Blackwater Islands sleeping with the moon and the stars

Akantha hummed a note of acknowledgement as Kalika continued to support Salish, but she did not comment on it further until they passed through the narrow canyon to the inner sanctum of Thetis' Grotto. The recent rains had filled the small tributary with elbow-deep water, but the sure-footed Amazon was able to navigate it with little issue. She waded through and her paws moulded to grip the slick, smooth stone of the stream bed until she clambered up out of the water and onto a flat stone slab, carved out from centuries of runoff. 

The initial frustration she felt towards the whole ordeal had worn off, for the most part, so she invited Kalika to join her with a subtle dip of her muzzle before, finally, responding. "Then Salish it will be. If she doesn't accept, can I count on you to take her place?" She asked as she seated herself upon the stone. Here, with the distant echo of the Sea in her ears, and the slumbering Moon in her thoughts, Akantha withdrew to consider her options once more. Though her Sister had been born of an entirely different place than Themiscryia, the Mothers still sang in her blood. She'd already shown undeniable merit in the face of everything that had occured during, and after, their settlement on Soteria.

So, Akantha was left with one conclusion. Her eyes hardened with resolve and she returned the full weight of her attention to Kalika, "When the Moon goes dark in a few days time, I want you to prove to me you're ready to become an Adept. I will ask that you perform a rite. I will show you only once how to complete it, and I expect you to fill in the blanks with your own perspective on what it means." Akantha revealed with a quirk of her brow, "There are only a few wrong ways to go about it, but I will judge you quite harshly on your knowledge and wisdom of our ways for reasons that should already be clear to you." The Matriarch exhaled and looked away. It was her intention to see Kalika to High Priestess, but it was not something she could so easily grant. So, for now, Adept would have to do.