Duskfire Glacier kaviak ⥎

the duck sought @Eldritch to begin the fulfillment of her trade.

with her, the duck had persuaded, begged, bartered @Kausiut to come with her.

and now she called for the spirit-talker, a low and mannerly sound which asked the dark-ice woman closer.

Eldritch heard the call from Kukutux.
The Seer was bundling her herbs in her cave at the time, but easily set them aside as Moonwoman asked for her presence. 

The witch pulled herself from her den and trotted for the source of the howl, soon appearing to see Kukutux and Kausiut waiting. 
The Seer waved her tail a few times as she got closer.

"It is good to see you both again." El smiled, looking between Kukutux and her daughter.

Kausiut had had different plans in mind and she had not been able to convince her mother that they were just as important, if not more than, where she wanted to drag her daughter to. Why not Samani? She was the good kid in the family, blind obedience came naturally to her? Or Sialuk?

Begrudgingly she dragged herself behind Kukutux, expressing very openly her unwillingness and the aura of being wronged all the way to see some wolf that Kau had no interest in seeing. Upon arrival, she growled something akin' to a "hello", plopped down next to her mom and looked around with utterly bored expression.

"my daughter has the name of kausiut," she told eldritch, eyes watching how very displeased her child was with these events.

"daytime star. this woman has the name of eldritch." she looked into the beloved, angry face. "when you spoke to the dancing lights, i did not know how to follow. but she is spirit-talker."

she looked back to the sleek black wolf with a breath. "what does she need?"

Eldritch smiled warmly at the angry child, chuckling softly as Kukutux seemed to be talking to Kausiut in their first language? ((Unless El's writer misunderstood the italics of course)) 

What does Kausiut need? 

The Seer looked calmly between Kukutux add Kausiut, the angry young face with little interest.
After a long pause and careful thought upon the question, Eldritch looked to Kukutux again.
"Upon looking at Kausiut and her current anger, I feel she will not take my teachings alongside yours, or the way of the spirits, into her heart unless it is something she herself wants." The Seer expressed with her usual softness. 

She saw stubbornness in Kausiut, and felt the young fiery one would not budge to learn the ways of Seercraft and spirits unless, as El said, she wanted to.

"You or I can force her paws only so much on the path she wants to walk." Eldritch added. Fondness and care lit her gaze as she said all of this.
Looking to Kausiut, Eldritch directed her words now at the youth. 
"Kausiut, do you wish to learn the ways of spirit-talking?" Her gaze was not judging or expectant. The youths answer would dictate whether or not Eldritch could fulfill her promise in full.

Kausiut's gaze shifted from her mother to Eldritch and then back at mother again. She vaguely remembered the utterly unpleasant experience with the Northern lights, headache and whirling colours before her eyes. It had been a massive inconvenience for her. She had wanted it to stop and yet it seemed that her mother had drawn entirely different conclusion about the situation. To put it simply, instead of giving her a relief of medical kind, she was being told that believing enough was going to cure her. 

Besides - talking? Really? People were annoying and tiresome with their endless babbling. She struggled with their inability to be concise and to the point. That bugger inside her head - thank God - she had effectively silenced it. Why should she want to talk to someone else? As much as she wanted to please her mother for her own selfish needs, at present she did not need anything from her. Yet... "What... there... for Kau?" she spoke slowly, looking now Eldritch in the eyes. If this talking stuff meant that she could make a business of it, perhaps, it was useful.

The child seemed to want to make something of a business of spiritualism?
That was what Eldritch assumed at least. Especially as the youth looked her in the face with curiosity.

"If you desire payment for spiritualism, you must first hone your gifts. Otherwise, your customers will likely be unhappy, and that will only cause problems." The Seer began.

"But you could charge whatever you like for it, I suppose. Food, shelter, tools..." A life. Eldritch didn't say the last part. She figured Kukutux wouldn't like that, so she didn't bring it up. 

White eyes watched Kausiut. How would she respond?

Food? Kau's ears perked up and that frown of hers was gradually replaced by guarded interest, in what the lady was telling her. Again she did not understand all of, what she had been told, but, if telling people stuff could get you fed? It was a fair bargain and did not require as much energy as actual hunting would.

"Can..." she began her inquiry, furrowing her brow as she tried to remember, what was the she-wolf's name. It had escaped her, because minutes earlier she did not give a damn about the dark-clad lady. "... wolf stop it?" she asked, lifting her paw and brushing it awkwardly against her muzzle.

Could the lady make her head-aches and visions go away? Because that was another option and she wanted to see all, before she made her decision.

We can skip Ebony from now on. With her permission.

Eldritch tilted her head slightly as Kausiut asked if she could stop it.

Thinking, Eldritch thoughtfully answered.
"I can probably give you something to help stop any physical effects of your visions, but the visions themselves, I'm afraid not." She smiled apologetically, quickly running through a mental list of the herbs she had that could help with physical effects of natural visions...
Nausea?
Headaches?
Dizziness? 
Etc.? 

 

Kausiut pondered Eldritch's response She had expected a simple "yes/no" - since it was longer, she deduced that the answer had been negative. At least not exactly, what she had wanted. Thinking hard now she looked over her shoulder to study Kukutux's expression briefly, as if asking her opinion worldlessly. However, a memory resurfaced, where her mom had admitted of having no way to help her. Which meant that it did not matter, what her mother thought. Kau would have to manage on her own.

"Show," she finally said, her tone indicating guarded curiousity with a hint of skepticism. Kau was not desperate for a cure or training. She had to be impressed and convinced first.

The child asked to be shown.

With a hum of thought, the Seer disappeared to gather some herbs.
She would return some passing of minutes later, with a mouthful of plants.

Dropping them in front of Kausiut, Eldritch pointed out which was which and what each was for.

"Feverfew, Lavender, Ginger. For the headaches and nausea, and to calm you." She said, gently pushing the mixture to the pup's paws.

"Chew, swallow. See if it helps?" She directed in her usual calm.

Kausiut leaned forward to sniff at the herbs cautiously, but, since her head was not aching now, nor was she having visual hallucinations, the meaning of them were a bit lost to her. Again - quick look at her mother, whether she had any say in this, then back at the stash of herbs. She picked them up gingerly and placed them by Kukutux's paws for her to investigate. If she deemed them safe, Kausiut would believe her.

She sat down in front of Eldritch again and regarded her with polite interest - what else had the witch from the woods in stash?

I have so little muse for El anymore lol, short post from me, apologies <3

 

Eldritch smiled softly at Kausiut as she put the herbs by Kukutux, then sat in front of the witch again with interest. 
 She chuckled something gentle and admitted "I don't think I have any other herbs in mind for you right now." 
Eldritch was prepared for Kausiut to lose interest then and there, but she wouldn't want to assume...

The woman did not offer anything else and, while Quu could be very patient and focused, if she wanted to, this time she truly lost interest. She let out a sigh, rolled her eyes and returned to her mom, gesturing that she was ready to leave. She almost forgot about the herbs - having half-expected her mother to carry them for her, but since she did not volunteer, the girl picked them up and followed her parent back to the village.