Of the triplets, Xavier was the first to wake. It did not happen all at once. His hind legs shifted a few times, shaking off the remnants of a far from pleasant dream. No one ever really got used to the artificial sleep brought on by magic. Being a child and the first time it happened made for a restless night full of troubling dreams. While he would never fully remember them, he would have fragments. Dreams of being drug away from his family by monsters, their grasping shapes incomprehensible from the darkness hiding them. He was too old to believe in monsters, of course, but that did not mean that they did not show up in his dreams.

He gathered his legs underneath of him as he rolled onto his feet. The light streaming in through the window was so bright it caused him to firmly shut his half-opened eyes. It was too early and he was still too tired to deal with the sun’s full-strength shower of photons. He leaned his head down and rubbed his face against his paws to work some of the sleep out of his facial muscles. ‘Rough’ was the best way to describe how he felt. Heaviness hung over his entire body like a weighted blanket. Limbs, head, even his stomach felt too heavy. He felt like he did whenever mom sent him to bed, but he decided to spend a couple of hours reading adventure books by flashlight instead of going to sleep.

Time to make another attempt at opening his eyes. First, they opened just enough that only a slit of light reached the underlying eye. When that was tolerable, he opened them a little more. Then a little more. The light was far less punishing at this point. He stood up and shook out his fur. Wolves liked giving themselves a good shake when they first woke up. With a yawn and a series of blinks, he looked around the room.

His head felt like it was full of fog. A groggy, disconnected sensation wavered throughout his brain. The room around him was nice enough, if unfamiliar. The sunlight came in through a quartet of windows; two on the walls to his left and two on the walls to his right. They were cottage windows; a square with a wooden frame, a wooden crossbeam, and four smaller squares of glass. Wood paneling lined the walls. Natural wood paneling with all the knots and flaws that came from something that was not mass produced in a lumber mill or factory. Three paintings hung on the walls. They depicted….animals or something, but Xavier was too logy to grasp their details at the moment.

He was able to notice that he and his two sisters were on a bed. The bed was large enough to accommodate all of them. Maybe a little too large. The dimensions of it suggested it was made for something larger than three ten-year-old wolves. He bounced on his paws to feel the slightly soft, slightly springy give of the mattress. It lacked the bounce of any other he had ever been on. It felt more like a thick mass of layered cloth. He could have gotten a closer look, but a green and brown quilt covered the entire thing. Rough fabric squares in a random pattern of earth tones and greens stitched together. The fabric squares were different sizes and made of different fabrics, suggesting it was sewn from old scraps with patient hands. A wooden headboard and footboard flanked the mattress and kept it set on a heavy frame, again indicating the bed was made for something heavier than three wolves. Engraved into the headboard was a carving depicting some trees that looked vaguely humanoid. Looking at it gave Xavier a vague sense of unease, so he turned his attention to the footboard. Functional and plain, it was a nice change; just two posts and a smooth board to keep someone from sliding off the foot of the bed if they were having a particularly restless dream and were a lot taller than a ten-year-old, quadrupedal wolf.

His foot paws carried him to the edge of the bed. The steps were heavy and somewhat unsteady; the same steps as someone who just woke up from a long, but not particularly restful, sleep. Smoothed hardwood covered the floor. It was sanded down to be easy on the feet without wearing shoes. A dresser was next to an open door leading into a closet. The closet was empty and the drawers on the dresser were all shut. It was either made of very dark, shiny wood or had been lacquered to look like it. Next to it was a smaller chest with a flip top lid. This was painted brown with dark green trim. Painted on the side were images of bears, wolves, mountain lions, and even foxes chasing what appeared to be deer, field mice, squirrels, and rabbits through a dense forest. They were playing, all of them looking like they were smiling. Sitting next to it was a plant in a heavy pot made of baked clay. The plant was about a foot tall with spade shaped leaves and a lot of closed buds. Rounding off the furniture was a massive wooden chair in the corner.

What a strange room. Xavier blinked and looked around to try and figure out where he was and why he was there. Was it a hotel room? Were they on vacation? None of his friends or relatives had rooms like this, unless he was missing something. The room even smelled weird. It was a mixture of dirt and musk and flowers and some other things he could not name. Everything pointed to a setting that was made to be comfortable, but the furnishings and decorations gave him an uncanny sensation. A veneer of normalcy over something very wrong. How did he get here?

Xavier’s entire body went rigid, as if he was swimming in a lake and felt something brush against his leg. How did he get here?! The wall of sleep covering the memories of what happened leading up to this moment fell away. The last thing he remembered was playing in a field with his sisters. Then he saw some flowers. After that, he felt so tired he could not keep his eyes open. Then nothing. Something knocked him out. What could have knocked him out? He did not smell anything weird. No strange gasses or getting a whack to the head like in the cartoons. But, something had to have happened or he would not have lost consciousness.

