The day had just begun for the traveler walking along the green grass. It had been a long time since she had traveled through the highlands. Almost a hundred years, the people of the villages probably had forgotten her face and name. She had lived amongst the people for almost a two hundred years, going from village to village. Katerina had help when she could, she needed her mind taken away the child she had lost. A sigh left her lips, she hadn’t thought about these high hills in a long time. The times she had helped around the farms or even taken care of the children. A smiled cross her lips, the laughs she shared with them filled her heart with joy. She was never one to laugh but they always seemed to make her.


The woman’s black knee high boots made no sound as she moved over the grassy hill top. A black cloak hung from the woman’s neck, open to reveal a white, low v neck top with long sleeves that were tucked into black high waisted pants. Her usual wear when she traveled. It wasn’t long before the wolf demon stopped to take in the beauty around her. High up on one of the hilltops, she could see the beauty of the land. Green grass stretched as far as her eyes could see, trees scattered about and soft streams falling from the highest mountains. A village tucked away in the far east, where she lived for a very long time. A smile crossed her lips, she was almost there. The chill of the air took her attention as she looked up to the gray cloud filled sky. With one deep inhale, Katerina knew that snow would start falling at any time.This time of year was always her favorite to be within these mountains.


Pulling her cloak around her shoulders, Katerina started to head down the mountain top. Bright blue eyes looked above her to watch the snow start to far. It wouldn’t be long till the snow would cover the land in its white beauty. Making her way through the trees, her eyes watched as the animals of the hills ran into their hide away in the trees. Birds chirped loudly as they flew into their nest, tucking in their babies under their wings. Even a few howls echoed throughout the land. Her wolves would be far off into the hills, taking in the advantage of the land. It would be a few days till she saw them again.


The chill of the air turned the woman’s cheek a soft pink, her eyes brightening against the white of the snow as it soon covered the land in fresh powder. Her feet that was once silent, crunched in the snow with every step. The once musical forest was now silent. All the animals hide from the cold, taking in the warmth of their homes.


Seeing the village come into view, a gasp left her lips seeing the smoke. “No..” She whispered as she started to run. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they ran into the village. A sudden stop, made the hood fall off her head. Katerina’s bright blue eyes took in the destruction; houses that once stood burned, some were lying dead on the ground. The people who were still alive started to put out the fire’s and the women started to mend to the wounded. The snow that fell from the sky helped the people as well, even if it was slowly putting out the fire.



A voice called to her, old a frail, “Katerina! It’s you, thank the gods it’s you.” Turning to see the source of the voice, an old woman hobbled over to her and took Katerina’s hand. “Liz.” Katerina looked from the women to the burned houses around her. “What happened here?” She asked as she looked back at the woman, worry on her face. Tears appeared in the old woman’s eyes as she looked into Katerina’s blue ones. “Orcs. They attacked us and took our little ones.” The old woman's tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke, “My grandkids. My poor grandkids must be so scared.” Her face looked away from Katerina and into the hills around them. “Why? They always keep to themselves.” She whispered as her eyes followed the woman’s. “It has been happening in all the villages. It is said a witch has been controlling them…….but what does she want with our children!!!” She said, almost yelling. “Please Katerina. You must help us.” The woman grabbed Katerina’s cloak and shook it, tears falling from her eyes.


Taking the woman’s hands, Katerina stared into her eyes. “I will do everything in my power to help you get them back.” The wolf demon promised as she hugged the woman and turned away. “They went north.” Liz said pointing off towards the rolling hills. With a nod, the wolf demon walked off into the trees. The wolf demon’s eyes searched for the tracks of the orcs. A sigh left her lips, the snow that fell covered them and probably washed them away. This was going to be harder than she thought. Kneeling down, she moved her hand over the snow, the snow moved with her finds to reveal a footprint underneath; heading north.


There would only be one reason why a witch would take children. A spell, and a powerful one. Katerina would had to find them before the spell was performed.

“I just can’t believe they did this!” He foamed, swaying back and forth in the cold wind. The branch of the tree, he hung by a rope, was occupied by a red squirrel,  very much displaced so far up in the north that listened to his ramblings rather puzzled.

 “So what if I burned down one of their houses? This woman was surely a witch and they should be thankful!” He kept on going as he pushed against the ropes that held his hands in place behind his back. “So what if she said sorry for inflaming the end of my coat by ‘accident’. So what if she payed me to patch it up again? It could be easily one of these dark schemes!”

The squirrel chattered.

“I overreacted?!” He blurted out, glancing in disbelieve and annoyance at the squirrel “On who’s side are you on?”

The squirrel chattered.

“As if I need such quibbling remarks about the things I d- Am I talking with a squirrel?” He stopped in mid sentence and mentally slapped himself.
“Maybe I really am a bit out of my mind.” He mumbled and came to a hold. “I should probably have more people around me too. . .”  
Meanwhile the squirrel had built up some appetite because of his cunning arguments against this irritating man. It eyed the rope tied to its branch for a moment and shrugged its little red shoulders. Hemp shouldn’t be all that bad if rabbits eat it, right? It jumped over to it and began to gnaw on it, the rope slowly giving in to its bites.

