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Devil's Snare

"I hate you," the black she-wolf said while looking at her reflection in the black obsidian mirror in front of her. The only light in the cluttered room came from a few scattered candles and a window in the ceiling that allowed moonlight to rain down onto the naked young canine. The attic of her modest home was the only room in the house she would never allow any outsiders to step into. Here was where she practised her art, one which was supposed to remain hidden from the eyes of common folk. The witch hunts may have ended decades ago, but that did not mean that people welcomed practitioners of witchcraft, especially those that focused on the darker aspects of it, like Savani.

Spell books, various herbs, and other instruments of her art were spread all over the room, but few were as important as her black mirror. Polished to perfection, it showed her exactly what she wanted to see, except when it showed the woman her own reflection. Savani had a body that many females would kill for: fur as black as night and as soft as a summer breeze, eyes that blazed like a bonfire, and curves in all the right places. There was only one thing the young wolf was not particularly happy with.

She had inherited her old father's awful genes for her hair, which sat on top of her head like a bird's nest. She had tried growing it out, hoping that the weight would allow her hair to become straighter, but it was no use. The nest only got bigger. She raked her claws through her hair in frustration and stomped over to her comb. The process of combing her hair was always a tedious one, and after she had broken off at least three teeth of the bone comb, she threw it out of the window with a frustrated snarl. Ignoring the pained sound coming from some unlucky sod outside, the wolf forcefully braided her hair and tied a thin silver ribbon in it to keep it in place. There had to be a way to fix this problem. She just hadn't looked deep enough yet. Savani's amber eyes darted through the room, resting on every book in her view. Nothing. None of her ancestors or any of the other witches she had books from had ever encountered this problem before. The girl knew this, because she had read every single one of these tomes and grimoires at least a dozen times before, and she couldn't recall any one of them mentioning a solution for her current problem. If only she had been adept at illusion magic, this wouldn't have been such a problem, but alas, she was not. No, she would just have to come up with something herself. Tonight was not the time for creating and wielding such difficult magic, though. It was already late, and Savani was tired, so after making sure every window and door was locked, she retired for the night.

***

Her dreams were anything but peaceful, as she kept finding herself walking through shadow and mist, the sound of thousands of giant insects moving around her, never to be seen. She could feel them watching her from out of the darkness, never getting close enough for her to see them, until one eventually ventured closer. What appeared before her was a most grotesque creature with an exoskeleton of the purest black, safe for a huge pile of what looked like skulls both of species she was familiar with, and those she had never come across before. Her blood ran cold upon spotting some skulls that definitely once belonged to those of her kind.

"What are you?" Savani demanded as she stood her ground and gathered her magic around her, only to find that nothing happened. Where her energy would normally circle her as a barrier, there was only still air, and nothing more.

"I am what I am, and I take what I desire," the creature spoke with a voice that was neither male nor female, yet both at once, while its body barely moved. Only the antennae kept moving around, scanning the misty air for any changes.

She let her eyes move over the creature, resting them on the skulls on the creature's back. Even though they obviously didn't belong to it, they seemed to be part of the insect regardless. What was this monstrosity that had appeared before her in this dream land? "What is it that you desire?" she asked.

"I desire the power to subdue any and all enemies, to become the greatest of all," the bug answered before tilting its head slightly and looking at the black she-wolf with its faceted eyes. "And what, little wolf, do you desire?" it asked as it took a small step forward, looming over her like a tidal wave that was about to strike down.

The young woman thought about that for a few seconds, trying to come up with a way to fully express what she wanted. She knew it was a dream, however, it was all so vivid, that it had to have had a special meaning in one way or another. She'd had lifelike dreams before, and even a vision or two, but it was never as clear as this. She had also never seen a creature like the one before her, so why would it appear like this otherwise, especially after she had been so desperate for a solution to her problem? Savani shook her head, the little nest on top wobbling comically, before turning her eyes on the giant insect again. "I desire beauty unparalleled. I desire beauty that will make any man fall onto his knees before me. I desire beauty that will leave any other woman far behind me," she stated loudly and boldly while puffing up her chest, to make herself seem bigger.

