A Witch’s Promise

Chapter 12: Adventures

Over the next few weeks, Sav and Naomi began to grow closer. They spent breaks in between classes going over lecture notes and telling tales about their families. Naomi found her easy to talk to. It didn’t hurt that she was always hoarding snacks in her massive rucksack. They had slowly become their own unofficial two-man pack.

As the last hints of summer began to disappear, Naomi sat underneath the sun feeling the last flecks of warmth when Sav appeared eclipsing her view.

“You’re skipping your afternoon classes.”

Naomi opened her eyes and peered up. Sav stood wearing ripped jeans, hiking boots, and a faded dark green flannel with the sleeves shoved to her elbows showing off her tattoos. A pair of sunglasses sat crooked atop her head.

Naomi frowned. “No. I’m not.”

“You are today.”

“That’s not how schedules work,” Naomi stated closing her eyes again.

Sav ignored her completely. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“To see the real Flat Rock.”

Naomi snorted softly and adjusted her bag higher on her shoulder. “I live here.”

“No,” Sav corrected immediately. “You attend classes here. Totally different.”

Before Naomi could argue further, Sav was already walking backward down the sidewalk.

“You’ve seen the coffee shops and the tourist stores and the weird little art galleries selling hand-carved spoons for seventy dollars.” Sav pointed dramatically. “I’m offering mountains. Fresh air. Spiritual enlightenment.”

“You sound like a cult leader.”

“I’d be incredible at it.”

Naomi should’ve said no.

Honestly, she fully intended to, but there was something dangerously convincing about the easy certainty Sav carried around. She lived like the world bent to her will and expected everyone else to follow. And Naomi was tired. She was tired of the classrooms, tired of the constant need to pretend, and most certainly tired of the constant pressure threatening to boil over from within her skin. So, somehow, nearly 20 minutes later, Naomi found herself in Sav’s old Jeep heading into the mountains with the windows down as Lizzo thrummed loudly through the speakers.

The farther they drove, the narrower the roads become. The small houses disappeared first. Then, the stores, and eventually all cell service. As the winding roads carved through the endless trees Naomi began to feel herself relax. She rested her elbow against the window as cool air rushed past her face.

“It’s pretty,” she admitted quietly.

Sav glanced at her briefly, smug satisfaction immediately appearing.

“I know.”

Naomi rolled her eyes as Sav continued driving. Sav drove another twenty minutes before turning onto an almost invisible dirt road half-swallowed by overgrowth.

“This,” Sav announced, “is where Flat Rock stops pretending to be civilized.”

Here, the trailheads weren’t marked. There were no guide signs or tourists. The only signs of life came from the teeming forest floor. As Naomi stepped out of the Jeep, something inside her loosened. The woods smelled alive. She could smell the earthy pine and see the moss lined rocks in every direction. And underneath it all was freedom. Naomi inhaled deep and took in the scenery before her.

Sav noticed Naomi’s subtle inhale and grinned slightly, “Yeah, that’s why I brought you.”

The hike started easy enough. There was a narrow foot trail winding upward through dense forest while sunlight filtered through branches in fractured beams. Sav walked ahead most of the time and would occasionally point out animal tracks or plants Naomi absolutely should not touch unless she wanted “a spiritually transformative rash.”

Hours passed before the trail began turning steeper. The path eventually dissolved entirely into jagged rock and tangled roots climbing sharply alongside the mountain. As she climbed, Sav grabbed onto a boulder and hauled herself upward before glancing back.

“Okay,” she admitted between breaths. “This part kind of sucks.”

Naomi stared upward at the impossible incline. Thalia stretched awake beneath her skin at the sight of stone and forest and open sky. She seemed to be….excited. Noticing her pause, Sav looked back. “You okay?”

Naomi swallowed hard then hesitated. She stated quietly, “this would be easier if we shifted.”

Sav blinked. “Okay. Great idea.”

“You shift?” she asked carefully.

Naomi nodded carefully.

“It will be dark before we get there if we don’t shift now.” At her statement, Naomi stepped away from the trail slightly, heart hammering. She shook off her closed and closed her eyes. The shift came easier this time. There was no internal struggle. She knew exactly what was happening to her. And even still, she allowed it.

Naomi’s bones shifted smoothly beneath her skin. As her muscles stretched, heat flooded her body. The world sharpened all at once into vivid clarity. When Naomi opened her eyes again, Thalia stood where she had been. The metallic grey was shining in the light as the wiccan markings shown on her legs and paws.

Sav stared. For once, she was speechless. After a moment, she spoke.

“Well,” she said after a stunned pause, “that explains a lot.”

Thalia huffed softly and nudged Sav’s shoulder with her snout.

Sav barked out a surprised laugh. “Oh, absolutely not.”

Thalia nudged her again harder this time before picking up her clothes with her mouth and beginning to climb.

Sav groaned dramatically.

“You are so lucky I like you.”

A moment later, Sav undressed and shifted too. This transformation was heavier and broader. Sav’s body had expanded massively beneath dark brown fur as an enormous bear emerged onto the mountainside with a deep rumbling grunt.

Thalia froze briefly. Sav’s bear form was beautiful. She had massive paws and fur as dark as wet bark. Power rolled from beneath her with every movement. Despite her size, Sav’s calming playful presence remained the same. She gave Naomi a playful, unimpressed look before beginning to climb beside her.

And suddenly, Naomi was running. She shot out over the rocks and fallen trees with effortless speed. She raced Sav through stretches of forest as far as the eye could see. At one-point Sav shoved Naomi sideways into a pile of leaves with a massive paw, and Naomi retaliated by tackling the much larger bear directly into a freezing creek. The resulting splash soaked them both. Sav made such an outraged and outlandish sound so dramatic Naomi genuinely thought she might start speaking English again just to complain. Instead, the bear lunged forward and the two of them crashed through shallow water and moss-covered stones in a blur of fur and chaos.

By the time they reached the waterfall, Naomi’s sides physically hurt from happiness. The falls burst from the mountain in shimmering silver sheets spilling into a crystal-clear basin below surrounded by towering cliffs covered in moss and ivy. The two girls skid to a stop and stared. It looked unreal. Like something hidden deliberately from the rest of the world. The air glittered with mist and sunlight as water cascaded down the steep mountainside into a pool of water.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. Sav shifted back first.

Human again and completely soaked with her dark hair played wildly over her face, she chimed, “Told you.”

Naomi shifted slowly afterward, exhaustion sinking deep into her muscles as she dropped onto a warm flat rock near the water. For once, the exhaustion felt good.

Sav stretched out beside her with a groan as she began pulling on her t-shirt and pants. “I’m never recovering from you body-slamming me into that creek.”

“You started it.”

“I was being playful.”

“You weighed six hundred pounds.”

“Details.”

Naomi laughed softly again as she flung her t-shirt back on and began to make work of the leggings.

The silence that settled afterward felt easy and comfortable. Then, Naomi turned her head slightly toward Sav.

“How did you know?” she asked quietly.

Sav looked over. “Know what?”

“That I was…” Naomi hesitated. “A wolf.”

Sav blinked once, then snorted.

“I didn’t.”

Naomi frowned. “What?”

Sav grinned lazily at the sky again. “I guessed.”

Naomi stared at her in confusion. “You guessed.”

“Yea, I mean, you smelled like a witch but not a witch. And you growled a couple times when we were studying for the quarter finals.” Sav shrugged. “Seemed statistically likely.”

Naomi threw a rock at her. “Well you could have said something.”

Sav cackled loud enough for the sound to echo off the cliffs around them. “I figured it would come out eventually.”