Elissa's bedroom was filled with soothing incense and the bed was strewn with fragrant herbs. Nannade was in Elissa's bed and Elissa herself sat in her armchair that normally stood in the study. It was the first night of Faan and Nannade dreaming together. The first dream was always the most difficult, when the dreamer's mind was not yet ready to accept the intrusion.

Elissa was humming a soothing lullaby while stitching runes and patterns onto a thick piece of hardened leather the size of her palm, and Faan had curled up next to the girl's head, stroking her forehead with his tail.

"Go to sleep, kitten. I will follow soon. Don't be afraid." She didn't need to know that it would look like a nightmare to her at first, she wouldn't remember it anyway. It was Faan who had to stay awake and experience it consciously.

The girl slipped into sleep soon. Faan made sure she was asleep, then he turned to Elissa.

"And you're sure you can stay awake?"

Elissa nodded. "I got my potion right here, so don't you worry about me."

"Please give me some time, don't wake her up at the first sign of distress."

"I know I know! Just go to her already."

Faan concentrated on the girl's mind. He found her centre and his mind leapt into hers. A whirl of green and gold surrounded him as he tore himself from reality, into that well-known chaos of thoughts and fantasy, so unique to every person, so familiar in any of its colours.

He found himself in a forest, but not like the one outside of Elissa's hut. It was dense and hot and humid, not a single oak or fir to be found, the trees here had large leaves and thick roots that crawled seemingly everywhere, slithering into crags and holes like snakes. He looked around and found the girl wandering among the trees and frightened and scared in this environment that she was seemingly unfamiliar with.

Faan decided to call out to her. "Nannade!"

The girl turned around and winced when she saw the grey cat. She walked backwards slowly, obviously afraid of him.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you!"

The girl did not listen and continued her frightened retreat. Faan decided to stop. He sat there for a while just looking at her, while the girl hid behind a tree, occasionally peeking out see whether the weird animal was gone. Then Faan felt something. He felt watched.

He turned around, but saw nothing but the dark and green of the forest. He heard the girl move across the leaves littering the forest floor. When he checked on her, she had retreated behind a tree further away. Again, Faan felt a presence coming nearer, and when he turned around, he saw again just the dark and the green of the forest, but he swore it had somehow gotten closer. Caustic in its threat yet invisible in its presence.

"LEAVE!" was all he heard before a violent force enveloped him and squeezed all air from his lungs.

He was back in Elissa's bedroom.

The witch was still humming and stitching in her armchair.

"I got thrown out."

Elissa looked up from her needlework. "So soon? That's unusual. What did the girl do?"

"Nothing. She just watched me and hid from me. That's all."

"Hmm? She didn't throw you out?"

"I don't know. Maybe another part of her, but it hid from me."

"Sounds worrying. She seems to have built up some serious defences around something."

Faan stood up and walked to the edge of the bed. "Should we try again?"

Elissa looked at the girl's face. "Let's wait a bit. She seems agitated. I'll soothe her a little. Take a nap for now, gather your strength." She put a few herbs in a bowl and put it down next to Nannade's head, then began to hum a lullaby.

Faan gladly did as he was told and put his head on the girl's chest. Her breathing was heavy and frightened but already started to calm down.

Faan was awoken some time later by Elissa. Tiredness and wear were visible on her face. "I managed to calm her. You can try again."

The girl breathed slowly and her face was content and calm. "Alright. Second try, here we go!"

Again, Faan's mind jumped into hers and he was back in the forest, but it was a different part. He heard someone walking not far from him. He went to investigate. It was the girl, carrying a large pot on the path, then putting it down to retrieve a second pot and carry it ahead, bit by bit she carried the pots like this. Faan still felt watched, he ignored it for now and walked in front of the girl's path.

"Who are you?" the girl asked him.

"I am a friend to all children. Is there any way I can help you?"

The girl, desperately holding on to one jug as she stood there, shook her head. "I need to bring these pots back home. I can do it by myself!"

She put one jug down, carried the other one a few feet ahead, put that one done and came back for the first one.

"Can I still accompany you?" Faan had the feeling the girl would need him.

"Only if you promise to be nice!"

Faan raised one paw. "I promise."

"And don't interrupt me!" the girl had picked up the other jug and carried it to the one ahead.

"I promise."

"Fine then!"

Like this, Faan observed the girl move the jugs in small increments forward while growing ever nervous.

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"Why are you in such a hurry, little girl?"

She spoke while hauling the heavy pots along. "The other children are already far ahead. I have to catch up, but I have so much to carry!"

"I wish I could help you, little girl, but I am just a cat."

"Then be quiet and let me work!" the girl snapped at him. Something crept up on Faan, he could feel it. He kept quiet for now.

The girl seemed to grow ever and ever more nervous as she hurried along the path through the forest, until the moment came that she stood before a wall made of shadow that stretched all the way from left to right, seemingly endless.

"What is this?" the girl slapped her hands against the wall. "WHAT IS THIS?!"

"I don't know, little girl, I am just as confused as you are."