He darted from one side of the bed to the other, eyes frantically scanning the entire area for any sign of his parents. If something happened, his mother would have seen it, right? She had to have been the one that carried him and his sisters to this room, which had to be safe. Where was she? Normally, waking up in a strange place was nothing to worry about. There was nothing normal about the circumstances surrounding his falling asleep nor his waking up. The lack of clarity surrounding it brought to the surface all manner of childhood fears. The oppressive, alien nature of this room did not help.

“Mom? Hello! Are you here?” He called out. Darting to the other side of the bed, he yelled again. “Mom? Dad? Are you awake?”

No answer. A very lonely sensation hit Xavier. This was not right, none of it was. He almost made a run for the door, but remembered his sisters were there too. He looked back at them. Both of them were curled up, sleeping away. It was almost a shame to wake them up. Not enough of a shame, though. They needed to know what was going on. The first one to wake up had to be Claudia. She was so organized she might have a better idea of where to find their parents.

Xavier was many things. A master of subtlety was not one of them. He gently woke her up by leaning his head down, rearing back, and giving her a lupine headbutt in the ribs. “Claudia! Wake up!” He yelled.

The impact nearly rolled Claudia on her side; Xavier may have been a bit overzealous. It had the desired effect. Her eyes shot open. She recovered mid-roll, flipped on her paws, and stood up, letting out a confused half bark, half grunt. Once she realized she was not under attack, the glare she gave her brother could have ignited paper. “What are you doing? Mom said you weren’t supposed to wake people up like that!”

“Mom’s not around.” Xavier glanced around the room again, then looked back at Claudia.

“That doesn’t mean…..” Claudia’s words trailed off. The look on Xavier’s face was not coy or trying to be too clever. Wide eyes, twitching muzzle, and flaring nostrils to try to catch the scent of something missing were all signs he was worried. She took a moment to absorb her surroundings and came to the same conclusion as Xavier. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know.” Xavier sat down. That was enough running around on top of the bed for the moment. “I hoped you knew.”

“Well, I….” Claudia trailed off. She titled her head, looked behind her, in front of her, every which way she could. On her feet, she started walking the perimeter of the bed. Xavier kept quiet. She was in analysis mode, so he knew better than to interrupt.

No more than two minutes later, she walked back up to Xavier and sat down. “I don’t know where we are.”

Xavier tried very hard not to roll his eyes at his sister coming to the exact conclusion he reached minutes ago. “Do you remember how we got here?”

Another short stack of thick thought on Claudia’s part, followed by a frown. “No…all I remember are some weird flowers, then sleeping. Then you headbutting me.”

“I don’t like this. Something bad happened.”

“Yeah.” Claudia looked at the headboard of the bed, tilted her head, and looked away. The carving was not to her liking, making her just as uncomfortable as Xavier. Something occurred to her and her ears perked. “Might have been an accident or something. Are you hurt?”

The thought of being injured did not occur to Xavier at all. Being a young boy, the perception of invulnerability was strongly ingrained into his personality. He bent his knees a few times, sprang back and forth, craned his head to look at his body, all the things a wolf did to make sure they were whole. No cuts, scrapes, bruises, or missing limbs. “I don’t hurt anywhere. Do I look okay?”

Claudia nodded. “Do I?”

Xavier gave her a once-over. She too was bereft of any signs of injury. He shook his head.

“What about Janet?” Claudia asked.

“I’m fine.” Someone said a short distance behind them. Both heads turned to see Janet upright. She was already awake and surveying the area. Neither of the others were startled. They should have known she would start doing her own thing after noticing both of them were fine. “Has anyone tried the door yet?”

“Sure you’re okay? Do you remember anything about coming here?” Xavier had to ask. Mostly, this was out of concern for his sister. Partially, it was because he felt a little guilty for not checking on her earlier. It was kind of easy to forget about her if he was not careful.

“I’m not hurt or anything.” Janet turned left and right to show her siblings that she was fine. “But I don’t know either.” Gray fur covered most of her body. Aside from a little dirt, it was clean. Blood stains showed really well in fur. Even if it was somewhere they could not see, they would be able to smell it. No one was hurt. It was too early to tell if that was a good thing or even more worrisome.

“If we find mom and dad, they’ll know what happened.” Claudia posited.

“But we’re in here and they’re not.” Xavier replied.

“Anyone tried the door yet?” Janet repeated her earlier question.

Xavier’s ears folded back. He would have gotten to that soon. The annoyance did not last long. It was hard to stay mad at anyone when you were in a potentially bad situation. “I’ll do it now.” He said.

Xavier jumped off the bed. It was not a very long drop, even for a young wolf. The mattress was about two feet off the ground at its highest point. Not pausing to analyze the floor, he trotted up to the door, stood up on his hind legs, and grasped the knob. It turned easily, as a doorknob should do. A sense of relief served as a soothing balm for the inflamed sense of waking up in a strange place. Any relief he had vanished when he pushed the door and it remained stationary. The door was not locked, but it was bolted shut on the other side.

