“A dreamwalk ...”

The two elders exclaimed at the same time, before looking at each other, giggling.

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!”

Enda shouted at the top of her lungs.

They had wasted enough time, she thought. A dreamwalk might take hours. Hers certainly didn’t, but she heard stories.

The hounds were retreating with most of the captured skulk. With every passing moment, they got further away and any trail that could lead her to them might be lost.

“Silence, whelp!”

Damhán-alla hissed at Enda.

She flinched at the pressure radiating from the spider-matriarch.

Despite being aware that she spoke out of turn, she couldn’t back down.

Did not want to back down.

She needed to follow the tracks. Needed to get out of here.

Enda cursed her impatience. She didn’t need to stay here. Not for the dreamwalk.

She could leave right now, join the hunting party and start searching.

Look for the others.

Look for Luchta.

“Forgive me. I’m leaving ...”

Bowing once, she prepared to stand up. The strange creature was staring at her dumbfounded, while Ciaráh was looking at her uneasily. Even Aodhan was frightened, hiding behind his younger sister.

She really did not have time for that.

“... Ciaráh, take Aodhan and come with me. We’re going home.”

Enda rocked backward a bit, about to use her momentum to stand up. A cold voice stopped her mid-swing.

“Sit down...”

The elder was looking at her with narrowed eyes.

Cold sweat was running down Enda’s spine.

The elder was angry. Really angry. More so than the time Enda messed up her precious herbal garden.It was an accident, she swore, merely attempting to use the nature magic the elder used. Who knew the staff would even amplify her mediocre powers. Leaving them nigh uncontrollable.

“Ciaráh, go bring your brother home. You need some rest from today’s excitement...”

The voice was gentle now, as if the previous sharpness was but a trick of the mind.

“But granny ...” Ciaráh started. Clearly not having learned from Enda’s previous faux-pax.

The little one’s eyes shifted to the stranger nervously. So, she was more worried about the creature than her own sister. Anger started to well up in Enda. Then she caught her sister’s gaze. Her concern was clearly conveyed, any doubt blew away instantaneously.

“Don’t worry, little one. They’ll both be fine” the old granny assured.

“Now quickly or ...” she stopped herself “... or there’ll be no food prepared. Your sister will be busy.”

Enda was rooted to the spot, cold eyes not allowing her to move. Surely, this was a spell of sorts. No simple gaze should be able to petrify someone this completely. Making sure she hadn’t actually turned to stone, Enda flexed her fingers cautiously, before balling them into fists.

Ciaráh bowed to the group, her brother imitating her clumsily. Taking his hand, she led him to the exit, before facing them, one last time, and bowed again.

“Thank you for saving us!” she called out to the stranger.

He looked back at her, and smiled. Maybe he did understand them, and only pretended not to.

Aodhan’s gazes alternated between his sisters and the stranger. Then he waved his little paw.

“Thank you, uncle, and bye bye!”

The stranger, that ‘mind-reading magical beast’ Enda had to remind herself, waved back, giving a small smile.

With that, the two siblings left, Enda having been forced to remain.

She knew of the “Dreamwalk,” of course, no difficult feat, considering it was part of the coming-of-age ceremony.

After a series of challenges, mostly ceremonial games and a group-hunt, the cubs that were about to join the skulk as adults, would gather in this chamber. A lit fire, spewing fragrant smoke, and a bowl of herbal soup would be awaiting them.

The mixture of the soup remained a closely guarded secret.

After everyone had taken a swig from the same bowl, they were to be guided through a trance by one of the elders, two other adults joining as witnesses, following them into their dream.

At the end of the ceremony, the pubs would throw a wooden toy into the fire, their childhood name carved into it, before they were given their adult names.

“Honored elders ...” Enda started courteously, to the surprise of both of them “... I am one of the hunters. My time would be best spent aiding the others in searching for our captured brothers and sisters”

The old granny fox was stroking her chin, sprouting a small beard that adorned most of their people when they had reached that age. If they reached that age.

“No”

The reply was curt, leaving no room to retort.

Still Enda had to try. As she was about to open her mouth, the elder continued.

“You’re the only one who has the necessary experience. I did train you to be my apprentice, remember ...”

Not that she was any good at it. The variety of plants and herbs had confounded her. She once tried to brew a simply tea for her siblings. Luckily the elder knew a good antidote for dragon root poisoning, but it surely wasn’t her fault that someone left the powdered root next to the crushed tea leaves.

“But the spider-matriarch...”

“Has other duties to attend to” the spider hissed, moving from one of the walls. “One of my apprentices shall join you as a witness”

“But ...”

Damhán-alla turned her body to the other elder present. Taking a deep breath, the older fox focused on Enda. Her lips curved into a strained smile.

“And what can one more hunter do? This is important as well. Maybe even more so. The timing ...”

Enda wanted to argue. What could one more hunter do?

She didn’t know, but surely something.

She couldn’t stand sitting around while her friends were missing. While Luchta and Blanaid …

Her eyes widened and she started biting her lip.

Blanaid replaced Enda as the elder’s apprentice, after their respective dreamwalks proved her a better shaman. She became somewhat of a daughter to the older vixen.

Enda said no more, her eyes resting on the back that suddenly looked so small.

* * *

He continued to wait, switching from seiza to indian-style after his legs started to tingle.

