Sequoia

one - the witch and the wolf

The young alpha takes deep breaths as she stands still in the middle of the chaos, searching for the one person that can stop the destruction. Everything leading up to this point no longer matters, their efforts to diffuse the threat have failed as their most recent attempt at a treaty obviously was not taken well. Around her, shifters are fighting rogues and wild animals compelled to fight by a witch who has not taken kindly to the alpha and her patrol unit ever since they climbed the ranks without the witch.

Suddenly, the alpha spins, a flash of purple in the trees off to the left catching her eye. She takes two strong strides before shifting back into her wolf and chasing the purple-haired woman she once called a friend. Dodging trees and crashing through brambles, the wolf follows the witch. The wolf knows the witch is trying to lead her away from the fight, away from her unit so that she is left without backup; so she lets her. The alpha believes all of this death is her fault, and therefore the final sacrifice has to be hers.

It doesn't take long for the witch to let the wolf head her off in a clearing full of wildflowers, almost as if the witch has hand-selected this beautiful place to watch the wolf die. Circling her once, the wolf allows herself to remember the witch as a child, before her hair was purple and she was quite so tall. The wolf pauses in the tall grass and growls as the wildflowers dance around the witch, making her look almost peaceful.

"Aren't you going to shift back so we can catch up?" Amelia snears. Hatred is not becoming on someone as beautiful as her, but it is written all over her face and consumes her heart.

Taking another deep breath the wolf shifts back into her human form, naked but unashamed as she has been shifting freely with Amelia since childhood. The alpha stands tall, but not quite as tall as Amelia, and strong, her alpha pride fueling her anger but her training keeping her in place. Memories from childhood push at the edges of her focus, tempting her to run into the arms of her childhood best friend, but she stands her ground. Whatever bond Amelia and the wolf had as children was erased the day the witch let her jealousy take over and lead her down this path of destruction.

"What, no hello for your bestie?" Amelia, the witch, smiles from across the clearing. The alpha remains stoic, not allowing her personal emotions to cloud her judgment. The wolf's only goal is to find a way to stop the fighting behind her as quickly as possible. "Well, I guess that's gonna be a no on the flower crowns then? Such a shame, I thought we could do one more fun thing together before I take your life away from you." Amelia shrugs as if killing the alpha will be a walk in the park.

"All I want is to stop the fighting and let this community rebuild in peace," the wolf calls loudly to the witch. Amelia may be able to speak normally with the wolf's enhanced senses, but the alpha needs to ensure the witch hears her. "Now that we are in person maybe we can be more successful discussing terms of a treaty."

Amelia cackles and takes deliberate steps towards the wolf. "Always the diplomat, Jenjen. Not very typical for the alpha of the strongest patrol unit. But then again, I guess that's why your unit is so strong, your unconventional leadership tactics, I mean," the wolf begins to match the witch's steps so that they approach each other near the middle of the clearing and the alpha no longer has to yell to be heard.

"I take it you have terms you would like to discuss?" Jenjen has known Amelia for eighteen years, long enough to know how she gets when she's angry, and this whole attack against this shifter community is because the witch is angry at the wolf and believes Jenjen must do something to make it right.

"Yes, actually, I do have new terms for your treaty, but I have a feeling you aren't going to like them," Amelia twirls the end of her purple hair around her fingers in feigned innocence. "But with how you ruined my chances of having the life I wanted, they seem only fair."