I walked in the dark I saw a curl a silloutte a shadow A tail a hunched body A smile a grin showing teeth bright yellow eyes I froze with fear It was my familiar cat We fell out She bitched she was spiteful cat She said you could not train me or enslave me I warn you chillingly

It had been three days since they entered the forest. The hallucinations were getting worse. And water was not to be found anywhere. Poor little Susan had been struggling to keep up. As the hours went by she went slower and slower. Escavars muscles burned and his lungs cried out for air. The forest was oppressive, it bore down on them with a fierce weight. After a while Escavar slowed to a stop and leaned on a tree, panting. His brow was slick with sweat and his hands were shaking uncontrollably. He turned towards the diminishing path they were following, only to see that Susan was swaying and her eyes were closed. Escavar pushed himself off the tree, stumbling over to her. As soon as he reached out she collapsed into his arms. Her skin turned pale and her eyes were growing dim. “No, please, you can’t leave! Come on Susie, stay with me,” he pleaded, as he tried to gently pick her up. He closed his eyes. “Please help us!” He cried desperately. He voice cracked and he felt hot tears roll down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure exactly to who, but he felt sure that someone would listen. Someone would see them. “I have to keep going,” He thought, “step by step.” Their progress was slow and the extra weight made it hard to even move. It seemed everything had turned against them. The sun instead of being inviting had turned into a stifling heat. It seemed to be always in his eyes. His boots were so worn and tattered they hardly did anything to protect his feet. The cool breeze they had felt before entering the horrid forest had died. he felt a presence about them. He couldn’t see anyone, it was more that he could feel them. Like eyes were always on him. He was constantly looking behind him to make sure he wasn’t being followed. The worst feeling had come over him. When this was all over, who would they go back to? Even if they survived. What family did they have left besides each other? They were utterly alone. But he had to save Susan. It was no longer for the sake of himself that he kept moving but for the sake of her. “I don’t care if I have to move a mountain, I have to save her!” “I already lost my aunt, and probably my brother, I can’t lose my sister. Not now. She’s too young!” He thought in distress. “We’re running out of time Susie. I promise I’ll find us water no matter what.” He said urgently. He only received a pained groan in response. Suddenly, and for the first time since they arrived, Escavar saw an animal. The world seemed to stop. His head swam and all he could hear was his heart beating. Everything grew fuzzy except the animal. It seemed to draw to him. Its eyes seemed ancient, and it had a fire in them. Escavar hobbled blindly towards it. Not exactly sure why at first. Then sudden clarity came over him. “Water! I’ll bet it knows where water is. Just a little longer Susie!” He exclaimed. Though he felt sure that he could pass out at any moment he ran. He felt a sudden hope well up inside of him that he couldn’t explain. He watched with a keen eye every movement the animal made as it bounded through the forest. The ground flew by underneath him. He passed tree after tree Until suddenly, the animal stopped. It tilted its head and looked at him like it had a question. Escavar watched it come closer, and closer, until it stood directly in front of him. “What could it possibly be doing?” He wondered. He could feel its warm breath. Its large beady eyes looked in his and he shivered. Then it did the most unexpected thing. It spoke. It was a deep voice almost rumbling. “Do not be afraid, I am a friend.” “Ah!” Escavar was so surprised he nearly dropped Susen. Escavar staggered back. “How, how did you just…?” “This is the forest of magic,” He said. “But it’s true name is Dough-elsteln. Here, every living thing that dwells in this place long enough will turn into something they are not. The effects of the magic work on each one in a different way. Those that manage to escape before it takes them over still never leave unscathed.” Escavar shook his head. “No, this isn’t… you can’t be real. That’s impossible!” Escavar said pointing his finger at the deer. “It is, and you must believe me for the sake of your sister.” The deer responded. “How… how do you know she’s my sister?” Escavar asked through squinted eyes. “You need not worry about that now, if you want to live, follow me.” Then the deer turned and jogged off. “This is crazy, I don’t care what he is, it’s not natural, and I don’t like it.” Escavar thought. But even still, he had too. He had to save Susan. So he followed. The deer made strange zigzagging lines through that woods that would bewilder even the smartest. Escavar payed close attention to the deer, still not sure of its intentions. But something caught his eye and he stopped short in his tracks. “The ground,” he whispered, “it’s wet… there must be a water near by!” He then looked up. The trees around him became thin and opened up to a large, clear watered lake. Sweet relief coursed through him. He could finally see the sky It was a brilliant blue with little puffs of clouds popping out. And in the distance he saw what they had sought for so long. The mountains of Caliaris. They loomed high above them and its peaks were covered with a layer of snow. It sparkled like a beacon of promise. “You see? I told you if you followed I could help you.” The deer said with what looked like a sly smile. “Thank you for your kindness,” Escavar said, “but I don’t think we will be needing any help from here.” “I think I’ll stay,” replied the deer, “I would like to see how your sisters recovery goes.” “Hmph,” Escavar grunted. “I don’t have time to think about him. For now I need to help Susan.” Escavar thought. He carefully set her on the ground by the lake. He then cupped his hands under the cool water and splashed his face. The soothing cool pushed away his pains for a moment. He took a deep relieving breath and reapeated the process for Susan. Her eyes popped open the second it hit her face. “Water!” She cried as she scrambled to the lake and took a long drink. When she was satisfied she sat back up and looked around. Escavar sat next to her and hugged her for a long while. “Please don’t do that again.” He whispered. She chuckled, “I dont plan on it,” she replied softly. “Well isn’t this a wonderful family reunion,” the deep voice of the deer rumbled behind them. Escavar jumped up and planted his feet firmly on the ground. “I think it’s time for you to go,” Escavar said as Susen slowly rose and looked out from behind him. “Oh no dear boy, it’s far too late for that. “N-“ whatever he was going to say was cut off by a sudden lurch under him. “What are you doing?!” Escavar shouted. Right then the shape of the animal shifted. The four legs became to long slender legs. The the body shifted, then the face, until suddenly it wasn’t an animal at all. It was a creepy, smirking, black haired woman. “Your trust will be your dimise.” She said. And then the mouth of the land was opened and they fell. Then the world went black.

