Prologue

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Birch trotted with the Healers that were helping her scout the perimeter of the Forest. They had traveled hours to be here, looking for new herbs to cure old diseases. She had joined them because she was the primary heir to the throne, and was set on meeting everyone she could, from every Talent.

Chief Sandstorm was... great... and all, but she drove everyone further apart than they already were, and nobody really liked her. At all.

Birch was going to change that, she was going to unify the Talents. She could hardly wait.

She quickly caught up with her best friend, Rosemary, nervous. She got the distant whiff of a storm coming.

Rosemary, an extremely pale pink Jickey, called to Birch, her voice softer than clouds, "Hey, Birch, I think I found something!"

Birch's ears twitched, looking over Rosemary's shoulder.

"What is it?" She asked, her lime green eyes looking the small bush of green leaves with white berries up and down, a little confused.

"I think it could possibly be made into a medicine for the Whooping Cough, and there's a whole little garden to get us started!" Rosemary said, not too enthusiastically. She eyes the surrounding area nervously, scuffing her paws anxiously through the dirt.

She could sense it too.

Birch smiled lightly, putting a paw on Rosemary's shoulder, trying to remain positive. "That's fantastic! I'll grab a couple of the others to help uproot it and take it back. I think we should get going pretty soon."

Suddenly, something in the Forest rustled, and Birch squinted into the darkness.

Are those... Eyes?

A huge, dark brown, Coyote with a black Snake wrapped around his neck emerged from the trees and smirked for a moment, analyzing the situation.

He looked at Rosemary with piercing yellow eyes, pausing, as if thinking of what to say.

Before he said anything, his Snake tightened around his throat and instantly his claws slashed across Rosemary's throat like it was nothing. Like she was just in the way.

Birch stumbled and fell, landing hard against the dirt, desperately screaming for help, for Rosemary, at the Coyote, just screamimg, trying to scoot forward. She grabbed Rosemary's paw, begging her to fight, to get up and run, to not die on her like this.

Rosemary whispered something incomprehensible and her paw went limp in Birch's paw.

Birch shrieked at the top of her lungs, catching the other Healer's attention.

"RUN! TELL CHIEF SANDSTORM; THE COYOTES ARE COMING!"

She both heard and saw the panicked Healers, shouting at each other and fleeing for the Village, leaving behind their satchels and disappearing into the tall, thick grass that was the field that separated the Village from the Forest.

They'll never warn everyone in time, they won't make it to mother before the Coyotes do, Birch realized, horrified, her eyes fixed on Rosemary's body; very clearly dead.

The Coyote chuckled, looking down at Birch, finally saying something instead of staring at Rosemary's limp, bloody body. "Afternoon, Princess Birch."

Her name slithered off his tongue like a snake. He wore a large, black diamond crown, and two long, black diamond earrings, as well as two black diamond bracelets around his wrists. He was someone important.

Birch tried to run, tried to call for help, but she was petrified with fear. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. It was almost like the Coyote had paralyzed her.

"Remember the name Pirate," the Coyote said while he smirked, his eyes menacing and his claws tearing agonizingly slowly across Birch's throat.

"For it'll be the last thing you ever hear," he hissed.

He was right, it was the last thing she ever heard.


Days later, Chief Sandstorm's Patrol found both the body of Healer-Rosemary and the body of her daughter; her black-and-white striped fur blood-stained and her face a permanent state of petrified horror.

There had been no massacre, Princess Birch and Healer-Rosemary were the only ones killed, Healer-Rosemary seemingly for no reason at all. The Coyotes wanted Princess Birch and Princess Birch alone, for they knew it would tear the Village apart from the inside.

The heir to the monarchy was dead, and Chief Sandstorm knew that Princess Birch was the first to be killed, but certainly wouldn't be the last.


A/N(because apparently that does something?):

hello hello hello there silly goofies, my name is mossy, it is 4am, i haven't slept, and i have school in two hours!!!

but welcome to my shitshow!!!!

lil background info(because i have adhd and will actually Die if i dont get to explain this at some point): 

this project is my beautiful precious perfect project and it is the one (1) reason i am alive and sane bc lemme tell you i worked through so much shit and went through so much shit with these characters (lmao you havent even met them yet, imagine being that much of a loser /j) so essentially they raised me and this was merely a passion project but my sister/bestfriend wants me to publish it on here so !!!!!! here we are!!!!!

also YES i type like a little GOBLIN, wording is exhausting and i am a student ive been forced to behave like a sentient being for SEVEN HOURS i had to repress my urge to make random ghastly sounds because i am gay and neurodivergent

ive gotten so off topic i actually need to go to sleep i have a paper due in the morning im going to die anyway

I LOVE YOU YOU CRUSTY ELBOW !!!!! <3333 /aff

i will see you literally whenever i see fit, whenever you deserve it, lemme know 

ajdjfkhbgfg okay bye now lmfao

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