For Alphafrost



The leaves were already turning, making the Forest a vivid display of orange and yellow hues. The land was transforming naturally, without the Twin Gods' help as the season would start the process of making the trees bare.

Alpha sat at the Old Oak, watching this happen. She sighed, knowing what was to come in the next few months...unsure if she was ready for winter. Still, the doe made the most of the season, considering she enjoyed tree bark, she would easily find food in the Forest during the coming months. She knew the Twin Gods provided food regardless, but there was something about knowing she could depend on herself that she felt a sense of pride. She didn't need the Gods' help, she could survive the winter all on her own.

The thoughts of food made her hungry, and standing, she stretched and left the Oak. She would head around the First Forest, stopping at trees that had the most appetizing bark. She began to feed off of one, but was surprised when it didn't taste as good as she was used to, and she aptly spit the bark out. She tried another tree, and was met with the same result. After several tries, the hungry doe grimaced, there was an awful taste to all of the bark she tried, and now she began to worry about the winter. She feared the worst would happen - that all the trees had this disgusting taste to their bark, and that she would starve or be forced to ask the Gods for food.

But as she stood there in her dismay, the doe sniffed the air. Something caught her attention, and turning, she would run toward the scent, past many orange trees. Soon she spotted it, and slowing, she would only stare for several moments in amazement.

The tree was much like all the others around it, but the biggest difference was the color of the leaves that adorned it. They weren't orange, yellow, or red. They weren't even green! The leaves were actually made of many shades of violet, each leaf seeming to be a different hue of the color. She would notice the bark even had a bit of a violet color to it.

The doe at first thought this tree was most likely dying, but then she continued to sniff and pick up a sweet, intoxicating scent to it. She would try to resist approaching it, thinking this could be some kind of trap. But her stomach betrayed her, and with each step she took, the scent enveloped her more and more, until she was already ripping off chunks of bark and chewing on it. The taste overwhelmed her, she rolled her eyes back in delight as the taste filled her.

And then...she felt herself become incredibly dizzy, and resting beneath the tree, she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.





















"Easy now...just take it easy my dear...", the voice spoke to her. An odd, raspy voice.

"Urghhhhh...what...what just happened?", Alpha replied, her vision still blurred, but she started to make out some odd things around her.

"I am very sorry, my precious. The Witches Tree grew in your Forest by mistake, we meant for it to grow elsewhere. As a result, you were spellbound to the tree you ate from...", the voice replied. Alpha tried to sit up, but her legs felt stiff...in fact, they were stiff. She looked down once her vision started to return, seeing her legs had become much like roots, much of her body had turned into wood and bark with branches already starting to grow out from them.

"Aahh!! Aaaaahhhh!! No! I can't die like this! I can't!!", the doe immediately began to scream, barely able to move her body as the spell worked on transforming toward her neck and head.

"Now now, don't you worry, my sweet.", the old woman replied, petting the doe on the back. She didn't feel any of the pet where her body had already been converted, but along what was left of her skin and fur, she trembled in anger and fear. "You see, I am just making the remedy for you, it is boiling in my cauldron right now. Just a few moments longer and you will be right as rain."

Alpha would get a good look at the witch as well as all around her. She was in an old shack, laying on a makeshift bed made of twisted branches. All around were various pots and things on shelves, as well as several vials - some glowing vibrant colors. On the far end was a fireplace, where the much larger cauldron sat. She would see a distinct violet vapor coming from the pot.

The witch herself wore violet-colored robes, an elegant ruby necklace, and a distinct pointed hat on her head. She was quite old but still retained a bit of her youth through spells and potions. She had distinct silver hair.

Alpha rested her head, still dazed as well as a bit infuriated. There were so many things she would have said, but with each moment she felt more and more of her body become numbed, as it was transforming into the tree state.

The witch stirred her pot, reciting some incantations, and once the smoke began to change color, she smiled, "Ah. All done." She dipped a bowl into the potion, collecting a good amount of it, and then brought it over to the doe. "Now drink this. It is the remedy for the spell you are under.", she instructed and placed the bowl close to Alpha's lips. The doe, now weary, complied and opened her maw, letting the witch help her drink the potion down. She coughed and gagged at first, but once all of the strange potion was drank, she settled and closed her eyes.

The witch set the bowl aside and then knelt down next to her, petting her wooden body, as little by little, it transformed back into her skin and fur. The doe had fallen back asleep while the spell was broken, staying still and breathing slowly.

"That's a good girl. You did very good. Just let all of this be a distant memory.", the witch's voice echoed in her mind.



Alpha woke up, immediately sitting upright and looking around. She was back in the Endless Forest, just as it was left. The doe stumbled to her hooves, having a bit of trouble at first but eventually being able to stand and walk. She barely remembered anything had happened, and her body was completely normal again.

Her stomach grumbled at her. She was starving, and noticed the tree she had slept under was covered in remarkably aromatic bark. The doe quickly bit and pulled off a chunk of the bark, chewing on it, savoring the flavor. She had regained her appetite for the tree bark of the Endless Forest, and the woes she had for the upcoming winter were nonexistent as she enjoyed her treat.

The Witches Tree was no longer in the Forest, as by magic it had moved somewhere else, somewhere safe so this would not happen to the forest dwellers that ate of it's bark.

The End