The girl turned to him with an angry look. "This is your fault, isn't it? You did this. This wouldn't be here if you weren't!"

"I assure you little gi-"

"STOP CALLING ME LITTLE GIRL! I AM NANNADE! NANNADE! MY MOMMY GAVE ME THAT NAME! NANNADE!" she kept screaming at him and coming closer. Faan was sure a swift kick from her little feet was coming his way any moment now.

"I didn't do anything, Nannade, I promise!" He tried to calm her down. The black wall started to boil and fume out shadows, then it bent towards them, closing into a circle around them, shrinking, coming closer.

"LIAR! YOU MOCKED ME AND MY HARD WORK!" Her eyes welled up. Then she shot her arm forward with a threatening index finger extended. "GET HIM!"

Faan felt enormous jaws open wide behind him. He wanted to turn around, but his entire body was frozen, like wrapped in rope tightly. The maw enveloped him like a burlap sack woven from shadow and death.

Finally, Faan managed to move. He jumped up high and turned around in the air, ready to scratch his opponent's eyes out, but he landed just on the edge of the bed and fell off backwards.

"Dear goodness, Faan, what's the matter?" Elissa stood up from her chair and came to him. "Don't scare me like that!"

Faan reoriented himself. He was back out of the dream. "The girl threw me out again, or she commanded something to throw me out."

"Did you see it?"

"No. It was unperceivable. But the was a wall of shadows. I think she might have locked a few things in deep. Some part of her simply does not want me to experience it, maybe even her conscious self."

"Even herself? What part of her would want something to stay hidden from herself?"

Faan walked to the edge of the bed. "I do not know, but finding out could mean... breaking through some heavy defences. This might take years."

Elissa hummed in agreement. "We will have to use more powerful means then. For tonight's stay out. I'll finish my watch tonight."

"I must insist you get some sleep." Faan took another step to the girl, her struggle with nightmare still on her face.

"I have my potion to keep me awake and this ward to finish. The sooner it is done, the better."

"Elissa, are you sure?"

Her face darkened. "You will do as I say, Faan. Get some sleep! You've been hopping in and out of minds enough for today." She pointed over to the cabinet.

He bowed his head and hopped over to the cabinet to curl together on his pillow. He had no problems falling asleep quickly.

The sun was shining through the window when he awakened again. Elissa had fallen asleep in her armchair and Nannade stood before her, inspecting the unfinished ward that rested on Elissa's lap. Faan got up and jumped from the cabinet to the arm rest of Elissa's chair, startling the girl.

"I didn't do anything!" was her first reaction.

"Don't worry, Nannade. You didn't do anything bad."

"What is that?" she pointed to the ward.

"It is similar to the runes she drew on Garrett's body. But this one is permanent. It's called a ward. It is a command for spirits to stay away."

The girl leaned closer over the piece of leather again. "What if the spirits won't stay away?"

"They will have to take it up with Elissa. The threads are made from her own hair. That proves that she is enforcing it. Think of it like a warning. 'Stay away, or I, Elissa of the far south-eastern Glade, will come and rough you up!' Similar to that."

The girl giggled. Faan had to admit it was a most beautiful sound. "Does that mean she will battle the spirits?"

"Yes, but it is more like a battle of words. Spirits are made of thoughts and emotions, shaped out of life force. The right words spoken against the right spirit can be to that spirit like a smack on the head or a gut punch. That's why it's so important for mystics to learn the language of the runes. It is old and has been spoken for millennia. Like a trail through a field that had been walked for many years, the meanings of the words are strong and deeply engrained."

Nannade followed Faan's words attentively, her ears faced towards him as much as they could, albeit his voice being no sound of the material world. She seemed to repeat what he said in her head. Finally, after taking it all in, she spoke up. "Faan, what if I can't make it? What if I fail? Garrett will hit me and Elissa will abandon me, won't she?"

Faan had to take a deep breath. "Nannade, you cute little kitten, don't speak of such things. The one thing you cannot do in the fight for survival is doubt the end. If you doubt, you lose. Elissa will not abandon you. She would have saved you from that cell just as much as Garrett did. She is a good and kind soul. As for Garrett..." He had to pause for a moment and look around. Garrett couldn't hear Faan's ethereal voice. Still, he felt uneasy. "Yes, he will most likely hit you, but every time he does, he hopes you'll get back up again. He cares for you. But the life he leads is much different from what anyone would call normal. His live was harsh and unforgiving even before he was trained and he wants you to be hard and strong enough to survive out there."

"Are you sure? I mean..." the girl fidgeted with her toes. But before she could continue her worries, Faan decided move the day ahead.

"Why don't we wake Elissa up so we can have breakfast?"

Nannade nodded and started shaking Elissa's knees. Quickly after, Elissa opened her eyes and groaned. She got up, took the girl by the hand and left the room, ignoring Faan's I-told-you-so glare. Faan himself stayed behind for just a moment longer. The experiences from the girl's dreams stuck with him. There had been nothing in there that didn't worry him.