Misty viper's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Misty stayed near the black fountain for three more days, watching the forest's signs shift and settle. The pink water calmed. The roses dimmed. Everything returned to its usual rhythm. She was about to leave when something crashed through the undergrowth behind her. A fox dragged itself into the clearing, leaving a trail of disturbed air behind it — shimmering waves that bent the light where its blood had fallen. The creature's fur was matted dark. One leg hung useless. It collapsed at the fountain's edge, panting hard. Misty crouched beside it and saw intelligence in its eyes. This wasn't just any forest animal. It knew something. She returned an hour later with a hollowed rutabaga lantern, its carved face glowing from the sacred coal inside. The warmth would keep the fox alive long enough to speak. She set it near the creature's body and watched its breathing steady. "You came here for a reason," she said. "Tell me what you know, and I'll save you." The fox's eyes flickered toward her coat. Misty pulled out a small skull cabinet, its compartments filled with preserved specimens and remedies. She opened it slowly. "This is the price of survival. What's yours?" The fox spoke in the old tongue, each word costing it strength. The head witch had chosen a successor. A name. A location. Everything Misty needed to find them first. She closed the skull cabinet and began applying the remedy to the fox's wounds. The creature would live, and she had what she came for. The apprentice she'd been seeking wasn't someone she needed to find — it was someone she needed to reach before the head witch did. She stood and looked toward the deeper woods. Her plan had just changed completely.