If he was ambiguous on whether or not they were in a bad situation before, this clarified things. All of the anxiety and sense of wrongness he had when he woke up coalesced into a feeling of panic. He tried to push on the door again. It did not budge. He reared back and smacked his shoulder into the door to try and jar it loose. Maybe, just maybe, it was only stuck. No luck there either. He turned around and looked up at his sisters, wide eyed and staring. They were looking back at him, twin expressions of concern on their muzzles.

“The door’s locked!” He yelled. Turning to the door once more, he tried in vain to slam his body against it. Once, twice, thrice, if he could hit it hard enough, he might be able to knock it loose.

Claudia, out of concern for her brother, had to put a stop to this. She leapt down and bounded to his side. She pulled him away from the door before he could dislocate his shoulder trying to open it. “Xavier, stop! Don’t hurt yourself!” She tugged her brother away and put herself between him and the door. She knew how overzealous he could get when it came to a physical task.

The young wolf did back off, but he did not feel any better. The desire to get out, and get out right now, overwhelmed his active thoughts. He wanted to charge the door again and start clawing at it, but he knew Claudia was right. It was not hopeless. It could not be. There had to be another way out. A window, a crack in the wall, something! He turned around and looked at the room through eyes unburdened by the mental fog that accompanies someone who first wakes up. It was almost as if he noticed the room for the first time.

What he saw did nothing but put him more on edge. The room was meant to be comforting, but only superficially. The toy chest came into focus first. The animals painted on the front were divided with the carnivorous, predatory animals on one side and the traditional prey animals on the other. At first, Xavier thought they were playing because everyone was smiling. Their teeth were showing, but they were not smiling. The meat-eaters’ lips were peeled back in feral snarls, animalistic hunger sparkling in their painted-on eyes. The other animals, the ones made of meat the carnivores were mad to tear into, had mouths open in gasping terror as they tried to flee. Xavier was not squeamish to violence, but the raw nature of the picture made his stomach turn. It was a vision of wolves that he did not like. A debased, fallen vision that could very well lurk in the mind of every wolf, but was kept in check by conscience. There were those who advocated a return to such behavior. The thrill of the hunt, living at one with nature, returning the pack life away from cities or the trappings of society. A repudiation of the fact that God had placed them above falling to base instincts. Seeing squirrels so afraid, running from hungry wolves, made him even more uncomfortable. They could have been Ronald or Cecilia, or any of his friends.

He tore his gaze away and looked at the paintings. These too were only okay if one did not look at them too long. The first one looked like a serene picnic. The scene was a forest clearing at midday, with the sun shining down on a trio of wolves gathered around a checkered cloth laid out on the grass. They looked quite content, looks of the satisfaction that came with a good meal on their faces. It was when one looked at the cloth that one noticed something off. A sheep lay splayed out on the picnic cloth. Pristine white fur stained pink with blood, body opened to expose the innards in a smear of crimson. No sandwiches or lemonade, the lamb was the midday’s fare. The pleased smiles on the faces of the wolves were all smeared with blood, though their fur was too dark to show it easily.

The second painting depicted a cozy home far but not too far from the edge of a forest. It would have been a wonderful picture of someone’s dream home. Again, some details made it seem not quite right. An odd miasma hung over the house. The toxic-looking cloud hung around it as if part of the building, choking off the sunlight from above. The way it was painted made it seem like the mist was almost moving, as if being pushed out from the forest itself by an unseen force. Vines extended from the woods, running along the ground like an organic carpet toward the house. They infested the home like a mass of parasitic worms. The windows were all broken, the door lay partially off its hinges, and several breaches were in the walls. All the spaces were occupied by invasive plant life, threading through the home wherever they could. Even the blue family station wagon in the driveway had a young tree growing out of the engine block like a severed arm. Nature had retaken the house, driving out whoever lived there before. That is, if they even had a chance to flee. The thought that the occupants were inside, trapped in unnatural greenery, did not escape Xavier.

The final picture simply showed a giant tree. A mighty oak took up half of the frame and stood tall and proud above the forest floor. It had a thick, healthy trunk, many branches, and beautiful leaves in every shade of green imaginable. It had a glow to it. Beams of sunlight streaming through the windows made them positively shimmer. Only half of the picture held the tree. The other half showed the roots extending into the ground; a cutaway to see them in detail. But they were not roots, not entirely. The tangles and tendrils twisted to form shapes. Images of forest creatures, half formed and in the process of being formed, stuck out among the roots. It brought to mind pictures of a baby in the womb from the science books at school. This was more of a perverse mockery of a mother’s womb. It suggested all creatures were birthed directly from the soil, and started out as odd, plant derived beasts. Or, maybe, they were all dead and being absorbed as food for the trees. Xavier did not want to think too much about it.

