Dark hair. Purple eyes. And a force in the Withered Woods, Daeva was the immortal witch who your kinsman told you to fear if you ever misbehaved.

Yet you didn't fear her. Those eyes never seemed unkind, even in the dark of the woods.

So when your village burnt down from raiders, you ran to her. She found you quicker than you looked. Spirited you away.

...

The cove she'd been raising you in is secluded. You grabbed a stool and to wash the plates in after she'd cooked for you.

"You need to defend yourself," she said. "I cannot choose for you what gifts you'll use. You have to decide. I can enchant your flesh, infuse you with wolf's blood... Maybe even teach you magic. But I can't..." She trails off. Shaping humans was how she got her reputation. Uncomfortable with doing anything with your form without your permission.

But choose carefully. When you're older, this gift will be how you protect yourself... And her.