the cold night time wind rushed against my dark hair. I walked faster, faster to be home. I was a college student walking home from school. I looked around, my lip shaking cause of the intense cold. Soft whimpers from the dark alley in-front of me catches my attention. I close my eyes, my mother's words floating through my mind. "Never go in dark alleys alone, Molly." I turned around and walked away, but stopped. I could not leave that poor thing alone, it's winter, cold and nighttime. I walk in the dark alley with heavy, shaking footsteps. And there it was, the poor creature. I couldn't see what it was, since it was crumbled in a dark corner. I stepped closer, a loud cried out sound appeared from the creature. I frowned, but when I realized what it was I immediately stepped back. A big, black wolf. Its eyes were a crimson glint, his gaze not leaving mine. I put my hands up, as a surrender. The wolf slowly made its way towards me. I step back, but my back hits a cold, brick wall. The wolf its paw turns into a hand, its furry head turned human. I looked in awe, my hands turn into fist shakily. A young man was standing in-front of me. Green cold eyes, his pierce gaze staring at me. Blond hair, sharp jaw, buff. My jaw dropped slightly, it was Kai. My enemy. He smirked slightly at my reaction and stalked towards me. "Surprised to see me princess?" He said, as he pinned my hands above my head. He crashed his lips against mine, a fierce, hungry kiss.

