Chapter 1 - Murphy

"Good morning, Miss Murphy."

"Good morning, handsome Mr. Jody. You ordered three allergy potions, right?"

A perfect morning starts with a delivery. My parents went out to restock supplies, leaving me to watch our family's potion shop. Uncle Jody came to pick up the allergy potions he'd ordered.

"Little Murphy, the town guards found signs of witch activity nearby. You need to be careful staying home alone."

A witch...

Uncle Jody said it again, trying to make sure I understood how serious this was. "An adult witch can kill a saber-toothed tiger. They do whatever they want—they might turn someone into an apple or a toad just because they feel like it."

"Uncle Jody, I'll be super careful!" After I promised him over and over, he finally felt okay about leaving. But he stopped at the door to say one more nice thing.

"Little Murphy, you're getting really good at making potions."

I smiled and thanked him.

My hand slid open the drawer under the counter, where a saber-toothed tiger's fang lay inside. My face got a bit darker. Last time I went to gather herbs in the forest, a saber-toothed tiger attacked me. I didn't clean up the body well enough and left some traces. Luckily, nobody would think it was me.

Because I just look like a raccoon shifter who happens to be good at making potions.

I live in Iro Town, on the continent of Faeoria.

My family runs a small potion shop, selling basic healing potions and allergy medicine. My parents recently went out to buy supplies, leaving me alone to mind the store.

If I don't show that I'm a witch, I just seem like a regular raccoon shifter.

I look the part too—thin, cute, with brown curly hair and green cat-like eyes. But I was born with natural magic, which makes me a witch who likes collecting bones and teeth.

And I'm curious about everything new.

Even though my parents told me again and again not to go into the forest alone before they left, I couldn't help sneaking out once.

Just that one time, and I left evidence.

This morning, customer after customer came in and said the same thing. Watching everyone worry about the witch, I couldn't help thinking—what would they do if they knew my mom and I were witches? What if they found out the potion shop they trusted was actually run by witches?

While thinking about this, I used my wand to control ten cauldrons at once, finishing a whole afternoon's worth of potions in thirty minutes.

That's why my parents feel safe leaving me to watch the shop.

"Murphy, are you there!"

A red-haired girl with wolf ears and freckles popped up at the shop window.

This is my best friend, Hetty Scott from the Moonfang Pack, the strongest fighter in her generation.

"Here!" I went to get the healing potions Hetty had ordered.

In Iro Town, the wolf pack makes money by taking monster hunting jobs.

Monster bounties go from D-rank to S-plus rank. Hetty just turned adult age this year and already finished an S-plus job by herself. My raccoon shifter dad says Hetty might become a candidate for pack leader.

"Oh my god, Murphy, that's so many potions! You must have been working since last night."

Of course I wasn't. But I told her, "Hetty, your orders always come first."

Her ears twitched excitedly, showing her shifter side clearly.

This world is split into the Human Continent and Faeoria, connected by peace agreements. Faeoria is home to shifters and elemental shapeshifters.

Witches aren't gone—they just like hiding in plain sight. Sometimes you might know a witch your whole life and never realize it.

Most shifters keep some of their animal features. Like Hetty's little wolf ears.

Shapeshifters are connected to natural elements: metal, wood, earth, fire, and water.

In Faeoria, magic schools are the best education you can get, and Arlo University is the top dream school of them all.

Today, Hetty is clearly super excited. She keeps blinking her big eyes, and her constantly twitching ears give away how happy she is.

"What news do you have for me?"

She couldn't hold it in anymore. "I got my acceptance letter from Arlo University!"

"I'm going to learn magic!"

In this world, besides witches who are born with magic, shapeshifters and shifters have to go to magic schools to awaken their powers and use them through spells.

But magic depends a lot on talent. In Iro Town, you barely see anyone using magic in everyday life.

"Once I learn magic, I'll be even stronger at fighting. I'm going to become the strongest guardian in the pack," Hetty kept talking. "Murphy, did you get yours?"

I blinked slowly. "Well... you know, Hetty, Arlo University is super hard to get into. The acceptance rate is only one percent. I probably didn't make it."

The truth is, I never even applied to Arlo University.

I was born knowing magic. Why would I go somewhere just to learn magic? How boring.

Behind everyone's back, I secretly applied to a human university and I'm really hoping they'll accept me.

"Murphy, of course you'll get in! You're the most talented girl at making potions I've ever seen. You could make healing potions when you were eight! When I tried at eight, I blew up my house!"

Hetty got more excited as she talked. "Everyone says we're the two people in Iro Town most likely to get into Arlo. They just haven't sent your letter yet, that's all."

"Hetty, your eyes are turning green." I looked at her in surprise as her beast form started coming out, and quickly poured some muzzygrass into her mouth.

"Oh no, oh no." Hetty tried to wipe the drool from her mouth but felt her fangs instead. Fur was growing along her jaw.

Young shifters can't control their transformations. When their emotions get too strong, their beast forms keep breaking through.

With the muzzygrass working, Hetty slowly calmed down.

"Murphy, when will I be able to control my form as well as you do?" she complained, really looking forward to becoming an adult.

Can I tell her my cat ears are fake? That I'm stable because I'm not actually a shifter?

Poor Hetty.

Hetty rushed off with her healing potions, but then remembered something. "When we were patrolling the forest, we found a dead saber-toothed tiger."

Her face got serious. The fatal wounds clearly showed signs of witch magic.

"The witch was really brutal. They even pulled out the tiger's teeth."

Now I felt a bit unfairly accused. The saber-toothed tiger attacked me first. I just defended myself. As for the teeth—I took them after it was already dead.

Saber-toothed tiger fangs are great magical materials.

The muzzygrass I just gave Hetty had saber-toothed tiger tooth powder in it.

"Don't you think the transformation stabilizer worked better today?" I asked quietly.

Hetty borrowed my mirror to look at herself. "It really did!" She was thrilled. "Why did it work so fast today? Your potion-making skills are getting even better, Murphy."

Not better skills—better materials.

But this silly Hetty has such wrong ideas about witches. Even as she was leaving, she kept muttering.

"I heard witches like to turn people into toads and use them for potions, or cast spells to make your skin rot..."

"Witches aren't that bored." I pushed her to leave. If witches really were that bored, I'd turn her into a toad myself, just to shut her up.

Besides, most rumors don't make sense when you think about them.

Like, witches are supposed to keep black cats as pets. I have a dog.

Actually, I get why Iro Town is scared of witches. Some bad witches do awful things—kidnapping children, randomly turning people into mice.

What they've done has made witches scary. Stories about terrifying witches are basically horror tales for kids in Iro.

I wonder what everyone would do if they knew they've been living next to a family of witches for over ten years.

Just thinking about it makes me pretty curious.

After finishing the deliveries and sorting out tomorrow's orders, I went home in the afternoon and excitedly opened my computer.

"Dear Miss Murphy, we are very honored to inform you that you have been accepted to Arlo University..."