Blackfeather Woods You can haunt me if you want, I won't be scared

@Potema

'Keelut,' whispered her sweet voice from the outside. The kid opened his eyes, blue still, blue forever, and saw her figure standing right there, urging him to come play outside. And he did not reject the invitation, untangling himself from Nemesis' embrace to come out in the night, following her trail of light. He giggled after her, jumping behind her, chasing her tail, but he would never get her, she was faster and her skin thinner than air. But he was content to share his time with her more than he did his siblings. Anna was stranger, and strange things were Keelut's favorite kind of things.

She had not seen the Apaata children recently, if ever. They were anomalies to her, both in personality and in appearance. By now they would be active, scrambling and trying their best to explore the Glen. She thought of this as she passed the Spiderlings' Glen on her way to her own.

The witch paused at the soft giggles of a child. Curious, the woman skidded down the slope to see a white pup chasing after something. She herself could not see the figure, but she sensed it all the same. She made no noise, sitting and watching the child as he danced about.

Her dance was swift and delicate, far more steady than Keelut's clumsy paws. He followed regardless, stumbling his way behind her as she made her way through the glen, around the pond and far beyond. Keelut did not mind how far he went as long as he finally caught her, but Anna would always be the better runner.

But this time she wanted to play hide and seek, and actively led the way towards an unknown area of the glen even to the seasoned members of Blackfeather Woods. Her figure, glowing in the dark only to Keelut's eyes disappeared suddenly as it was swallowed whole by a rock at the far end of the glen. Keelut was left confused, standing on a flow of cold water that ran beneath him exactly in the same direction Anna had gone. "Anna?" he called, but her voice did not respond.

She didn't disturb him, only observing as he chased something around. She swore she saw a blur of something in front of him, white and pale, though it had no shape or form. A spirit? A spirit that only he could see truly, clearly? It escaped his grasp, for he paused in his childish dance, calling out a name: Anna. Is that her name? She asked gently, hoping the spirit would return and not be startled by her presence.

An older voice replied instead, closer to what his mother's voice sounded that to Anna's ethereal song. Kellut turned with a smile, as though all of it was a game, and waved his tail at the strange, pale lady that had come. She asked whether that was Anna's name, but it was rather obvious, wasn't it? He giggled softly, thinking how strange this lady was and how funny her eye looked, and turned again to find which way the dancer had gone.

Taimâk, he instructed as he started leading the way towards the rock. There seemed to be no way around it as it stood tall above them, but the river kept flowing towards it. He followed the stream, the tingly and wet sound of it bringing a smile to the boy's face, and at the end of it he found the answer. There was a hole, covered by nature but big enough for the pale lady to go through, and Keelut did not waste a second to get across it. And there she was, dancing, floating, waiting for him. She's here!" he barked, the words intended to reach Potema's ears as a call to follow him inside.

She didn't understand the Inuit language that Kove had taught to his children, which was a problem, seeing how often they threw such words around. But she followed him nonetheless, curiosity driving him to follow the potential Seer. It thrilled her that there was another of her kind amongst them — even if he wasn't of her blood.

He called for her, annoucing the spirit's location. She squeezed into the tunnel, following the pale boy, her eye searching for the pale spirit he spoke of.

He went on, disregarding whether the witch had followed him inside, for Anna did not wait any longer. The cave opened up to a gorge, the roof nonexistent, cascades of not only water but a beautiful green moss coating over the rocky walls. But his eyes were set on her, who had found the river once more.

His paws were swift behind Anna, but Keelut couldn't quite catch up with her. His giggles filled the room, bouncing off the walls in countless echoes as he made his way through the ravine. She stopped a few paces away from him, and this time Keelut could have sworn he had her. He laughed and threw himself to her, who suddenly disappeared right in front of him and leaving the boy to take hold on thin air. She'd been more clever this once, but one day he would get her. For now, though, the shade-eyed pup was left alone with the witch, who suddenly had all of his attention. His eyes, cold blue, stared at her as though she had the answer to why they'd been drawn here, but then again, Anna did as she pleased.

She knew just as well as the boy how intriguing the spirits were. How you could get lost with their seductive movements and sounds. As they moved through the ravine, Potema's heart hammered against her chest, nervous as to where this spirit would lead them. Was it playful? Malevolent and leading the boy to doom? She gasped as he pounced, only to see the pale fog disappear. Potema sighed with relief; it was gone, the boy had no reason to fling himself into danger any longer. He turned towards her, gazing with intent. How long have you seen her, Anna?