The day after Leila finally managed to defeat Alistor and free her kingdom from decades of tyranny, she went for a walk in a nearby forest. The celebrations have been going on and she needed some quiet and distance from all the people thanking her. Not that she wasn‘t happy, it just was a lot.  Her arm still hurt where Alistor managed to slice through her armor, probably overpowering all the other aches all over her body, and all the celebratory noise and smells and lights made the nausea and vertigo she got as an aftereffect of a nasty psychic magic hit even worse. She was sure the peace and quiet in the forest would help her start processing what had happened the day before. All her life she had been prepared to fight and defeat the evil king. Years of study and training, all in secrecy, always afraid that Alistor would find out before she was ready. But the prophecy was clear: she would be the one who would free everyone. The child born with the marking.  Leila held up her hand. For the first time in her life, she didn‘t spend the morning covering up the light parts of her skin. Most of it was the normal brown, but all over her body light skin was drawing a spotted pattern. The marking. And yesterday she finally had accomplished what she was born to do. She can still see and feel how she rolled to the side when Alistor was about to put the pointy tip of a long candle holder through her. He had gotten her backed up against a window in the high tower. It was pure luck that she managed to get out of the way, and even more that the candleholder tip managed to pierce through and destroy the window. And Alistor, not catching his balance in time, fell through it to his death in the dark waters of the river below. With the speed the water rushed through the sharp boulders at this part of the river, there was no way he survived. And even under other circumstances, she did manage to wound him a lot more than he did to her.  He surely only ran on anger at this point and would have died after killing her either way.  Still, the image of him falling and crashing into the water would be something she would never get out of her mind. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw him falling.  Leila shook her head in an attempt to shake off the memory, immediately regretting it when she was hit with another wave of nausea and vertigo. She reached for a tree to hold on to and stabilize her while she waited for the feeling to subside. Concentrating on her breathing she stood there when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. A fox was hiding in a bush, focusing on something. He was apparently on the hunt and whatever he found would be such a good lunch that he didn‘t acknowledge Leila's presence. She straightened back up to see over the bushes what the fox had spotted.  There in the middle of a grass patch lay a pile of black feathers. A crow that must have gotten hit by something big. Instead of following the outline of its body, many feathers stuck out in all kinds of directions. Its wing was bent in a way it should not be possible and so did one of its legs. It looked a mess and like it was already dead. But when looking a bit closer Leila could still see it breathing.  Without thinking, she sprinted to stop the fox, who started moving faster towards the crow. She stepped in between the two animals and screamed at the fox to go away. Startled, the fox stopped in shock, and seemed to think about whether this was worth the fight, but then decided against it and ran away. Leila turned and cowered next to the crow getting a closer look. „Hey, little guy. Don‘t be scared.“ she said in a soft voice. The head of the crow moved and a black eye that was slightly clouded looked at her. This close she could see that some of the cow's feathers were actually white and it wasn‘t just a reflection of the light. It looked almost like her skin.  Leila didn‘t know why, but she had the urge to save this bird. She had taken a life the day before, and no matter how bad Alistor was, he still was a being created and valued by the gods. Whenever you take you also have to give is the rule of the gods. So saving the life of this crow hopefully counts as payment for the life she had taken. Carefully she scooped up the bird, trying to move it as little as possible to avoid hurting it more than needed. The crow had closed its eye again, not protesting. It seemed like it had already accepted its fate of dying. Leila continuously talked to the bird in a calm voice all the way back to her home, hoping it would understand her intention and stay calm.  At home, she lay the bird on the soft surface of her couch. The bird wasn‘t moving and its breathing was shallow. It also now seemed to be unconscious. Leila was worried that any help was too late for it, but she would try her best.  First, since it was unconscious and therefore wouldn’t feel the pain, she checked for the obvious injuries, reset the wing and leg to be all lined up again, and fixated them with a splint, wrapping it to stay in a fixed position. Then she checked for more injuries. It had a bleeding wound that looked deep, but might not have hit any organs. She cleans it as best as she can and then wraps it up to stop the bleeding.  Aside from treating all obvious injuries, she wasn‘t sure what else to do, so she just did that and then positioned the bird in a way she hoped would cause the least pain and let it sleep, checking in on it every so often, making sure it was still alive.  When it was awake it would need to eat and drink, so she prepared food for it to be easily digestible, hoping that this would work similarly in a bird than it does for humans. During her training, healing was an important part. She was prepared for a long fight where she might end up having to flee injured and be able to get herself stable and healed up on her own if necessary. Surviving was the most important goal. She was the only one capable of defeating Alistor and if she were to die, all hope would be lost. At least that was what everyone always told her. And she had to use those skills multiple times in her life. Often due to her own mistakes, but she had gotten attacked by followers of Alistor before. None of them knew who she was of course, but some of them liked to terrorize people for fun in their free time and she had been the target multiple times. She was glad that at least her healing skills would still be useful even now that she fulfilled her destiny. At least one thing she could still be useful for.

