"The woods are noisy today."

Sojung peered up from her book to watch Yuna descend from the stairs and head towards her. Behind her, a black cat leaped down gracefully onto the ground, padding towards her as well.

"How so?" Sojung asked as the cat jumped onto her lap, blocking her book from sight. She sighed and closed the book, giving her familiar attention.

"Some humans near the border of our territory running around," Yuna responded in a foul mood, displeased whenever there was a human disturbance in the woods. "They're looking for something."

"Hm. I'll check it out. I'm feeling bored, anyway," Sojung lifted her familiar, ignoring her annoyed mewl and passing her to Yuna. "Stay with Yuna, Eunbi. You still haven't recovered from your last tussle with those hunters."

"It's been a day!" Eunbi swiftly changed to her human form, lifting the hem of her shirt to prove her point. "Look, the wound isn't even there anymore thanks to Yewon."

Sojung raised her eyebrows in doubt, jabbing Eunbi's abdomen with her finger. Her familiar winced in pain instantly and mellowed down, embarrassed at being caught.

"Don't lie. Just because Yewon healed it doesn't mean it's completely gone and painless," She tsked and ruffled Eunbi's red hair, waving at Yuna to take care of the stubborn girl. "I'll be back."

Sojung threw on her black cloak, draping the warm velvet material over her shoulders and clasping it in place. The doors to their mansion opened with a wave of her hand and she stepped out onto their grounds.

They were hidden in a forest, one under Yuna's control and watch. No human or even magical beings without powerful magic would be able to step into the forest without their permission thanks to Sojung's wards and the forest's interferences. Their mansion was located in the center of the forest, shielded by metal fences and gates locked with magic.

She headed towards the right of their house where their stables were located at. The whole territory they owned was nothing to scoff at, spanning the entire large woods. They merely took advantage of the space they had. Although, maybe they could have done away with the gothic fountain in their courtyard.

Her steadfast mare neighed at the sight of her, stomping her hooves down onto the ground as a greeting. Sojung gave a small smile as she went up to her horse, Luna. She fixed her saddle on top of the horse, pulling herself up onto Luna in one swift move. With a slight nudge, the horse set off on a light trot towards the main gate.

As she exited the boundaries of their home and onto the paths that went through the forest, a black crow flew by her to get her attention. Sojung glanced at the bird which hovered by her side for a few seconds before flying to the north. She guided her horse to follow the crow.

That crow was no ordinary creature. It was a servant that served Yuna, much like the many other creatures that roamed the forest dwellings. They were different from familiars. Those creatures followed Yuna for she was a forest witch. A forest witch held deep connections with the environment, bearing the ability to manipulate it and connect with the creatures that dwelled in such environments.

Yuna was controlling the crow, thus following it would lead her to where the humans were. The path began to disappear and led off into the trees and foliage, but any obstructions like roots and branches parted way for her in an instant. The forest was like a living being with Yuna's connection with it and it recognised her as a friend. Any intruders would face immense difficulty trying to navigate through the woods.

Sojung didn't think much of the humans lingering at the borders of their territory. They were probably villagers that strayed too far and stumbled near them. She had been actively keeping watch for any magical presence and there was none. So long as they were magicless, their woods would remain invisible to them. Humans would be subconsciously influenced to turn back when they reached the wards she placed.

Still, it was protocol for them to check just in case. She followed the crow, almost reaching the border when the bird suddenly squawked and turned sharply to the left. Sojung quickly chased after it, confused at why they were suddenly deviating. Yuna, through the bird's sharp eyes, must have caught something.

The crow still led her to the edge of their territory, just different from where they were initially heading. And Sojung could see why.

Right exactly at her wards laid a girl with blonde hair, dressed in a white dress stained with blood at the shoulders. The cause of the blood was an arrow embedded into the girl's shoulder. As she neared, Sojung spotted a crucial detail: the girl's arm was outstretched, bypassing her wards into their protected territory.

She pulled Luna to a stop and got off, staying alert. The intruder seemed to be unconscious and remained unmoving but she held her guard. Sojung kneeled by the girl's side and pulled her over so that she could see her face.

She was unconscious, but her face was scrunched up in pain and her body was trembling. What drew Sojung's attention was the red crescent mark on the base of her neck. It was a familiar's mark that indicated the witch the familiar served. She didn't recognise the mark, meaning she didn't know who was the witch bonded with the girl.

How did she get through the ward? And why couldn't she sense her? Any disturbance to the ward would have instantly alerted Sojung, and any magical being like familiars would have been spotted by Yuna.

"Did you find her?"

Sojung's head snapped up in the direction of the voice. If she could hear them, it meant the humans were close. Yuna's servant settled on her shoulder, silently conveying to her to make the call on what they should do next.

"No, High Priest."

"We must find her quickly. Her Holiness said that the Wolf has been led astray by outsiders. We cannot let her roam outside any longer, lest she is further tainted by them. She must return to her Holiness immediately.”

"The Wolf couldn't have gotten far with the poison in her. We shall continue the search."

Sojung made up her mind. She carefully lifted the familiar and pulled her completely through her wards which were a barrier invisible to the non-magical beings. Her wards rippled and dimmed as the girl passed it, almost as if it was losing power.

The familiar cried out in agony the moment she passed through, her eyes snapping open. She was delirious with an unfocused gaze but aware enough to know that she was being carried by a stranger.

Sojung winced as the girl thrashed about in her hold, trying her best to hold her steady while not jostling her wound too much. "Calm down, I'm trying to help you." She hissed as a particularly strong hit jabbed her shoulder.