Whatever ceremony they were preparing was taking its sweet time to be set up.

The drama before the preparations even started surely did not help.

There was a dispute between the two humanoid foxes, the younger clearly wishing to leave.

After an initial outburst and a hissing reprimand from the spider, Enda’s siblings were sent away. The two children had said something to him, most likely expressing their gratitude, before leaving. He waved them goodbye, hoping he would see them again before he had to leave.

After a quick back and forth, the proud warrior, Enda, looked surprisingly like a young fox-cub, having apparently been scolded harshly. Some sort of agreement must have been reached, though, as the elder vixen began her work right after. The spider continued to observe for awhile, after striking some sort of string coming out of small hole in the wall.

The elder fox was fixated on the logs in the fireplace, prodding the wood with her staff.

Gradually smoke started to rise, before the wood burst into flames. He had not seen her use a lighter or flint, even though some sparks were transferred from the tip of the staff to the timber beneath. How they were created, he did not know.

The elder began rummaging through several shelves, collecting roots and dried leaves, opening pouches and sniffing their contents, before adding them to the fire. Sometimes, usually when the powdered contents of a pouch were added, a strangely colored flame would erupt, dying the surroundings in the corresponding hue.

The spider left after a few more hisses and clicks, the only responses being grunts from the older vixen.

Thick wafts of smoke began filling the room, before another spider creature arrived, looking almost exactly like the other, only … younger. Less regal.

She bowed deeply before the old fox, who mostly ignored her, and gave only a curt greeting to Enda.

At least, he interpreted it that way, judging by the considerably short hisses and clicks she uttered.

The feeling was apparently mutual, as only an annoyed and equal short reply resounded in response.

Preparations for the ceremony were seemingly finished, as the elder was starting to fill up a large bowl with a thick soup, smelling very much like medicine.

The smoky fragrance filling the air was doing its part to making him feel dizzy, so the smell did not help.

His vision started to blur, and making out the contours of the others became increasingly difficult.

He was nudged with a bowl that was thrust at him. Wondering if he was supposed to drink it, his hands reached for it.

Unable to muster any resistance, he took the offered bowl and swallowed a big gulp of the almost pungent liquid.

The room was starting to spin.

Interrupting her throaty chanting, the older fox said something he didn’t quite catch, as usual. He wondered briefly whether the soup was meant as babel-fish analogue, because if it was, she must have gotten a bad batch. It wasn't working. The words were not directed at him, he discovered, as a sudden and very surprised sounding jingle resounded next to his ear.

He stared at the bowl still in his hands, and a sudden dip in the liquid surprised him.

The tinkling chime resounded again, and he felt a pressure on his shoulder.

Unable to rotate his head, he could not figure out what was perching next to it.

That and his eyelids felt increasingly heavy.

He blinked a couple of times, trying to fight of the drowsiness. He didn't see any stone statues he might have to worry about, so he doubted that closing his eyes would be a bad idea.

The other two participants moved closer, taking a sip of the soup as well.

The room began spinning faster, and the heavy feeling between his brows intensified.

The smoke was growing thicker, covering more and more of his vision.

Something flickered across the wafts of smoke.

An image?

His closed his eyes once more and darkness followed.

* * *

His eyes opened, but he was greeted only by grey smoke.

A gentle breeze from out of nowhere removed the visual obstruction, granting him a wider field of view.

Fog was blanketing an unseen floor, wafts of smoky vapor spiraling into the air.

One of those spirals flashed brightly before dispersing in every direction.

A glowing figure with long pointy ears, the size of a small girl, was left in its place.

Wearing a dress that reached her thighs, some threads falling … floating in the air, almost like tentacles. The dress was made up of the same bright light as her skin, so he couldn’t even be sure she actually was wearing anything. It could have been as much part of her as the strands of hair gently flowing in the air, carried by an unseen breeze.

Her features remained mostly a mystery, only faint lines of greenish hue offering any hints at her contours.

She did a quick pirouette, the flowing dress and long strands of bright white hair emitting sparkling spheres and fractals, floating short-lived in the air before disappearing.

Her face turned towards him, the pulsing green orbs located at eye-level being the strongest indicators of what he was looking at. She tilted her head cutely to the side, before doing a curtsey, the glowing orbs vanishing briefly, as she closed her eyes. When the orbs reappeared she slowly reached towards him, hesitating briefly, before offering her hand.

He could sense no deception, not sure how he should even know, trusting her more on instinct than actual reasoning.

Possibly because her entire figure radiated happiness.

A thin green line appeared below her eyes, where he expected her mouth to be, and grew bigger, as lips of light parted, and a voice echoed in the darkness.

He winced at the sound of a sped-up recording, accompanied by wind chimes and small bells.

The smile on the being fell, the glowing green orbs facing downwards, and a sudden sadness overcame him.

He apologized on reflex.

The being shook her head, the bright strands of hair following the movements almost lazily, before looking back up, her smile restored, if a little sad.

Her small hands enveloped his and a refreshing coolness spread from the point of contact, filling his entire being.

A sudden image of a gentle summer breeze flashed before his eyes.

The light-being led him by the hand, dragging him onwards, navigating around pillars of smoke, before stopping in front of one.

Her head turned towards him once more, nodded once, then pulled him in.

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