A weird noise rips Leila out of her sleep. It took her a bit to orient herself. She had fallen asleep watching the crow.  The crow! She looks around and finally notices the bundle of feathers in front of her. The crow was awake and looking at her.  „Craw!“ it croaked weakly.  „You are awake! How are you feeling? I tried to treat your injuries as best as I could. It will take a while, but I think you are going to be ok.“ The bird tilted its head but fear was still in its eyes. It seemed to understand though, that she had helped it.  „You must be hungry! I prepared some food for you.“, she continued, getting up to get the bowl and gently put it in front of the crow.  It watched her every move and only when she retreated some distance away from it did it check what was in the bowl. It must have been really hungry for it immediately started eating. „Don‘t eat too fast.“, she says, but smiled, glad that the bird showed this much energy. It looked like it would be able to make it.

While the festivities were still ongoing and talks were held about the future of the country, Leila mostly focused on helping the bird, rejecting any other responsibilities. People tried to get her to take leadership. She was the chosen one, the one who freed them all from tyranny, after all. But she didn‘t want it, never really wanted it. She had done what was expected of her and now all she did want in return was to be left alone. The crow was seemingly feeling better every day, recovering from its injuries without complications, and so was she. She had given the crow the name Pepper.

Soon the people had decided to be governed by a group of representatives. There were discussions about who the representatives should represent, but Leila didn‘t pay much attention to any of that. She spent her days with Pepper. They went for walks in the woods, read books together, and spent their time enjoying the peace. And she talked to it a lot. She told it about her life, her destiny, her training, her fears, and the guilt she felt despite knowing she did the right thing.  When the crow's injuries were finally fully healed, she removed the splints and Pepper moved its wing cautiously.  „You might need to train it until you can fly again.“, she explains. The crow comes closer and rubs its head against her to express its gratitude. She strokes gently over the soft back and white feathers. Pepper has been molting, allowing the damaged feathers to be replaced by healthy new ones. Leila also has gotten used to seeing her true skin color. The light patches on her face and her hands have become familiar and she has grown to see them as part of her instead of the curse that had forced her to become a murderer. She often wondered if Peppers's life had been more difficult due to his feather colors. She wanted to ask, but the bird wasn‘t able to answer her. Though in her mind, she saw it as a sign that the two of them had found each other. That they were meant to help each other. All her life she was trained to harm another person. She felt like caring for the injured bird, allowing her to lean into her nurturing nature, had healed some of the damage her life before had caused her inner self.

Daily she trained with Pepper to strengthen its wings. When they went for their walk it sometimes started to sail to the ground, wings stretched wide. And it started to be able to jump higher and higher. Leila enjoyed seeing the birds progress, but some pain inside her made her feel sad at the same time. The day Pepper would be able to fly again was coming closer and she had no idea if it would stay. Of course, she wanted Pepper to be free, she would never force it to stay with her. But at the same time, she didn‘t want it to leave. She didn‘t want to be alone. And then the day came. Leila had expected it for a few days now, but that day Pepper, for the first time, flew away, out of her sight. They were on their walk in the forest and Pepper had stayed on her shoulder until they reached a clearing. She had brought a blanket and some food for a picnic. The bird had hopped around collecting some acorns. And then it had looked up as if it heard something. She saw something in its eye change and then it hopped up, spreading its wings and flying higher and higher until it was above the trees. Without looking back at her it flew away, vanishing behind the trees. And Leila just sat there on the blanket looking after it and feeling a deep sadness overwhelm her.

Pepper flew, following the call. It came out of a cave. The crow was still not strong enough for long flights, but it reached the cave only when its wings started to feel heavy. It landed and carefully hopped into the opening.  Inside there were a handful of hooded people that surrounded a fire with a cauldron above it. They chanted some incantation.  One of them noticed the bird and gestured for everyone to stop. The crow just sat there, watching the people. They all turned and immediately formed a line in front of the crow, bowing deep. What seemed to be the leader said without looking up: „Master Alistor! We have been waiting!“ Where there was a crow before there now stood a man with long black hair that showed white streaks.  With a deep voice, filled with anger he replied: „You didn‘t come to find me. I nearly died!“ But then a smile showed on his lips. „But I got lucky and now have a way of getting rid of that girl and take back the power I deserve.“

