She is dead. Deep within the forests between Malvachia and the northern region, I found her body. She had been burned and piled with others...others that I did not know. I knew it was her because...I just knew the smell of the taltos. There were other things as Benti but yet,were no other beings such as Benti; she was the only one who I knew to have the source of my humanity. Her little hovel had been ransacked. The huntsmen had pillaged her home, taking what they wanted thinking of what they might be rewarded for by thier theivery. They had attempted to burn her home to the ground but the flames had stopped just short of her bedding. Maybe it had been rains, maybe the magic she held within or maybe nothing at all. I was beginning to think it was nothing at all but fate. Her supply of Alconitum was gone but I found something...something that maybe was much more valuable than the Alconitum itself. I found a small grey sachel of seeds. I smelled the little round bits and found the smell to be curiously like that of the Alconitum herb.
I whispered softly in awe. "Wolfsbane seed...could it be..."
Then the breeze brought a scent to my nose. An alarming human scent came wafting up the hillside and invaded my senses. An inner warning started to ring throughout my brain of coming enemies. All humankind, except for a few were becoming my fast enemies. I cringed and thought of how much I wanted to bury Benti, the taltos, in her own earth before running away again. I did not want to be scared from here...not just yet. And so I hid behind the hovel and into Benti's earthen vault. The thing looked rather intact and it would seem that no one had found this hidden treasure. The place smelled of all different sorts of meats; venison, boar and rabbit. My sense of smell was on a thrill ride but it was just too dangerous to let my guard down to enjoy a fast meal. Looking around me, I saw them. The hanging bodies of vermin of all kinds...cold and preserving...just as I felt to be doing with myself at the moment. The cold radiated throughout me almost to the point ot shivering...my teeth chattered and so I held my jaw tight with both hands. Up above, I heard two humans rummaging through Benti's things. I was furious...but I did not move.
....................
8 more sprigs of Alconitum...
I found rest in a cavern south of my destination. Here I ingested two more sprigs of Alconitum. It had been two days since the advent of the full moon. Soon, I could put away what I had left of the Alconitum and try to find a place to grow the seeds. If I truly possessed the seed of Wolfsbane, then there was no limit as to how long I could survive as human. I was torn inside....truly torn and terrified. If I was wrong and maybe only possessed some seed of culinary herb, then what would I surmise to do when all the sprigs of Alconitum were gone. I guess that is when I move to plan B...to become that which I was meant to be. I let out a long deep breath and painted the air with white puffs of life. The temperature was dropping drastically and I knew by the smell of everything around me...it would snow soon. I had to find semi permanant living quarters. Maybe I could find sanctuary as a young woman who loved plants, could cook and maybe I could take care of the children of a small family, perchance... But who was I kidding, I was a monster and this silly fleeting dream of mine to be normal was just a disaster waiting to happen. Within my mind, I saw the seeds of failure and I saw the bodies of those dead children...their blood on my hands.
.....................
I heard the commotion about the cave entrance. I gathered myself, crawling tighter into the crevice that I had slept in the night before. The sounds of crackling dried leaves and twigs grew louder. I sniffed the air and was taken aback by what I inhaled. I knew this human but I couldn't read his mind, which maddened me. The scent was very familiar, musky yet sweet; it was human pheramone mixed with sweat and something else. I couldn't quite place what I was smelling and I could not yet pick up any other thought patterns to further make the visitor recognizable. My curiosity held me in position. The sound stopped and another louder sound took its place. A frustrated grunt announced the visitor coming closer to my sleeping place. I watched the pinpoint of light that wavered back and forth with the movement of the lone figure. The tunnel was long and narrow but with my animal eyes, I could see the man coming closer. I held my breath.
Within moments, I caught a glimpse of something within his mind. A wolf..a lone wolf standing in the forest glaring at me. Then a glimpse of something else... a child was crying on the forest floor. She wiped the her dirty tear stained face and then called his name.
"Tamas....Tamas..." The vision faded.
I heard his voice call out echoing on the wet walls of the cave. "Roma...Roma, It's me, Tamas!"
I sat there stunned at what I had seen...what I was hearing now. I sat there stunned because that strange and interesting man was invading my sleeping place and he was calling to me. He was casually announceing himself as if we had been good friends all our life. I couldn't run for there was no other way out of this place. This man was brave, very brave and he was coming for me. He was alone and that was at least a small releif. But what did he want. What on earth could posssess a human man to crawl into the lair of the beast, look her in the face and ....tempt to lay his cards before her.
I saw his thoughts and realized that this is what he intended to do. He was gradually and inevitably opening his previously secret thoughts to me by simply mending some connection. That is when the other things came back to me.
We had met before...some life, some time...ago...before the change.
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