The insect's antennae moved around like the whips mostly used to keep animals in check, and she had the strange feeling that it was grinning, even though no emotion could be read off its face. "Then do as I do, and just take it," it said before it tapped the skulls on his back with an antenna. "Take whatever it is you desire, and make it yours."

She stared at the creature before her and looked at the monstrous collection of skeletons gathered on its back. "Make it...mine?" she asked softly while thinking about it. That might not even be such a crazy idea. Well, of course it was crazy, but it wasn't impossible. She just needed to get the right ingredients and would have to come up with a ritual for it, but it was certainly something that could be done. The wolf turned to the being again and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you."

The creature nodded its head and both it and the surroundings started to fade away, the lines of the insect becoming blurry, until darkness once again ruled supreme. "I will see you soon, Savani," it spoke before the dream ended.

***

The beautiful thing about magic is that there is pretty much nothing it can't do, as long as the needed materials and rituals were combined with a witch powerful enough to work the spell. It was possible to come up with a completely new spell yourself, but it was often easier to rework an old one into a spell that suited your needs. This was exactly the reason why Savani dove back into her ancestors' grimoires. Coming from a long line of witches, there was more than enough material to go over. Spells for levitation, invisibility, and love didn't interest her at that time, but she knew that there was a transformation or transmutation spell somewhere in the tomes around her. She just needed to find it, and rework the spell so that it suited her needs.

After at least a few hours of going through dusty pages, the black she-wolf eventually found grandmother Enna's transmutation spell, which was used to bind different types of plants together into one. Savani remembered her mother telling her that Enna used to have a tree in the garden that produced apples, pears, and plums! Savani was in no need for a tree like that, but she could definitely rework the spell into something more suitable. After having done that, the only thing left on her list was finding the needed materials for the spell to work.

After doing some research on herbs and plants in one of her favourite and most-used tomes, she headed out to the market, wearing a green hooded robe that would cover the ugly blemish on top of her head. She looked around at the beautiful hair most of the other women sported, and it just filled her with a jealous rage. Why did life have to curse her? Her hair had already chased away two possible suiters, and, while some might say that that was just superficial and they were not worth her time and love, she wouldn't have married herself either for the exact same reason. Looks were not everything, of course, but it would be nice to wake up next to someone she found perfectly attractive for the rest of her life. It was not as if she could just cut off her hair either, as that was supposedly unbecoming for females, and was reserved for males, who could pretty much wear their hair any way they wanted. Savani clenched her fists and ground her teeth together in frustration. The world was a very unfair place.

While buying various plants from a florist, she stumbled upon Amber, a most-gorgeous vixen with luxurious long hair of a colour that could best be described as sunlight hitting a river of molten gold. The female fox almost literally bumped into her while browsing the same shop.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Savani, I didn't see you there," she said with a voice that was both sarcastic and sickeningly friendly.

"Good morning to you too, Amber," the black wolf said begrudgingly, as she really hadn't wanted to meet this particular person, mostly because she made her feel weird, tingly, and insecure. She was known as the Queen of Gossip, and Savani always seemed to be her favourite subject for some reason.

"Have you had any suiters over at your place, lately? I swear I have to beat them away with a stick nowadays, haha!" the vixen giggled while looking sideways at the wolf, the corners of her muzzle turning up a little to reveal somewhat of a smirk.

Savani's claws were digging into her thighs as she tried to keep herself calm to no avail. At least she could appear calm on the outside. This question was entirely unfair, as Amber knew bloody well that no man had been interested in the she-wolf for quite some time. The vixen just seemed to love adding salt to injury. "You know as well as I do, that it's been remarkably quiet," she said before reaching her paw out for a rose, which was quickly snatched away by the gold-haired woman.

