Disclaimer:
~Big thanks to Enemyoffun for making this universe to play in.
Author's Note: I amazed myself by how fast I was able to churn this chapter out. Definitely a rarity for me. I hope you all enjoy it!
A very big thanks to my editor for helping with the edits.
Please comment on this, I enjoy reading your comments and learning from them immensely.

1981

Cassie was fuming at the moment. She had just got a thorough talking-to by her mother and Mrs. Crawford for snooping around where she shouldn’t be going. She was sitting on the couch and looking out across the lake. Becky had gone home earlier with her mother, Agatha Crawford. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy with her daughter’s behavior as well.

If there was one thing she didn’t want to bring down upon her, it was the wrath of her mother, Elizabeth Drake. Her mom could be a real witch, even though she already was one, when she was angry enough.

Cassie decided that she would rather spend the day at home outside, since it was one of those rare warm autumn days that made you want to enjoy the day. She quickly went upstairs and changed into her swimsuit. She was hoping that she could get some kind of a tan in while she could. The back porch did have a couple of beach chairs that she would use to lay out in the sun during the summer.

When she got outside in her purple bathing suit, she laid her towel across the chair and began lathering up with sun screen. She could see a few people out on the lake, riding around in their boats on this warm weekend. She grumbled some more about being grounded to the house for a week as a result of going off on her own dangerous tangent.

She felt like she could figure out what had happened to Mr. Atozota, if only they would give her a chance to prove it. But no, the Coven had decided to leave this matter to the proper authorities. Still, Cassie was determined to figure things out, if she could just recruit someone to help her who couldn’t have their strings pulled as easily by the Coven.

But, who would that be? She was considering asking another of the Unseen in town, one who wasn’t a witch, but who would be willing to do it?

She laid out in the sun for a while on her back, so that she could soak up some of its rays. She was just ready to flip over when she heard something.

“Caw! Caw!” it cried from a nearby tree.

Cassie sat up in her chair and looked up into a nearby oak tree. Sitting there on one of the branches, there sat a raven. But, what was unusual about it was that the raven had something shiny grasped in one of its talons.

Cassie stood up, flipped on her flip flops, and walked across the beach towards the bird. It was strange how it was just sitting there, cawing at her, while it held a piece of jewelry in its talon.

However, before she could reach the tree with the bird in it, she heard a loud shout from the lake, “Watch out!”

Turning she saw one of those new motorboats come careening towards the shore. She quickly jumped out of the way, and watched as the boat managed to veer off toward the lake again. However, the person on the other end, who was wearing skis, of all things, in the lake, still went careening into the sand.

Cassie giggled to herself, since it was funny to watch someone dive head first into a sand dune from the lake. She looked up into the tree and was sad to see that the bird had flown off. She couldn’t see anything glinting underneath the branch where the bird was sitting, so she went over to help the person out of the sand.

Coming out of the sand, wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks, was quite possibly one of the cutest boys she had ever seen. His dark hair was a bit on the lengthy side, with a bit of a wild streak to it. However, it was his eyes that Cassie got lost in. He had a pair of those piercing blue eyes that one could get lost in.

“Thanks for fishing me out of there,” the young man said.

She was a speechless for the moment. The young boy shook the sand off as best he could, and shook his head rapidly to help get it out of his hair.
“No problem,” she said once she regained her senses. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I will be,” he replied. “I couldn’t believe that Tobias would let Terrence jam the throttle down that fast.”

“Are you related to them? Then where’s Tom at?”

The young man laughed hard, “I am Tom. You’re Cassie, right?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

She shook her head and then added, “Well, you look nothing like the Tom that I remembered in high school.”

“Well, a lot can happen in a few years,” he replied, shrugging it off.

“Where’s Timothy?”

“He’s at home right now. Tim wanted to come, but our father insisted that he stay at home until he’s a little older.”

“Your family has an interesting sense of humor, naming all the kids with the first letter, T,” Cassie observed.

“Yeah, it’s been that way for generations. But, what can I say? It runs in the pack.”

The motorboat came around to the shore again, and an older boy, presumably Tobias called out to him saying, “Tom, quit flirting with the girl and get back. We have to get home soon for Terrence’s ceremony at the Lodge tonight.”

