Coco seemed to study Erica. “Come on, there’s something I wanna show you.” She said

Erica followed Coco down a dirt path cutting through the woods, the trail stretching from the house to a wide clearing. A long building of dark-stained wood loomed ahead, rough and weathered. At first, she took it for a shed, but the restless snorts and sharp stink of manure marked it as a stable.

Coco rushed to unlatch the door, leading Erica inside. The stable opened wide to the forest on the far side, framing the trees beyond. Three horses shifted in their stalls, hooves scraping the floor, their breaths heavy with unease.

“When were you going to tell me this lady has horses?” Erica whispered, her voice low in the dimness.

“Things kept coming up,” Coco answered, her tone flat and steady. “You ever ride one?” she asked.

“Nope,” Erica said.

“Me neither,” Coco admitted. “Let’s go.” She grabbed a bale of hay, tearing it open to spill dry strands across the floor, then freed the horses from their pens.

The animals burst out, plunging their muzzles into the hay, tearing at it with hungry snaps. Coco moved among them, her hand gliding over their hides with a strange calm, greeting each before mounting the largest—a chestnut beast, solid and unbothered by her weight.

“Come on,” Coco said.

Erica eyed the horses, her pulse thudding in her chest. “Are you serious?” she asked.

Coco motioned sharply, a silent command. “Stay calm, they’re sensitive to energy,” she instructed.

Erica drew a slow breath, steadying her nerves, and climbed onto the smallest—a cremello mare, pale and sleek. Its ears flicked, a protest rising, until Coco reached over and stilled it with a touch.

The horses finished their meal and trotted out into the open. Coco guided all three with a quiet confidence, while Erica clung tight, fighting to stay seated. “How are you so good with them if you’ve never ridden before?” she asked, her voice strained.

“Perks of being an elf I guess?” Coco said as they rode deeper into the forest. “I don’t know, it’s like humans communicate non-verbally all the time but you usually untune yourself to how everything else communicates. It’s like, I’m tuned to everything now, all life is constantly communicating, and I’m just kind of able to dial in to all the different frequencies at once.”

“Wow, you really turned into an el.” Erica said, wobbling atop her horse.

Coco steadied her with a firm grip, offering guidance. “You’re partners,” she told her. 

“Remember, she’s doing you the favor by letting you ride her. Listen to her and she will listen to you,” she said.

“You make that sound so simple, I don’t have magickal elf powers,” Erica complained, her words sharp with frustration.

“It’s not magick,” Coco insisted, her voice softening. “It’s more like I speak their language.” She kept coaching, steering Erica through the rhythm of the ride.

“I think I need to put more wood on the fire,” Erica said as they passed the house’s back, sliding off her mount.

Coco handled the three horses alone while Erica piled fresh logs onto the pyre. The stench of burning flesh hit her hard, churning her stomach.

Erica returned to find Coco on the cremello and climbed onto the chestnut at her urging. 

They pressed farther into the forest, Erica settling into the saddle. Hours passed as they roamed, switching horses now and then. Suddenly, Coco stopped, tilting her head to listen, her gaze silencing them all.

“Coco, what—” Erica started, but Coco pressed a finger to her lips and nudged the cremello forward.

They slipped through a dense patch of trees, branches scraping their path, until they reached a hilltop. Coco pointed silently beyond the tree line. Erica squinted, then nearly toppled at the sight.

A black bear, the size of an African elephant, lumbered through the woods. Its fur bristled with iron-like spikes, clacking with each step, the ground shuddering under its weight.

It sniffed the air, then vanished into the shadows. “What the fuck was that?” Erica whispered, her breath catching.

“I told you humans weren’t the only ones who went through transformations,” Coco replied, her voice grim and certain.

They rode back, stabling the horses with care—brushing their coats, filling their troughs—before night fell. Inside, they showered together, Erica marveling at Coco’s beauty, otherworldly under the water’s sheen, though she darted out the moment she finished.

Erica fetched linens, spreading them on the floor, unwilling to take a dead woman’s bed. Coco slipped into the woods, leaving Erica restless, though she promised a quick return.

Erica gathered logs and kindling, sparking a fire in the hearth, then scoured the kitchen for food, relieved by a stash of rice and beans. Meal done, she pulled her toothbrush from her pack and prepared for sleep. She considered calling Coco but chose to wait, eyes closing. Dawn woke her.

Her dreams burned vividly, yet faded fast upon waking. She sought Coco and found her astride the horses, tireless as ever.

“I haven’t seen you eat anything in days,” Erica pointed out. “I was about to make breakfast.”

“I’m not sure this body needs to eat,” Coco replied. “I don’t seem to really sleep either,” she added.

“So, what were you doing in the woods?” Erica asked.

Coco sighed, her gaze drifting upward. “I don’t know, I guess I’d call it more of a trance state. It’s like my consciousness leaves my body and merges with the forest. Like, the forest itself is a single organism and I sort of convene with it, and then I convene with everything, every single living organism is a cell of the great organism known as the world and I convene with that.”

Erica raised her brow. “What do you mean you convene with it?” she asked.

Coco shrugged. “I basically have a conversation with it, not like, with words or anything, and 

I don’t really say anything back. More like I’m just aware of it and so I become aware of everything about it.”

“I can’t really imagine what that’s like,” Erica admitted.

“It’s wild,” Coco responded. “Imagine closing your eyes, having a super intense ego death, and then opening your eyes and everything’s back to normal.”

“That sounds like a lot to deal with,” Erica sympathized.

“Not really,” Coco said. “I thought I was going crazy at first but I actually feel super energized after,” she bragged.

“So, I guess not needing to sleep counts as your second super power.” Erica noted sarcastically, ignoring the creeping twinge of envy as she headed inside to fix breakfast. She joined Coco after, for a long ride, legs sore but lifted by a strange fullness replacing the void within her.

They roamed miles of forest, spotting warped creatures: a hawk with flaming feathers at noon, a mouse boring through a tree at uncanny speed. Coco navigated with a hunter’s instinct, always alert. Late afternoon brought human footprints, growing fresher as they rode.

The tracks spared their hideout, yet warned of trouble. Neither wanted to face strangers unarmed in such wilds. They returned unseen, stabling the horses. Erica showered alone, Coco keeping watch, and night fell before she looked for her.

Erica stared at the twin moons—one small and full, the other vast, nearing half. A strangeness stirred within, recalling the prior day’s shift, when hidden powers unveiled themselves.

All things are bound and boundless. Form is but the impression of the thing itself. I awaken to the truth of all things. Let all things be felt. Let power be known. I open to the truth. Magick Sense!

The words wound into her mind, born of the second moon and some inner well. They swelled vast, crowding out all else.

Erica knew them as more than words—a gate to power’s realm. Sense returned, and she found herself kneeling.

She breathed deep and stood, gazing at the looming moon, its force dormant within.

“All things are bound and boundless,” she said, and power flared, a hot coil in her gut.

“Form is but the impression of the thing itself,” she continued, and the power sharpened.

“I awaken to the truth of all things,” she pressed on, the coil surging through her.

“Let all things be felt,” she recited, and the power rooted within.

“Let power be known,” she said, and it compressed into a tight knot in her mind.

“I open to the truth,” Erica said, and the knot crystallized into intent.

“Magick Sense!” she finished, and the intent burst, pulling her into a new awareness.

Secrets of power and mysteries flooded her. She felt the second moon’s alien pull, unfit for this world, its presence tearing at creation’s fabric, rewriting its rules. She sensed it all, fullness near bursting, until it faded, leaving her feeling empty once again.