"Whoops! Sorry, sugar, but that one is mine," she said while grinning one of those typical fox grins, one of those that Savani would just love to claw off of her face. "Also, it really is to be expected. I mean, even I would look unattractive with a crow nest on my head," she said before laughing and walking off, her hips swaying with a natural grace as she disappeared into the crowd after paying the florist.

Savani stamped her foot on the cobblestones beneath her and snarled as a hint of her energy started swirling around her. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down, biting her lower lip, before anyone could really notice. She managed to control her magic, but not her anger. That bitch was going down someday! Her eyes shot open and a maniacal grin spread over her face as a brilliant idea unfolded in her mind. She looked at the florist and grabbed a beautiful pink rose before holding it up to him. "I would like this one!" she said, handing it to the mildly-shocked ferret.

***

After having visited the herbalist for the more common herbs and roots, the dark she-wolf returned to her home in the second of the city's three rings. The inner circle was mostly for rich folk, and it was also where the palace was located. The further out you went, the smaller the houses got. Savani lived in an area that could be called middle-class, which she owed to her heritage. Her family had started out as farmers, before the interest in witchcraft took over, and they moved to the city under the guise of being healers. They had earned their place in the city, and, ever since then, generation after generation of Savani's family had lived in that same house.

Her family's knowledge was still present in the form of books and supplies of all kinds, which explained why the she-wolf could get her paws on some pretty rare ingredients for her spell. She stood in the kitchen and opened several cupboards to take out pots with all kinds of herbs and animal parts. "Now, where is it?" she muttered softly under her breath while slowly emptying the cabinet, putting a pot with snake vertebrae on the counter. She was looking for one of the last ingredients: mandrake. "Ah! There you are, you little sneak," she said and grinned as she reached into the cabinet, moving her paw past a pot with crow talons. She wrapped her fingers around her target and pulled it out. "It's no use trying to hide from me," Savani said while holding the pot of manlike roots up into the light that streamed in through the kitchen window. They were always a curious sight to behold, but that wasn't the reason she was checking. The girl opened the pot and fished out one of the several roots in there. This one was female, and therefore exactly what she needed. She put the pots back and closed the cupboard before taking the strange-looking root upstairs to the attic, where she'd assembled the rest of the ingredients.

The easiest part of getting the preparations done was over now, and the hardest part was about to begin. For this particular spell, she was going to need someone else's hair, and Savani was quite sure that no woman would voluntarily give up her hair for her. She didn't really have a lot of close friends, so she couldn't ask for a favour either. That only meant that she was left with one solution: procuring it from an unwilling donor. The woman waited until after sunset, before donning a black hooded robe that would definitely keep her hidden in the shadows of night. It had been enchanted by a family member to muffle steps and breathing. It also took away the ability to communicate by the use of her voice once the hood was on, as the spell was designed in such a way that it blocked out all sound the wearer made, making it the obvious choice for that night's mission.

By the time she had finished getting ready for that night, the sun had said its goodbyes for the day, and Lady Moon had risen up into the sky. After stepping out of her home, the witch bowed respectfully, holding her right paw over her heart. "Greetings to you, Lady Moon. May you watch over me this night, and keep me safe," she whispered before throwing on the hood, which rendered her silent. Savani had never been particularly stealthy, to her mother's chagrin, but the she-wolf was trying her utmost best to stay out of sight of any guards or suspicious eyes, while also staying away from the street lanterns that lit up the corners of well-traversed streets. It was the first time in her life that she'd chosen to travel by means of the numerous alleyways instead. Those could be dangerous at night. Hell, they could be dangerous during the day as well, but Savani was well-armed, and this wasn't the harbour district or the slums.

The dark canine knew exactly who her target would be, and she was moving towards the upper-class district, where she could find her. The Queen of Gossip lived in a stately house close to the centre of the city, and it took the witch almost twice as long to reach it as usual, because of her sneaking and having to avoid people, but the fewer people who saw her on the streets, the better. Amber's family was quite wealthy, and she would probably have to deal with a few servants first, unless she could figure out which window was the vixen's.

