Moonlight water? How is it collected? what is it for? Countless doubts filled Sascha's mind, but even when she was filled with curiosity and questions, Sascha obediently followed after the old woman.
Luckily the place they were going to was not far at all. The two women walked silently down one of the paths within the witch's private domain until they reached the edge of a pool of pale waters illuminated by the fine silvery beams of moonlight. Leaning on the edge of the pond, a total of fifteen glass jars radiated a soft, fluorescent whitish light.
"Place a glass jar filled with running water for a whole night outside to accumulate the manna of the moon. An hour before sunrise she picks up the jars and puts them away in the dark. She seals the flask with a special stopper and the mana will be stored. She does not use magic to move them or the accumulated mana will be dispersed. "The witch hummed softly without rhythm and never looking at Sascha.
Melida took one of the jars and held it against her chest, she seemed to be cradling a small baby in her arms.
"I thought you weren't going to teach me." It was the thoughtful words spoken in a low voice from the young woman.
Melida looked up sharply and fixed a shrewd look at Sascha. "Who is teaching you something? I'm just humming. Even if you have ears to listen, why do I have to take responsibility?"
If it is not you who will assume it then? Sascha didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry at the obvious impudence of the old woman. However, the witch's words confirmed her earlier assumptions. The old woman couldn't instruct her directly but she wasn't going to get in her way either. She rather she seemed willing to help her indirectly.
"What are you waiting for? Pick up the jars and put them in the warehouse." Melida shot him an impatient look before walking away with the flask in the direction of the cabin.
Needless to say, she didn't come out again until dawn.
She stared blankly at the perfectly aligned jars on the edge of the pond and under the watchful gaze of more than a hundred pixies, Sascha mentally shook herself and began to work. She weighed the weight of a vial, a sigh of relief escaping her red lips as they weren't as heavy as they seemed.
Amid the early morning chill and enveloped by the magical song of hundreds of pixie voices, Sascha worked diligently to seal the jars and transport them one by one to the warehouse.
The maná lamp within it was lit when she arrived. Its soft light illuminated the corners of the warehouse, making it easy for Sascha to find the tall lockers on one side. There were four spaces in the lockers, all occupied by more glass flasks, filled with milky fluorescent water with different types of intensity.
Last night was a crescent quarter, were the jars arranged by moon phase? Sascha's guess was not wrong, and she had cleverly deciphered the logical method of storing the powerful magic water. She searched with her eyes until she caught a glimpse of the sign carved in the upper bay of the lockers. After this, Sascha continued carrying the jars animatedly, for when she firmly closed the doors of the locker, the first lights of dawn shyly colored the sky.
Do the same as for the old man. With the witch's words very close to her heart, Sascha did not hesitate to lift a large basket leaning against one of the warehouse walls.
There were herbs whose best time to harvest was precise during the first minutes of dawn when both the energy of the sun and the moon collided with each other, and the mana resulting from a said collision, fed these herbs, thus enhancing their effects.
Sascha happily worked in the witch's vast magical herb garden, by then the pixies had shed her earlier reluctance and were flying around her with avid cheekiness.
"Sascha."
The pixies flew in disarray, fleeing swiftly in the direction of the witch's hut. Sascha for the part of her was so scared that the basket in her hands fell to the ground with a crash, the contents of it shattering at her feet.
She had found It! Sascha trembled as her eyes crashed into the savage depths of an amber inferno.
He had promised to find her if she ever ran away and she had foolishly not taken her words seriously, thinking that once he was out of her sight, the monster would forget her.
Why don't you let me go Why bother to chase me? She reflected bitterly. Suddenly, a disturbing thought invaded Sascha's mind. Did she know the wolf that she was pregnant with? Was that why he didn't leave her alone? Worse still ... did he want to snatch the magic bugs from her? Sascha's beautiful eyes instantly turned into cutting orbs of ice.
"I never promised to stay, did I?" she whispered in a tone that bled unreserved aggression.
Askeladd looked at his little human, who seemed to want to bite him and in her mind, he snorted in amusement. He wanted to get close to her and bite her -gently- for her daring.
Quiet. He told himself and waited with the patience of a hunter on the edge of the witch's domain. There would be time later for it. The wolf gently consoled himself. He was an excellent hunter, the best in fact and as such he knew when to bite, wait or stalk his prey and his instinct told her that this was the time to stalk.
The minutes stretched between the two people for a long moment and Sascha had a little moment of deja vu. It was like that time in the forest when the wolf just stared at her with her wild predatory eyes.
Sascha slowly released her breath, and she kept a wary eye on the monster as she began to walk away from her. Barrier or no barrier between the two, she didn't feel comfortable, the wolf's gaze was too knowing, too fiery in her impudence.
The worst thing of all was that her body responded to him and boy did she respond to him. Red burned Sascha's fur with heat and the wolf inhaled deeply. She was even more mortified by this.
"Do not worry." Sascha jumped in fright and as she nearly slipped on the grass dampened by the cool mist of dawn, a familiar masculine voice growled deep in her mind.
"Be careful. You are in a very delicate period."
He knows! Sascha moaned inwardly, ignoring the real concern in the wolf's tone of voice, in her eyes, he did not see the father of her children, but even a possible competitor for custody of her magical bugs. Askeladd watched the coldness in his partner's beautiful eyes drop several degrees and was puzzled. Why did he feel that he had screwed up a hornet's nest?
"He cannot enter my domain without being invited. Not without starting a conflict. " Despite the confidence in the witch's words, Sascha was not comforted. The wolf seemed particularly determined to get his way.
"Come on, let's have breakfast. It's almost time to open the store. " Melida continued speaking, unaware of the way the tips of a certain monster's ears were trembling attentively. Schemes glowed subtly in the wolf's eyes.
The old woman, like her not, came forward while Sascha stopped for a few seconds to pick up the basket full of herbs that she previously dropped, ignoring the amused look of the big bad wolf.
The wolf settled back, crossing his paws over the great roots of the tree before saying with simple assurance in Sascha's mind. "You need me to raise our cubs."
Our? Did he say ours, not his? A small ray of hope blossomed in her heart, and for half a second she allowed herself to believe that her dreams of a family, a warm home could come true. She then remembered how it ended the last time she allowed herself to dream. There is no way! With a sour grimace, Sascha quickly buried the feeling.
Hmp! I will not believe your words! Talking is easy, now complying is something else! Sascha looked icy over her shoulder and said. "Do not. I do not need you."
The wolf snorted in amusement again, causing Sascha to leave the yard with a 'You'll see' grimace on her face.