The Green Bells Witch

chapter one 'a letter to return'

'Alpha Hal,

I have received your letter.

My journey will pass your territory in a few weeks time. Depending on other visits, I will reach your pack in early October.

I will see you then,

Sensier,
the Green Bell witch

                                                S.G.B.'

After I wrote my signature down I left the letter for the ink to dry. I open my cover, lying on the table left from me, and take out a thicker slice of paper and begin folding it.

I stick the covering edges with resin I got from spruces a forest more North from where I am now. I press the paper down to prevent the envelope coming loose. The sticky liquid sticking on my fingertips as I smell the aura of trees. The smell and sticky fingers are going to be there the whole day if I din't find a water source. 'And I'm not wasting my drink water to washing my hands.' I learned that lesson last May. I do not tend to repeat those weeks. Taking the letter carefully in my hands, scanning if the ink has dried. Blowing soft to the words, rereading it in my head. Giving a small smile to myself I fold the paper in three to fit the envelope. Testing by shaking and patting it to see it steadiness. I take candle, who's seen worst days judging on the looks of it. And spill the wax on the opening to close. Its not perfect, its not round nor comes even close to it. But it does the job.

I give it a minute to dry and blow my other candles out. Its dark, but not so dark that I can't see. I lift my right pink in the air and my left ring finger follows toward my where my left hand is. Right before my eyes, I connect my fingertips and begin to pull by bringing my hands closer to the left side of my head. Pulling back and repeat to my right side. Again, again and again. Three times so that I collected all the smoke. I remove my hands from each other and push the swirling black air down. I take a deep breath, 'in by the nose, one, two, three' and out 'one, two, three'. Slowly I let the air free by blowing down.

The smoke disappears, as the envelope is, also, nowhere in sight.

I sigh the magic away, and start collecting my goods. Without the light off the candles, the moon provide me a small light to see. Just enough to pack everything away and not to stumble my way out.

I close the radar heavy door behind me. And make my way to the steps when I hear the lock shifts into place. On my fourth step the ground replaced the tiled stairs. The wet grass colored my leather brown boots into a darker shade around the edges. I count my steps as I walk away from the building, the street and eventually the town. Until, my last counting starts across the field that separate the pack from human where bouts.

"6568"

I give a thumbs up toward the sealing of clouds with my left hand and start circling. While my ring finger and right thumb touch, I change my left hand to all my five fingers spread wide. Keeping the circling motion and change again to my thumb facing the sky.

My index- and middle finger join the repeating movement as the wind carries my whisper away.

I steady myself in to the ground, take a deep breath and close my eyes.

"Zes, vijf, zes en acht." Speaking softly only for the wind to hear. "Houd de wacht,-" The words spread a warmt over my arms. "-bij zes en vijf verdedig het lijf." My body feels warm and i start relaxing but keep my body grounded. "De volgende zes houd het schild in tact." My spell reachs deep in to my spain. Magic flows' trough my blood, sending a familiar warm glow trough my body. "De laatse acht herhaald de wacht." Nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. I open my eyes as I begin to say the last part. "Bij vijf houd elke man, vrouw en kind in ijl." I see the ground where I stand, feeling it is another thing. I feel like floating. "Verdeel de druppels in herhaling als acht in acht." I take my last breath. And its all gone.

I feel the wind take my clothes up and down. "Good" i murmur to myself. I shake the remaining magic out of my hands. And the coldness of the wind meets my skin again. Performing magic keeps the body warm when its cold, and cold when its to warm. It prevents the body from shivering ore sweaty hands that cab lead to dis forming a movement.

A simple twitch can form, from tying your shoe laces to creating a tornado. Sending destruction kilometers from where you stand.

I'm not making this up, you learn this in the first lessons of magic history.

The town lights i just saw where nowhere in sight. A flickering white wall took it place. I smiled, reaching to my hip pocket, attach to my leg. I take a pinch of red powder. Compared to a fine grain oatmeal in texture. Just like a birthday candle I blow the powder to the wall. And the soft light disappears.

I turn my heel and spin away from the hidden town. I find the concrete road that Alpha Andrew told me about and follows it.