A Moment With Betsy

There's not much like it. The sweet smell of the summer air. The wind whistling in my ears. My paws bounding across the grass, weaving me through trees as easily as water over a riverbed. Nobody there to tell me what to do, nothing to stop me, no rules. I wasn't bound by even the laws of the world I came from. Physics, math... specks behind me when I ran like this. This sensation was forever. Eternal freedom, all for myself.

Then sometimes... she was there. With me. I could feel her presence, greater than mine. Her fur, denser than mine as she sprinted alongside me. I let it distract me, tripping on a branch and sending me head over heels. She brakes, and jumps in front of me, stopping me from tumbling. Even without her ever so recognizable face and hair, I could recognise her. Betsy, on her knees beside me, having stopped me from rolling all the way down the hill. Her canid eyes regarded mine, as I regarded her. Her soft hands gripped my shirt, pulling me upright, while she looked me over. Eternal care taken in everything she did. How warm, gentle she was. It was enough to make my tail flick to the right, then left again.

It only took a moment for me to regain my thoughts, and I looked to the side with a bit of embarassment. I'd been easily distracted just by her running alongside me. What a silly thing for a werewolf to do. Wolves didn't trip for stupid things like that naturally. Wordlessly, she reached out to me. The movement caught my eye, directing my attention back to her. She was smiling. Before I could ask she had put her hand on my shoulder. The thought to question this came to me, but it was silenced as she leaned in and pushed her forehead to mine.

I could smell her. All the witches had their own, very distinct scent. Alice always reeked of perfume, baby powder, hand sanitizer and kept herself clean, unnaturally so. Susie always smelled like sweat, damp earth and cinnamon. She probably only bathed about once per day, sometimes skipping days. Betsy was... different. Her body radiated this energy I couldn't understand. Nothing came close besides maybe Oscar. But unlike him, hers came from something different. We hadn't known one another since childhood. We hadn't nearly perished together between the seconds of the clock. We hadn't slept side by side all our time at camp. There was still a magnetism to her, though. An aura that I felt. It mingled with the smell of warm bread, her special smell. Wildflowers lining a jar of honey. A freshly made lunch. All of it filled my senses... partnered with the odd energy surrounding her. I couldn't help but shut my eyes.

As one, we took deep breaths. I could hear her slow, steady heartbeat alongside my fluttering, unsure rhythm. Nothing could replace this. In just this moment, I felt what I usually felt between me and Oscar. A connection on a level deeper than any words could express. Resting against me while crickets chirped. Fireflies blinked to one another. The smell of her filling my mind while her soft hand rubbed my shoulder. I didn't feel bad about tripping anymore... I felt glad she was there.

We stayed like that until at last the moon dipped low beneath the treeline. She stood up, a smile crossing her face. Her finger pressed to her lips as a reminder to keep this secret from the other witches. I yearned for her to come back, watching her leave. I'd have to talk to her about this, sometime later. Until then, I had to get back to camp. Confused emotions danced in my heart. What had happened...?