through the trees, driving Ferrutius into a panic.He glanced one last time at the dead man and his heart sank. The child's voice grew louder and he ran in the direction it was coming from, with the intention of preventing them from stumbling across his crime.The child turned out to be a little girl who couldn't have been older than seven or eight. Golden hair and gray eyes gave her away as the dead man's offspring.She stopped in her tracks to stare at him in bewilderment."Papa?"It seemed that she was confused by his disguise and he took advantage of the situation by holding her gently by the arm."Yes, it's me. Let's go home..."She resisted by frowning and trying to pull herself free."You're not Papa. Papa has a beard.""It disappeared, but it will grow back again soon."She gave in and allowed him to take her along on a route that would ensure they didn't encounter another one of her people.
"So far, so good..."
Ferrutius knew that he would need to cross over the Alps if he wanted to return home. His unexpected companion had been surprisingly helpful at first due to her familiarity with the nearby land, though she was becoming a burden now that they had been traveling for almost a day."Papa, I'm tired..." She complained while tugging at his clothes and looking up with tearful eyes. "Carry me...""No." Ferrutius replied, shrugging her tiny hands away. "You'll slow me down..""You said we were going home..."He came to a stop and tried to explain things in a way that someone her age would understand."Listen to me. I'm taking you somewhere much better than home. When we get there, you'll never have to freeze or go hungry again."The little girl gave a sniff before extending both arms."Carry me, Papa."She looked too pitiful and frightened for him to deny her any longer. He gave a heavy sigh, then knelt down so that she could climb on to his back and drape her arms over his shoulders.Night came and she fell asleep while continuing to hold on. Ferrutius heard her inhaling and exhaling steadily as he too grew tired and sought somewhere to rest.He set her gently down against a tree and she slumped backwards in a way that was almost adorable.He wondered what he would do with her if they ever reached their destination. It was clear now that she was a pretty child whom would likely fetch a good price if sold as a slave.Of course, as someone who had never been lucky with women or experienced the joy of a loving family, the notion of grooming her to become a potential wife also seemed tempting to Ferrutius.He would need to keep her in optimal health if such a thing was going to be possible, so he removed his cloak and placed it over her so that she could stay warm.Alda never understood why people assumed her to be a fool simply because of her age. She was aware beyond a doubt that this strange man was an impostor, yet also knew that it was safer to pretend otherwise and not risk provoking him like her father must have done.It had been painful to refer to him as 'Papa' the first few times, but the practice was second nature to her now.The rest was simply her playing the part of a helpless child, hardly a difficult feat when she was in fact uncertain about his true intentions and where he wanted to take her.She could only rely so much on her powers of precognition. They were still undeveloped and each time she tried to harness them, all she received were visions of a wolf with blood dripping from it's mouth.She felt the strange man's hand grasp her own and a single question sprung up in her mind."Are there wolves around here, Papa?""Some. But don't be afraid, they wouldn't dare to come near us."Alda chose to accept this answer and said no more as they began to climb the first of many mountains in their way.A violent storm forced Ferrutius and the little girl to seek refuge in an abandoned hut located on the other side.Heavy snowfall left the surrounding terrain incredibly dangerous to traverse within just a day. Ferrutius' heart became heavy as he realized that they would be stranded for a long time.All the while, the knowledge that young children were especially vulnerable to cold weather, was cause enough for him to become desperate.He lit a small fire in the center of the hut on the second day and told her to stay put, before he went out in search of animals to hunt.For all of his past training as a soldier, the only creature Ferrutius could kill was a measly squirrel. He carried it along by the tail in disdain, before something unusual caught his eye.It was the body of an old man frozen in the snow and he could only assume that it was the previous inhabitant of the hut.He glanced at the dead squirrel in his hand then down at the corpse, as an outrageous solution became apparent.Alda turned to observe the small bird that had landed in the hut's only window. It was so nimble and full of life in comparison to her current weak and hungry state, something that was enough to awaken her ill will.She furrowed her eyebrows and the edges of her mouth curled downwards. She focused on the bird as hard as she could, until it felt like they both shared the same spirit.In her mind, she pulled the bird toward her and sure enough, it quickly lost all strength. It dropped down dead before feathers and bones separated to soon crumble into dust.Alda's eyes widened as a relieved smile formed on her face. She already felt more invigorated and the cold no longer took such a toll on her.The man she called Papa returned soon afterwards with what looked like the limb of some large pig, and it was to his surprise, that she ran forward to give him a tight hug."I'm so hungry, Papa! When can we eat?""Be patient, child. I've only just come home..."One month into winter, Ferrutius was again at a loss over what to do. The broth that he'd made from the old man's flesh was all gone and they couldn't exactly survive on snow.His stomach growled loudly and gave him intense pain while he looked toward the sleeping figure by his side.He'd always made sure to feed her first over the past few weeks and it had resulted in her fattening up quite a bit.The sight of her round cheeks and now plump figure made his dry mouth water. He imagined the tender flesh that lay beneath such smooth skin and it was enough to spur him into action.He drew his short sword slowly in order to make as little sound as possible, before standing over her and preparing to strike.The blade came down and she abruptly opened her eyes. He stopped halfway and swallowed in horror."I understand now." She said quietly without a trace of fear in her voice. "You are the wolf."Ferrutius withdrew his sword while contemplating whether it was still right to kill her now that she was awake. He turned around in guilt and unwittingly gave her another opportunity to exercise her new power.She furrowed her brow with all the anger of someone whom had been betrayed by the only person they could turn to.Ferrutius was a young man in his prime and the amount of life inside him was enormous.She drained it all out of him like she had done with the bird, causing him to age rapidly before falling to the floor as an emaciated corpse.A trickle of blood ran from his lips while she stood up to observe what had been done."This is for my Papa..." She simply whispered, kneeling down to pick up his sword and admire the hilt.She then lifted his cloak so that it also covered her head and ventured outside to plan how she would survive until spring.