She was hacking up a lung on the beach, spewing out what seemed like 10 gallons of water as Hakan hovered over her, his face lined with worry. When she stopped coughing and had a moment to catch her breath, throat burning from the salt, he scowled deeply at her. “What were you thinking?” he demanded suddenly while she was still trying to recover.

“I-” her voice cracked, hoarse and weak. “I can shift into other animals, but when I tried it didn’t work. I don’t know why-”

“It’s been how long since you used magic?” Hakan asked pointedly. “Did you really think that it would all come back naturally? You probably have no endurance built up and you’re still injured. You could have drowned!”

“But you saved me,” Flora pointed out, coughing again.

“That’s beside the point,” he growled. “What if I hadn’t been here? What if you were off on your own and overestimated your capabilities?”

She felt like a child getting scolded, averting her gaze to the ground and frowning. The lust she’d been feeling for him evaporated like water in the desert. Now, she only felt annoyed. Yes, she’d almost drowned and he was wasting his breath on berating her. She knew it had been a mistake. Her chest felt as if an elephant had stepped on it. “I know I fucked up, I don’t need you telling me I nearly drowned. I know.” Obstinately, she attempted to stand on her own, glaring at him as he tried to reach out to help her. “You’ve done enough."

What am I doing? Flora realized, storming away from the beach. She'd never been this careless or flitty. Sure, when she had the ambition to sleep with someone, she would, but these emotions were not that. And they terrified her. Flora didn't believe in love at first sight, why had she suddenly been converted out of nowhere?

Letting the wrong part of me speak. It's been too long, Flora rationalized, clenching her fists tightly. This was all due to the series of changes over a short period of time. She was stressed and not thinking clearly. Whatever issue Hakan had going on was his problem, not hers. She was not herself and had thrown all caution to the wind in that brief, free moment - only for it to come crashing down like the waves over her head that attempted to drown her. An elf she might be, but she was not invincible.

Once she reached the forest, she tilted her face up toward the branches, inspecting the needles and the wildlife around her. A druid. That's what she was, wasn't it? The thought of it seemed odd, as if the title didn't quite fit, and that puzzled her further. Flora had seen the memories where she had become one, why wasn't it sitting right with her? But she didn't recall everything, there were still blurred and fragmented images in her head, passages that were missing entirely, parts of her training that she didn't know in the slightest. Were some of these memories false? An attempt for her brain to try and fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle and in turn, made her believe she could do more than she actually could?

Flora knew that this was entirely possible. Her brain was still recovering from the spell and maybe it was creating false things in the past that did not exist. Maybe she was convincing herself that she was a druid, when she was not.

She did not wait for Hakan and picked her way back toward the village as she considered her options. First and foremost, she had to develop a plan to find Cassie. This was her priority and no whirlwind romance was going to distract her from her mission.

I'm just confused. Got too much going on and not enough time to contemplate it, she reasoned silently, nodding to herself as she entered the village. Since she didn't like being the center of attention, it did not take her long to realize that the people were staring at her, talking behind their hands, and smiling openly at her. Flora had intended on enjoying her few more days of resting here, gathering her thoughts, and trying to get a better idea of her magical capabilities before they traveled to the Chief Alpha.

A pair of girls ran up to her, their dark hair in dual plaits, giggling and grinning as if they knew the biggest secret in the world. Flora paused, aware that many eyes were on her as the girls looked her over, barely noticing that she was still waterlogged. They appeared to be young teenagers, but she couldn't be certain. "You look wonderful, honored druid. We had a great time creating your clothing."

"You two made these?" Flora inquired, glancing down at what she wore. "Thank you, it really means a lot to me. It has been too long since I've felt this comfortable in my own skin."

"Now that you're here, are you going to help decide the next Chief Alpha?" the second teen asked her.

Her blood chilled at the question and she lifted her brows, stealing small glances at the people who had stopped going about their daily duties and were listening in on the conversation. Just what was going on? Trying not to show her dismay at not being privy to this... foretelling of her arrival, Flora forced a smile. "Perhaps, we will see how things turn out," she replied elusively.

Flora pardoned herself and continued toward where she was staying, her skin crawling and her hair standing on end. Many eyes trailed after her and she could feel their gazes burning into her, their thoughts pricking Flora like needles. What did they think of her? What did they want from her? Did they really think she was some savior? The door clicked behind her and Flora was hyperventilating, leaning against the wood, trying to get a grip.

Dyani lifted her head, pausing from where she stood over her cauldron to cast her gaze across the den and toward Flora. "You look a mess," the healer commented nonchalantly, returning to what she had been doing.

Fuck this, I'm not going to be in the dark, she asserted silently, standing up straight and trotting toward the old woman. "Dyani, is there some kind of... foretelling of my arrival?" she pressed insistently, crinkling her nose at the pungent stench wafting from out of the pot.

"There's a prophecy foretelling of the last druid that will unite our people after joining hands with one of our wolves," Dyani told her casually. "Everyone thinks you're that druid."

Her mouth opened, though only a crackling in the back of her throat escaped. "I told Hakan, there are 2 other Lunar Elves that also went to Earth. The other girl was a druid," she objected.

"Well, she's not here now and she may never appear," Dyani shrugged.

"And last druid?" Flora stressed. "The Sylvan Elves had druids too. Has that changed? Lunar Elves were not exclusive in wild magic."

