Rachel lay silently on her straw mattress, contently sleeping through what seemed to be a calm night. The sound of crickets was only barely audible, and was the only sound present other than the occasional gust of wind. Rachel breathed slowly and deeply, in a state of dreamless sleep.

Then, the young sorceress was woken up by the sound of a howl. Slightly startled, she got out of her bed and felt around for her candle holder placed on her nightstand. She always kept it nearby, since she believed it to be useful if she ever needed to get up late into the night. However, even with a light, she could only see a few metres in front of her because of how dim her light was. Rachel slowly walked towards the door of her house, her free hand crackling with dark energy as a precaution. She carefully opened the door leading to the outside, with nary a bead of sweat dripping down her stoic expression. With her candle shedding so little light, the girl had much difficulty seeing anything that might have produced caused the howl.

Then, almost out of nowhere, she saw a large number of small reflections of her light. Rachel brought her candle closer to it until she could see what seemed like a dark mass of fur. Or more accurately, many small masses of fur together. The animals made soft growling noises, eyeing the witch like a predator stalks his prey. She made no sudden moves, not wanting to provoke them. Suddenly, one of the wolves jumped at her, it's mouth watering at the sight of a potential meal. Rachel managed to protect herself using her powers, causing the animal to hit a wall of dark energy. Then, the rest of the pack started to run towards her as well.

The young witch prepared to defend herself "Azarath Metrion Zin-"

Her mantra was interrupted by a scream of pain as she felt one of the wolves biting her arm. She dropped to the ground in agony, giving the other wolves a chance to attack her. In a swarm of bites and scratches, Rachel feared that this would be her end. The pack ferociously mauled her legs, while others aimed their claws at her face. She managed to push back on a few of them, but the girl was simply outnumbered. She persevered, adamant that she would not end up as dinner for a pack of hungry wolves. The pain stopped however when she heard a loud roar. She opened her eyes and saw that the wolves' attention had gone to something else. Judging by the sound of the animal, as well as what she could see from the candle she had dropped, it appeared to be a bear.

She was sure of what would happen next, the bear would scare off the wolves and attempt eat her. A scenario that wouldn't end well for her because of the injuries inflicted on her by the wolves. To her surprise though, the wolves began attacking the bear. The larger animal fought them off, though getting a few injuries as well. Rachel picked up the candle holder and shined it towards the beast fight. She made a strange discovery.

The bear was green! Even with the poor lighting, she could tell that the bear was a bright green. She would've thought more about that fact if the fight wasn't still going on. One of the wolves bit the bear on the leg, causing it to roar out in pain. The battle continued until the wolves decided to give up and left the area. They all ran off, with some whimpering from the pain received from the bear.

The bear limped its way towards Rachel. Worried for her life, she backed away from it, the pain in her arm preventing her from concentrating on her powers. She was shocked once again when she saw the green bear do something unbelievable. He stood up on his hind legs and began shrinking, it's fur seemingly disappearing and its snout retracting back into it's face. The bear that had saved her from the wolves had transformed into a green boy.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a sheepish smile

She took some time to look at him in detail. He was about her age, though a little shorter than her. His clothes were old and all worn out, as if he had been wearing them for years. He looked all beaten and bloody, not surprising after all that happened.

"I'll be okay" she finally answered, her voice not demonstrating any emotion "How about you?"

He grabbed his leg "I'm okay, only a few scratches and bites."

She observed his wounds once more. A few scratches and bites was a bit of an understatement. Some of the wounds seemed fairly deep and probably needed some medical attention, especially a large bite mark on his leg.

"Why don't you come in" she offered "I'll take care of your injuries"

"It's fine" he protested "I'll be-"

"Please" she insisted

He looked at her as if he was going to protest again, but stopped himself. She led him inside her home, hobbling a bit from her own injuries. She took the flint that was on her table and began lighting a fire. She grabbed a small pot already filled with water and proceeded to start boiling it. Rachel waited until she saw a bit of steam and tiny bubbles rising to the surface. She took a cloth and dipped it in the hot water before sterilizing the boy's wounds. He winced in pain as she pressed the hot cloth against him.

"What's your name?" she asked in curiosity

"My name?" he asked back, while grinding his teeth a bit from the pain "Garfield"

She couldn't help but laugh a bit at his name.

"Something funny?"

"No" she said "It's a cute name"

"Thanks" he replied, smiling a bit "What's yours?"

Rachel was quiet for a moment "Rachel"

He smiled "Pretty name"

She blushed at his comment, though tried to hide it "Thank you"

The young witch treated his last wound, causing him to groan in pain once again.

"Okay, Garfield" she said "Whatever happens now, promise you won't freak out"

He looked at her in disbelief "Freak out? I'm a green guy who can turn into animals. I'm surprised you didn't freak out at me."

"Okay" she said before sighing heavily. Her hands then started to glow with mystical energy, and the young girl then placed them on one of his injuries. He looked surprised as she removed her hand from his wound, revealing nothing but green skin. Rachel did the same to all his other wounds, his leg taking more time than the other injuries.

He looked amazed "You're a witch, aren't you?"

Rachel swallowed nervously "Yeah"

To her great surprise, he didn't run away in a panic. She started to heal her own injuries, wondering how Garfield only seemed to have a much more tame reaction than she was expecting.

"Thanks for healing me"

She looked him in the eye "Thanks for saving my life"

"Don't mention it"

"Can I ask you something?" she asked somewhat timidly

"Sure"

"How did you become… well…"

"This" he interrupted, pointing to himself

She blushed a bit, then nodded

"I'll tell ya all about it"

Rachel listened as he talked about the witch curing his disease, but also transforming him. She noticed a tear came to his eye when he talked about the horrible death of his parents. Then he continued to talk about his survival in the woods, how he managed to survive for so long while only having the animals as company.

"That's not a very pleasant story" she stated

He agreed by shaking his head "So what about you? Any crazy backstory worth telling?"

"You sure you want to hear it? It's pretty bad."

He raised his eyebrow in challenge, and she began to talk about how her mother fell in love with an evil sorcerer and died soon after her birth. She talked about Azar and how she was like a mother to her, and how she managed to go on after her tragic passing.

"Sounds like we both have some pretty messed up childhoods, huh?" he said

Rachel agreed and finished healing herself. "Your leg's gonna be weak for a few days. You're welcome to stay here for that time, if you want."

He seemed hesitant "You sure?"

"Just take it as my way of saying thank you" She then headed to a small cupboard on the other side of the room "I've got a spare pillow and a spare blanket for you. No mattress, sorry"

"Don't be sorry" Garfield said "I've lived without a mattress for years. Honestly, a pillow and a blanket are more than enough."

"Good to hear" Rachel said as she handed Garfield both of the objects she had obtained. She then used her powers, turning the now blackened pot of water upside-down to extinguish the fire. The girl walked to her bed, pulling back the covers before sliding back onto her straw mattress. The events of the past few hours had left her tired, yet still curious about her new acquaintance. But answers would have to wait until morning.

"Goodnight, Garfield" she told him in a quiet voice

"Night, Rachel" he replied in a tone almost as quiet as hers

Knowing that dawn was mere hours away, Rachel closed her eyes and allowed herself to return to the peaceful state of slumber that had been interrupted.