The headboard was not any better. Wooden headboards easily led themselves to carvings. Trees, about five in all, were etched into the board. They formed a canopy of sorts, with the leaves forming a blanket over them so thick one tree’s leaves were not distinguishable from the next. The two trees to the right and left of the central tree looked reasonably normal. Maybe they were a bit more humanoid than a real tree, but otherwise not worth a second glance. In the center of them, a very strange tree drew all of the onlooker’s attention. The tree was a person. Maybe not quite a person, but not quite a tree either. The build suggested she was female and very tall, as tall as the trees surrounding her. Long legs went into the ground. The limbs melded with the roots that extended from the other trees, joining them all together. The strands of her long hair did the same. Her arms were outstretched, spread out as if she were a holy figure in a high Renaissance painting. Normally, they gave Xavier a sense of awe. Mystery tree lady’s posture had the opposite effect on him. He found it deeply unsettling. This might have been because of her face. It was very well carved, seeming almost lifelike. It almost looked like it was not carved at all, but molded like clay. Her eyes were closed and her face was thin and drawn. She had human features, but her face looked too long. The depiction made her look…..not quite dead, but peaceful. Maybe ‘inert’ would have been a better word for it. Looking at it still creeped Xavier out in unquantifiable ways.

Who liked stuff like this? Whoever decorated the room seemed to have a love for nature. While Xavier liked being outdoors, being a nature lover himself, this was a different aspect of it entirely. The room’s owner seemed to love the more dangerous, wild aspects of nature. Nature overtaking civilization. Nature either absorbing or giving rise to living things. Wild animals behaving, well, wildly, particularly the carnivorous ones. Every scene turned his stomach, with the bloody picnic being worst of all. He knew that feral wolves were hunters and ate meat. Raw, bloody meat. Not being feral, but still being a wolf, made Xavier uncomfortable whenever the topic was broached.

If this was someone’s idea of a guest room, they had poor taste. The room was unsettling, but it was not disused. The floors were clean. The paintings neatly hung and all the furniture dusted. The bed had clean linens. None of the wolves could detect the smell of age, mold, or dust that came with rooms that were just for show. There was a toy chest, indicating someone expected this room to be occupied by children. It even had a healthy potted plant. No, this was not a guest room. It was not unused. Someone prepared this for someone. For them. The thought made Xavier cringe, his ears flatten against his skull, and a cold, prickly tingle trace up his limbs.

He looked at Claudia, then at Janet. Claudia looked at him. The edges of her muzzle were curled into a worried frown. Janet was staring wide eyed at the grim picnic. When she sensed that her brother was looking at her, in that way siblings always seemed to know, she looked just as fearful as Claudia.

“Whoever brought us here is sick….” Xavier stated.

“And I think….they took us here on purpose.” Claudia answered. “Look at all the wolves…and the toybox.”

“I don’t like it here…..” Janet said.

“As soon as the door opens, we make a run for it.” Xavier focused on the door. It might be their best chance to get out of there. Their captor might not know they were awake. If they could overwhelm him or her, they could sprint off into the forest and leave this weird room behind them.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What if he catches one of us?” Janet asked.

“I’ll bite him.” Xavier replied. To emphasize this, he snapped his teeth. Dad told them not to bite people. This was an extenuating circumstance.

“We won’t leave each other behind. That’s for sure.” Claudia reassured her sister. “But….we don’t know where we are. How’ll we find our way back home?”

“As long as we keep walking one way, we’ll get out.” Xavier straightened himself up to appear confident. Back straight, head high, he almost believed it himself. The fear of getting lost in the forest was present. It was almost as strong as his unease at being here. Almost. He was not sure if he was willing to risk it. Not entirely. With his sisters, however, everything would be fine.

“This is a bad idea….” Claudia stated. Another look at the pictures made her shudder. “But better than staying here.” She hopped off the bed and went to Xavier’s side. Janet took her place with them. That was the plan. The best play they had. Wait for the door to open. Then run.

They waited for several minutes. They focused on the door as much as any small child could focus on anything. Any movement it made would not escape their sight. Any creak to indicate it was opening would not escape their ears. To anyone who ever tried to corral a group of children when they set their minds on running somewhere, they knew stopping them carried a low probability of success.

Surprisingly, none of them moved when the door opened. They were all ready to go, eager to go. What came through startled them enough that they could only stare. Wide eyes, three sets of them, looked up at the figure in the door. It was a pity the door swung shut before they could realize they had an opening.

