Silence.
It was filling every corner, every inch of the stoic library in a thick layer. The only noise being the wild thumping of Andromeda's heart pulsating in her chest.
She cleared her throat in an attempt to ease the deafening lack of sound. Elane's inquisitive yet intelligent hazel eyes analyzed her expression.
"Are you certain? How can you tell?" Andromeda inquired to the brunette witch in front of her.
"I am not yet, but there is only one way to be," Elane gestured to the items on the table before her, "These are ritual tools. Should you choose to participate, we will perform some tasks before we slice into palms of our hands and allow our blood to mix. If it turns yellow, you and I are not of the same type. If it glows blue, we are. Do you accept?"
"Yes," Andromeda answered promptly.
Her eyes sparked to life in the excitement of partaking in a ceremony with an aged witch.
She smiled nervously, "The first thing to do is awaken your third eye. Many ancient societies did it the way you and I will be doing it tonight," her mood changed immediately as soon as she spoke, turning from cautious to sober in seconds.
Elane struck a match and kindled two white candles in front of her, "For centuries, they stared upon candle flames in hopes for enlightenment. We shall as well. For humans, opening their third eye can take weeks of effort, but in the presence of a witch, it goes much faster. Just open your mind, breathe, and relax. You will feel it when it happens." She said and turned to the candle in front of her, placing a hand on either side, exhaling deeply, and nonchalantly focusing on it.
She repeated her actions, and Andromeda found herself infatuated with the flame. It was a calming thing, interrupting her mind for what felt like all eternity, yet no time at all. The steady, majestic flicker seared itself into her subconscious.
Andromeda's forehead started to throb unpainfully, and soon, she was aware. Aware of the energy in the room, conscious of the present, and of the situation at hand. She half-willingly tore her eyes from the flame, much to her displeasure, to see Elane watching her.
She grinned and handed her the ritual knife.
"Tell me, my dear, how do you perceive it?"
Andromeda shifted the blade from hand to hand, trying to get a solid read on the object.
"Weightless, as if it doesn't even belong in this realm at all."
"Exactly," Elane said, failing to elaborate.
When she glanced back at the dagger, it was gone.
Andromeda looked up at Elane, to see her silently mincing the herb into small slices.
"These will assist later," she explained and used the knife to push them away slightly, then took the bowl of thick stone and rested it in front of her.
"We must thank our instruments of this ritual as we use them. Every time we add something to the bowl, you must say 'eilaan kouqu' which means 'thank you.'"
"Why?"
"As to not irritate the goddesses. We utilize their gifts of magic, and we must appreciate it," Elane smiled, and took the knife into her hand.
She slit her palm, allowing a surprising amount of blood to flow into the bowl.
Andromeda heard her whisper her thanks and the knife appeared in Andromeda's left hand.
Glancing over at the witch, she noticed her wound was completely healed.
"Your turn," she said.
Without a second thought, she slashed open her skin, allowing for the plasma to flow from it quickly.
"Eilaan kouqu," she said, and the wound had stitched herself together, filling Andromeda with natural power.
//
"Astri!" My sister called, pointing to one of the sixty billion tiny pools, the one we both knew belonged to Andromeda.
"What is it?" I asked, looking into the water.
Through the perfectly still surface, I saw Andromeda and the witch, and the mixing of their blood.
It swirled, as if the two liquids were fighting for dominance. Andromeda's blood won very quickly, and engulfed the lighter crimson.
"Now," the witch's voice echoed into my reality, "Once I add this herb, the waeroi, the blood will tell me if you are a hybrid of my kind or not. If you are not, it will glow yellow. If you are, our bloods will be blue."
She picked up the diced herb, and dropped it in, little pieces at a time.
The blood stopped swirling. The liquid started to fizzle, and rose until it was three times the size as before.
"I wonder what it might be!" My sister laughed half-sarcastically.
It flashed blue, then yellow, and blue again. It repeated until the fizzy top had died down, revieiling a green colored blood.
"It seems," the witch said, pridefully, "you are a mystery."
"What?" Andromeda asked.
"You seem to be a wolf, a witch, and goddesses know what else."
"I'm not such a 'Human in the Woods,' then, am I?"
"Not at all, my dear," I whispered, "Not at all."
"Oh! How the times are changing!" My sister grinned, "I wonder how this will turn out!"
"I don't know, love. But I know we'll find out."
/
The Luna laughed, "I suppose you're not."
There was a stunned silence for a few moments, neither of them seemed to know what to say. Andromeda especially had no idea, the shock of the new information had been interrupting her train of thought.
Elane broke the silence by clearing her throat.
"Andromeda," Elane said, "Now, you have a choice. If you wish to leave this pack and learn more about yourself and your heritage alone, I have no say in it. But, you are welcome here as long as I shall be Luna. I can help you explore your power, and if fate wishes, answers may come to you."
Andromeda thought for a moment.
If I left, I would be going back to the forest. I didn't mind it there, but I want answers. I feel I need to know what I could do and who I actually am. Maybe it's just a small, childish part of me that wants to be with my parents.
"Okay," Andromeda said, "I'll stay."
"Wonderful to hear!" Elane clapped her hands, "Now, my dear, you should get off to bed. We're immortals, so we have all the time in the world to talk, but later."
Andromeda agreed with her, "Thank you, Luna."
"No need to call me 'Luna': Elane is just fine," she said and shooed her off to bed.
As Andromeda turned to leave, Elane said something else, "One more thing. Your instinct will guide all the magic within you; just do something, like a wave of your hand or a snap with your fingers to give the energy dimension. It will work a majority of the time."
"Thank you."
Upon returning to her room, she laid on her bed, covers pulled to her chin. She recalled the events from the day.
This was one hell of a day, she thought.
I meet Belina in the woods, then I'm attacked by an Alpha, his Luna takes a liking to me, and she and I do a literal blood ritual to find out I'm not even a human at all.
That would, by default, make one of my parents have werewolf blood, and the other have witch blood. One of them would also have to have whatever else I am. I wonder which is which?
It's late, she decided, and I should listen to Elane.
She drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.