The unknown familiar was too out of it to understand her, her whole body shivering in her grip. Sojung murmured an apology and cast a calming spell on her, coaxing her back into a deep sleep for now. It was best for both of them.

"Yuna, please tell Yewon to head down to our healing chamber and wait for me," She spoke to the crow servant as she placed the girl on Luna. She settled behind her, wrapping her arms around the unconscious familiar while holding the lead that guided Luna.

"Is it wise bringing her in?" Yuna spoke back to her telepathically through their coven bond.

"Not sure. What I am sure of though is that those humans out there are malicious. They sound like cultists, and you know how they are," Sojung nudged her horse to go at a faster pace. The humans spoke of poison and she didn't know how much longer the girl could endure.

"I'll inform Yewon what's happening."

With Yuna's agreement, the rest of the trip back was made in silence. Sojung made it back to the mansion in no time thanks to Luna's fast sprint. She gave the horse a quick grateful pat and got down. Yuna was already at the entrance of the mansion waiting for her.

The forest witch stepped forward and helped her to carry the girl down from her horse. Sojung cradled the familiar in her arms and headed into the mansion.

Eunbi greeted her as she stepped through, her familiar curiously assessing the unknown girl. Sojung shook her head, instructing her to wait till later to gauge the other familiar.

Yuna and Eunbi followed behind her as she went straight to the healing chamber located on the ground floor of their home. Once there, she laid the girl on the bed, mindful of the arrow.

Yewon approached instantly, using a scissor to deftly cut parts of the girl's dress to reveal the arrow wound. "Yuna said she was poisoned?"

"Yes, at least, that was what those humans said."

Yewon cleaned the blood around the wound, taking a closer look at the wound. She grabbed the body of the arrow and with a sharp tug, she pulled it free from the girl's shoulder. Blood splurged out from the opened wound but Yewon simply pressed her hand over it, murmuring under her breath. When she lifted her hand, the wound was gone.

Yewon was a witch that practiced non-offensive magic like healing. She was incredibly well-versed in it having studied and used it for decades. Sojung hasn't seen a wound she wasn't able to heal, though Yewon had a limit to how many she could heal.

"Eunbi, scent this for me please but don't get too close," Yewon held the arrow up and through the blood coating the arrow's head, Sojung noticed a strange purple substance.

"Smells like ty flowers," Eunbi grimaced and backed away from the arrow.

"The poison is probably Labem," Yewon placed the arrow away, assessing the girl once more.

"Isn't Labem the flower that stops witches from casting magic?" Yuna frowned. It wasn’t known to affect familiars, as far as they knew. How it worked was that in a place where Labem bloomed and concentrated at, some witches were strangely unable to manipulate or cast any form of magic. They had encountered such a place before, but Sojung recalled that Eunbi was fine other than disturbed at the foul smell the flowers gave.

“There's a theory that Labem corrupts magic in its vicinity, tainting it into a form that witches are unable to manipulate. This is just speculation but the reason why it doesn’t affect familiars is that it corrupts magic present in the air, not magical beings,” Yewon explained.

“We’re made of magic, while witches rely on manipulating the magic present around them,” Eunbi hummed thoughtfully. “But it’s a whole other matter if Labem gets into our system?”

“Theoretically, yes. Familiars are made of magic after all. The poison is probably corrupting and tainting her entire body now. Though, I have never encountered Labem being used on a familiar. They’re rare to find and wither easily when plucked.”

“Is there an antidote?” Yuna asked. The unknown familiar was still deep in sleep thanks to Sojung’s spell, but it was clear as day to anyone that she wasn’t faring well with her pale skin and harsh breaths.

Yewon shook her head. “I need time to research more about this before I brew one for her. The best outcome is that the poison naturally runs its course and disappears after a few hours, the worst is that she succumbs to the corruption.”

“I don’t think it’ll kill her,” Sojung finally spoke up. She had been listening and thinking back to the humans she encountered. “The humans looking for her wanted to incapacitate her to bring her back somewhere, not kill her.” She doubted that they would risk using a lethal poison.

“Still, to be safe, I’ll try to concoct an antidote,” Yewon moved to cover the girl with a blanket. “Eunbi, could you look after her and get me if her condition changes? For the worse or better. ”

“Sure,” Eunbi shrugged, shifting to her cat form and settling by the window. Yewon left after making sure everything was in place, heading towards what Sojung liked to call her research room.

“She shouldn’t wake up for another five hours or so,” Sojung informed Eunbi and gave the cat’s head a gentle pat. “Call me too if something happens, okay? We’re still dealing with a stranger here so don’t let your guard down.”

“You don’t have to worry so much,” Eunbi grumbled, the familiar bond between them conveying her thoughts.

“I will always worry for you, brat,” Sojung chuckled as Eunbi swatted at her hand with a swipe of her paw. She loved how her familiar acted cold and nonchalant but secretly loved her coddling. After all, the familiar bond conveyed not only Eunbi’s thoughts but her true feelings as well.

“What about those humans, Sojung? They’re still looking,” Yuna brought up. The forest witch had a faraway look in her eyes, an indication that she was conversing with the forest creatures to gain information.

“Leave them alone for now. They’ll leave eventually. I don’t want to take action until I know who exactly they are.”

It wasn’t a good idea to attack a group of humans like that, especially when they seemed to belong to a cult. It could draw too much attention and send even more people to the area looking for them. Sojung also had a gut feeling that those people were trouble. And her gut feeling was rarely wrong.