Chapter 5
Discord and Rhyme

“Just head down this road, and you’ll approach your home from the south,” Octavia said, raising her eyebrows as she looked at me. I pretended to adjust the shoulder strap on my bag, and then leaned down ‘to check on Pancakes.’

“Thank you,” I said as I ruffled the hair on Pan’s head and gave him the scritches on the back of his head that made him stick his tongue out. “For your directions, I mean. And, uh, for the help.”

“Don’t mention it, Sir Witch,” Octavia said with a smirk. “You may have saved Da’s leg. You’re allowed an eccentricity or two for that, yes? I’ve heard about you, Witch. You’re an odd duck.” I couldn’t help but smile back. She had no idea. 

“When was the last time I’ve been to this village?” I asked, like it was something I was having trouble remembering. She looked at me quizzically, like I’d asked her when the sky was going to turn green.

“You’ve never set foot in town, Sir Witch,” she said, “though you’ve been in the vicinity, and I know Old Man Willie’s come up to your shack for the cabin you had fixed two winters back.” She squinted at me. “Are you sure you’re well enough to go up the mountain on your own?” 

I held up a hand. “I’m sure,” I said. Part of it was that I didn’t want to appear lost on the way there, or that I had no idea what the building was like. I looked down the road. In the light of day, it was easy to see it, slightly elevated even under a blanket of snow. But it was the kind of thing I would’ve missed at night. “Just down the road.”

Octavia nodded. “Yes. And if you don’t find it, you know your way back.” She grinned as she turned and walked away to the village, snow crunching underfoot. 

“Um, have a nice day!” I tried before she was out of earshot. She didn’t even look behind her as she waved over her shoulder. “It was nice to meet you,” I mumbled to myself, before turning around and heading up the mountain. I’d been offered a hearty meal by Octavia’s mother, as thanks for helping her husband. I made her promise to reapply the bandage twice a day, a number I’d sort of plucked out of thin air, but it felt like it would at least be better than “once every few days”. 

The day had gone by quite quickly, and it was already a ways into the afternoon, although Octavia had assured me that there was enough light left for me to walk all the way there and back, although I hoped in my heart of hearts it wouldn’t come to that. Much as I didn’t actually hate the idea of coming back to town and seeing her again, I didn’t want to go through the embarrassment and potential unmasking that would come with having to admit to not being able to find my own house. 

“Alright,” I said, “let’s go, Pan.” 

“Mwep,” Pancakes said resolutely, and we walked up the road. It wasn’t a particularly eventful or even uncomfortable climb. The road curved around the summit, and I finally got a view of the surrounding landscape. The forest I was in, which was mostly pine with a smattering of not-pine, stretched almost as far as the eye could see, although there was a large lake somewhere in the distance. From this far away I had no idea how far it actually was, although I guessed it was probably pretty big. In the far distance, I saw what I thought might be a small town or village, but it was hard to be sure. So, if I had it right, I was currently taking the road going north. There was another going south from the village, and a mountain range to the west. As I rounded the top of the mountain, I finally saw, up ahead, a rooftop sticking up through the trees. Another hour, and the Witch’s cabin came into view. 

Well, it was technically a cabin. It was as if someone had been given seven cabin building kits and been told not to stop until they had one big one. As if someone had started and had refused to stop. It was several cabins, smashed into each other at various angles until what came out on the other end was less of a building and more of the architectural equivalent of a map of Norwegian fjords. 

“Bweh?” Pancakes asked, cocking his head. I gave him a pat on the head.

“Yeah, me neither buddy,” I said, and walked up to the building. What was interesting is that there was a path up to the house that was devoid of snow. Getting closer, I noticed that there seemed to be a trail of… something. Salt, maybe? 

On approach, the house was downright intimidating, if not because of the absurdity of its architecture then because of its sheer sise. And right in front of it, right next to the front door, appeared to be a smaller version of the house, with a much larger front door. Pancakes stuck his face inside and gave a little “Mwee” of approval.

“So you’re in the Witch’s wolf’s body, huh?” There was a little engraving above the door, covered in snow. “Let’s see what this… hmm.” I looked at Pancakes. “Says here your… well, your body’s name is Princess.”

“Mrew!” Pancakes objected. I shrugged. Well, that was… something. I considered briefly the possibility of what would’ve happened if the Witch had been a woman. For some reason, the thought of it was more than a little anxiety inducing. It had to be that. I didn’t have a history of panic attacks, but the way my heart was pounding… that had to be it. 