“I’m coming, Toby! Gimme a second, will ya?”

Thomas turned back to me and said, “I’m sorry that I’m going to have to cut our meeting short, but, as you can see, I have to get going.”

“It’s okay. Want to get together later on?”

“Sure, I would love to. Do you go to the university?”

“Yes, I’m a junior there.”

“Great,” Thomas said, now sporting a cute, but dorky smile. “How about we meet at the fountain on Tuesday for lunch?”

“Sure, I would like that.”

“Excellent, I’ll see you then.”

He quickly turned and headed back to the boat. Cassie noticed that Tobias was just as attractive as his younger brother. They sped off toward the boat dock as soon as Thomas was back on board.

Cassie watched them as they left, and then headed back to her house. As she got there, however, she heard a familiar cawing noise above her. Perched in a tree that shaded her back porch was the raven holding the ring in his talon.

“Why, hello there,” Cassie said.

The raven cawed.

“What can I do for you?”

The raven cawed again, and lifted his talon with the ring in it.

“Do you want me to hold onto that for you?”

The raven cawed twice and dropped the ring at her feet.

“Can I put it on?” Cassie asked once she got a hold of it.

The raven cawed once, with a menacing tone, emphasizing it with a flutter of his wings.

“Okay,” Cassie said. “I’ll just hold on to it for you. Do you want anything else?”

The raven cawed again and took off, heading along the shore into the forest. Cassie held the ring in her hand and headed back into the house. She would ask her mom if she knew what this ring meant, since it wasn’t everyday a bird gives you a piece of jewelry.

---------------------------------

8 October 2011

I was sitting on the Drakes’ couch trying to figure things out with Cassie. Alex had come in earlier and had taken her new measurements to run out and get something that looked decent enough when she headed back to her apartment later on. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back there or not though. If those thugs had found me that easily on the street, and were still after me for reasons unknown, then how safe would I be in my apartment?

I had told Cassie everything that had happened to me today, even the little bit about my imagining that I heard the raven that had taken off speaking to me. She just took it all in, and said very little about what had happened. After I finished my tale, she said that we could both use a drink to help put the puzzle together and figure out which group of the Unseen that I belonged to. She had gotten up to make each of us a cup of green tea, to help us in figuring everything out. She insisted that she could handle it when I offered to give her some help, and encouraged me to start picking out a new name for myself.

I wasn’t even sure what name that I wanted for the new me. I liked Michael, it was a nice name and all, but it wasn’t a girl’s name. This task wasn’t an easy one. So many different names kept popping into my head. There was Selene, Diana, Mikaela, and Minerva, among others. But, those four were my top choices. I guess I was leaning towards some of the more mythological names since they were fresh in my head from a couple of my classes at school.

Cassie came back in the room as I was internally debating between Diana, Minerva, and Mikaela. I had eliminated Selene, since Selene and Diana were essentially both the same person. Cassie carried the tea in on a silver tray, with the pot on board in case we wanted more.

“So, have you picked one out?” she asked, setting my cup on a nearby coaster.

“Not yet, I’m down to three though,” I replied.

“Which ones?” she asked, sipping the tea.

“Diana, Minerva, and Mikaela,” I replied.

“Nice choices, to be sure. Which one sticks out to you the most as something that you can be called?”

I looked at her and thought, ‘Was Alex right about her not being a shrink?’

I thought about it, and before I could say anything, Cassie said, “You’re thinking about it too much.”

“What?” I answered, wondering what she meant.

“Let the name come naturally to you,” she said. “If it helps, you can close your eyes.”

I sighed and replied, “Sure, why not?”

“Okay,” she said, setting her cup down on the table. “When I say ‘now,’ I want you to blurt out the first name that comes to you, got it?”

I nodded, and shut my eyes.

I sat there thinking about the three names, trying to figure out which was best. I didn’t get very far, for I soon heard Cassie say, “Now!”

“Mikaela!” I blurted out, opening my eyes.

“There, you see,” she said, grabbing her cup and leaning back in her armchair. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it, Mikaela?”

“No, it wasn’t. How about Diana for a middle name then?”

“Sure, you are now, Mikaela Diana Williams.”

