The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis Chapter 3: The Rabbit and The Wolf

The second ti I woke, my pain was once again different.

Don’t get wrong, it was still there, I clearly wasn’t healing nearly as fast as I had in the past. But this pain was deeper, like it had seeped into the marrow of my bones overnight and clung to every joint. My muscles throbbed under my skin, and even blinking felt like dragging weights behind my eyes.

Essentially, I had woken up, completely hungover, and without any of the fun stories of a bender to account for the pain.

I had overdrawn my powers, and this was the price I had to pay. Since healing took energy, and this body really wasn’t up to the toll I had placed on it, passing out was actually not that bad of a thing. Especially since the alternative was death.

I groaned as I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. The cave stared back at , condensation dripping down into a puddle beside . I took one breath, and then another, willing myself to want to get up and do sothing.

Anything.

Staying still ant death, and I refused to see Chang Xuefeng that fast.

My hand drifted across the dirt until I found the cave wall and used it to brace myself. I sat up, slow and shaking, my stomach a hollow drum. My back felt like soone had taken a cheese grater to it in my sleep.

Rembering why I was so overdrawn in the first place, I looked to my left.

The wolf was gone.

I blinked slowly. For a mont, I wondered if I’d imagined him. If my brain had conjured a bleeding beast out of exhaustion and trauma. But no—the dried blood on the stone, the faint depression in the dirt where his weight had been... it was all real.

I guess it was a win that he didn’t eat on his way out.

Not bothering to waste ti on a wolf I would probably never see again, I organized my thoughts. The first thing I needed was to make a fire... one that I didn’t have to drain my powers to maintain. That ant that I needed wood and shavings.

Sliding through the entrance of the cave, I looked around at the forest in front of . Normally, if you cut down a tree for firewood, it would take anywhere between six months to two years before it was suitable to burn.

And I wasn’t willing to wait that long.

Instead, I scoured the forest floor, looking for dead branches, twigs, and bark that peeled cleanly from trees. It seed to have taken forever, but it was probably only ten minutes before I had a pile of forest debris outside of the cave mouth.

Despite what you saw on TV, building an actual fire in the middle of a cave was an extrely stupid idea. Without a way out for the smoke, you were just as likely to die from smoke inhalation as you were from being cold. So, I found a small area away from the cave to build my fire.

This way, if soone was trying to find , my fire wouldn’t lead them to my shelter.

When everything was properly placed, I called on my blue fla and threw it at the pile of wood like it was an offering to the Original Gods. It caught instantly, hungry, like , and more than willing to consu anything in its path.

Also, kind of like .

When I was satisfied that the fire wasn’t about to go out any ti soon, I moved on to my next problem. Food.

Forests ant animals, and animals ant food. But I didn’t have any type of weapon on . Even my favorite knife was left behind when I transmigrated to this place. My head continued to try and solve the problem of food when I heard a soft rustle coming up behind .

Turning my head to the side, I narrowed my eyes as the wolf erged from a line of trees. He still had the sa ghost-like grace he had yesterday, but it was easy to see that I had completely healed him. His gate was smooth, his breathing steady as he prowled forward, an offering in his mouth.

It was a rabbit.

Keeping in his eyes, he made a wide circle around before dropping the dead creature at my feet.

I couldn’t stop my stomach from growling as I stared down at the rabbit, and then at him. He sat, just outside my reach, as if trying to prove that he wasn’t a threat.

"Look at that," I said softly, picking up the offering. "A proper gentleman. Silent, deadly, and mildly considerate."

The wolf blinked as if he understood my words, and I couldn’t help but be suspicious all over again. He was too big, too smart to be a simple wolf. But as to what he was? I had no idea... nor did I really care.

Turning the carcass around, I inspected it, trying to figure out if the at was still good for consumption or if I should just give it back to the creature. If the stomach had been punctured, stomach acid and bacteria could be released into the body cavity, contaminating the at. If it were a deer or a raptor, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal; I could still use the at from the other areas, as long as I cleaned it properly.

But with a rabbit this size, there might not be enough at left to use.

There wasn’t a single drop of blood on the grey fur: no bite marks, no puncturing, no crushing. Running my fingers through the fur, I could feel the clean break at the base of the neck.

Efficient. Almost surgical in its precision.

"You didn’t tear it," I murmured, marveling at the soft fur. "Didn’t even puncture the skin. I have to say, I’m impressed."

I glanced back at him, my eyebrow raised as I waited for his reaction to my words. But his face and body never changed.

"At least you’re useful," I continued, looking around . Finding a rock with a particularly sharp edge, I got to work.

Skinning a rabbit isn’t a delicate process, and without a sharp knife, it was downright frustrating. It’s quick, if you know how to do it properly, which I did, but it definitely wasn’t one of my cleanest field dressings.

There was no water, no flat rock to work on—but it got done. Hunger was an impressive motivator when it wanted to be. I set the skin aside. It would dry stiff, but maybe I could soften it later. I wasn’t about to throw fur like that away. Especially since I didn’t know if this place had winter or not.

I ran a sharpened stick through the at and propped it over the fire, rotating slowly. The scent rose quick and sharp, the gay, greasy, rich sll causing my stomach to growl like it was trying to bite through my ribs.

I wish I had so spices, salt, or really anything. But beggars can’t be choosers, and either way, it would be good.

I waited until the edges crisped and the fat sizzled before I tore a chunk off the rabbit’s side. I didn’t bother to savor it or even wait long enough for the at to cool down.

Instead, I devoured it, not even bothering to breathe as I consud the wolf’s offering. Swallowing too fast, I ended up burning both my tongue and the roof of my mouth, but not even the pain was enough to stop .

When I was halfway through the rabbit, my child-sized stomach started to complain that it was full. I wasn’t about to push too hard, being sick to my stomach wasn’t sothing that I wanted to deal with at the mont.

So instead, I tossed the rest toward the wolf.

He didn’t lunge or growl at . He also didn’t flinch. Instead, he just took the at in his mouth, walked a few feet back, and ate with quiet, chanical precision.

This wasn’t exactly a bonding mont; we were just two predators sharing the warmth of a al. But it was the start of sothing... nice.

"You need a na," I said, leaning back on my hands as I stared at the trees above . "You look and act like a hellhound, and you are much too smart to be a normal wolf. I think I’ll call you Shadow," I humd, not really knowing what else to call him.

He didn’t react to the na, simply blinked at .

The fire crackled between us as the sounds of the forest coming alive reached our ears. I had survived my second day in this new world, I was getting stronger, and soon enough, I would grant my own fucking wish.