Shani Khoza

It would be the first time ever on a boat for Shani since she was prohibited to leave the pack without supervision. She had never even seen the ocean until today. From the moment she had sunk herself in the rental car, she felt a certain rush she never experienced before. The uneasiness disappeared quickly after Athena drove towards the harbour, even though many things could have made her nervous about this whole situation. She knew she was supposed to die in those woods, even though her Alpha told her she was only banished from the pack. After being almost beaten to death by her former pack members, she didn't have any strength left to fight anything that would have crossed her path. Hell, even a normal wolf or a bear could have ended her. But they didn't. Thank the Goddess for Athena. She's the only reason Shani survived those rogues. Shani can barely know what she did to them, but seeing that there wasn't a scratch on the witch, she figured the rogues were clearly outnumbered.

She's curious about the courageous enchantress; since they left the city behind them, they have only exchanged a few sentences. Athena seemed distracted the entire ride, but Shani didn't want to say anything that would make her change her mind about bringing her along. Her gratitude for saving her life and giving her this chance surpasses her curiosity; preventing her from asking questions Athena doesn't want to answer. There are many things she wants to ask though about Athena; about this journey, she jumped into, and the place it will lead them to.

"Come on, the car is on board, now we can go upstairs; I'm quite hungry, you?"

Shani only nods; she has been hungry for hours. Her former pack always fed her enough for her not to die. Barely. The last meal she ate was so long ago, she can't even remember when and what it was or how it smelled.

They take the stairs that will apparently lead to the deck. Nervous jitters appear spontaneously when the blue sky becomes visible in front of her. The cool breeze let her hair fly, tickling her neck. There is a certain smell she can't place, but she enjoys it nonetheless. It smells like the wind, the sea, and something else. It smells like freedom.

She's on a boat. In the human world. She's on a boat because she can. Because she's now a free shapeshifter who can do whatever the heck she wants. The human world had always been fascinating for her, maybe precisely because it was forbidden for her to experience it from up close. While other pack members her age went to school, and later college, she learned from within her own house. She used to think about it all the time when she was forced to stay behind in the pack while others went away. The 'thank you,' she gave to the man who sold them their tickets was probably the first thing she had ever said to a human. It was barely audible and she doubted if the man had even heard her without proper hearing abilities, but it gave her jitters all over her body.

The ferry that will bring them to the mainland is gigantic, she had noticed that when they were standing in front of it, but now they're standing on top of it, she feels even more insignificant. Is it even safe to travel with this heavy, human-made piece of metal? Athena must think so, otherwise, she would have found another way to cross the sea. I'm just glad she didn't want us to swim, Shani thinks relieved. She hates water; she hates the wetness that always keeps her cold for a ridiculously long time, making her shiver for hours.

A loud, deep honk startles her; she inspects her surroundings nervously. "It's a warning for people to come on board, we're almost ready to go," Athena says; a hint of amusement visible in her eyes. Next to the witch, Shani feels like a child, naïve and uncertain about the world. But not anymore, from now on, she will fight for her freedom, her life. No more waiting until it gets better; she has to make it better. And she will.

A new sound arises, this time it's coming from right under her feet. "It's the engine, we're leaving." Athena answers. "So, where are we going exactly?" Shani knows her geography and the information sign told her that there are three possible destinations: two ports in France and one in The Netherlands. From there, they could go anywhere. It doesn't matter to her where they were going, she's excited to leave her homeland anyway. "This ferry sails to a port in The Netherlands; from there, we will drive towards Germany. "

Shani wants to ask more, but she's interrupted when a second honk strikes again. Then, the material below her feet starts to shake and this time the massive boat comes alive.

Excruciatingly slow, it starts to move. There are humans waving at them; saying goodbye. Shani's mouth opens and shapes itself into a big, happy, and carefree smile. Her head is a little dizzy from the sluggish movements of the waves that were created when the boat increased in speed, but in spite of that, she keeps her eyes open, determined not to miss a single moment of her first adventure. The giant buildings that shape England become smaller, less significant when the water starts to dominate the scene. It's only an hour later when there isn't a single sign left that indicates there's a country to go back to.

Every few minutes, she watches her new friend, hoping for an insight into her thoughts, but Athena's eyes don't show any kind of emotions. Even though it doesn't make Shani doubt her decision of trusting her so easily, it just increases her curiosity about the enchantress.