“Mikaela Diana Williams…,” I muttered to myself. Hearing myself say that aloud and to myself helped cement it in my mind. That was who I was now; Michael was just a past life.

“Well, now,” Cassie said. “We just need to figure out which member of the Unseen you are.”

“Any idea on how we do that?” I asked.

“One or two,” she answered.

“And those would be?”

“Well, first off, I think we can eliminate a few members of them.”

“Such as?”

“Well, you’re not a vampire or a nereid. That much I know for certain.”

“Nereid?”

“They are like mermaids. Also, I don’t think you are a member of the Fae, since you might’ve seen some of them when you were traveling through the forest earlier today.”

“Fae?” I asked again, wondering just how many types of Unseen there were.

“The Fae are like fairies, to put it simply.”

“So, what does that leave?” I rebutted, hoping that there weren’t too many left for us to go through.

“Weres, and witches.”

“Okay,” I replied wondering. The only thing that I wanted right now was answers of who I was now.

“So, if you and Alex are witches,” I thought aloud, “what’s a were?”

“A were is a type of unseen that is similar to a werewolf, but it extends to many more animals,” she calmly answered.

“How can we tell for certain that I’m one or the other?” I asked.

“Isn’t there some kind of test that I can take that will spell it all out for me?”

“I’ve been thinking about testing that, but there is only one conclusion that I can draw. But, first I have a couple more questions.”

“Okay…,” I replied.

“First, how long have you noticed the animals have been seemingly following you around wherever you went?”

“A few days now.”

“Okay. Second, the first time you have seen those thugs, whoever they may be, was today, shortly after you figured out how to open the box and put on the ring. Correct?”

“Yes. What’s the ring have to do with this?”

“Maybe everything, if my hunch is correct.”

Cassie withdrew into her own thoughts for a moment, as she appeared to be searching for some memory from her past.

“Before the ring changed into that bracelet,” she said, “what did it look like?”

“Silvery color with an emerald. It looked like a simple band, with some kind of some kind of writing on both the inside and outside.”

“Is there any writing on the bracelet?” she asked.

“I…,” I replied. I hadn’t bothered to look for anything of the ring in the bracelet.

I lifted it up and looked at it closely. The bracelet was still that same silvery color, not a golden hue like you would expect on other charm bracelets. On top of the bracelet, there was an emerald; no less diminished in its brilliance than when it was in a ring. Along the bracelet, that same strange symbolic writing was present.

“Yes,” I replied, showing her. “Even the emerald is still there.”

Cassie examined the bracelet on my wrist, when I held out my arm to here. She hmmed, and hmmed some more. Turning my arm this way and that, trying to figure out what it all meant.

“What do you suppose these charms mean?” she asked, noticing the two that were dangling from the bracelet.

“I would assume they represent a few of my interests, science fiction and comic books,” I answered.

She merely nodded at my response. She let go of my arm and said, “Well, I think the ring is definitely now your charm bracelet.”

“But…,” I started, “how could a ring become a bracelet?”

“Well, it was no ordinary ring,” she said. “It was–”

Before she could finish, however, the front door opened and two people walked in. The first was Alex, carrying a good number of bags with her, smiling. She was talking with a second person who walked in with her. This young woman had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and looked like she knew a lot of things, despite her youth. She, too, was also carrying a bag with her. However, this one was just a simple paper bag, marked with one of the local grocery stores.

“Hey mom,” Alex said. “Melissa got here just as I was pulling up.”

“That’s good,” Cassie said. “Mikaela, this is Melissa Williams. Melissa, this is Mikaela Williams.”

“Williams?” Melissa replied, surprised. “I wonder if we’re related.”

I shrugged and answered, “It’s possible. You’d have to ask my mother though, she’s big on genealogy.”

“I think I will,” she answered. “Has anyone told your parents about this? Alex filled me in a little bit when we got here.”

I shook my head no. “I wonder how they’re going to take it though,” I answered, worrying a little.

Cassie reached over and comforted me. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, “We’ll talk to them and explain the situation.”

I nodded, and was feeling on the verge of tears again. ‘Why am I so teary-eyed today?’ I thought to myself, brushing the tears away.