Fortunately, Savani didn't have to wait long before the beautiful Amber showed herself by standing in front of a window, wearing not much more than a see-through sleeping gown, which probably cost more than what Savani spent on food for a month. She was truly a sight to behold. It was such a shame it would change soon. The female fox closed the curtains and moved away, giving the she-wolf no more time admiring her target's appearance. Oh, how jealous she was.

The black witch gathered her power around her, which caused the air to crackle a little, before she uttered a spell that went unheard, but worked its magic regardless. "Licht als lucht..." She slowly moved up, feeling as light as a feather, until her feet were no longer touching the cold cobblestones. This was great-grandmother Rikana's favourite spell, which she used to fly through the sky for hours, until she was eventually spotted and trialled for witchcraft. It was a dark day for the family, as Rikana was actually one of the few witches who only used her powers for good. She was the last of Savani's family to be put on trial, but the resentment towards the church forever lingered in Rikana's offspring.

The wolf carefully flew over to the window Amber had just appeared at, and waited for the light in the room to dim, before she touched the window and silently muttered: "Open". The lock on the window unlocked itself and the window was no longer an obstacle. Moving the curtain out of the way, the witch flew into the room and landed gracefully, before taking in her surroundings in the dim light of the silver moon. She'd flown over a small table that held various items a woman used to make herself look her best. There was a mirror on it as well, and when Savani looked at her own reflection, she thought herself positively scary. She grinned and slowly made her way over to the bed, her feet moving over a very expensive rug. She wouldn't have made a sound in this room even without her enchanted outfit. Some people really had it all.

Standing next to the luxurious four-poster bed, the she-wolf looked down at the beautiful woman sleeping in it. It was a natural sleep though, and Savani couldn't risk Amber waking up in the middle of this mission, so she grinned and moved closer, sinking down onto her haunches while reaching down into one of the pouches on her hidden belt. The black canine moved her muzzle to Ambers and very tenderly kissed her lips before whispering in her ear.

"Wake up, beautiful."

The vixen woke up almost immediately. Having been asleep for only a few minutes, it was to be expected. Her eyes shot open wide, but before she could even scream, Savani wrapped her paw around the girl's muzzle and blew the blue powder she was holding in her other paw into Amber's face.

"Sleep."

After struggling for not longer than a few seconds, the beautiful vixen went limp as she was sent straight into a very deep sleep, from which she definitely wouldn't wake for at least a few hours. Savani caressed the girl's cheek before running her claws through the perfect hair. "I like you a lot better when you sleep," she said silently before pulling away the covers, revealing the female fox's beautiful body. The wolf placed her paw on the girl's barely-clothed stomach, and gathered her power again. "Licht als lucht," she uttered, and Amber's body started to rise up from the bed. Savani pulled her aside and made the bed before flying up herself and taking the vixen with her. After closing the curtains and window, making sure it was locked again as well, the witch took off with the final ingredient of her spell.

***

"Lady's Mantle for change, catnip and rose for beauty, Myrrh resin and violet for transformation..." Savani spoke while stirring in her black kettle as she added the ingredients of her spell. She had a fire burning underneath the pot to get the water boiling, making the room rather warm. It had started raining outside, and the constant patter of it on the roof window combined with the sound of the crackling fire made the scene seem calmer than it actually was.

At the sound of someone groaning behind her, the black wolf turned to look at Amber, who was now naked and tied to the ceiling by her wrists, and to the ground by her ankles. "Well, well. It seems as if someone is finally awake. You'll have to wait your turn though. I'm not quite ready yet," she said before tearing her eyes away from the beautiful vixen, and back to her potion. "Magnolia for hair growth, dandelion and ginseng for wishes, orchid for desire..."

Amber groaned again and weakly struggled against her bindings as she was still sleep drunk from the spell. "Wh... What is all of this?" she asked while blinking a few times and looking around. The girl gasped at the scene that was laid out before her. "W...WITCH! You're a witch! The rumours are true!"

