Page 6 of Wandering Witch

It was a massive creature that stood nearly twice my height once it rose onto its hind legs. The body was that of a bear, however, the colors were unlike what I had seen or heard of a bear before. Even in the early morning light, his coat shone in tones of bright sandy browns.

He huffed and grumbled out a low growl as he looked around in search of something. Confused, I stayed in the shadow of the trees to watch what he would do next.

The strange bear creature paused in his visual search, lifted his nose to the air, and released a loud sniff. A tremor of fear went through me as his head turned in my direction, locking onto where I stood mostly hidden around a thicker pine trunk.

My fear intensified as it started moving towards me.

As I took several steps backward in retreat, the bear matched with massive steps towards me. His steps were much larger than mine, so he closed the distance faster than I could create it.

Before I knew it, we were standing eye to eye. Well, it was more like the bear was forced to crane its neck down to meet my eye.

I swallowed audibly and tried to run through the meager list of spells I knew, hoping that at least one would be helpful in escaping this beast. Unfortunately, my nerves were far too jumbled to focus when faced with such a foe.

At the sound of my swallow, the bear nosed forward to sniff my face. He then lulled his massive tongue for a moment before he ran the surprisingly soft appendage across my face.

I squealed in shock and threw myself back, slipping on the dew-laden grass as I tried to swipe the saliva away. The beast followed me down, continuing to nose and lick at my face.

No matter how much I tried to shove its head away, it pushed back to continue in its ministrations. Fear flooded me more and more with each pass of the bear's tongue over my face.

“What are you doing?!” I cried out between swipes of the tongue.

Eventually, he moved his head down to lap at my neck and focused on where my neck met my collarbone.

Locke

Iwoke up to find the nest empty of my little prey, so I bolted upright and snuffled around to look for her trail once more. Her scent had yet to start to fade, leaving a clear path for me to follow.

She had clearly gone directly outside the protection of the den, which riled my bear immensely. Did she not realize how dangerous these wilds are? Could she not comprehend the potential predators that lurk around who would think nothing of attacking her without me by her side? I growled as I followed her around the side of the building, determined to investigate what she was up to.

My little female was coming from behind a tree at the far edge of a clearing located close to our den when I came upon her. I huffed as I lumbered up to her and nosed at as much as I could to search for any injuries. I grumbled lowly at her as she tried to back away and hide from me before I could reach her.

However, as soon as I was within paw’s reach of her, she froze and I was able to focus on my investigation. Her fear flooded her scent once more and I leaned into her to sniff and search for reasons that she could have to be so scared.

I was concerned when I found nothing that appeared to have harmed her. I decided then to try to reassure her and licked her cheeks.

Unfortunately, my ministrations seemed to make her fear spike higher and higher. I whimpered as I pulled back to look her in the eye. What could possibly be scaring my little female still? How could I tell her that she would be safest at my side? I had no way to communicate with this one in my current form. However, it had been so long since I had taken on my other form that I was unsure of how well such a thing would work out.

Of course, then there was the darkness that whispered constantly while I took a smaller form. The shadows in my mind encouraged me to mindlessly seek out and destroy every living creature around me. Would that voice be worth the risk? My little female trembled once more and it was then that I decided I had no choice. I would have to shift for her.

I swallowed hard and backed away far enough that I could pull myself up onto my hind legs. We locked eyes and both refused to look away as I let the magic envelop me.

Starting at my feet, I knew that swirls of dark shadows circled and coiled their way up my body until I was completely covered. Just as fast as the shadows encompassed me, it faded away in the same order. In its place, I stood in my human body, a form that I had not taken since well before the village we stood in was founded.

Consequently, I noticed that our wardrobes differed greatly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the extended time as my bear was the cause of that. I shrugged as I strode towards her with my hand extended.

Farren

What. The. Fuck. Seriously, what is happening? My thoughts railed as I watched dark magic flow from the massive bear that was licking me like a dog one minute and exuding a demonic aura the next.

If that wasn’t odd enough, though his clothing form was massively outdated, an animal pelt sewn into tight pants with thick leather boots that seemed very out of place so far north. If I was going to be completely honest with myself, he looked more like he would have been comfortable living in the ancient cliff dwellings of the American Southwest than up here in the frigid Arctic.

Even his skin seemed to contradict him. From the waist up, all I could see were swaths of rich sun-bronzed muscles. Cascades of midnight black hair flowed down and across the ground around him that shone with hints of blue and green from the sun. My heart caught in my throat as I returned my gaze to his face. Even though he had shifted into what had to be his human form, his eyes were inky pools that filled the almond-shaped recess that rested above high cheekbones and broad nose. Signs that there was something seriously wrong with this shifter.

His demonic aura was even stronger in this form, overwhelming. The fear that I felt before at the sight of the bear was nothing compared to what I felt now.

Panic flooded my system as I backed away and tripped on some loose rocks, falling backward. I yelped in both surprise and pain as my landing sent all of the air from my lungs.

My demon companion was right at my side before I could even begin my struggles to regain my breath.

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