Pan made his way through the now familiar swamp, wading through the murky water without fear where the ground became soft and spongy. Fishes and god-knows-what-else darted as his feet treaded through the dark marsh, brushing against him and darting away once more – but it didn’t bother him. Instead, Pan felt like he was some kind of explorer, delving deep into the jungle in search of something interesting. Given his nature, it was likely that he was just wandering and collecting, as Pan was apt to do… but today he moved with a bit more purpose than usual. He had come to take Yana to the party, knowing that the healer would rarely leave the swamp that held her.
He saw her hut in the distance, a curl of smoke escaping from the roof, and a smile crossed the boy’s face. While the queen of the swamp was a bit of a prickly creature, he’d decided some time ago that she was a friend of his. So, he did not hesitate to approach the remote structure, shaking the mud and moss away from his body and doing his best to wipe the dirty murk from the swamp from his pale legs before intruding on her space.
Yana? He called from just outside her house, beckoning the starry healer to come out to his voice, grinning from ear to ear as he saw the flash of her dark coat appearing. We’re having a fall festival, in Delumine. I brought you this. He fished out a slightly mashed pumpkin pastry, handing it to her with a sheepish look. Sorry about that, guess they don’t travel so well… but there’s more where that came from. Do you want to come? I can show you where to go!
take a trip to your dark side
go on and have a good cry
The constant stream of visits is shocking at first, but the witch slips into her role as easily as the sun slips away at dusk. As with most things it takes time for her to settle: her usual retort to an annoying question eventually develops into a brisk explanation, and she controls her temper (at least more often than not) around the youth as she becomes more familiar with her duties. Pan is no exception to her change of heart, though Yana is still not certain how to regard her scaled apprentice. Be it due to her unfamiliarity with mentor-ship -- her only experience of which has been quite brutal -- or Pan's bizarre confession regarding his dementia, the hag knows not.
The astral lady flinches at the cheery tone of his voice, breaking her concentration. The glittering beetle she has been examining falls to the floor of her hut when her telekinetic hold is released. It rocks back and forth on its the back of its hard shell before righting itself and flying away. Swamp water eyes flutter closed as she clenches her teeth.
It's only a beetle, it's only a beetle, don't kill the young... old... whatever he thinks he is, don't kill the poor boy over it.
Messy locks of milky hair fall across her face as she swings her head towards him; she has forgotten to tie it back today. Her gaze lands on the pitiful pile of pastry he's offering her before returning to his face. She stares at the scales beneath each emerald orb for a moment before reminding herself that he has asked a question.
"I see you haven't been studying," her words are reproachful at first, and she bites her tongue before beginning again, this time in a lighter tone, "Thank you, Pan. We can use that to load the traps. As you can see, I've been quite busy. I would have visited your home sooner, but you know what is expected of me; of all healers."
Although she speaks the truth -- for there are always patients traipsing through the swamp to see her -- she has meant to visit the green boy's home for quite some time now. It's her reclusive nature -- not her commitment as Champion of Healing -- that has chained her to the stagnant waters and eerie mists of Tinea Swamp. To visit another Court is to leave her home unattended, and she does not yet trust the other healers to tend her traps or concoct her potions, and yet... A break from her routine does sound inviting.
"Fine, but you must recite all that you know about herbs along the way."
For such a young maid, she suits the life of a bitter old hag quite well.
Pan knew as soon as he saw Yana’s unkempt appearance and heard her snapping words, that she needed to spend more time around people. When she chides him for not studying, a quick flash of argument crosses his face, and he opens his mouth to disagree, but before he can do so, she’s speaking of setting traps with the pastry. Curious enough to wonder what she was trapping, he hands the soggy pastry over, wondering what she means to collect with it. But, he also knew it was quite tasty, so even a rat would be lucky to have it.
He follows his first gift with a second, drawing a small swatch of Bee Balm from his satchel, tied a bit sloppily with a piece of twine. Well, I brought you these too… it’s Bee Balm from my home. You can crush it and put it on bleeding, or mix it to a tea… and I thought you might also want some of this.” He pulled out a soggy Skunk Cabbage bulb, passing it to the healer with a question. I don’t know what it is, but I found it on the corner of the swamp… and it smells terrible, so I figure it must be good for you. I don’t remember much about my mom, but I remember she told me that I had to eat yucky things because they were good for me, so maybe this is good too? That, and it wasn’t like Yana’s cottage didn’t already smell weird – the sacrifice she’d have to make as a hedgewitch, he supposed.
Come along then, we can make it to the festival before nightfall. There’s so much to do – we have food, and spiced drinks, and music… While he wasn’t sure if any of these things would appeal to the starry witch, he had to believe that he could entice her in another way. And we can go through the meadow on the way there – I’m told there are lots of healing flowers there… you can pick some and take them with you. Maybe we can trade… I can bring you herbs from Delumine for some of your stinky swamp plants?