What came in the door both was and was not a bear. The features were ursine. A large, broad frame covered in dull brown fur with darker fur on his paws and muzzle. Typical of his species, his body was built with muscle covered in a layer of distributed fat. A standard bear like that, walking in with unknown intentions, would be a source of concern, but not alarm. He was not hunched over, plodding along on all fours like a bear should. Instead, he walked like a human. Most bears could walk on their legs for a few steps if they absolutely had to. This one ambled in on two feet quite easily. His back was straight, arms at his sides. He walked more like a man than a bear. His head did not look right. It was a bear’s head, but it looked too small. It was mostly because he had human-like hair. A crown of long, black hair sat on top of his head. It hung down to his back and was braided. Unlike most animals, he was fully dressed. He wore a pair of loose, dark green pants and a matching shirt. It showed his body was more humanoid, just covered in bear fur. His legs did not even bend right.

Xavier had never seen anything like it. He knew about humans, despite not seeing them often. Everyone knew what a human was. He knew about bears. Several of his friends were bears. This thing was some weird amalgamation of the two. It was like looking at something that should not exist and you knew it. Where was he from? What was he? How did he get here? More worryingly, what did he want with them? All of these questions crowded over each other in Xavier’s head. They banged into each other so forcefully he vocalized none of them. He had to try not to shudder just looking at the bear thing.

The bear seemed oblivious to the uncomfortable, itching sensation under Xavier’s fur. A smile was on his muzzle. He carried a wooden tray with three wooden bowls on it. He held it at chest level. The angle, coupled with how tall he was, made it so the children could not see what was in them.

He stopped walking when he noticed the triplets were awake and staring at him with wide eyes. “Oh, look who’s already awake. Such energetic little kinder.” He spoke with a very deep, very thick voice that took a long time to rumble from his chest to his muzzle to the outside air. It was made even more dense by a heavy accent. Quite guttural and it made his w’s sound more like v’s. Despite it being so dense, he was not difficult to understand. “I hope you slept well. I have some breakfast for you, so eat.” He held the tray out.

This was a nice gesture. Possibly. Xavier did not trust him. It was not just because he looked strange, but there was something off-putting about him. He did not smell right. He had a bear’s scent, but there were a lot of other things there too. Not just the usual forest smells of leaves, dirt, and miscellaneous flowers and berries. Something smelled overripe, like fruit about to go bad. Something almost….energetic. Like the air after you saw a bolt of lightning a little too close for comfort, something like that. All three of them asked a question simultaneously.

“Who are you?” From Xavier.

“How’d we get here?” From Claudia.

“Where’s mom and dad?” From Janet.

The bear’s smile vanished for a moment. The silence coming from him matched the tension. Xavier did not have time to think about it before the smile returned.

“I would expect you to be curious. It is a new thing, waking up after being given a new purpose.” He leaned down. The triplets scrabbled back from him, as if he were about to lunge. No violent movements were made. Instead, he set the tray on the floor. “Here. Fresh fruit from my garden and salmon from my räucherei. You will enjoy it.” He reached over to pat Xavier on the head, who was too slow to avoid the massive paw. Not liking a stranger’s touch, especially a strange stranger, he winced. The bear seemed not to notice.

“But what about….” Claudia began.

“Eat and I will answer your curiosity.” He grunted and settled his bulk into the chair next to the door. It creaked under his weight. The bear had to be about seven feet tall and four feet wide. Smaller than a fully grown bear, but huge for a human. “You will need your strength today as I have much to show you.”

The triplets exchanged glances while the bear looked at them expectantly. Each bowl contained identical foodstuffs. A healthy portion of blackberries and raspberries, shelled walnuts, and a slab of smoked salmon. Everything looked fine. The berries were free of any mold or punctures. The rich reds and black suggested they were at peak ripeness and practically bursting with juice. The walnuts had a slightly darkened quality that went with being toasted. Warmed up enough to have a slight crust, but not burnt. The rich, shiny red hue of the salmon showed it was smoked by someone who knew what he was doing. Everything smelled delicious. Ripe fruit and toasty nuts and the rich, salty, smoky smell of the salmon made Xavier’s salivary glands kick into gear. Fear made it easy to forget you were hungry. However, when delicious food was presented to you, it was hard to ignore. Not having eaten for at least twelve hours did not help. Xavier sniffed it again, but made no move to eat it.

“Is it safe?” Claudia asked the question they were all thinking.

The smile vanished again, but only for a moment. Then, the bear let out a deep, throaty chuckle. “Of course. From my garden. I know what berries are good and what are poison, so you need not worry.” Leaning down to a chorus of chair creaks, he plucked a berry from the bowl nearest to Claudia and popped it in his mouth. “Mmm. Sehr gut. I know you are not used to food not prepackaged by foul machines or made by soft hands, but it is better than what you would get in town. So eat.”

So, the bear could eat the stuff. That meant it was probably not poisonous. Unless he knew the exact right berry to eat. A concept like that was stretching. If the bear wanted to hurt them, he probably would not need to use tricks. He had ample opportunity to injure the triplets while they were unconscious. Coupled with his hunger, this made a convincing argument for Xavier to try the food. He looked at his sisters and leaned in to eat. They waited for him to try his before they ate theirs. This was by design. If something were to happen to him, they would know it was not safe. A brother protecting his sisters, as it should be.

