Chase (Chasing Tails Rewritten)

Thirty - Miranda

 Julie looks up at the sky. Dark clouds swirl flirtatiously with the evening sunset. The day's warmth, what little it had, starts to disappear and Julie is thankful that she still has on Jack's jacket. Even through the thick, warm material, Julie's arms are covered in goose bumps and her body shivers whenever the wind blows.

The last time she was here, she was overwhelmed. She remembers how every little thing stood out to her, made her sick and nauseous with her wolf senses. Back then, she could feel the earth breath, hear the trees speak and even see every individual blade of grass dance with the slight breeze. Everything was richer, more pronounced. Her wolf senses could barely take it in without feeling like she had too much to drink and that's exactly how it was. Entering this part of the woods, entering Miranda's aura was like inhaling a life elixir and she couldn't handle the aftereffects.

Now, plain as a human could be, Julie feels nothing more than the chilly wind and she senses nothing more than the pleasant scent of nature as it surrounds her. She follows the narrow path that would be completely hidden if it weren't the fact that Julie's walked it before. The little dirt road hides under greenery and twists this way and that, twirling around trees and bushes. It doesn't take long for Julie to know when she's getting close. Nature's little hints tell her. Flowers bloom bigger, brighter. They stand tall on their stalks, proudly showing off the variety of colors and patterns on their petals. Trees lean in different directions, using their prowess to shade what they please. Even the weather doesn't affect this area. Already, Julie feels warmer, as if summer never ended and she finds herself discarding Jack's jacket.

The dark metal gate of pure iron and silver comes into view then. Symbols are etched onto its skin like scars or tattoos. Magik binds Miranda to this land, claiming it under her protection. It's the heart of the woodlands and this metal gate only proves that to those who know how to read the ancient words. Julie isn't one of those people.

She passes through the gate, expecting to hit some kind of barrier or maybe feel something but nothing occurs and Julie realizes that it's because she's welcomed here. This is where she first met Miranda. The witch has been tending to her herb garden, placed on the side of her white cottage house. Julie's nose tingled with the new scents: rosemary, sage, basil, chives, cilantro, lavender, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, peppermint, tarragon, and thyme. She has every one in existence and a few more not known to humans. Then, there are her flowers: daisies, chrysanthemums, delphiniums, heather, hyacinths, lilacs, larkspurs and roses, snapdragons and tulips. Even now, Julie can smell the mixture of them together although they're not nearly as strong to her as they were then.

Back then, Miranda hadn't expected her. She stood in the center of her herb garden, picking out ones she needed and stood up the moment Julie passed through the gate. Hands and dress covered in dirt, her large blue eyes shot to Julie immediately. Her expression was one of surprise as she didn't figure Julie would dare travel through her aura to her house. She expected Julie to run like most werewolves did and that only raised her curiosity. Julie can probably claim that that's the only reason she wasn't killed right away.

Now, Miranda sits on her porch, swinging with a cup of tea in her hands. Her white-blonde hair is curled over one shoulder with a vibrant purple feather holding it in place, the ends of her hair dyed to match her eyes. Her youth shows in an uncanny glow that makes her pearl skin appear glamorous and makes it hard for Julie to focus on anything else.

Witches are always beautiful creatures, appealing to every being in existence and once viewed, it's hard for anyone to look away. It's why witches prefer isolation to either themselves or their covens rather than hide underneath human societies like every other being does. Miranda chose complete isolation and Julie can see why. She's sure that even some of the witch's own sisters wouldn't be able to resist her.