Empires SMP Halloween prompt oneshots

Day 2 - Werewolf

           Lady Katherine hummed to herself as she skipped merrily through the forest with a basketful of flowers. She was heading to the Undergrove to visit her friend Shrub Berry, because it was her birthday. Katherine knew Shrub's favorite color was yellow, so she was sure to carefully pick some bright yellow flowers to give to her. And she was also sure to keep the roots intact so that the little gnome could replant them wherever she wanted. 

           Soon Katherine found herself in the Undergrove; giant mushrooms towering over her and wolves and mooshrooms frolicking around the clearing. Katherine could understand why mooshrooms lived there, but she never could get Shrub's obsession with wolves. "Shrub!" Katherine called out cheerfully, waiting for the gnome. "Shrub?" She asked again, when she didn't appear. Maybe she's still in bed, Katherine thought. She came to the door of her house, which looked an awful lot like a hobbit hole, and knocked. 

           A yelp came from inside, quickly followed by the sound of someone scrambling to get downstairs. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a very disheveled Shrub Berry. "Oh, hi, Katherine," Shrub said, trying to sound upbeat but was obviously tired. "Shrub, are you okay?" Katherine asked in concern. "I am; I'm just tired," The gnome yawned. "Rough night last night; didn't get a wink of sleep... It's just that time of month." "Oh," Katherine said. She paused. "You're on your period?"

           Shrub made an incredulous face. "What? No! I just got rid of that! I meant something else that happens monthly." Katherine thought for a while but couldn't think for the life of her what the gnome was talking about. "Uh, well, I've brought flowers for you, because it's your birthday," She said, giving Shrub the basket. Shrub's tired eyes lit up. "Aw, thank you, Katherine!" She beamed. Katherine smiled back. It was so nice to make a friend feel better. "Hey, this is like Little Red Riding Hood," The gnome said, but Katherine didn't get the joke. She pretended that she did, though.

           "I'll go replant this by the mooshroom pen," Shrub said, taking the flowers and running off. "I'll come help you!" Katherine said, coming over. "No! I mean, uh, it's okay, but I want to do this by myself," Shrub stammered, and Katherine felt a little put off, but she smiled in understanding anyway. "Oh, okay! I'll just come back later-" "No, please don't," Shrub said. "You can come tomorrow. I think my monthly problem will be over by then." Katherine still had no idea what she was talking about, but she nodded as if she knew and left. 

           As Katherine walked back to the Overgrown, she felt weird. Shrub was acting odd and she wondered why. The gnome had wanted her to leave; probably because of her monthly problem, whatever that was. Katherine didn't know how to feel about it. They were friends, and Katherine assumed friends wanted to spend as much time with each other as possible. But Shrub had just brushed her off... She just wants some alone time, Katherine told herself. It's nothing. 

           But the defender of the Overgrown soon found herself turning around and heading back to the Undergrove. I'm sure Shrub won't be too mad that I'm coming back even though she said not to. I feel like I should help her with whatever trouble she's in. Friends do that. So Katherine plowed stately on through the forest, where the shadows were lengthening and it was getting much darker. Soon Katherine realized that it was nighttime and the Undergrove was nowhere in sight. 

           How did I get lost? I'm pretty sure Shelby's place is just this way! But whether Katherine went left or right, north or south, she always seemed to be walking in circles. She was completely lost and didn't even know how it happened. Just then, though, she noticed a particular flower blooming on the forest floor. Wait, those flowers only grow in the jungle... And then it hit her. She'd taken a wrong turn and was now trapped in the jungle surrounding the Lost Empire, where everyone was cursed to wander inside it infinitely. 

           But Katherine was sure she knew the way out. Lizzie had made a river running through the whole jungle, so as long as she followed the river, it would lead her out. After passing several small streams, she soon found the river that she was looking for and followed it all the way out of the jungle. Katherine heaved a sigh of relief as the treetop canopy gave way to clear sky, where she could easily see the full moon and stars shining brightly. She was free. 

           Suddenly, Katherine heard a mournful howl coming from somewhere behind her. She turned to see a pack of wolves standing vigilantly on a cliff; their snouts pointed to the sky as they howled. But one lone figure stood among them. It stood on its hind legs, with furry limbs that ended in sharp claws. Pointed ears curved out of its head, and like the wolves, its sharp nose faced the sky. Katherine went white with fear. She was looking at a werewolf.  

           She took a step back, and then another. She needed to get away from it. But then she stepped on a twig and it crackled and broke under her feet, betraying her presence. The wolves and werewolf turned their heads toward the noise in complete synchrony, and with a signal from the lycan, they charged. Katherine didn't care about stealth anymore. She just took a direction and ran. 

           Heart pounding, she tried to keep ahead of the wolves. But the fleet-footed canines soon caught up to her and began to snap at her flesh. Katherine, still running, drew her sword and tried to fend them off. She didn't really want to hurt them, but she didn't want to get eaten. Suddenly, though, the werewolf shot out of the darkness in front of her, and Katherine stumbled to a stop, falling to the ground. 

           The wolves slowed and began to circle her and the werewolf. In the light of the full moon, Katherine could see the werewolf's features clearly. It was wearing dark teal clothing that blended into the shadows, and over its paws were black gloves with the fingers torn off. For some reason, the werewolf wore a wolf mask. It stepped closer to her. Katherine whimpered. "Stay away from me!" She screamed. The werewolf stopped in its tracks and seemed to struggle with remembering something. "Kat- Katherine?" It choked out. 

           Katherine knew that voice. "Shrub?!" She asked. The werewolf rushed towards her, and Katherine was about to dodge when she realized that it was just hugging her. "Katherine, I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "Shrub, you're a werewolf?" Katherine blinked. "Wait, you didn't know?" Shrub asked in disbelief, letting go. "And I thought everyone knew I was the Wolf Spirit!" "Uh, the what?" "I get the feeling I'm going to be explaining things to you all night," Shrub said, rubbing her head." "Yup," Katherine said. 

           So it turned out that Shrub had an alter ego called the Wolf Spirit, which was a tradition that she'd kept from her gnome heritage. "See, gnomes and wolves have been partners for thousands of years," Shrub said, sitting next to Katherine as they both stared at the full moon. "Every once in a while, when a wolf dies, its soul would go to its owner." She touched her chest, where her heart was. "I've got two in here." "Oh," Katherine said, unsure what to say. "Being the Wolf Spirit kind of also turns you into a werewolf," Shrub added awkwardly. "That was the monthly problem I was talking about earlier." 

           She inched away from Katherine. "I'm really sorry about almost attacking you tonight. You're not hurt, are you?" Katherine shook her head. Shrub hesitated. "Hey, I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore-" "Why would you say that?!" Katherine exploded. "Of course I still want to be friends! Why would I care if you're a werewolf?!" Shrub smiled, her eyes glistening with tears. "Oh, you're the best friend in the world, Katherine," She said, hugging her gently. 

           The two of them turned back to looking at the full moon. "Hey, did you know that the full moon in August is called the Sturgeon Moon?" Katherine asked. "No, I didn't, why?" Shrub wanted to know. "It's because sturgeon fish increase in number or something around that time." "Oh, that explains why whenever I go hunting with the wolves, we always catch so much fish at my birthday." The two of them continued to chat until the full moon had set.