The journey between the three towards the reservation was quiet and filled with their own thoughts up until Gale sidled up to Ley as soon as they left the car. He was obviously antsy since earlier but resisted voicing his question in close proximity with Old Bertie.
"What?" Ley finally said while walking towards a path.
"Are you sure about this? What if she turned on us?" Gale uttered his doubts.
"I can hear you," Old Bertie balefully said at their backs.
"She won't be able to once I did the tattoos and there's something you don't understand. She doesn't need us. We're the ones who need her," Ley replied in a lower voice frequency that can only be heard by shifters.
"What do you mean?" Gale confusedly asked.
"I want her to teach the cubs to control their magic. You know that engraving needs unparalleled control over magic and what she did with the ocarina was outstanding. She can teach the kids control. We can't put magic restrictions on them- no, I don't want to do that anymore unless as a last resort. I still haven't forgotten about what happened with Anita. She would have been able to defend herself if I hadn't restricted her magic. I don't want the kids to grow up like us, stumbling in the dark because there was no one who understood what we are," Ley determinedly explained.
She could see Gale softened up once he heard her reasons. He might have misgivings but they all had the same objectives - to protect the Taboos.
Old Bertie wordlessly followed them with her bags floating behind her consistently without worry from prying eyes. The path was deserted since it was already so close to the reservation but the location wasn't that far to the city and there were still residential properties near the edge.
Though, they would never get visitors unless invited since the whole place was covered with misdirection wards that stretched up to where they parked the car. Ley wanted the wards to develop like the ones in Warped Alley but it would still take years before it would happen.
They walked a bit more along the narrow roughly made road lined with overgrown trees until they burst into a wide expanse field in the middle of trees. It was boxed in with wooden fences reinforced with magic. It wasn't metal but it wouldn't lose in strength when compared to it. She didn't want to build concrete walls around it mostly because they can't afford to compromise the location with the contractors though they could have erased their memories with enough effort but the others didn't want to take that risk either. Ley also didn't want them to feel like they were imprisoned if they had used walls so they focused on strengthening the wards instead.
They stopped walking in front of the entrance. Ley waited and observed Old Bertie as she took in the sight.
Old Bertie then turned to Ley with a deadpan expression then amusedly said, "Interesting. Are you planning to bury me alive directly?"
Ley and Gale glanced at each other in confusion. That was certainly not the reaction they were looking for.
Taking in their countenance, Old Bertie asked with a raised eyebrow, "What are we doing in a cemetery then?"
Ley let out a small chuckle at Old Bertie's words and said, "We're not at a cemetery. It's a defensive enchantment. It shows you the place that you won't ever enter no matter what. If there's ever someone who got past the misdirection wards then they'll have to get past their fear to even see the reservation. However, the funny thing about fears is that it will creep inside your bones and cripple your heart until your mind can only think about fleeing."
Ley was somewhat interested on why the spell showed a cemetery for Old Bertie but she didn't want to pry. Old Bertie obviously will not be talking about it, judging by the way she was ignoring Ley's words.
In a blink, a severe-looking man suddenly appeared in front of them as if out of thin air. That's when the enchantment gripping Old Bertie broke since Ley heard her let out a surprised 'hmmm?' and the entirety of the reservation's appearance was revealed to her.
"It's simpler than I thought," Old Bertie commented sarcastically at the empty land in front of her.
"You won't be able to see the lodges and facilities since they're located far back," Gale replied to her in explanation.
Ley glanced at Anton standing in front of the gate, looking warily at Old Bertie. The alarm spells must've alerted him with their presence that's why he went out to take a look.
His fair complexion from before never did recover from its tan as a result of spending lots of work under the sun coupled with a perpetual frown made him a mean-looking guard. Seeing him reminded Ley of the times they had just started building the reservation from scratch. They all had to work hard to create a sanctuary that would protect them from the unwelcoming world. It took a long time but they've finally come this far.
