Page 23 of Witch's Exile
She whined and kicked her legs a bit but otherwise obeyed me. Fire cleansed her wound of any bacteria from Sal's mouth and Earth repaired her torn flesh and began sealing up the bite. Within a minute, only a few small bald patches on her neck were the only indication of any scuffle.
She slowly rolled to her feet and shook out her fur. Her kit yipped excitedly, jumping up on his hind legs to lick her face and wagging his tail.
"So now that we both nearly died," I held my bloody palms out to Sal, who purred with pleasure as he licked them clean. "I'd say we're even. Now can we talk without guns or bloody attacks?"
The vixen tilted her head, regarding me curiously before looking past me to Sal. Her ears flattened against her skull and her lip curled back, exposing her teeth.
"Lion, shift back to human for me," I said, merely guessing at what she wanted.
He growled and draped a heavy paw over my shoulder before obliging, the paw shrinking into a human-sized hand and arm that wrapped around me protectively.
"Your turn, vixen," he growled as if daring her, pulling me close to his chest.
Her form morphed into the wild haired human woman who I first saw when approaching the settlement. Her son shifted to human as well and she pulled him protectively behind her back.
"What do you want from us?" she demanded. "I shot at you because you're trespassing."
"Fucking bitch." Sal's muscles tensed but I stopped him with a hand on his chest before he could lunge at her.
"Your son was spying on me, trespassing on our property first," I explained. "I followed him because I thought he was human. He saw me using magic which we don't share with ordinary humans."
The vixen let out a dry laugh. "Not from around here, are you? You act like you've never seen a shifter before."
"I haven't. This guy," I nodded at Sal. "Can shift but he also has magic like me. You two don't seem to have magic apart from the shifting."
"Never heard of a shifting witch," the woman snarled. "You magical assholes are the whole reason we're out here living like this. Said we were too feral and dangerous to be around humans of any kind."
I couldn't help but smile knowingly. Now we were getting somewhere.
"He's not exactly a witch," I told her. "And I can't shift but we are out here for similar reasons. Our local community chased us out because they thought we were a threat to them as well. Even though we never hurt anyone."
"No one that didn't threaten us first," Sal added, narrowing his eyes at her. "Or rightly deserved it."
The woman scratched her scalp through her wild, red curls. With her attitude and similar features, she could have been Sal's sister.
"I'm sorry for shooting at your mate," she said, lowering her eyes to the ground. "I understand you acted out of protection." And then to me, "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm glad you weren't badly injured."
Sal and I exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
"Apology accepted," I said. "I understand you were acting out of protection too. What are your names?"
"I'm Astrid." She pulled her son forward, keeping her arms around him protectively. "This is Jacob."
I smiled at him. "Hi, Jacob."
"Hello." He looked down shyly. "Thank you for healing my mom."
"No problem, buddy. I'm sorry that was scary for you." I grabbed Sal's face playfully. "This is Sal. He promises not to do that again." He rolled his emerald eyes, prompting a light smack on his cheek from me. "And I'm Deja."
"You have him well-trained," Astrid observed. "If I didn't know you couldn't shift, I would have figured you for an alpha."
"She is, in a way," Sal said, looking at me affectionately.
A blush rose in my cheeks. I got the feeling that was a sincerely big compliment from a shifter.
"How many shifters do you have here in your community?" I asked. The realization dawned on me that Astrid and Jacob seemed to be the only two here, despite six yurts standing in the clearing.
"Only my family for now," she answered, ruffling Jacob's hair. "We're the only permanent residents. We serve as a sort-of underground railroad for outcasted or fleeing shifters. We help them find communities of their own species across the country, and guide them there in ways to avoid being tracked or hunted."