Teeth closed around a single blackberry. Carefully, he brought it into his mouth and chewed. It seemed to burst between his teeth, being perfectly ripe. Full of flavorful juice, it was delicious, coating his tongue in a natural sweetness that could only come from nature’s candy. The young wolf was too hungry to savor it and it quickly ran down his throat. He followed it up with one of the red ones, then another black one. No hints of acrid, bitter tastes that went along with eating something one should not. He tried the toasted walnuts and found them equally edible. Each fragment had a delightful crunch to them. Toasting walnuts brough their flavor to its peak. He finished those faster than he did the berries, eating them at the rapid pace that usually caused his mother to tell him to slow down or he would get a gut ache. No aches yet. No cramping of the bowels or light headedness. It was safe to try the salmon. He tore a small bite of it off and chewed. Salmon jerky was always a treat and this was no different. Salty and smoky, it put any store bought, prepackaged jerky to shame.

Xavier looked at his sisters and nodded. The food was safe and they finally started to eat.

The bear, who had been watching this entire ritual, chuckled. “Is it common for you to eat before your sisters, little boy?”

It seemed like the bear was suspicious of their suspicion. Xavier, not knowing what to say, said nothing. He kept eating in the hope that the bear would let the subject drop.

“Must not know you even do it. Very well.” It seemed to work. “As for who I am, my name is Kiam Dietrich.” His accent thickened noticeably when he said his own name and he spoke it with a self-important air. He waited for the children to acknowledge the importance of meeting him. They had no idea who he was. Clearing his throat, he moved on. “And this is my forest home. Or, your new room in my home.”

“Our room?” Claudia asked the question all of them immediately thought of. She was the only one between bites.

“Yes. Everything here is yours. There are toys in the chest you can make use of between walks among the Mutter des Bodens domain. A nice, comfortable bed with a quilt I made for the kinder. And windows to view the forest that will be your new home.”

“New home?” Claudia pressed. “But….”

Kiam’s expression darkened for a moment. Muzzle tilted down, eyes narrowed. A dark look that made Claudia’s ears lower and return her attention to the bowl. “No more interruptions. If I am to guide you, you will listen when I speak. This is not a request.” His expression brightened. “But, not to worry. I can tell you are very excited, so there is no harm done.”

Xavier felt his heart flutter. No matter what his words were, no matter how good the food was, this was a dangerous man….bear….thing. He may be feeding them and trying to put on a friendly face, but he was not very good at it. The mask kept slipping. It was not in the complete right context, but Xavier suddenly thought of Matthew 7. Even evil people knew how to give good things to their children. That he was trying to treat them like this was disturbing.

“And yes, this is your new home. I have taken it upon myself to raise you. Raise you in a way fitting of your noble species. I am your papa now.”

The triplets did not have to say anything. Glancing at each other, their worried frowns said it all.

“I know this look you are giving each other.” Kiam interrupted their internal panic session. “You do not know why I have done such a thing. Why a great forest guardian such as I would have a want of kinder.” He cleared his throat, as if he was about to say something profound. “The world you are from is broken and corrupt. Your parents, your people, have completely lost touch with nature. You have forgotten where you came from.” He paused to let the statement sink in, as if ten-year-olds had a concept of such things. “They would have raised you to be as soft-handed as they are. Working with their machines to be at odds with nature, rather than in harmony with it. And, were you still in their care, they would have succeeded.” He paused to gauge their reaction. They were trying to ignore him, so he kept going.

“I see you are…..worried. Don’t be. I did not take you by force. Your parents are just fine. In fact, your mother gave you up willingly.”

All three wolves stopped eating. They stared at him with wide eyes. That was not possible. He had to be lying. They just met this guy and they had known their mother for their entire lives. Giving them to a stranger to raise was so far out of character for her it was as farcical as it was comical.

“Ah, I know that look. You do not believe me. The bond between mother and child is very strong, yes? But, not unbreakable.” He leaned in to give his best ‘I’m getting closer to show my sincerity’ look. “I explained to her the better life I offered you. Demonstrated the power I will share with you, gifted to me by the Mutter des Bodens. A mother wants what’s best for her child, so she allowed me to take you with me.” He folded his arms over his belly. “Even she recognized you have a greater purpose.”

That sounded even more suspicious. No, absolutely not. Xavier did not trust this guy. Not in the least. He had no idea what a mutter des bodens was, but it sounded weird. Power and greater purpose? He sounded like the bad guy in his favorite cartoon, Ghost Fighter. And he certainly did not believe him about their mother.

“We want to hear it from her. Can we see our mother again now?” Xavier asked before Kiam could continue. A several second pause elapsed after his last sentence. That was more than enough time for a young boy to interject.

