Visions of Wolves

Fashionable weapons

We found Aoife in the herb garden outside the back of her little cottage. She was planting seeds she had been drying out. She gave Ally and I each a big hug and invited us in for tea. 

The three of us chatted away while we sipped our tea. I hadn’t told Ally about my Harvest Festival experience and I hand’t yet told Aoife about what happened during the marking so there was a lot to catchup on.

But when Ally got up to take our mugs to the kitchen I quickly turned to Aoife.

“I need to chat with you. But in private.” I nodded in Ally’s direction as I said that second part. She titled her head inquisitively and then said she had an idea.

When Ally came back Aoife mentioned that there had been another magic accident and that two of the flood light poles had fallen over and she hoped Ally might use her strength to put them back up. It would save the villagers a whole lot of time. Ally then asked that I come with while she did it, to which Aoife reassured her we would stay in the herb garden outback until she was done.

Eventually Ally went off to help with the poles and I followed Aoife into the garden

“Alright then, are you ok? What’s with the secretiveness?” Aoife asked handing me some seeds and working slowly so that I could copy what she was doing. I told her about the visions. About how I was worried some might just be bad dreams, but at the same time they could be a warning. 

“What does Alex say about all this?” She asked, her brow now tense and knitted together in concern.  

“I haven’t told him.”  

“Teal!” She said in a reprimanding tone. I explained that he was already hesitant for me to come, how I didn’t want to make him worry even more and that I needed to clarify these visions before I could go and cause even more worry, possibly over nothing. 

She sighed in response. “Ok, I don’t agree with you not telling him, but I respect that it’s your decision. So let me ask you this. Those visions that have come true, when you saw them, did you see yourself from a third person perspective or were you looking through your own eyes?”

I had to think about it for a while. “I see it as though I’m watching it happen to me.” 

“Now think of a dream that was clearly a dream. What perspective was it?”

This time I really did have to think. Eventually a dream I had as a child about a unicorn sprang to mind. “Oh! Wow, yes. When I dream, I dream as though it’s me!”

“And?” Aoife looked me over with concern. “Do you think this attack on the village and your possible kidnapping are visions or dreams?”

I had been kneeling next to her, planting the seeds in front of me. But I sat back on my heels now, the backs of my wrists pressed into my eyes while I concentrated. “Aoife I think it’s a vision.”

“You have to tell Alex.” She said matter of factly. 

“He’s just going to send me back, where I’m alone and unable to defend myself.” I sighed. She was right, but I felt safer here with them than back home. Silly, considering all the action was happening here. But It would take little effort from rogues to find me back home if they wanted to.

Aoife looked me over for quite some time. “You have to tell him, but perhaps not yet. Come with me.”

Aoife led me to the small greenhouse in the back of her garden. It has rows and rows of the same plant. A small shrub with a beautiful purple flower. As we entered she handed me gloves. “Don’t let any of it touch your skin.”

“What is it?” 

“Wolfsbane. The only thing that can really weaken a shifter. In small doses it can prevent them from shifting and bigger doses are well, lethal.”

“I’ve seen this before!” I suddenly remembered Mabel at the hotel. “When the rogues attacked Mabel at her hotel she shoved some herbs in their mouths. I was so disorientated at the time I wasn’t paying proper attention. But it was definitely this.” 

“That sounds about right, we trust the shifters in this village but there are others who are less friendly. Also, we’d rather be safe than sorry. We need to make sure that if things were to ever go wrong, we have a way to protect ourselves. I think perhaps you need to learn those ways too.” 

“But Mabel was able to touch it with her hands? Was that because it was dried out?”

Aoife had picked up sheers and was slowly cutting clippings and collecting them in her hands. “Oh no. They’re pretty safe for us. I’m more concerned that you come into contact with Alex or Ally after playing with wolfsbane and they have a bad reaction.” 

“Is it that strong?” I said staring at the beautiful purple flower.

“Think of it like an allergy. If they touch it and touch their mouths or eyes they will have a reaction. But if they eat it, that’s when it becomes a problem.”

“Do they know that you grow it here? Do they know you have so much growing here?” I asked looking around at shelves after shelves of purple flowers. They were beautiful really, despite how deadly they could be. 

“Yeah, well, that’s why it’s in this greenhouse and not out in the open.” Aoife shrugged.

She pulled out some string, cut them into pieces and showed me how to tie and string up the wolfsbane to dry.

“I guess the only problem is getting close enough to use it right?” I looked at the bunch hanging from the shelves in front of us. I doubted they would even dry in time before I headed back home at the end the week.

“Well, there are a few tricks for that too. I like to replace my stock as I use or refresh it so these I’ll sort out later. But if you look under those shelves at the back you will see some already dried bunches.” 

I retrieved the box while Aoife hung up the remaining bunches and checked that they were all on tight. I brought it over and it was filled with bunches of dried wolfsbane.

“You see these?” Aoife rolled down her glove to show me the bracelets made of decorated clay beads she always wore. In fact I had noticed them on many of the witches. I had asked one of the women about them once, at the bonfire during the Harvest Festival. She said the women often paint beads and share them amongst each other. They were charm bracelets of sorts, said to bring them protection and good luck.

I examined the bracelet on her wrist. Her beads were all shades of blue, green and purple with little white markings and shapes on them. “They’re beautiful, they’re supposed to be good luck and protection right?” I asked and Aoife laughed. “You will find a lot of truth in superstition around here.”

