Kaya

Part 3. Preperations

Safely my feet hit snow. Snow? Where the hell had Sylen been? I turned around and watched the portal disappear as a new one formed right after. He was going to get here any second.
I checked if I still had my bag and ran.

I had landed in a snowy forest, there were lots of big  rocks I could hide behind but Sylen would be able to see my footprints.

"Kaya!" I heard Sylen call. "Kaya please! Stop this madness!"
I kept running as I heard his heavy footsteps behind me. "Don't do this Kaya! You can't survive here all on your own!" He could say whatever he wanted, there's no way I'd come back to him.
"I won't leave here without you!" I heard Sylen call my name out again followed by a swooshing sound. The sound became louder as he came closer at a rapid pace until I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me back.

"Leave me alone Sylen!" I tried to free myself from his grip but he was too strong.

"You won't leave me Kaya!"

"You lost me a long time ago! There's no way I'm coming back to you!" As I was facing him, I could see his amulet. It was hardly glowing anymore, his magic would run out soon. If he would cast any spells now he possibly wouldn't be able to get back to our time. This was my chance.

The moment I had realized this, a strange but familiar feeling went through my body. Sylen looked terrified and let go of my arm, taking a few steps back. I examined myself and  realized I had transformed fully into my wolf form.
"K-Kaya... please." He backed off further.

For a moment I wanted nothing more than to attack him but decided to rush past him, grab my bag between my teeth and run away. I ran at full speed for a few minutes, almost bumping into a few trees, not being used to this body. I had no idea where I was, or how to get back into my human form, I just knew Sylen wasn't following me anymore.

After reaching the edge of the forest, I stopped and looked behind me just to make sure Sylen really wasn't there. My legs gave in and I stayed crouching on the snow, catching my breath. I tried to calm down, focus, but nothing I did seemed to change my form back to normal. Would  this be my fate? Alone as a wolf, stuck in the past.

"This is a very common problem, don't worry." A calm voice spoke behind me.

I flinched and jumped to my feet, turning to see who was there.

"Valeska?"

She was leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, now coming toward me. "Breathe slowly and think of something that makes you feel at ease. It'll make it easier." Her voice was smooth and calm. „A warm blanket, the semll of a certain flower, a person.“

I could slowly feel myself shrinking back to my human size.
Now I was cold, really cold.
Valeska came closer and wrapped her coat around me, covering my shivering form. I was absolutley not dressed for temperatures like this.

"Thank you... I feared I'd have to stay like that forever. But.. what are you doing here?"

"I caught your scent and followed it. I didn't think we'd meet so soon again and i certainly didn‘t expect to meet you here of all places."

"No, I mean, what are you doing in this area? This isn't Neroja, is it?"

"No... this is Settrom..." She looked at me confusedly, clearly not understanding why I wouldn‘t know where I was.

"I.. came through one of Sylen's portals and didn't know where it was leading."

"What a coincidence it lead you to me. You're quite a lucky one, aren't you?" Valeska asked as she gave me a pat on the shoulder and took me along the edge of the forest.