The Moon is Full of Red [Red Riding Hood]

[Oswin Oswald]

Storybrooke had been interesting to say the least. Still on Earth, of course, but Oswin certainly wasn't going to argue with staying on this planet for a bit. She and the Doctor had all the time in the world to see the rest of the universe. Now, though, visiting a town populated entirely by confused fairy tale characters was certainly enough to fill her time.

The Doctor had left her to her own devices for a time, and it was during this time that Oswin had heard about what she was currently in the woods for. But, who wouldn't be interested in a werewolf, right? She at least wanted to see it for herself, just a glimpse and she'd pop right back to the TARDIS. It probably wouldn't notice her at all, right?

Oswin was rather disturbing reminded of the Weeping Angel-populated graveyard as she made her way through the forest, flashlight in hand. The thin beam of light was the only illumination, besides the weak moonlight streaming in through the trees. There had to be some evidence of a werewolf being around, didn't there? Pawprints, an animal that had been killed, anything? So far, she'd found nothing.

The moon was full tonight, surely that had to warrant some kind of werewolf activity. Unless it was some sort of different werewolf, which was always possible. Anything was.

Dead leaves crunched under her shoes as she continued to walk off the beaten path and deeper into the forest. The trees were thicker here, perhaps less room for a large animal to move around it. But, then again, who said the werewolf had to large? Maybe it was just the size of a normal man. No one had ever really seen a werewolf, so there wasn't any way to judge.

However, after a moment, Oswin began to hear footsteps that weren't her own. She paused, listening hard and continued to hear them. There was someone nearby. "Is anyone there?" she called, almost hoping a little that whatever was nearby wasn't human enough to reply.

[lilred]

To Red's immense relief, her cloak hadn't been too difficult to track down after the breaking of the curse. Without it, nights like these would have been...well, a lot more unpleasant - for her and everyone who happened to cross her path. She clutched the cloak more tightly around her at the very thought, trying her best to keep to the shadows as she navigated her way through the dark forest. Direct moonlight, while not as threatening as it'd once been, only made things more uncomfortable. As it was, even with the protection the cloak offered on nights of the full moon, the irresistible urge to run, to be outside and experience the scents and sounds of the forest, was still there. And that was why she usually ventured out here three times a month - Granny didn't argue, usually. The whole...wolf thing was still something of a sore subject for both of them, and Red suspected that Granny knew all too well what she was going through - after all, in her youth she'd suffered from the curse of the wolf as well.

And wolf or no wolf, it was kind of nice to get some alone time out here every now and again. Things were never quiet in Storybrooke, not anymore. The breaking of the curse and the return of magic had left the town in quite a state; people were still trying to catch up on the twenty-eight years of time they'd lost. Out here, it was easier to just forget, at least for awhile. By this point, she knew most of the trails that ran through the woods by heart, and perhaps that was why she'd allowed herself to slip deep into thought and pay considerably less attention to her surroundings than she normally would have.

That was, until an unfamiliar voice rang out - making Red freeze where she was, her heightened senses now straining to pinpoint the stranger's location. It was a woman who'd spoken, and Red found it odd that she hadn't recognized the voice. She knew most of Storybrooke's residents...but then again, the enchanted town had been getting more and more 'visitors' from the outside world since the breaking of the curse. Either way, Red knew she had to be careful - they were, after all, in a dark forest in the middle of the night, and she didn't want to startle the newcomer. But at the same time, there was no way of knowing whether she could trust her, either, and it was with caution that she stepped out onto the trail a few yards in front of the other woman.

"Just me," she offered with a slight, sheepish smile. "Sorry if I startled you or anything. I'm not used to having company out here." Who knew why that was. It wasn't like wandering around the woods at night with all sorts of mystical creatures potentially lurking around was dangerous, or anything. Looking the other woman over curiously, Red quirked her head to one side a bit. "..Actually, I don't think we've met. Do you live in Storybrooke?"

[Oswin Oswald]

Just as she thought she might not get an answer, Oswin caught a flash of red out of the corner of her eye and turned. Her light caught the form of a woman, around the same age as Oswin herself, approaching out of the forest. And, it only took a moment to see that she wasn't about to be murdered by some strange woman in the forest. Wonderful. Brilliant, actually.

