The Fall of Salem: The Plaguebearer's Rise

Chapter 1: Heading for Salem

Juniper and Nightshade. Both poisonous plants, and also sisters. Although not twins, the two cats had plenty of other similarities. They were both skilled magic users, although Nightshade's power far exceeded Juniper's. They were both very, very queer. For those reasons, among others, their mother had decided to move away from Salem to the friendlier neighboring town, Danver.

Since then, their mother had passed, leaving her house to Juniper. Well, she technically left it to Nightshade, but her sister had left to start a coven in the woods, and she had no need for it. The two of them had just as many differences as similarities, but they got along just fine.

Juniper was shy, quiet, and rarely outspoken. She still hadn't gotten over her crush from before she moved. Her green fur was an unusual color, and her black dress gave her the stereotypical "witch" look. She never wore a hat though. Nightshade was brash, rude, lived in the woods with her four girlfriends, and was surprisingly not dead yet. Despite her pale blue fur, Nightshade's outfit, dark red robes and a hat that practically screamed "I'm a witch, burn me at the stake if you dare", marked her as one of the biggest threats to any innocent townsperson out there.

Yes, they had their fights, but Juniper loved her sister more than anyone else. Occasionally, she'd make trips into the woods to visit, and the coven was always more than welcoming to her. Last time she went town, Peacock the potion master made sure she didn't leave without taking a few bottles of her "famous" "cure-all-ails" potion. Despite her initial doubts, they worked fabulously, and helped with everything from the occasional ache to even broken bones.

The coven had even offered to let her stay with them permanently, no matter how weak her powers were, but Juniper liked Danver. It was peaceful, and despite how close the conflicted and conservative Salem was, Danver was very open and accepting of just about everything. Mason was a fine mayor, Juniper was little when he was elected and no one else had taken up the position since. There was no manipulation of the electoral results, he was just too good for anyone else to win.

Yet today was the day that thanks to him, Juniper would no longer be living in Danver and instead would be living in Salem again.

When Mason called for a town meeting, Juniper decided to go. She had nothing better to do, and often she would find time after to make some small talk with him. He was at his podium, with some very familiar faces nearby.

Juniper gasped when she saw her former best friend's father standing next to the mayor. When she moved away, she had no way to contact her friend or her family. She searched for a certain face, too busy to pay attention to the mayor's words.

There. A cat in blue fur and a white dress that was just a little revealing, right in between Faith and Casey. The cat turned towards her, and they locked eyes. Juniper was shocked. She never thought she'd even see Crystal again.

"Oliver, would you like to speak?" She finally snapped back to reality, seeing Mason invite the leader of the mafia up to the microphone. "Thank you. It is truly an honor to be accepted into this fine town, and an even bigger honor for its renaming. Although we barely escaped from the tragedies in Salem, and I may have lost my son-" He paused for a moment, getting a little choked up. "-I am glad to be shown such hospitality."

Lost his son? Glancing around, she realized that Zach wasn't with the rest of his family. Oh. I hope he's resting in peace. It wasn't too surprising, Zach was always a bit of a hothead when she knew him, so hearing that he was killed, likely by the town, wasn't that big of a shock. Upsetting, yes, but not shocking.

Judging by their reaction, Casey didn't seem too surprised either. I wonder if they're grieving too. Everyone has different reactions, they're all grieving in different ways. Farris was openly crying, Crystal was trying to comfort her siblings, Oliver was attempting to be strong, Blackie and Faith were staying quiet, and Casey just watched it all.

I should really talk to them later.

The meeting was over quickly, and Juniper tried to make her way through the crowd, but Crystal was already gone. Her shoulders sagged, she was hoping to at least talk to her, share a few words, but nope.

"Juniper! You seem a little down, what's wrong? Was it the announcement?" Mason walked over to her side. "I wanted to talk to Crystal, that blue cat up there, but I was too late. We were friends when we were young, I used to live in Salem, but then I moved away and hadn't seen her since." Juniper explained.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to speak with her, especially now that she's living here as well. Chin up." Mason lightly nudged her, and she smiled slightly. "Thanks."

A plan for seeing Crystal, alone, was already forming in her mind. It wasn't the best plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.

-----

Yang and her companions, the crow and the horse, had stopped in a nice open field, underneath a lone tree. There was some fruit hanging from the branches, and the crow was able to knock some down for Yang to eat. It wasn't exactly ripe, but it was good enough.

The horse didn't seem like it really needed to eat. It was still a mystery to her. Could it even really be called a horse? She referred to it as a horse, it called itself a horse (Its previous master was a "horseman", after all, and that was what she was becoming too.), but it was very different from the other horses she had seen. Its blue skin was hardly a replacement for the neutral colored fur that horses usually had, and although cool, its fiery mane was certainly not a regular horse's mane.

Does it have a name? I've just been calling it 'the horse', and that crow 'the crow'. "Do you have a name?" Yang asked the horse first. "I have no need for one. I am simply a horse. However, I would not object to having one."

"I has't no nameth either." The crow hopped to sit by her side. She thought quietly, staring off into space. "What if I called you Rapid? You know, for your speed?" She turned to the horse again.

"Be not fooled, she named thee after a fictional beast of similar looks." The crow squawked, as if reading Yang's mind. "So what? Pokémon is cool." The rat said with a shrug.

"I like the name." The horse interrupted their argument. "No matter the source or reason. I think it fits if you do, Plaguebearer." It bowed its head. "I wanteth a nameth too!" The crow whined. "Alright, alright. Mur, to keep the theme going." Although neither of the other two could see it, Yang was smirking under her mask. The crow huffed and stamped, but didn't object.

"We must get going again." Rapid pointed out. Yang nodded, hopping on its back. Rapid dashed away, with Mur crowing as they flew after them.