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I threw on my healer’s uniform over my sleep clothes, choosing to forego underthings so I wouldn’t have to change for what felt like the billionth time that day. I ambled out of theroom once my boots were on, intent on being at least a little productive.
Perhaps I was being foolish, losing valuable sleep over a task that really could wait. It wasn’t like I used herbs for everything. My magic was the core of how my healing worked. I used salves, balms, and charms, but I could function without them. Yet, given the choice between languishing in my bed or doing something to take my mind off things, I'd definitely take the latter.
It didn’t take me long to reach the infirmary, and once I did, I grabbed my notebook in order to take inventory. Just as I’d thought, we were pretty much stocked up on all we needed, thanks to the several prolific gardens around the fort. But it was enough to keep my mind and hands busy, so I was grateful for the reprieve.
By the time I finished, I was feeling much more centered, but there were two things we were short on: the purple spiderwort flowers that we used for one of our curse-breaking tonics, and lemon grass. It was a simple herb that many people considered to be just a weed, but it was the base of almost every anti-hallucinogenic formula we had.
It was funny that we were low on both, as I knew they grew in droves all around the fort, especially in the woods where many shifters liked to go on runs when they were feeling particularly wild. Then again, maybe that was exactly why we were low. Everyone assumed we had plenty, therefore no one went out to get any.
Well, I was up, so I might as well.
Taking one last look at our supplies to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, I grabbed a gathering basket and headed out.
Normally, a soldier would need permission to leave the fort, but as a healer, I had certain special privileges. I’d have torequest leave if I wanted to go into town, but as far as leaving the gate, I was fine to pass of my own volition.
One didn’t want to delay gathering vital supplies due to bureaucracy, especially since some of our ingredients were incredibly time-sensitive, like moonflowers, which only bloomed when its namesake was at its zenith. Or the clover that needed to be collected in a puddle of moon water. There was also it’s inverse that needed to be collected in a puddle of void-water, the rather alarming name that just meant precipitation formed under a new moon.
That was just the tip of the iceberg. There were mushrooms: nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular. There were algae, grasses, and even insects. As long as I wasn’t being overly suspicious, I could pretty much come and go as I pleased.
That suited me plenty. I felt calm settle over me as I stepped out of the gate and down the path that led to the woods. I always enjoyed being out in the trees with nothing but the night air over me. I didn’t know if that was because of my inner wolf, or the way I was raised by my coven. Either way, it certainly helped settle my mood the rest of the way down.
I probably could’ve turned around right then and there and gone to sleep, but I figured that since I was already out, I might as well get the supplies we needed.
As I strolled along, making sure to keep an ear open for threats, I thought back to all the time I’d spent living in solitude. While I loved my coven, I’d realized from a pretty young age that my presence was only hurting them, so I’d cleared out as best I could.
Those had been very lonely years, I couldn’t deny that, and it was one of the reasons I loved working at the fort so much. It still hurt that I needed to isolate myself so much from my peers, but at least I was able to help people. Tohealpeople. It didn’t erasethose who’d been hurt due to my curse, but it sure did help make the world seem less dismal.
That was something I needed desperately. If I was going to live a life without the man destined to be mine forever, I was more than grateful for a sliver of light to keep things from being utterly dark and depressing.
I liked to think I was a positive person, or at least I would be if an evil megalomaniac hadn’t decided to curse a literal baby. Who even did that?!
I headed to a spot I knew was thick with herbs. It was a beautiful creek inside of a thicket, with a small waterfall feeding into it. There was more than just spiderwort and lemongrass there, too, so maybe I'd stock up on extra for my personal stores.
It didn’t take me long to find the secret spot—the area untouched by anyone else’s scent. I knew the other healer would also travel there occasionally, but considering his age, he didn’t exactly go on extra outings if he didn’t have to.
There I sank into the ritualistic peace of identifying, collecting, and gently placing things in my basket. It was simple work but one of the many things I loved about being a healer.
But that peace I’d built up shattered when I heard a wolf howl nearby. Even as a half-shifter, I could tell that it was another cryptid shapeshifter, but what I couldn’t tell was if it was friendly.
Could an enemy shifter have wandered so close? It wasn’t unheard of but still unlikely. While we had intel that our opposition did very much want to attack Fort Canid, they were going to need a full army in order to do that, not a lone wolf.
I froze, my thoughts running a mile a minute, as I tried to think of the best course of action. But then, as I sat there running through risk-reward scenarios, my inner wolf began to freak out in an all too familiar way.
Kai.
There was no mistaking the way my body viscerally reacted to his presence. My mind wasted no time reminding me that I’d never seen him in his wolf form but that was on purpose. First of all, I didn’t know how well my curse would hold up to his wolf’s senses. Second, I hadn’t really been open about my status as a half-shifter.
It wasn’t like it was shameful or I'd be looked down on. The only difference between myself and other full shifters was that one of my parents were human. I also didn’t have a sub-designation like alpha, beta, omega, or sigma. I was just little ol’ me. I supposed I didn’t really have a good reason to hide my heritage, but it'd been drilled into my head by the women who raised me. I needed to keep my identity as secretive as possible, lest the curse affect more people. Naturally, living in constant paranoia like that was bound to have long term consequences.
Like trust issues, for instance.
I was almost certain Kai would be able to tell what I was if he got too close, and as a shifter, it would be seconds, at most, before he scented me in the air.
Unless I did something about it, of course.
Thinking quickly, I closed my eyes and plucked at the magic within me, drawing it up into the air and surrounding myself with it, but it wasn’t enough just to summon my abilities. I had to hone them, to focus them, and build a framework for me to concentrate.
What was I looking for? Protection? No, I was fairly certain Kai wouldn’t hurt me. Not fleetness. Not determination or strength. Not even concealment would help me, as remaining unseen wouldn’t stop his nose from sniffing me out.