“-toning down my aggressive stance against everyone may be he-“ He couldn’t finish the sentence because he suddenly found himself on collision course with the ground. Only a yelp escaped his lips before he kissed the ground and tumbled down the hill. Simultaneously, the branch of the tree shoots up because of the sudden loss of weight, sending the squirrel on a trip to the clouds in the direction of Seier.

As he was descending down the slope, he tried to restore control of the situation by shouting out numerous curses that would have made a sailor gasp in distaste. The multiple rocks he rolled over and smashed against weren’t really helpful either but they did raise the amount of curses.
At the end of the hillside he landed gracefully like a dead cat on his stomach with a loud slap. For a moment he didn’t know what was going on nor did he want to do anything. There was just pain. The world was pain and he hated it even more than before now. He grumbled slightly and tried to get up, but he was stopped by the sudden weight of the squirrel on the brim of his hat, that let it swing around in a circle for a moment before coming to a stop. The squirrel chattered loudly, his claws gripping tightly to the hat but it went quiet as it looked to its left.

Seier meanwhile pushed down his hat and looked intensely at the squirrel for a moment, deciding if he should let his anger out on it. He decided against it in the end and sighed. “What a stupid idea.” He grumbled.

He sighed again and just wanted to shoo the squirrel away until he noticed that it looked at something. He followed its glance and his eyes took a hold on a woman. He remained silent his mouth agape, two questions storming through his mind. Who was this woman and most importantly did she see this embarrassing stunt?

He decided to play it off, like anyone would play off the fall down a hill to the bystanders.
“Uh. . . Greetings, Seier Berg is the name. Witch Hunting is my profession, can I help you?” He said and blushed furiously.
‘Smooth, Seier. Now she knows on who she is laughing at.’ He thought and put his hat back on, pushing it deep in his face and pulling up the bandana around his neck, the squirrel remaining on the hat.

He awaited whatever she had to throw at him. . . So he could throw something back.

Katerina’s moved through the snow as quietly as she would in her wolf form. The only thing that anyone would hear was the her slow and steady breathing.  That was if they had good ears like a wolf. As she continued to walk through the snow, the small flakes fell onto her cheeks.Their touch was almost soothing to the elemental who was extremely worried about the children.

Thinking about her own child that she had few old friends, she needed to come to the snowy village to check up on the family that once took her in. She could breath a bit easy knowing that Koda was with her. The tiger she had rescued from her uncle’s ship had taken a liking to the child. He was very protective. A small smile appeared on her lips as she pictured the little girl sleeping with the tiger. He had not moved once until she woke.

The wolf demon’s hands closed into fists at the thought of her child being taken by the witch. She had a bond with that child and she would protect her at any cost. Maybe that was why she was on this mission. She couldn’t think of any children dieing at the hands of a witch, they had a life to live. Katerina didn’t want their life stripped from them.

A loud screech echoed through the sky forced the thoughts from her mind. Her eyes looked up at the sky to see a white eagle. Katerina held out her arm towards the bird. A  swoosh was heard as the eagle flew down to her then softly landed on her arm. “Hello girl… It’s been a long time.” The wolf demon whispered as she brought up her free hand to glide the back of her fingers on the white eagle’s stomach. “Where have you been!?” The bird screeched at her. “Traveling of course.” Katerina said with a smile. “I missed you, Wolf.” The eagle said softly to her friend. “I missed you too, Victoria. You have grown so much since the last time I saw you.”

Their heads touched for a moment before Katerina pulled back to look at the eagle. “I need your help. A pack of orcs have been taking kids for a witch. Find her please and come back with her location” She spoke and she knew the eagle wouldn’t say no. “On it!” The bird said as she pushed off the wolf’s arm and flew into the sky.

With a nod, the wolf started back on her path. She didn’t walk long before a loud noise caught her attention. The wolf’s crystal blue eyes shot to the hilltop, a figure was rolling down the hill. A squirrel with him. The scene almost made her laugh. It only took a few moments for the man to compose himself. As soon as the man saw Katerina, he started to speak. She stared at him for a moment and looked at the squirrel hanging from his hat. A smile crossed her lips seeing the blush on his cheeks, “Hello, Seier Berg. My name is Katerina Silverstein. For the moment, I am a Witch hunter as well….” She paused for a moment as she looked at the hill then back at the witch hunter. “You fall.. Very gracefully.” She said with a smile.  

Looking up towards the sky, dark clouds started to cover the sky. The witch was getting ready for the spell. They had two days at max. A spell like this took a long time to prepare and a long time to complete. She knew she would need help, and since the man before her was a witch hunter. She needed him. “So. Witch Hunter. There is a high witch deep in the forest that needs killing. Are you up for the challenge?” She asked. She needed to save these children now before the spell was completed. “Let’s just hope you’re are as graceful in fighting like you are in falling.” A small laugh left her lips.

Katerina's ears caught a sound, loud footsteps and huffing. Turning quickly, she held out her hand. Smoke shot from her hands and was drawn inward almost as if the sword was sucking in the icy smoke. "Orcs." She whispered over her shoulder at him.