Aoife dug around at the bottom the box I had brought out with the dried wolfsbane in it and pulled out two clay beads that had not been painted.

“Here, break this between your fingers.” I took the bead from her and squeezed as hard as I could, but the gardening gloves didn’t have a good grip and the bead flew out my hand. We both laughed while I scurried across the floor to grab it.

“Here like this. Snap it between your fingers.” Aoife demonstrated without actually breaking the bead so I copied her action. As I did the bead cracked into tiny pieces and a small cloud of powder puffed out of it.

“Whoa, was that…is that wolfsbane? You have it hiding in your jewellery?” I looked at her completely shocked. What seemed like harmless, superstitious bracelets, necklaces and hair accessories were actually deadly weapons. Aoife looked at me with a smirk on her face. “Yup, we’re not taking chances. We’ve also kept this hidden for years and years, so I need you to keep quiet about it to certain mutual friends of ours too.” She said with a wink.

“Come back tomorrow and I’ll teach you how to make them and a few tricks on how to use them should you ever need to.”

“Aoife I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Thank you! It’s just going to be tough to get some peace away from my body guard.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can invent some more problems that need Ally’s strength and bossiness to overcome.”

We headed out the greenhouse just in time to see Ally coming out the house. 

That night Jay had decided to do a stock take of the infirmary. Just to be sure that if anything did happen the pack was ready. So Alex and I went to help. Counting and moving boxes around was tiring, but I was happy for the distraction and a chance to just hang out with them and chat.

Although every time any of them mentioned a possible attack my vision came back to mind. Clearly I wasn’t good at hiding my panic or heart rate because it often encouraged a small reassuring squeeze from Alex. Little did he know it wasn’t the prospect of the attack, but the reality of it that I had seen.

By the time we were done I was exhausted, my back ached from standing for so long and I was starving. We made our way to the kitchen to raid the fridge for snacks and then head to our rooms.

Alex rubbed ointment on my back and legs to help ease the muscles and I fell asleep to the warmth of his hands on my body.

The visions were back. The basement, small windows, my hands tied. But this time I was ready. I let logic seep in and stopped to take account of the perspective of the vision. I was looking at the scene, not in it. This was definitely a vision. It still made me anxious. I could feel the sweat pooling down my back and temples. I could feel my eyes and arms tense, my hands gripping the blanket but I breathed through it. I needed to pay attention, find something useful that could help me. I tried to focus on my hands and the way they were tied. Perhaps I needed to keep a small knife on me somehow. I also noticed the clay bracelets on my wrist. They were the same shades of blue and green Aoife had. 

Something about that made me feel more confident, braver in fact. I could prepare for this, I would be prepared for this. Those bracelets were about protection and good luck because sometimes you’ve got to make your own luck. 

When I woke up I didn’t gasp and flinch like I usually do. Alex didn’t even stir when I suddenly got up, grabbed my journal from my bag and headed to the bathroom. I didn’t want to wake him and I especially didn’t want him to see what I was doing. So I figured I’d shut the bathroom door and use that light to make my entry. 

When I was done, I switched the light back off and quietly opened the door. I jumped when I saw him sitting on the end of the bed, his head titled inquisitively. “What are you up to?” He asked with a smile in his face. “You’ve been gone so long I thought I might have to go search for you at our old rendezvous spot by the sculpture.” He added with a cheeky grin.

“Here I thought I was being so sneaky,” I said while quickly putting the book away in my bag. 

“Everything ok?” He asked while pulling the blanket back so I could get in. I snuggled right up close, until our faces were almost touching.

“Why grandma, what big ears you have.” I said, rubbing his earlobe between my index finger and thumb. He leaned into my hand and kissed it. 

“All the better to hear you with my dear,” he purred with a smirk on his face.

“Why grandma, what a big eyes you have.” This time I cupped his face in my hand and gently rubbed my thumb under his eye.

“All the better to see you with my dear.”

“Why grandma, what a big nose you have.” I ran my index finger lightly up and down his nose, but he simply glared at me in response, causing me to giggle.

“You're the nosey one.” He joked back.

“Why grandma, what beautiful lips you have.” I ran my thumb over his lips and then leaned in to kiss them. His breath was warm and inviting. My back and legs felt fine now but a new ache was starting to swell at my core. 

“I don’t believe this part is innocent enough for a children’s book,” he whispered against my lips before pulling me on top of him and pulling my legs to straddle either side of his waist. I could feel his length against me, hard and defined even through the fabric of our pyjamas. I slowly started to rock my hips against him, clenching my thighs around his waist as I did. He moaned in response. 

“I don’t know if I like this story anymore.” I said slowing down my movements. His eyes were closed and his head titled back, even if he was listening to what I was saying he certainly wasn’t registering any of it. All I got was a “Hmmm?” In response. 

“Yeah. Doesn’t she kill the wolf in the end? Now that I’ve met a few wolves I think I’d keep them around. Sometimes they have very good reasons for being all secretive.”

“Mmm hmmm,” he added, using his hands to guide my hips and forcing me to speed up. 

“I don’t think you care much for my story.” I said sarcastically. I was purposefully playing with him. He stilled, his eyes shot open and he glared at me. 

“I definitely don’t care much for all this talking.” With that he spun me onto my back, made light work of both our clothes and we fell asleep cuddled up in a knot of limbs, exhausted.