“Hm?” Kiam raised an eyebrow, then shook his head with a wry chuckle. “No, no. It cannot be done. I will not have them further contaminating you with the malformed thoughts of civilized worlds. I simply cannot allow it now that you are here. No, not when I have so much to show you….and you have so much potential.”

Claudia straightened up to speak. “But, Mr. Dietrich….” She began.

“Please, young Claudia. Call me papa.” Kiam interrupted.

“…..Mr. Dietrich.” Claudia continued, clearly not interested in calling him any names that suggested familiarity. “I’m sure you’re really nice, but we miss our mom…..”

“Yeah!” Xavier added. “And if she really gave us up like that, I want to hear it from her!”

One would almost expect the bear to be annoyed. He looked that way for a moment before leaning back in his chair and chuckling. A deep, throaty chuckle. “No, no. My mind is made up. You will stay here. It is far less painful for you to cut off contact with them. The only way you will see them is if they come looking for you, but I doubt that will happen. She was eager to get rid of you. This is for the best. You will thank me when you are older.”

“….You’re talking like we’ll never see our mom and dad ever again.” Claudia stated.

“Oh, little kinder. Never is a long time, so I would not say that.” The bear reached down to pat her on the head. She was not fast enough to avoid it. “Perhaps someday, when you are grown and have stepped into your greater purpose, I will show you to them so they can see what fine, upstanding forest guardians you have become. Until then, you will stay with me at all times. I must train you without the distraction of unloving parents.”

“They’ll come looking for us!” Xavier shouted louder than he intended to. This was not right. The bear was lying and he knew it.

A downward tilted muzzle and Kiam glared at the boy. A glare one could feel, intense enough that Xavier shrank back. Kiam was still a lot bigger than him and he was only ten years old. “They will not find you.” He said, before the gaze and tone of voice lightened. “But, they will not look for you either. If they do come here, they are more than welcome to visit. But, it is not going to happen.”

Xavier felt the fur on the back of his neck rise up. Hackles visible, he barked. “They will find us! They’re looking for us right now! They won’t….!”

Claudia went over and clapped a paw over her brother’s muzzle. “Calm down….” She whispered. “We can slip out quietly later…but don’t make him mad. Something’s wrong with him.”

“Is something wrong, little Claudia and Xavier?” The bear asked, watching the scene unfold below him.

“Sorry, Mr. Dietrich.” Claudia responded. “My brother gets really excited sometimes….”

“Young boys are so passionate. It is a good thing.” The bear gave Xavier another headpat. Or, tried to. This time he ducked it. Not seeming to notice, he kept talking. “No need for it now, though. I will take the best care of all of you. Everything a growing wizard could need will be provided to you. It is your purpose.”

“You keep talking about a purpose.” Claudia flicked an ear. “What do you mean? You haven’t told us what it is yet.”

“Did I not?” Kiam tilted his head back, then looked back down at Claudia. “Ah! No, I have not. Do forgive me for the confusion. I am just so excited to have kinder of my own that I forgot.” He smiled without showing his teeth. “You are to be my children, children of the earth. I am going to mold you into great and powerful druids, just as I am. You will become not what your soft civilization wishes you to be, but wolves. True wolves, exercising dominion over the forest. All of the lesser creatures will look to you for protection, and will be used by you as you see fit, as you will know how to maintain the balance of things. You will live at one with nature, and nature will provide for you. You will both command and be commanded by it. You will be the lords and ladies of the forest, in your way, answering only to the Mutter des Bodens. And as you serve her, she will serve you. The rewards for obedience to a true goddess are great.” Kiam nodded sagely and waited for what he said to sink in.

Xavier was no longer uncomfortable. A word like ‘uncomfortable’ was insufficient to describe this sensation. What he felt now was much worse. This bear was clearly insane. Any ambiguity that he was a little eccentric or just a well meaning, awkward soul was gone. They had been kidnapped, no doubt about it. Xavier was not at panic level yet, but he felt like he was in terrible danger. It was as if the car he rode in was being driven by a madman and they were heading towards the ocean. Insisting they were fine as long as they kept the windows rolled up, the madman’s car would plunge into the water.

“We don’t want any of that!” He yelped. “We just want to go home! None of us want to be your kids!” Momentarily, he worried that he overstepped. Claudia and Janet might not be on board with this level of defiance. Diplomacy was Claudia’s strength and she had all the tact. Janet was quietly observing things. They both stepped closer to him and he felt better. They agreed. Of course they agreed. What sort of child rejected their loving parents over being taken in by a wizard?

The bear did not seem phased by this. A throaty chuckle came from his chest. “I thought modern kinder loved tales of wizards liberating put upon children from overbearing parents? This should be a dream of yours, being taught real, tangible magic. Do you lack imagination?”