It all comes crashing down on me, the reality of what I'd been oblivious too since I was a child. It makes sense now, the way Noelle had always known my deepest secrets. Blinded by my unconditional trust in Maggie, whom I'd always shared the depths of myself with. In our family, adopting a mink for a companion wasn't common. Rabbits and toads, yes, but in our region you would never stumble across a mink. By way of fate I had thought, one day whilst picking berries in the garden, I came across a small and slender creature. Her eyes were black as night, her budding curiosity making them twinkle. Her brown fur made her blend into the brush, but it was the twinkle of her eyes that caught my attention. I made sure to slow my movements, gently dropping a berry into my basket and reaching out my hand for her to sniff. It was as if from the moment she touched her damp pink nose to my finger, I knew she would be a part of me for a long time to come. And I was right, of course. I just never could have predicted she would be the worst part of my future.

Life was not easy for Danna Her parents gave her in adoption because they were too poor to raise her, leaving her at the mercy of the orphanage evil people. Multiple families tried to adopt her, they took her to their house but all of them ended up returning her. Danna always wondered what was wrong with her, and why did the people despised her so much. One day, she found a little kitten about to get hit by a car. This kitten shortly became her only best friend. They grew up together and named the kitten Goldy. At 17 years old, she started working on a bakery to save money to rent an apartment, since the orphanage would not have her anymore. She was scared, lonely, and suffering from all the questions she had. Where were their parents? Are they better after so many years? Soon, her questions were answered. On a rainy day, her mother arrived to the bakery. She had never seen her, but her mom immediately recognized her daughter and cried. Danna felt pity for the woman but didn't know what happened to her. Until her mom confessed who she was. They both bursted into tears and hugged each other. Danna immediately asked her how were they, why did they leave her behind and if they were better economically. Her mom frowned -We never left you, you died -Her mom said and Danna was shocked -That is not possible, I was told you left me in an orphanage because you were too poor to raise me -Danna said trembling -Me and your dad were told that you died for drowining while we were at work. We arrived and you were gone, the doctors had taken your body and they did not allow us to see you because it would cause a severe reaction in your father's epilepshia -That doesn't make any sense -Danna whispered Something was very odd about this situation and how she ended up in an orphanage, someone was behind all this. They drank a coffee together and her mom offered Danna to stay with her and reunite with her dad. She immediately accepted. They were a family again, and after a few days coming to the orphanage and leaving, she decided to move with her parents with Goldy. Goldy hated her parents and Danna would not understand why. The mistery of her dissapearance never left Danna's mind, she started investigating and sneaking into the orphanage's offices and took her expedient with her before moving to her parent's house.

There were so many questions in her head that she never realized, that Goldy was the one that drowned her and a nurse saved her and took her into the orphanage with a lie. Because no one never discovered who tried to kill the child

Until Danna discovered her magic powers in a lonely night in bed

Powers that were Goldy's biggest goal

“My paws are tired, Lilly. Let’s rest.”

Lilly sighed, turning to glare at Ansh. “We’re almost at the cabin. She’s waiting for us there.”

“Just a little rest, here in this copse. Please.” The cat looked up at Lilly with tired eyes and a somber flick of his tail.

“Fine,” she said, walking back to the trees. She sat on a stump, thinking about their long journey. From the Palace of Herst, to the rough deserts of Zar, they had been through a lot together. Battles, scars, betrayals … She looked at Ansh where he curled in a small bit of foliage. He deserved this rest. She did, too. The smell of the trees and the flowers and a nearby lake served as her lullaby, and she drifted to sleep.

When she woke, a man in dragonsteel was standing over her, holding a knife to her throat.

“Move, and I slice, Lilly.”

She recognized the voice, but it couldn’t be. She wanted to shake herself from a dream but didn’t dare move.

“Ansh,” she called, summoning her companion.

The man before her laughed. “I’m Ansh. A shapeshifter. Hired to infiltrate and destroy you. Let’s get going to the cabin, without any trick moves.”

Lilly couldn’t bring herself to speak as she stood.

One day while walking through the forest, I found a fox who looked hurt and scared. I decided to take the fox home with me, treating its wounds and giving it snacks. It was wary of me at first, always bearing its fangs and huddling in a corner, but it soon warmed up to me, letting me pet it and play with it.

We went everywhere together, rarely leaving each other's side. However, sometimes there would be nights where it would leave and not come back for a few days.

