The Shifters: Katrina

There I was again, running up the stairs to Coraline's office. The leader looked up from the papers on her desk with an amused look, probably assuming I was there for simple reasons.

It almost made me feel guilty, because I knew that her amusement wasn't going to last.

The four shifters from Orgull, another large, powerful compound, trailed behind me as I rushed into the room. Coraline got to her feet, walking around her desk so that she could sit on the front of it.

"What is it now, Katrina?"

Anna stepped forward. Despite being the youngest of the five of us, she was the most diplomatic and the best with words.

"We received an update from our leader, ma'am," Anna said politely, "and we think you should hear this."

Coraline straightened, the amusement draining away. It was replaced by curiosity and wariness.

"Is everything alright?"

Anna pursed her lips, faltering. Emma reached forward, rubbing the girl's shoulder.

The youngest took a steadying breath before responding to my leader.

"Xavier and his hunters are being housed in Orgull. They have taken his side."

Coraline went pale, her eyes losing their focus. She was silent, and her breathing sped up. I chewed my lip, unable to watch the leader go into a state of panic like that.

"Coraline--"

"I need a minute," the leader interrupted. "Can someone send Koren my way?"

I deflated, nodding glumly. The cheetah shifter dragged her feet to her chair, falling into the seat and staring out the window as we turned to leave. She seemed shocked, and probably felt guilty. Xavier had blamed her for this, after all. When she took the position of leader instead of him, it drove the tiger to take matters into his own hands.

The betrayal had started with their tattered friendship.

"Katrina."

The four shifters from Orgull stopped at the base of the stairs, and I nearly tripped as I skidded to a stop as well. They all looked afraid, and Liam was as white as paper.

"If," Anna began, "things go sideways, and the compounds do fight Orgull... We won't be able to go home..."

"Iluita will have a place for you," I assured her instantly. "All of you."

Emma let out a relieved sigh. She flashed me a grateful smile.

Another thought came into mind.

"Do the other compounds really blame Iluita for this?"

The chameleon shifter blushed, knowing my question was directed at her. It was still Talia who answered, the tigress much more confident.

"Rumours spread easily," she murmured, "and the two shifters that started gathering an army of hunters are both from this compound..."

Talia averted her eyes, staring at something over my shoulder.

"It was the decision to pick one shifter over another that started this."

"Decisions, decisions," I sighed. "Always getting in the way..."

I turned, the wet ground slick under my feet. Snow had started melting already, turning the streets into a slushy mess and the forests into a muddy nightmare.

"Where are you going?"

I paused, feeling my shoes settle into the mud.

"I made the decision to go take a nap. See you guys around."

I continued on without another word.

Really, I just want to dream about that other Guardian again.

My heart throbbed.

I hope she's still alive and well.

"...Don't you think she's being odd?" I heard Anna ask.

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't usually nap. You'd expect to find her showing off somewhere."

"We're all busy and dealing with it in different ways. Come on. We should get Koren for Ms. Coraline."

I smirked to myself as their conversation died away.

I don't trust Coraline and Koren to cover every aspect of this. They're going to miss something, I guarantee it.

Just as I was heading for the dorms, I noticed the group hauling several bodies through town. It was a bunch of shifters dragging the wounded hunters to the prison. Since their group was severely outnumbered, it looked like a struggle.

I nearly laughed aloud as a hunter got dropped flat on their face.

If I'm being honest, I did laugh. Harder than I should've.

Once my laughter died, I noticed the grimace on each of the shifters' faces. Guilt set in, since I was the one that made all that work for them, and I ran back toward the street. One of the guards in training shot me a grateful smile as I heaved two hunters up under my arms without a word.

"Thanks, dragon girl," one of the boys groaned.

I nodded. "It was my fault."

He snorted. "Why am I not surprised?"

I stuck my tongue out. Back in Greenhill, I would've never had these relations with random citizens. In the compound, however, I felt at home, I was recognized on the streets, and I belonged. I could get along with these people, and I had worth in Iluita. Something to provide.

I was smiling once we finally dropped the unconscious hunters off in the cells.

"Busy day?"

I froze, glancing over my shoulder. Marie sat at her lonely table, her cell bars repaired after my tantrum.

