"Well, I didn't expect much better, to be honest." Elissa said to Faan.
They were sitting at the table while Garrett was training Nannade in the forest. Faan was telling Elissa about the dream Nannade had. He had dreamt together with the girl for the first time. He had seen many disturbing things, scenes of rape, abuse, violence, and many other things a slave girl like her would have experienced over the years. Elissa hoped, that over time, Faan could help her process all that and put it behind her. And while he was observing her in her shifting dream world, he had also told of a weird presence in her dreams, watching him, as if there was something deeper. In the end, he was flung out of her dream by something. The girl had put up strong barriers, even deep within her subconscious.
"I am certain that many spirits and other beings, if they are able to come close to her, will feed on her fear and sadness." Faan told Elissa.
Elissa hummed in agreement. "Maybe it would help if she got her own familiar."
"This early? Would Loganna ever allow it?"
"I don't think so. But we are already keeping this secret."
Faan continued his protest. "I have to object. It's irresponsible."
"Well then, you will have to keep her company. Until she is properly adjusted" Elissa said in an almost threatening tone.
"Gladly." He took her challenge with glee.
"Fine then." she stood up. "You can do that during the séance this evening. I'll have to consult them regarding the harvest."
"Fine then." Faan stood up as well, hopped out the window and climbed the stack of fire wood to get on the roof. He would often hold lookout there for visitors, both mundane and spiritual. As both a cat and a spirit, Faan could peek far into the distance, even beyond the trees. Because Elissa had her own Arcane Hand, she rarely needed the explicit services of her familiar. It was a quiet existence full of long naps.
It was past lunch and Garrett had left back into the forest for training. In actuality, he was thrown out, for Elissa was about to summon the spirits to seek their counsel on the planning of the harvest. Spirits could be greedy and jealous and the blood magic Garrett frequently practiced was not to their liking. Life's energy was meant for nature, not the arcane, at least according to the spirits.
Elissa, Nannade and Faan sat on the floor in the hut. The table had been moved aside to make more space. A large scroll of paper had been spread and weighed down at the edges. On it, Elissa had drawn with flux-infused ink a large circle, surrounded by patterns of various designs as well as pleas to the spirits in mystic runes. Before her stood a bowl full of grain, before Nannade a bowl of finely powdered ash, on each of the corners of the scroll stood brazen bowl with smoking incense.
Elissa started to chant in the language of the runes. Spirits were selfish beings. They needed to be convinced or tricked. A shrewd merchant would not be out of place at such a communion. Old poetry, singing, dancing, or other displays of entertainment often managed to attract the attention of spirits. Not any poetry would do for this case. Elissa wanted to attract specific spirits. Spirits were born of hundreds and thousands of life cycles of animals and plants coming together. They had centuries of knowledge and experiences. And this knowledge was what Elissa needed. She needed the knowledge of those spirits associated with crops and field plants. Of those that would remember when the heat of summer rose and fell, when it rained and when the storms would devastate the fields. Elissa needed to know when to bring in the harvest and so, she recited and old song about bringing in the harvest.
A cold wind went through the room. The light itself seemed to dim. A presence had come to them, an old one. Inside the circle on the paper, a tuft of wheat seemed to grow, emitting a green glow. The blades of grass stretched upwards and as they grew, they started to weaver over and under each other, slowly forming a living straw puppet. It was at this time that Faan needed to pay attention to Nannade, he moved closer to her side. Spirits seldomly came alone, and the "wrong" spirit would cause mischief. An emotional medium like the girl attracted spirits, daemons and other beings from beyond the veil very easily. And there was one now, a gust of wind, going over and under the furniture, carrying fresh green leaves with it. Faan felt as if he knew the presence in here with them right now. Elissa was busy with her chants and appeals to the spirit of the wheat, the girl was fixated on the display as well. Only Faan noticed the intruder trying to come in. He spoke words of defence and the spirit seemed to follow suit, staying at a distance, but still circling them. It was a distant spirit, not from this forest, barely present. While it was repealed by Faan's words, it spoke back to him in vague terms. It spoke of "getting its due" and "protecting what is rightfully its". Normally Faan would take it as empty boasts, but not this time. He would tell Elissa about all of this later.
The séance was eventually over and the spirits left the hut, the unwelcome one too.
"Look how the ash you sprinkled settled on the paper." Elissa said to the girl. "Look how it's mostly small, neat piles? That's because the spirit is showing us the stars at the morning of the harvest." Elissa pointed to the tiny piles in the middle of the paper where the straw pupped had been. "Now, using astronomy, I can deduce the exact day of the harvest." She handed Nannade a white wax candle. "Use this wax stick to affix the ash to the paper. I'll show you how. That way, the ash won't smudge."
They didn't talk much at supper, but Faan noticed that Nannade was kind of upbeat. She had slowly been coming out of her shell. At time she almost blended into the background, which was amazing given her appearance, but she also had a passive demeanour that bordered on almost lifelessness. This veil had been lifted recently, she became more active, enjoyed more of what she did and was surer in the way she did things.
Garrett wanted to take Nannade on a quick run through the forest after supper. Faan decided to stick close to the girl. After they had already run quite some distance, Garetas stopped and turned to Faan, who was very out of breath but determined to keep up with the girl.
Garrett put his fists to his hips and talked down to Faan. "I don't know what it is you want, but you can just tell me."
Faan turned to Nannade. "Tell this oaf I am under instructions to keep an eye out for spirits while you are here."
The girl relayed his words and Garrett became visibly frustrated. "How many hoops must I jump through for this woman."
"Tell him he would do well to remember his promises. And that his safety is also at stake here."
"I can't believe I'm discussing this. Alright, He can hitch on my shoulder, if he really needs to be by us the entire time, but I'll discuss this later with his boss."
Faan made a little kitty bow and jumped on to Garrett's shoulders.
When they returned to the house. Garrett had a heated discussion with Elissa which ended in the agreement, that Elissa would fashion a powerful, permanent ward for the girl to wear, but Garret would have to tolerate Faan during special occasions or if the ward would turn out to be insufficient. Meanwhile Nannade was sitting outside, enjoying the last few sunrays, Faan on her shoulder. They talked about small things but mostly just enjoyed the evening weather.
At one point, Nannade asked "Faan, will you dream with me again tonight?"
"I shouldn't. I must sleep for myself, too."
Nannade sounded disappointed "But you sleep so much during the day."
"Yes, but we don't sleep so much at night. I watch over you at night as well. It's more like occasional napping. Did you enjoy our dream that much?"
"I don't remember anything but I think I slept well."
"We will dream together again soon."
The girl seemed alright with that. She didn't need to know how much strain it put on him.
Garrett had already rolled over to the side, Faan sat on the nightstand next to the girl.
"Good night Garetas, Good night Faan." The girl said while snuggling up into her blanket.
"Good night." Said Faan, still vigilant in all mundane and ethereal directions.
Nannade fell asleep quickly. Faan stayed behind. He had an uneasy feeling as if there was something in the world on this side of sleep that would require his vigilance as well. He saw nothing, noticed nothing. The hut was dark and silent. Something was not right with this girl and it wasn't just her years of trauma.