The she-wolf sighed. "I guess they are. Not that you'll be there to confirm them," she said and grinned before adding some more ingredients to her potion. "You'll just have to wait your turn, dear. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Stay away from me, you monster! HELP! HEEELP!" she screamed as loudly as she could, while also struggling against the ropes that kept her in place.

"It's no use, Amber. The walls and windows have been enchanted not to let any sound escape from this house. Spare your lungs and vocal chords. Why don't you sing for me instead?" she suggested while stirring. She added the final ingredients to the potion and smiled. "Mandrake for power, and dragon's blood resin to amplify it by three!"

"Stop this nonsense and release me right now!" the young vixen demanded while pulling on the ropes and trying to bite her way through it. Unfortunately for her, she was tied in such a way that her sharp fangs would never reach the rope.

Savani chuckled and stirred the kettle a few more minutes, before walking over to a low table and picking up a bowl with a white substance in it. "I guess you have waited long enough, my dear. It is your turn now. Just stay still and it will all be over soon," she said as she pulled a stool close and rested the bowl on top of it. The girl dipped her index and middle fingers in it and touched the naked vixen's body, starting from the neck and painting down to her belly button, before renewing the paint on her fingers.

"Stop it! What are you doing to me? Let me go!" Amber yelled while trying to struggle as much as she could. It was futile though, as her bindings didn't give way in the least.

The witch couldn't be deterred from her goal though, and he moved her fingers to the vixen's forehead, where she painted a dot, before painting over the girl's muzzle, up to her nose. She added some more lines, before having to renew the paint again. She slowly moved her fingers over the trembling fox's torso, drawing lines and circles here and there, before softly stroking the female's perfect breasts.

"Ah! St...stop that!" Amber protested while blushing furiously. "You can't do this!"

"I can, and I will. You cannot stop me, Amber. Not this time," she said as she painted over the nipples and circled outwards with them as the starting points. "Aren't you grateful? I am making you even more beautiful," she cooed while grinning. "If you can be a good girl for me, I will show it to you once I'm done," she added softly.

The wolf kept on adding the markings to the russet and dark fur of the vixen's body, before placing two fingers on the belly button again. She started drawing a large spiral around it while looking up into Amber's beautiful wood-brown eyes. "Did you know that the belly button marks the middle of your energy center?" she asked.

"N...no? Does it?" Amber asked unsurely while looking up at her captor. The feeling of Avani's fingers on her body had felt strange, but, confusingly, not entirely unpleasant, even though she still had no idea what the she-wolf was up to. "What are you painting with?" she asked softly.

"Bone meal," came the witch's short answer as she moved closer to the vixen and softly nuzzled her neck, taking in her scent.

"M...made from what exactly?" she dared to asked.

"You don't really want to know. Trust me," Savani whispered as she slowly brought her lips to the vixen's and kissed her tenderly while sliding her fingers down from the energy center, towards the tender flower hiding beneath, cupping it gently as she spread the paint there.

Amber moaned into the kiss, but didn't break it. She was simply so entranced by what was happening to her, that she couldn't even think of escaping anymore. It was no use anyway. The way Savani touched her was very alien to her, as nobody else had ever touched her like that before. After all, she was supposed to save herself for her future husband. Liquid fire simmered beneath her skin wherever the dark wolf touched her, and it left her panting and squirming.

Savani ended the kiss and softly licked over the other girl's lips. "Good girl," she whispered before stepping away, smirking at the sound of the bound female's whimpering. She put the paint away and fetched a simple mirror, which she held up for Amber. "As promised," she said, only to move away again after about ten seconds, figuring it to have been long enough to get a good look. She sighed and looked a tad sad as she stepped up to the woman and looked into her eyes. "I have always admired you, you know. It's just a shame that you've always been unkind towards me, and that you happen to have something I need. I'm sorry, Amber," she said before slamming her palm into the woman's chest, causing the white markings to light up light blue, her own eyes doing the same thing. If there was anything the witch was good at, it was energy manipulation. She forced her own energy through the bone meal markings and forcefully extracted the vixen's life force, pumping it into the hair instead. Once the energy reached the top of Amber's head, the hair started to grow at an astonishing rate. What would normally take months, was now happening in seconds. The female fox screamed and tried to struggle in vain, until she no longer had the energy to do so. She grew weaker by the second, and her fur lost its shine. Her bones poked through the fur, and her eyes and cheeks were sunken in as her body's energy was being converted into hair.