Anton was unsmiling as he strode over towards their direction but Ley wasn't bothered as that was his normal expression every day. They all know that he was a softie inside but it doesn't diminish how fiercely protective he can be like his bear counterpart.
Gale met him forward and clapped him at the back in greeting.
Ley smiled at Anton and said, "Anton, let me introduce Old Bertie to you. Old Bertie, this is Anton, Head Protector of the Reservation."
Anton nodded to Old Bertie's direction and threw an inquiring glance at Ley which prompted her to say, "I'll catch up with you later after I saw the kids."
They headed towards the entrance while Ley kept a hand on Old Bertie's shoulder so that the wards won't reject her once she tried to enter since Ley hasn't given her the silencing tattoo.
Once they got through the gate, Ley looked at the Guard House beside it and saw a lounging pepper-colored wolf with its tail thumping rhythmically on the ground.
"Hey Alan!" Ley waved in greeting at the wolf and got a bark in return while it's tongue lolled at her playfully.
Looking at the familiar faces comforted Ley. She wasn't always here but it was her home. A home that they painstakingly built with their blood, sweat and tears.
While they walked towards the back area, they soon heard laughter and yells nearing them. Ley let out a small smile as she could guess who they are immediately.
Soon running kids appeared, bringing with them contagious smiles reminiscent of sunshine, trying to race each other towards her direction.
"I swear it's like they've this built-in radar to your presence. They always know whenever you're here," Gale commented in wonder.
"Ley! Ley! Ley is here!" They shouted in chorus as soon as they saw her.
Ley almost fell backward as they slammed their little bodies to her without even braking. Ley settled the obnoxious kiddos back at the ground so that they wouldn't fall but little Nana with her sweet face nuzzling Ley's neck didn't want to get back down. She adjusted Nana comfortably in her arms and faced the other two with a smile.
"Will you stay long this time, Ley?" Kevin excitedly asked while jumping up and down.
"Only a few hours this time but I'm going to be bringing a new playmate here next time," Ley apologetically said while patting his head to ease the disappointment that graced his expression.
She felt sorry for the trio since she can't always be here at the reservation since her work was always outside and she doesn't want to draw attention by regularly coming here. She might just be paranoid but no matter how small the risk, it's not something that she would take.
"Would you bring us a cat, Ley?" Kevin asked hopefully, his pouting forgotten at the thought of getting a pet.
Ley laughed at the idea of a little wild dog caring for a kitty. Though technically, Anita is from the cat family. Looking at their innocence, reminded Ley of the reason why she had to fight. The reason why she had to kill their enemies and she knew deep inside that it was not the end of what she could do for them.
"You can't bring Kevin a cat, Ley. He's dangerous," Russell, the eldest of the three kids, piped in with disapproval. Her ginger locks swayed in time as she vehemently shook her head.
"No! Liar!" Kevin denied indignantly while throwing Russell a hurt look.
"Didn't you also cry last time and then Nana was hurt," Russell argued back.
Ley froze at what she heard and looked at Anton for confirmation. He nodded imperceptibly. This was what she was scared of. The kids were growing fast but no one knew the right way to guide them. Ley's generation barely managed and she doesn't even have these abnormal magic flare outs but Kevin was proving to be talented. He is still young but his magic already manifested strongly.
"I didn't mean to, Ley," Kevin distressingly said, looking back and forth towards the adults in front of him. He plopped back to the ground when no one replied and proceeded to a full blown hysterical crying.
It would have been easier to manage if it was just tears however magic started to flow out of him in bouts that kept pushing them away as it grew stronger. Gale grabbed Russell out of the way immediately and proceeded to easily nullify Kevin's out of control magic.
Old Bertie looked at her sharply after seeing Kevin. Ley didn't need to read her thoughts to know what she's thinking. Ley passed Nana to Anton and patted Kevin's head before walking towards Old Bertie.
"Let's talk."