“Alex, why don’t you help Mikaela with her new clothes,” Cassie suggested. “I need to have a quick talk with Melissa.”

“Sure, mom,” she replied.

Alex came over to me and helped me up. I followed her as she led me to her bedroom so I could try on the clothes that she had picked up for me.

“Do you have the book?” Cassie said to Melissa, as Alex and I trudged up the stairs to her room.

“Yes,” Melissa replied, “I’m wondering if your hunch is right, though.”

Their conversation trailed off as we went up the stairs. What book did Melissa bring? And what hunch did Cassie have? There were just so many questions that needed answers, hopefully someone would give me some, and soon.

We reached Alex’s room a few minutes later, and she asked, “Are you doing okay?”

I looked around her room and saw that it was decorated like a typical girl’s room, except that he interests were clearly displayed. She seemed to love mythology, in its various forms, as I could see there were some posters and dolls that resembled figures from various mythologies.

“Yea,” I replied, after taking in the sights. “I think I will be.”

“Good,” she replied. “Because, now it’s time for you to try on your new clothes.”

“Okay…,” I nervously replied. “Would you mind giving some privacy then?”

“Sure. If you need any help, I’ll be right outside.”

She left the room, and I nervously looked in the bags with all the different clothes that she had in it. I could see that there was a pack of underwear, a couple of bras, a couple of shirts, a couple pairs of pants, some socks, and a new pair of shoes. I gulped and began pulling everything out, and laid it on the bed to try to figure what went where and how to put it on.

It took me a good fifteen minutes to get dressed in my new clothes, the only trouble I had getting everything on was trying to put on the bra. How do girls put those things on everyday anyway? I hoped that there was some way that they could restore my original appearance. ‘But,’ as I thought to myself before turning to look in the mirror, ‘what if I’m stuck this way? Could I survive as a girl now?’

There was a sharp knock on the door, and I heard, “Mikaela, are you alright in there?”

Alex was probably wondering if I needed help with something or that I was taking too long.

“Yes,” I called back, “you can come in now.”

Alex opened the door and came in, while I stood there embarrassed by the clothes I was in. I felt like I didn’t want to be seen by anyone, and I just stood there, trying my best to look like nothing more than a fly on the wall.

“Wow,” Alex commented, when she looked at me. She began pacing her way around me, trying to get a good look at how I was dressed.

“You look pretty good,” she complimented.

“Thanks,” I answered, sheepishly.

“What’s wrong?” Alex said, looking concerned.

“I’m not sure. These clothes seem too different.”

Alex laughed and answered, “Well, you did hop the fence. What did you expect; that men’s and women’s clothes were the same thing?”

“A little bit,” I responded, “I guess.”

“Hey,” she replied, coming closer and giving me a hug. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll get used to it soon.”

“Thanks, Alex,” I replied.

“Okay, let’s go show my mom and Melissa. Maybe they’ve also figured out something for you as well while we were up here.”

I nodded and was led down the stairs back to the living room. When we got there, Melissa and Cassie were sitting in the two armchairs, sipping tea. They were talking in hushed voices, until we walked in the room.

“Well,” Cassie said when she looked at me, “you look much more like a young lady now, than you did as some girl wearing her boyfriend’s clothes.”

“Thanks, I guess,” I replied.

Alex and I sat down on the couch and picked up our glasses of tea. I sat their sipping the tea for now; while I let Alex help Cassie fill Melissa in on the rest of the situation. They were currently talking about proving my identity to Alex when I asked her over to my apartment.

Just as they were finishing, we all heard a loud cawing coming from the deck. Looking over, we saw not one, but two ravens perched on the deck chairs.

“Now that’s different,” Melissa stated. “I don’t think I’ve seen many ravens willingly land so close to a house before.”

“It’s happened before,” Cassie noted, “but, not for many years.”

“Mom?” Alex asked.

“Just something from when I was your age,” she replied, in a nostalgic tone.

The ravens cawed at us again, except to me, it sounded different.

“You sure she is new varlore, son?” the larger of the two birds said.

“Yes, milord. She is one.”

“Did any of you just hear what those two said?” I asked.

“No, are you okay, Mikaela?” Alex asked.

“I think we just figured out what you are,” Cassie said.

“What?”

“A were.”