That was why she was going to go visit them... Or so she recalled from the disjunct memories she had. Of course, that had never come to fruition due to the war, but there was an ebbing feeling that there was more to this than she could remember at the moment. "I don't know," Dyani admitted. "But I've never heard of any other druids in my lifetime and I've lived a long time."

Of that, Flora had no doubt. "I need to get in touch with them too then. After I take care of locating Cassie and making sure she's safe," she plotted out loud, wondering if the Chief Alpha could assist her with that as well.

"The ranger didn't tell you?" Dyani pushed her spectacles up.

"Tell me what?" Flora lifted her head.

"There's no point in trying to recover your friend. I am 99% certain she ended up in the Tenebris Dominium. Their mages open portals to Earth all the time to abduct blood slaves since they are not allowed to feed on any of the magic-folk here."

Flora froze like a deer caught in headlights. All she could see was Cassie waking up in some dark kingdom, surrounded by fanged monsters that wanted to drain her of her life's blood. And Hakan knew this? Fury like she'd never felt bubbled up from her belly and into her throat, burning like sulfuric geysers about to explode.

And I just made out with that bastard! She roared silently, cheeks and ears stinging.

"Who do I have to kill to get her back?" Flora demanded irrationally.

Dyani blinked, astounded by the sudden change in Flora, inspecting the furious line to her face as she bared her teeth like a mountain lion. "There isn't anything you can do, dear. You may be able to inquire with the portal guardians to see if she can be located, which they may do as a courtesy, but if she does belong to a vampire, there is nothing you can do aside from try to buy her from them."

Flora shut her eyes, trying to get her panting under control, gripping the nearby table and scratching lines in it. Cassie had gone on this trip with her and it had turned into a nightmare. Was Cassie even alive? Was she being treated well? This was all Flora's fault. The portal had probably appeared for her and Cassie had fallen in by accident. She could not contain her rage, turning around and punching the table with all her might. All she had to show for it were bruised and bloodied knuckles.

Dyani was not startled by this reaction. "There are other things that you will need to focus on. Your return-"

"No!" Flora snarled. "I don't care who you think I am. I'm not this druid of prophecy. I don't even think I am a fully fledged druid!" She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember it all! "Cassie is my priority and if I have to murder every vampire to get to her, I will. I owe you werewolves nothing other than my gratitude for helping me heal."

Flora grabbed the few bits of clothing she had in the spare room, threw them into a sack, and slung it on her back. Dyani was trying to calm her down at this point, but the she-elf ignored her pleas, barely catching what the healer was trying to say. At this point, Flora was incensed. She needed to get away from all of this and try to piece together what she remembered. This unexpected pressure of being someone of import was too much and Flora hated it. They didn't care about Cassie. They just cared about what she could do for them.

Everyone's the same. Selfish and narrow minded. Why did I think it could be different? She thought, stomping through the village and into the woods. She passed Hakan on the way, whose face was creased in confusion as he observed her carrying a pack.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business," Flora snapped back.

Hakan caught her arm. "It is my business. You are traveling in my lands."

Flora's eyes became frigid. They were so cold that they resembled the icy plains of the tundra more than their typical glacial turquoise. Glowering at him, she jerked her arm away. "Then I'll find a way to get out of your lands. I have my own priorities I need to sort out. I'm not here to fix your kingdom's problems."

"Flora, let's talk about this-" he objected, suddenly trying to play the mediator.

"Talk about it?" she rounded on him, taking a finger and jabbing it hard into his chest. "No. You were conscious enough to spew some bullshit about us being soulmates, but not the fact that you were fully aware of some prophecy that you think deals with me or that Cassie is in vampire-land. I'm done with you, ok? I just met you, you're not more important than my best friend.

"I won't be what you want. You're trying to use me. It's the same fucking thing here too. I'm going to do what I want and what I see fit, so goodbye, see ya later, ciao, don't follow me," Flora spun around and continued her trek into the forest. First, she was going to get away from this village and find a spot where she could meditate and try to decipher the jumbled up memories. Then, she was going to find a way to contact the portal guardians without dealing with the Chief Alpha. The sooner she could get off of Tixwa, the better.

Fuck him. This ain't no Disney princess story. Cassie isn't just some human I can forget about. She's my only family and I will not abandon her, Flora decided firmly. Nothing would shake the foundation of her beliefs. Once she made up her mind, her roots went deep.

Her legs took her back to the cliffside beaches that Hakan had dragged her to earlier in the day. If Tixwa was one continent, and this was just an assumption, then the land across the bay she was looking at was someplace else. While she didn't know if the werewolves were allowed there, she was putting a bet on the fact that they weren't. She tightened the sack on her back and stepped up to the edge of the water. As long as she stayed away from the pull of the cliffs, she could make it over to the bay, right?

Flora was just about to commit to the rough swim when she glanced down the beach and saw the wooden kayaks stacked on a rack, used for travel by the villagers. She didn't care if she left someone without a boat, her need was immediate and she carved her own path even if it meant burning others. No one was going to help her but herself. She dragged down a kayak and launched it into the water, hopping in, battling the waves that were trying to push her back to shore. Being an avid outdoorsman, Flora had a good amount of experience with kayaking in the ocean and in white waters. Once she surged over the waves, she was no longer in any danger of being shoved back to shore.

She craned her head, looking back at the stony shore, the foaming waves, and the Quileute territory. If they wouldn't help her, she'd figure it out on her own. Flora had no intention of being used. What about her wishes? They told her to forget about Cassie.

Fuck them.