"Oh, hello!" Oswin lowered the beam of her flashlight so as not to blind the poor woman. Able to see her better now, she studied her, her gaze lingering on the out-of-date clothing and particularly the red cloak. Something about it seemed familiar, but for now, she wouldn't remark on it. Yet. "Yeah, I'd imagine not. Most people tend to avoid dark, scary woods." Those people were very, very boring.

She shook her head. "No, just visiting." In a time-traveling police box. Probably not a good idea to mention that. "Friend of mine wanted to bring me along on his trip. He's been looking into some things here." Oh yeah, totally believable excuse. And not entirely a lie. Oswin gave herself a mental pat on the back. She was getting quite good at this.

"You've not heard of anything large and furry around here, have you?" Girls in red cloaks normally knew quite a bit about wolves, right? Oswin glanced around at the trees. "There's been some people talking about some kind of animal out here." The word 'werewolf' seemed a little silly right now, and this woman might not know too much about it. Best not to look completely insane just yet.

She gave a little smile. "I'm Oswin, by the way. What do I call you?"

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[lilred]

She had to grin a bit at the other woman's remark about most people having a tendency to avoid this sort of thing. This was especially true of the people of Storybrooke, who knew all too well that many of the cautionary tales about the forest were true. "Eh. Probably not the safest way to spend your time, but...sure is better than sitting around town all day." Red commented with a shrug. Venturing too far away from Storybrooke was kind of out of the question when she still had so many things tying her here, but the woods bordering the town was big enough to give her plenty to explore. And she certainly wasn't opposed to having a bit of company. Even if this was kind of an odd place for a chat, Red figured it didn't really matter if neither of them seemed to mind.

When the woman confirmed that she was only visiting, Red wasn't as taken aback as she might have been a few weeks ago. Now, it seemed visitors were starting to become a little more common. Red had to wonder how it would work when some of these outsiders inevitably found out about Storybrooke's unusual little secret. Would they just sort of...accept it? And what was this stranger's friend looking in to here? She shrugged inwardly, deciding it wasn't particularly any of her business, and bit back any curiousity-driven questions for the moment. "Oh! ...Huh. Yeah, we don't usually get too many visitors here - but I'm glad that's starting to change. The everyone-knows-everyone small-town life is only charming for so long." Red rolled her eyes, although she was now grinning slightly. Most of her complaints about Storybrooke were meant more affectionately than anything - but even so, she'd meant it when she'd said that she was glad they were getting a couple of new faces around here. It kept things interesting. ...And hopefully she wouldn't have to eat those words later.

Wait, wait, wait. Had she just...said something about looking for an animal? The description 'large and furry' made Red stiffen a bit with the uneasy feeling that she knew exactly what the other woman had been hearing stories about. "Uh..." she stammered briefly, doing her best not to look too guilty. She hadn't slipped with the wolf. She hadn't! ..Well, maybe during that first full moon after the curse broke, when she hadn't been able to locate her cloak in time. Thankfully, she'd isolated herself all the way out here by sunfall, and no one had gotten hurt...but apparently the howls, pawprints, and deer killings were more than enough to get people talking. "Well, sure! Lot's of big, furry things in these woods. Y'know - lions and tigers and bears - that kind of thing." Red chuckled, a bit nervously. The last thing she needed was this woman figuring her out, and thinking she was some sort of murderous monster. Which...well, depending on who you asked...but no, she wasn't about to allow her guilt to catch up with her now. Refocusing on the other woman, she frowned curiously. "Why...? You looking for one?" The idea of anyone actually wanting to go looking for a werewolf was more than a little troubling. ..Except for the fact that Red and Snow had done exactly that, back in the Enchanted Forest. Perhaps that was what this woman - Oswin - was up to? Perhaps she wanted to stop the wolf before anyone else got hurt? Red couldn't blame her if that was the case...

She shook the thoughts away and smiled, introducing herself in turn. "Anyway. My name's Red. It's nice too meet you, Oswin!"