Instead of an explanation, Potema had come to the child with questions about Anna. Her question had been weird, prompting the kid to tilt his head sideways for a moment as his little mind processed an answer for it. Anna did as she pleased, Anna was hard to comprehend, even for Keelut himself, her only true friend. Always, he said, sure about his answer but still hungering for one himself. What is this place? he asked, his voice hushed yet full of life and curiosity. The light that filtered through the opening in the ceiling reflected everywhere around him, sparkling and glinting with such a magical aura that Keelut could only wonder what lived deeper ahead.

It took her a moment to realize where they were, but she soon recognized it. Her mother's herbstore — her herbstore now. But it would always be called Meldresi's Keep. Perhaps, when she passed, it would be named after her. But for now, it was Mother's. 

Meldresi's Keep, She murmured, stepping towards the pool. It's the infirmary; we keep the herbs here,

Daring steps are taken further, deeper into the darkness, and Keelut's curious paws reach out to the water. Drops of water drip into the pond from above, echoing all around him, channeling the blue melodies of the beyond and Keelut's ears swivel around as he senses it. There were strange things in this place, things that made him feel even stranger things, and he likes it.

"What herbs?" turns the child around as the white witch explains what the place was. He'd heard some of those words before, but neither of his parents had taught him anything about them beyond definition, which had been enough for him to pick up an interest.

Potema reached the infirmary, the open space still relatively unused. There were not as many battles or crippling injuries as Mother had planned for, making the infirmary seem larger than it should. Regardless, Potema stepped inside, gently pushing aside a bed of moss and fur to enter the herbstore. She gestured to the crevices in the walls and scoops in the floor where herbs where kept, carefully arranged by use. Herbs are plants that affect the wolf body, She says, allowing for Keelut to see inside. They can help when you aren't feeling well, but some can be harmful and make you feel even worse,

She leads into a smaller chamber and the kid follows closely. There were plants stacked in cracks and holes in the rock, filling the room with different smells that Keelut inhaled deeply, savoring each color, but unable to tell them apart. The white witch explains that there were different kinds of herbs, some of which she said could be harmful to others, but so far Keelut did not understand it as some being bad and some others good. He simply wanted to know more.

"How do they work?" was his first question out of the many he had in line. but then the rest fell out of his mouth without control. "What does this one do? Why do you keep them here? How do you use them? Can they kill a wolf?" were some of those, but the echos of the cave made them almost impossible to tell apart as they kept coming out in his high-pitched voice.

She opened her mouth, preparing to answer the first question, but a flood of others came. She breathed, then chuckled in amusement at his excitement. There are certain properties in each plant that have an affect of lupine bodies. Some heal, some hurt, others do nothing at all; it all depends on the composition of the plants. Those who are related have similar affects,

She absorbed the rest of the questions quietly, mulling through her brain for answers. This one is, She pointed at the plant, bare and dried out as it was. She had to restock on it soon enough, and he could help her. My mother chose this place. It is dry and cool, allowing for the plants to remain fresh for longer, Despite the waterfall in the next room, this chamber remained free of much humidity, preserving the plants for much longer than usual. I can administer them as simple leaves, or I can chew or grind them into a paste, which is easier for mixing. Sometimes soaking is needed. This depends on the type of plant and the age of the patient, Once she had more, then she could show him properly. Or perhaps, a wolf would ask her for her services. Then, she could call upon him. Some of these can kill, especially in high doses, but my brother Cicero knows more about administering and identifying poisons and toxins than I, She finished the last of his questions, but the look in his eyes told her than she was not done just yet. Anything else?

While most of the words bounced off of Keelut like rubber balls, the young acolyte was absorbing the sounds and images like a sponge. Scents, auras, sensations and other forms of sensory experiences usually turned into sharper memories in Keelut's mind, for those were the ones he paid closer attention to. Words and concepts were too dry and monochrome, boring even, to his vast and colorful mind.

Potema's many answers were followed by a question, and Keelut's racing mind seemed to halt abruptly as he looked up to her, baffled by the curiosity overload.Yes... he said, suddenly feeling his toes grow cold How do we get back home? he asked, not disregarding the witch's teachings but as a reflex of his mind trying to get to a peaceful place where the child's thoughts could sink in.

End here? @Keelut

His question was not of the herbs or how to use them, but of navigation. She chuckled lowly, rising to her paws. Come on, I'll show you, She stepped towards the entrance of the infirmary cum herb store, beckoning her acolyte to follow.