The Academy: at the edge of the woods;

We have come to the edge of the woods,
out of brown grass where we slept, unseen,
out of knotted twigs, out of leaves creaked shut,
out of hiding.
- Louise Erdrich
“Are the Elders the same as the Elements? Or are they horses like us?” that did confuse her, because she thought the elements talked and swam in the blood of each horse once… well, changed was the only way she understood it though to her eyes, Tick was no different even if he now had influence over bodies of water and could do things that they had ever only heard about in stories and songs. But she was curious too, “How would you know if it they did not tell you and I did not either?” About that, she was curious, unaware of the ability to read minds as one could read the shift of shadows or clouds, or like Tick, the currents of water. Nettle’s face brightened though, as she smiled and shook her head. “I go by Nettle but you do not have to call me that, except maybe if my brother was around but you can call me Zesab if you prefer it to Nettle.”

She laughed to loosen the knots of embarrassment that settled in her stomach, as she watched the painted mare stir in the grass. “Tick says I talk too much,” she offered apologetically, not sure if it was a good thing that so much could be said in so little words or if that was a bad thing. She liked the cool watery touch to her shoulder and showed little surprise when the vines rose from the earth and twined about their legs. The blue flowers reminded her of the blue carnation that Formaldehyde made bloom right before her very eyes - it had delighted her, as the small blue flowers sprouting from the vines do now, and as she bent her head to inhale their delicate scent, she smiled up at her teacher.

“We, or I should say I since Tick isn’t here, have long known about the elements though to us, we know them as spirits capable of great power and great reward. They are something we have been taught to respect, but as for the true extent of their power and how it shapes or governs this land - no, but I am learning. Tick has already been rewarded with an element of his choosing and he chose water. I think I’ll choose earth, as I believe I am closer to that than I am to anything else…” her voice trailed off as her teacher suddenly shrank in size and shape to become another creature entirely.

Nettle had no experience with cats - not the domestic kind or the feral tabbies, but she knew of mountain lions though strangely, her instinct to fight or flee did not arise, perhaps because her teacher - now a kitten - was relatively small and harmless and some part of Nettle knew that. She was surprised - that much was true for it showed in her amazed expression but if there was any wariness, it soon fled her and she grew used to this new shape of Oceantree’s. Her ears picked up on the mewling and the purring, noises that she recognized as good things far different from the bad things of growing, hissing, and spitting. It helped too, that she liked the silkiness of the cat-fur and the smooth feline body that rubbed against her leg.

By the time her teacher leapt to her back in a graceful - and powerful - leap, she certainly did not mind and even found it to be quite companionable for the two of them to be like this. “Not at all,” she answered and took great care to keep from unbalancing her feline teacher, even craning her head around a time or two to look at her, though always, she kept one ear back to hear the purring tone of Oceantree’s voice. She listened and found comfort in the talk of another pair of siblings such as Tick and herself. It lent her strength (as did the small, warm weight of Oceantree upon her back) to be there on her own, to know that she was capable of still possessing that unshakable bond with her brother but also gaining an independence from him as well.

“I don’t want him to always worry about him and forget about himself because he’s preoccupied with me.” she confessed. The little paws that kneaded at her flesh felt good and she sighed, half to herself at the feeling of pleasure that spread through and half in contented agreement. “I trust you too,” she murmured, feeling her eyes start to close a little though with a little shake of her head, she was wide awake again, especially at the small, strange laugh that came from the vicinity of her withers. She brought her head round again and blew a warm breath of good will towards the cat, laughing a little. “I like stories and nonsense, though none of it hardly seems to be nonsense to me. But questions… yes, I think I have those.” and she had to pause for a moment, her face scrunched up in thought as she sorted out her thoughts.

“Does it hurt to change from a horse to something else? How long have you been a teacher? Who taught you? Did you always know this was the right path for you? Did (or do) you have any fears and if so, how did you overcome them?” She was sheepish and more than a little breathless when she finally stopped, losing hold of any other questions she had thought to ask but these seemed to be the most - not pressing - but interesting or memorable questions that she could ask for the moment.