“Magic isn’t real!” Xavier shouted, having none of this fantasy stuff. He may be ten, but he was not that naïve.

“Is it not?” Kiam tilted his head. “How foolish you are, little child.”

Without another word, he reached over and hefted the potted plant from its place at the door. He set it on the floor between his feet. It bounced slightly, leaves rustling and tightly closed buds bobbing with the motion. By all accounts, it was a plant. Inert, only capable of motion if you tossed it off the roof, happy to photosynthesize sugar out of sunlight and water if left to its own devices. It looked healthy, but not very big or vibrant. Xavier thought he was going to sing to it or something. Expectations were low.

The bear’s right paw held gently over the base of the stalk. He said nothing, but a soft, green light surrounded his ursine mitt. There was no sound, no smells, just a calming, green light. As he ran the paw up the stalk and past the leaves, the entire shoot straightened up. The leaves broadened. New buds formed on stems and blossomed. As they all opened, they exposed beautiful, cup shaped pink flowers. As his paw reached the top of the plant, the petals fell away. In their place, greenish pink berries grew. They swelled up to the size of largish grapes. There were about a dozen of them in all. From a young shoot to a full, blossoming berry bush, the process took a matter of seconds.

The triplets stared wide eyed at the display. Outside of various fictional media, they had never seen anything like this. Interesting, sure. If they were watching it as part of a magic trick, they would be enthralled. This was no magic trick. Three wolves retreated from the plant without realizing it. The glow alone caused them to move back.

“Magic is not real, you say?” The bear stated. “Ah, to be young and sheltered. How little you know, but how much I can teach you.” He plucked three berries from the plant and laid them down in front of the triplets, but too close to himself for comfort. “They are not native to your world, but safe to eat. They are like gooseberries, very nice.”

The triplets backed up even more. No way they were eating dubious magicberries.

Now it was panic time. The bear kept talking about some pagan goddess over and over. This was the source of his power. And if the source of his power pushed him to doing something as evil as kidnapping children, he had to be evil as well.

“Let us go right now!” Janet finally spoke up. She screamed it, eyes wide and terrified. “I don’t want to learn black magic! I just want to go home! Let us go you bad man!”

Expecting them to be impressed instead of horrified, Kiam seemed taken aback. Eyes wide and mouth a thin line. In an instant, his eyes turned mean. Muzzle peeled back to show sharp teeth, he stopped just short of growling. To protect his sisters, Xavier stepped forward. Instinctively, they got behind him. His heart thudding like a drum, he did not know what to expect next.

“You…..” Kiam started, then closed his mouth. He said something in a language they did not know, then he stood up. “Is nothing. You are scared children. Not seen something before, raised by narrow fools….I should have known it would scare you.” He let out a breath. “I….need a moment. You will wait here. When I return, I will show you my domain.” Out the door he went. Tumblers clicked in place as the door locked. They were alone again.

Three wolves looked at each other. Xavier was happy they had not come to any harm. For a moment, it looked like the bear might hurt them. Unstable and quick to anger, they were going to have to be careful. He felt like, at any moment, he might be pushed over the edge and end them.

“We have to get out of here.” Xavier said what everyone was thinking.

“I know….I just don’t know how.” Claudia replied. “I…I don’t think he’s going to let us go.”

“Dad would know what to do….” Xavier thought of his father. His dad was the strongest man in the world. The smartest too. While all children thought that, Xavier knew it was true.

“I wish he was here…and mom…” Janet was starting to cry, but she was trying not to look like it.

“Me too…..” Claudia said. “We…we have to find a way to let the know we’re here. They’ll look for us.”

“How’ll we leave a trail for them? We’re locked in this room.” Xavier replied.

“He said he was going to show us stuff. Wherever he takes us in the woods, we can leave stuff behind.” Claudia responded.

“….like what?” Xavier asked.

The triplets were silent for several seconds.

“Mom taught us to make those pinecone deer heads for the Christmas tree….maybe we can hang those up on trees?” Janet offered.

More silence, then all of them smiled. It would help, especially since their dad could smell them on them. What lupine parents did not know the scent of their own children?

“That’ll work.” Claudia said. “We just…have to hold out till then.”

“What about that magic stuff?” Xavier asked. “He’s gonna try to teach it to us.”

“We don’t have to make it easy for him.” Claudia replied. “But…he might try to hurt us. What if he makes us do stuff?” A chilling thought. They did not know the extent of his powers. Losing their will did not occur to them overtly, but the possibility of it warping them did not escape their thoughts.

“I’m not scared.” Xavier’s response. “God will protect us.” He paused, hoping that they believed him. He believed it. Looking at them, so did they. “…..should we pray together?”

The sisters nodded. They knew that they did not have to have any adults with them for God to hear them. They believed as their parents did; even in hopeless situations, where no worldly options were available, talking to the most powerful Being in the universe was always an option.