“Let’s go inside,” I said, forcing the thought out of my head, although I still heard my blood rushing in my ears. I pushed the front door open. Inside was a large open room. Kitchen, living room and dining room all seemed to be one large space, although at the center of the space was a spiral staircase going up. “That’ll be the bedroom,” I said to myself, hoping to distract myself. I was still out of sorts for some reason. I took a deep breath. It was starting to get dark outside. 

Throwing the bag on the table, I took stock of my environment. There were several doors into the room, so I started to check. There was a pantry, stocked with dried and salted food. Several smaller storage rooms full of vials and bottles. There was a door leading to a well and an outhouse out back, and even what appeared to be an oven of some kind. I’d only ever seen something like that in a pizzeria, but I assumed it was for making bread. 

The kitchen, too, had a box with a variety of dried food and some cheese in it. I grabbed a small piece and nibbled on it. Above a large bag by the door was a note covered in the Witch’s scribbles. I focused on the taste of the cheese to keep myself grounded as I tried to decipher it. “Oh!” I said, “This is feeding instructions for Princess!” I pointed at Pan like he’d be able to understand me. He sniffed my finger, then gave it an experimental bite.

I pried the bag open. Inside seemed to be a mixture of dried meat and some kind of treated bread. “Fead twiſe a daye,” the note said. “In cayſe of illneſſe or Prinſeſſ being otherwiſe unwell, mikſe three partſ goatſ milk with one part meat chopped into ſmall peiceſ.” Other than the archaic spelling and almost illegible handwriting, it was not hard to figure out what this was for. 

“Well, that’s good to know,” I said and scooped up some of the food in a small wooden bowl that had been left in the bag, and put it on the ground. Gratefully, Pan immediately started to chow down on it. “Good boy,” I said. I almost called him Princess, which would have been weird. The weird thing about him having turned into what appeared to be a girl wolf must have still been bouncing around in my head. Why was this messing with me so much. I could feel my heart thumping in my ears louder and louder, and decided to step outside so I could catch my breath. 

The moon was already in the darkening sky. Looks like it had been… uh… waxing, I believe the term was? Whatever. It was full now. I looked at it and steadied my breathing, trying to get my heart to stop trying to force itself through my sternum, but it wasn’t working. What if the Witch had been a woman? What would’ve happened to me, then? I couldn't have just turned into one, that kind of thing was something for weird anime and fetish stories. 

Even thinking about it made my teeth itch and my scalp burn. I scratched at my head hoping it would at least make the discomfort go away a little bit, but it was barely helping. Everything about this was insane, and I hadn’t even had a chance to really think about any of it, to let it sink in. I’d been too busy recovering from my arrival and trek through the snow. But I was really, very likely, stuck here. Somewhere I’d never been, in someone else’s body. It was an agonizing thought. The only solace was that I had Pan with me, and he was currently large enough to eat his old self in a single bite. 

I felt my breathing quicken, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I grabbed my head and tried to sit down on the porch, but fell forward on my hands and knees. My entire body felt like it was on fire. My breathing became laboured and rasping, so loud it almost sounded like ripping cloth. I dug my hands into the snow in front of me, but I could barely see them. My eyes were filled with tears. 

It was too much. It was all too much. I was terrified and alone and confused. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go. There was nothing I could do to fix my situation, and nobody I could talk to. No online friend groups I might talk to, no therapists or help centers. It was just me, in the middle of nowhere, and it was terrifying. 

I cried in deep, heaving sobs, at the moon, my unfamiliar voice weird and unfamiliar in my throat as the howl bounced off the trees and back to me. I tried to get control of myself but I couldn’t even make myself stand up straight. It was like my entire body was forcing me to stay curled up like I was. 

Then, behind me, I heard the door being nudged open. I turned and saw Pancakes push his way outside. He froze, and looked at me. “Meow?” he said. 

“Woof,” I responded, then blinked. Um. That was… not what I’d meant to say. I tried again. “Woof.” I looked down at my nose, fearing the worst. It was a lot larger than it had been, and a lot fuzzier. With a little black dot at the tip. I looked down. Two large paws stood in the snow. I lifted one, and then the other. “Oh no,” I tried to say. Instead, all that came out was a profound “woof.”

“Mrow,” Pan said, and I could’ve sworn he smirked. 

“Woof,” I frowned at him, and nudged at him to go back inside. Somehow, he understood what I’d said and what I’d meant. Well, that was something at least. And my panic attack seemed to have subsided. That was something. I took a step, realised I was having to juggle having two extra legs, and fell face first into the snow. “Bf.”