Despite her own secrets, she wants to talk to her, open up about at least some parts of her life, especially the good parts. Hopefully, Athena would want that too in time. "Why did we take the ferry to The Netherlands? I read the journey to France is a lot shorter," Shani asks her.

Athena turns around to face Shani directly; her gaze is stern, her mouth tense, but Shani sees the little rupture in her facade. "That journey was more expensive and all the spots were full for the next three days," she says formally, averting her eyes. This time Shani is determined not to give up that quickly, she knows Athena is hiding something, why wouldn't she tell her?

"Do you have relatives in France?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Your name... Laurent, it sounds French. Plus, your accent seems slightly French too. Am I right?"

Her eyes burn on Athena's skin, eagerly waiting for the answer; she's certain it will reveal something about Athena's mysterious past. The witch examines her surroundings, making sure nobody will be listening to the words she's about to say.

"Yes, it's French, I was born in France. I lived in a small village in the West of France until I, Uhm... ran away."

"You ran away? Why?"

"You're not the only one who fled from an abusive environment..."

"Oh...How old were you?"

"Fifteen"

"Wow, I can't imagine being so young. It takes a lot of courage to leave behind everything you know," Shani says while picturing a young Athena wandering through England all on her own. The amount of respect she feels for the witch has grown exponentially since they've met.

"It was hard. When I arrived in England, I was a homeless kid without any family; I didn't speak the language and knew nothing about the rules and customs of the supernatural world. I didn't even know I had powers back then."

"Didn't your parents tell you you were a witch?"

"No, they didn't."

"Athena doesn't sound very French though..."

"It was my mother who named me Athena, she named me after her mother, who was from Greece. She died when I was a baby," Athena says formally. She ends her sentence in a tone that indicates she'll not say anything more about the subject. Shani sighs but stays silent. She has to respect that. If it was the other way around, she wouldn't want Athena to keep bugging her with questions either.

The passage goes quickly and Shani watches eagerly when they slowly approach the Dutch harbour. She immediately notices it looks very different from England and it unconsciously pleases her more than she would like to admit. She's really free, she has left the place behind she has always hated. "Come on, we have to get back to our car," Athena says and they take the stairs back to the car. While the last minutes on the boat drift away, Shani and Athena continue to talk. Shani isn't sure they're having a conversation, but they're definitely getting to know each other. Their talk mostly consists of one asking the question and the other one answering them only to switch every few minutes. Shani assumes Athena has, just like her, little experience with speaking to strangers or speaking in general, but she's glad they're both learning.

The fences of the ferry open, and slowly, all the cars are leaving the boat. Athena drives towards the solid ground, following everybody else. For an hour, they don't stop. Shani watches her environment as she sees a big city view change into flat meadows. It's almost peaceful, only being able to see some green and some animals from the highways. Before they approach a new big city, Athena parks the car in an abandoned parking place. She steps out of the car; Shani follows as she sees Athena open the door and picks up a yellow plate.

"What are you doing?" Shani asks curious, watching Athena change their current license plate with the one she was holding before. "This is a Dutch license plate, it'll make us a little less visible, plus it isn't something a supernatural being would do."

"You're right, this is such a human thing to do," Shani says, holding in her amused grin. She takes the old, English license plate from Athena. "Can I keep it? As a souvenir of our travels? It'll be a great reminder." Athena shrugs. "Sure," but a smile is developing on her face. "But you do realize that's, even more, a thing humans do. They have gift shops everywhere."

"Yes, I noticed, it's ridiculous, how much money do humans have?"

"Plenty, it seems."

The time is ticking away. Athena stops only twice until they reach their goal for that day. Once, to pick up some food, since they both ate more than a day ago. For Shani, it's been more than 48 hours, but she forgets to mention it to Athena. Grateful for the food

The second time was when they reached the German border and Athena conjured a German license plate from the back of the car. Shani only got more curious about what more she's hiding in that car. Athena explained she wanted to use her magic as little as possible, to prevent leaving evidence behind. It made her wonder what exactly Athena is up to, but she knew she wouldn't get an answer out of the enchantress today...

So, they just kept their chats on a friendly level. The both of them learned talking was a very nice way to paste the time. It was starting to sound more like a conversation than a cross-examination on both sides. There has been something Shani was dying to ask. "Uhm, Athena. Will we pass a forest soon? I would like to shift; it's been too long since I had the chance."

