Ashley Moore now desperately tried to catch her breath as the portal closed behind her. What the hell had that thing been?
The business woman from Boston was trying to help her friends from afar. After learning about the threat of the Normal from her old friends Katie Carlson, Katies sister Gloria and Jennifer Moore, she felt compelled to garner as much information as possible. Thankfully since moving to Boston, she had used her magic to contact some of the few witches within the city, convincing a small coven to help in a location spell. For a moment everything seemed to be going as planned.
Those plans quickly became a nightmare though. Ashley couldn't explain what happened, watching as a girl with four black fox tails lept from the darkness. The slaughter was on, despite Ashley's proficiency with magic. Within moments the fox girl had murdered the coven and would have done the same to Ashley. In a last ditch effort, she opened a portal, useing the dying breath of the coven to escape. Where she was though was a complete mystery.
"Am I back home," she thought, gazing around the forest. It looked like Settlers Woods but she couldn't be sure. The portal she had opened was unstable, the magics chaotic. When she jumped through the portal, she expected to be taken to her apartment, not her old home town. Still, something felt off, an odd feeling creeping over the wizard as she rose unsteadily to her feet.
"So you guys practice in the woods," Lilith asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched Mia and Annie. "More privacy," Mia replied. "And with Rexie on guard we're usually pretty safe." Lilith glanced backwards, gazing at Mia's familiar. When the goth teen saw the witch's white cat, she doubted it could stop a mouse. With a wave of Mia's hand though, she understood the power Mia had, watching the cat grow in size and becoming a large white panther with blue eyes. "Yeah I guess you're right?"
After meeting after school, the three Freshman made their way towards Settlers Woods for magic practice. Here, the three teenage girls were able to cast spells without fear of being interrupted. As Mia and Annie explained, this was a private place for them without fear of the One Humanity finding them. Even if they were discovered, having Rexie in the form of a panther made any would be attacker second guess themselves.
A low growl from Rexie now drew the girls attention. Although Lilith was apprehensive as Mia explained, Rexie would do this if someone approached. In all cases, that person was usually a friend of theirs. Still, the teens were cautious slowly walking towards Rexie. Gazing into the forest, the teens gasped as a woman they didn't recognize stumbled out of the brush. Annie and Mia screamed, the pair now preparing spells. "Who are you?!"
Ashley groaned, grasping her side as she winced in pain. A large slash along her side was bleeding heavily, staining her clothes. "I need help," she said. "My names Ashley Moore. I'm looking for a friend of mine, Katie Carlson."
"Katie," Annie gasped. "You're a friend of my sister?" Ashley nodded, limping towards the teenage girl. "Who are you? What's your name?"
"Annie," she said. "Annie Pendragon." Ashley cursed under her breath, somehow she had ended up in the other timeline. "Damn it I didn't realize the portal dropped me here," she grumbled. Taking a breath, she tried to compose herself trying to remember anything she could of thw other timeline. "Okay Annie," she said. "Your mom is Kellie Pendragon right? Can you take me to her? I need to talk with her."
"Yeah sure," Annie said quickly. "But what's going on?"
"It has to do with the Normal," she said. "I was attacked by one of their assassins. Someone I had never seen, I need to tell her about her." Annie nodded, still confused about this young woman's appearance. As she was about to ask another question, Rexie growled again, the panthers dander standing on end.
All eyes now focused on a young girl, perhaps a year younger than Annie, now leep from the trees. Sporting a pair of fox ears and four black fox tails she furrowed her brow as she looked to attack. Quickly Ashley now knocked Annie out of the way, attacking this fox girl with a spell before opening a portal. "Not this time," the fox girl snarled.
As Ashley looked to vanish into the portal, she gasped as the fox girl appeared. Gasping in shock, she never stood a chance as the fox girl now pierced her heart. Ashley slumped to the ground dead, leaving Annie, Mia, and Lilith horrified. As the fox girl now withdrew her sword from Ashley's chest, she glared at the three teenagers.
"Annie Pendragon, Mia Hall, and Lilith Kane," she stated. "My name is Hinata Ayasa. Make peace with your maker, I have been tasked by the Normal to bring your death."