Blackfeather Woods We're driving in a black car

Due to its neurological effects, the cubs were prohibited from approaching the pestilential willow to the west of their home. That didn't stop Anansi from studying it from afar, however. Its forbidden nature only made it more appealing to a curious mind such as his; he spent hours lurking on the edges of the clearing, waiting for some grand event. Surely the willow would give an indication of why it was so dangerous if only he was patient and kept watching.

But day after day, Anansi whiled away the hours watching the tree, and day after day, nothing happened. Its disease was an invisible one. To the cub, who was inexperienced in these matters, the only explanation was that there wasn't truly anything dangerous about the willow. Ena wouldn't have deemed it unsafe for no reason, would she? Surely not. The boy kept this conclusion to himself and continued to watch the willow, trusting that she was telling the truth... and when nothing happened for another week, he decided to find out for himself.

His first steps into the clearing were taken without incident, and this gave him the courage to get closer. Anansi pricked his massive ears and padded slowly up to the willow, which seemed strange and wrong up close, but by the time the unease set in, he had already breathed in hundreds of spores. His symptoms began mildly and, to him, were unrecognizable.

A small black-furred wolf lurked in the shadows near the willow. Anansi lifted his head, peering at the hallucination, and said in his most grown-up sounding voice, what are you doing?