The collie woman nodded when the invitation to visit Ichika no Ho-en was given, but it was short lived as a bout of coughs wracked her body. Luckily she managed to calm her ravaged throat down quickly, as not to scare the girl, but now it would be evident why the mask was needed. Zera’im could feel the twinge of worry set in again on her mind; was she really getting better? Perhaps she should find an accomplished healer to set her straight, for as much as she knew she was not a master medic.
The girl then asked about the west, and Zera’im realized that what she had said had been mistaken for meaning the west of the Americas. Though Zera’im had come from America, it had been from the east coast, and the farthest west she had ever travelled was no west at all, but in the heart lands of what was once known as the United States. In fact, what she had meant when she said “west” was the western parts of Nova Scotia, the entirety of which she had now traversed. But there was no need to speak this aloud and bring embarrassment to Eclipse, who seemed so eager to hear Zera’im tell her the tales of lands she had never visited. This was why the collie woman so much enjoyed the company of the youth, they were full of vibrant curiosity that seemed to fade with time.
The girl then however, reacted with fright to the jesting words that Zera’im had spoken about the spirits and her aura darkened at the idea. She asked with naïve fear if Zera could see the spirits and if they were going to take her away. The older woman laughed, though not at Eclipse but just because the situation was nearly as dangerous as the girl believed. The collie shook her, No, no need to worry child. I cannot see these spirits; they are like whispers on the wind. Sometimes I can hear them speak, but not now. They are in the trees, the earth, and they are completely harmless. She took the girl’s hand in her own and tapped it, I am a Shaman you see, I have a gift of hearing what cannot be heard and seeing what cannot be seen. She hoped she wouldn’t scare the girl with this revelation, but there was no use in hiding what she was. Zera’im was an accomplished spiritualist, and all these things, while strange to others, where just the way the world worked for Zera.
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