Once the hair was at the point that it started pooling on the attic floor, the witch stopped and stepped back, panting a little as performing magic like that took a bit of a toll on her as well. She stepped around the exhausted vixen and ran her claws through the beautiful long hair. "Absolutely wonderful. Thank you, my dear," she said softly before moving over to her altar to get her athame, a ritual knife used for rituals. She moved back to the poor woman and gripped the black-handled knife tightly into her paw. "Thank you for your sacrifice," she whispered before cutting off the female's hair. She walked over to a stool and sat down on it, taking the long length of beautiful gold-coloured hair with her.

It was truly a terrible shame to see the vixen like that, but she kind of had it coming with the years of mental abuse she'd tormented Savani with. It hadn't helped that the witch had always felt a strange attraction to the woman that often had her imagination run wild at night. The black she-wolf undid her own hair and tied hers and the vixen's tightly together with the silver ribbon, before she went over to the cauldron and filled a stone cup with her concoction. She blew over it and closed her eyes. "Here's to change," she whispered before drinking it all in one go, not caring about the bitterness of her brew as the warm liquid slid down her throat, warming her body from the inside. She immediately felt the potion's effect coursing through her veins, as her energy was quickly replenished, leaving her feeling invigorated and powerful.

After invoking the four spirits of the watch towers in front of her altar, she kneeled down in a ritual circle that had been burned into the wooden floor. She hung her hair over her shoulder, stroking it a bit longer than necessary, while looking at the blonde locks. Those would soon be hers. She took the bone meal again and drew the needed markings on her obsidian fur, before raising her paws up and closing her eyes as she started chanting.

"Spirits high and spirits low,

my desire you will know.

Aching void within my soul,

new hair acquired will make whole.

What once was yours belongs to me,

now and forever for all to see.

Energy flow and claim as mine,

These foreign locks so serpentine.

Golden sun to darkness turn,

two into one with shadow burn.

Power flow through markings white,

shed your darkness on the light.

Spirits, spirits, hear my plea,

As I will, so mote it be!"

The black she-wolf felt the air crackle with power around her as it circled her and engulfed her in a maelstrom of energy. She laughed loudly as she felt it enter her body through the markings, only to send it upwards to her hair. A sizzling could be heard as the new hair and the old were united into one, the darkness of the pitch-black hair slowly seeping into its gold counterpart, turning it as black as her own. Savani felt truly beautiful in that moment and tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks after escaping her mirthful eyes. She felt happy and was so engaged with the feeling of finally having beautiful long hair, that she didn't feel the same hair slowly moving up and around her body, as if it had a life of its own, like a gorgon's venomous locks.

It wasn't until the hair suddenly wrapped itself around the witch's neck, that she realized that something had gone horribly wrong. The hair had fanned out behind her like the rays of the sun, and had started wrapping itself around her limbs, torso, and neck. She desperately tried to claw herself free, but the hair was too strong, and she was getting weaker by the second. The tears that welled up in her eyes were not of joy this time. Instead, her face was filled with dread at the realization that she would not survive this. She tried to scream, but only a faint guttural hissing managed to get out.

She heard a faint thud behind her, followed by the sound of footsteps. The hair pulled her head backwards, revealing the sight of the vixen grinning down at her as she slowly moved closer. She looked a lot better than just moments before, which was absolutely impossible. There was just no way she could have recovered and gotten out of her restraints. Savani tried screaming and coughing, but couldn't even manage that anymore as her world slowly faded to black. The vixen brought her face close enough to the wolf's that her eyes could be seen clearly. The ones that used to be a beautiful sky blue were now replaced by the black faceted eyes of a giant insect.

"I told you we would meet again soon."

Faolan