"You could say that," I muttered. My feet took me toward the bars without my permission, the other shifters forgetting about my presence as I stood outside my mother's jail cell.

"Are your friends okay?" Marie murmured, sounding partially genuine.

"Yeah," I said flatly. "The friends I finally got... They're doing fine."

She hummed, flipping a page in the tattered book she read. I watched her, staring at her tangled hair and rumpled clothes. Her skin was pale from lack of sunshine, but she was still lively.

"Marie... Did you know about Orgull?"

Her movements faltered, the book nearly slipping from her grasp. She looked up at me, amused.

"Did you figure out my clue?"

I tilted my head, puzzled. "No. Found out another way, but that answers my question," I sighed, "at least my first question. I never even looked at that clue -- it wasn't important enough, apparently."

"Depends on how much you value history," she smiled, the expression void of any kindness. "Do you want to know the clue?"

I crossed my arms, leaning on one hip. We were far enough away from the rest of the hunters being brought in that our conversation was nearly private.

"Go ahead, Marie."

She smirked. "'Remember Kora.' That was the hint."

Bile rose in my throat, and I clenched my fists. My face turned into a frown as I fought back old memories, trying not to break under past sadness.

Kora had been a friend of mine growing up. She had been one of the only people who actually put up with me for longer than a month at maximum.

Then, in elementary school, Kora betrayed me when she helped a few other students pull a prank. Filling my backpack with trash, throwing my clothes in the mud while I was in gym -- she did all sorts of things with them. In return, they gave her some of the nice, high-quality toys that their parents bought.

A friend betraying another for something else.

Orgull betraying Iluita for something the hunters could give to them.

I pushed past the memory, glaring at my adoptive mother. "So, what are the hunters giving Orgull?"

She snickered. "Good observation, but why should I tell you?"

"Because you always seem to want to tell me things," I glared, "then insult me. I can never tell if you want to help me or if you want me to die, mother."

The woman sighed. "I... It's not important, Katrina. I can't control you."

My eyebrows raised. No insults? She's surprisingly tame today...

"What is Orgull getting out of it, Marie?"

"A Guardian."

What?

She eyed me with a squint. "They made a deal to conquer Iluita alongside the hunters. Then, Xavier gets his little compound and the hunters win against you monsters. However, they needed to sweeten the deal, and the hunters already have a Guardian in captivity... But there's another Guardian in Iluita."

"Me."

"Correct," she sneered. "Once Iluita was under Xavier's control, he plans to give you to Orgull to use as a weapon. From there, the three allies would keep going after other compounds."

"And how did you know all this?" I demanded. "You've been in prison for so long."

"It's been a plan from the beginning," she murmured, dropping my gaze. Marie sighed, placing her book on the table. She then walked to her thin bed, laying across it with a small pout.

"And you're a part of it."

She shrugged. "I suppose."

I leaned against the bars. "Are you not going to call me a monster?"

"Not today. You... You have better things to listen to."

"Like what?"

The woman rolled over, facing the wall. Now with her back to me, I scowled, my face crumpling.

Because that woman was my mother, at the end of the day. But we couldn't salvage our relationship. She was a stranger to me now.

"...Like yourself..."

Despite being close to crying, surprise filled my features. I stared at her back, holding my breath in fear.

"You always did what you wanted, Katrina. You broke rules and lived by your own laws. You didn't pay attention to classes, but instead focused on whatever you wanted to. Listen to yourself. You were always the only person you trusted."

She still knows me so well.

Even if she calls me a monster half the time.

Marie still knows who I am.

"Do you... Do you know what I should do as a Guardian?"

The form on the bed tensed for a moment, Marie clearly surprised that I asked. Then, she scoffed.

"One person cannot save an entire village. But if you're strong enough, you can save those you love, Katrina. But you can't win back the safety of all of them."

"Is that a threat?"

Silence filled the cells. The shifters had already cleared out, and the other hunters in prison were unconscious from their burns.

Marie gradually sat up, but her eyes didn't meet mine. She stared at the bed below her, her dark hair falling in front of her face like a curtain.

"It's a warning, daughter."

My heart skipped a beat at the word daughter.

"One that comes from love."