"I'm afraid we have to wait until we're in Germany; The rules in the Netherlands are quite strict; the forests are too small for werewolves; only small werewolf families live here because otherwise, the humans will learn about them. In Germany, there will be plenty of neutral territories to shift, I think we'll be there in a couple of hours, The Netherlands is a small country."

She was not wrong; it took them less than three hours to cross the border to Germany. The scenery changed quickly as they kept driving through the second foreign country they're visiting today. Eventually, Athena stopped the car, telling Shani she had found a place for them to spend the night. When Shani asked why they didn't sleep in the woods she had answered immediately, "The German woods can be quite dangerous, there are a lot of packs here, but also a lot of rogues and vampires. We better stick to the human world if we want to remain invisible." And so, they booked a room for the night. Shani was tired, but she ignored it, she was craving for something more important than sleep. It's too risky yet, and the forest is too far away. They left all the green paths behind them hours ago.

And so, she stays. Trying to fall asleep. She stays in the room the first night, the second night, and the night after that. On the fourth night, the urge to shift grows when the minutes in the dark fly away. Shani twists and turns underneath the soft blanket their fourth hotel has offered them. She doesn't care. They hit another dead end today and now, they have no idea where to go next. The search for the Pack in the North has them running around in circles; Shani has no idea where they are exactly and she keeps telling herself it's enough to be far away from home. But, it's not. It's been four days since she left, and the feeling of being free is still as amazing as before, but she's holding herself back. By ignoring the craving to shift, she's still caged and not entirely free.

"What's wrong?" Athena asks. There is no doubt, the witch has heard her turning and struggling in her bed. "The bed is too soft, I'm not used to it," she answers softly, not wanting to explain herself further. Most of the time in her old pack, she didn't even sleep on a mattress, and in time, she had learned to spend a whole night on the ground without waking up. It doesn't matter to her anymore where she sleeps, but she couldn't have guessed that there was something as too luxurious, or at least too comforting.

"Do you miss anything from your pack? Athena had her back towards her, but she turns around while asking her question. "No, I guess not. Apart from a few friendly people, everybody thought I was beneath them and they weren't afraid to show it. I already don't feel the connection to the pack anymore and I'm more than okay with that," Shani answers, unable to hide the crack in her voice.

Everything she said is true. There is nothing to go back to for her, even if she wanted to, and for some reason, that doesn't frighten her at all. These few days with Athena were the best she has had in a long time. In only five days, she and Athena got so close. They talked a lot and their conversations became more personal by the day, and yet, there's one thing Shani has been afraid to talk about. Just do it, Shani. You trust her, don't you? Tell her what you want!

Encouraged by her conscience, Shani looks up to Athena. "I want to go for a run," she blurts out, then continues quickly: "The woods are close by and it's a very dark night. Nobody will see me."

She has been waiting eagerly to get the chance to run freely, but now she can barely contain her enthusiasm. She knows Athena can see it too, and she hopes she will think it's a good idea. "I totally forgot, you are a werewolf. I'm sorry, Shani. You should go; just stay clear from the different territories."

She wants to say more, Shani can feel it, but no more words are spoken. Shani's grin is only growing, but she nods to Athena's warning. "Of course, I've got my ass kicked too many times already, it'll be a blessing to pull through the night without any new bruises," she says before leaving the room.

Who would have thought she, Shani Khoza - semi-prisoner of the pack in England - would walk, and soon run openly in a forest far away from the rotten place she was born into? She couldn't believe it yet, that's for sure. The street is quiet and as fast as she can, which is very fast, she runs towards the forest. It is completely dark, but her senses help her clear a path for herself. Remembering Athena's words, she detects the borders and keeps her distance from them. There are a couple of different supernatural creatures in this forest, apart from the werewolf pack, she senses other shapeshifters too, but luckily, they are all far away.

When she knows she's completely alone at last, she finally shifts. It's painful since it's been such a long time since she's was allowed to, but it's also a great feeling. The adrenaline she feels from being out of the cage, being able to shift without restrictions, is all she ever wanted. She runs through the forest; noticing all her senses are even more enhanced in this form. She's intoxicated by all the beautiful things she smells; the flowers, the trees, the animals, and she's amazed by how fast she can sprint through the woods. This is amazing!

While she enjoys her own company, running and jumping through the forest, she neglects to check her surroundings. First, there is nothing to see or to hear, but a few seconds later, she's too distracted to hear the sounds of two fast-approaching creatures, running directly towards her.