Sometimes I’d catch glances of it when it wasn’t looking. It looked sad as if it had something bothering it, but I could never figure out what, as It could not communicate with me.

Then one day, we were walking in the forest, to pick flowers to make flower crowns. It seemed very insistent on bringing me somewhere, so I followed. It led me to a cave, which was weird as I never heard of flowers that grew in them. We’d enter and I'd suddenly lose sight of the fox and start to look around. As I went deeper into the cave, I saw it, a pack of wolves.

They hadn’t noticed me, so I tried to slowly back out of the cave, but then felt a sharp pain hit my back, causing me to fall to the ground as I looked back and saw the fox. The smell of blood slowly drew the wolves' attention as they sniffed around. I stared at the little fox in confusion. Did it lead me here knowing there were wolves? But why? I had been so kind to it. I watched it morph into a wolf, staring at me for a while before letting out a howl. Then it hit me, those familiar greenish-yellow eyes of someone I thought died long ago, it was her.

I watched as she howled, catching the attention of the other wolves before she morphed back into a fox and ran off. As I watched her run off, too injured to move as I heard the sound of movement approaching me, I started to wonder how something so gentle could have such sharp claws.

The grandmother clock on the hearth ticked. Esmeralda scratched behind her ear. Raven stared out of the window at the cars passing by. Cocking his head to one side, the counselor studied the couple’s body language. One looked ready to pounce and the other seemed barely awake but was definitely alert. Tall and slim, one had a swoosh of jet black hair and annoyed dark eyes. The other was a fluffy. Looking left and right, the counselor waited. Raven tapped his foot. The counselor twirled his pen. Stretching her back, Esmeralda yawned.

“See that what I mean, Dr. Fantanbolus. Total disconnect,” Raven said. “Esme doesn’t care about working on us at all.”

“I hear you Raven, but let’s use “I” statements. Can you reframe your statement?” Dr. Fantanbolus said.

“I feel like all I do is serve her. Everything is on Esmeralda’s terms. I feel like my familiar is an asshole,” Raven said, pounding the arm of his chair.

Ears folded back, Esmeralda hissed. Raven hissed back. Blue violet light sparked from Raven’s eyes. With an angry flick , Esmeralda’s tail batted the energy back towards Raven. He screamed. The harsh sound twisted into a caw as Raven transformed into a large black bird. Shaking out of his clothes, the bird continued to caw. Raven jumped free. Knocking over a lamp, Raven flew around the therapist’s office. Dr. Fantanbolus grabbed and missed the lamp. Esmeralda made a leap for Raven, catching some tail feathers. Her chair fell backwards. The cat somersaulted and a naked woman landed on all fours.

Esmeralda stood and slipped into Raven’s abandoned shirt. Tutting, Raven landed on the clock. Stamping her foot, Esmeralda pulled a slender black feather from her mouth. The bird jumped up toppling the grandmother clock. The counselor caught the clock inches from the floor.

“Damn! It is the same every time. You’re always angry, blaming me for your craptastic magic skills. I can’t deal with it so I shut down. My bad!” Esmeralda shouted at the bird.

She grabbed the rest of Raven’s things and marched out of the therapist’s office. The door slammed and Raven banged into the picture window. With a sad caw, he landed on the window seat. The door opened.

“Come on,” Esmeralda called.

Raven flew to the door and landed on Esmeralda’s shoulder. The door slammed again. Sighing the therapist picked up the chair.

“Good session, see you next week.”

Del’s eyes shot open and her mouth opened in a gasp. Her hands twitched and gripped the ground, tiny pebbles and dirt digging into her skin. She was in a cave, sat by a small fire, which was burning a bouquet of lillies. There was a sharp pain in her side. Her eyes shot down to the arrow sticking out of her abdomen. There was a soft sound next to her, and she looked over to see a black lamb, staring at her with it’s red eyes. It bleeted again at her, and a piece of clothing fell out of its mouth. It looked like it’d been from her tunic. The small creature seemed to have dragged her here all by itself. Del grunted as she reached for the creature, softly stroking its black coat as tears fell from her eyes.

“Thank you…” Though, Aamon should have been thanking her. She was so pure, he could feel the love and innocence radiating from her palms as she caressed his coat. She’d make a fine vessel.