The Academy: and the wolf prowls;

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
Amazement fills her face as she listens to her teacher provide the answers and quell the curiosity that thirsted in her like the root of a sapling tree thirsting for water. But when it came to how she got her name, she laughed and could not help the mischief that crept into the corners of her mouth and lifted them higher in a smile that seemed full of secrets. “It is what my name means. See, we have elders too but we call them Twisted Hairs for their wisdom and their leadership, and they are often healers and shamans and seers into time. They can see the shape of our spirits at our birth and that is when, into our mothers’ ears, they whisper our names. The Twisted Hairs saw that I would be trouble, full of mischief and would often get under my mother’s skin and make her angry, like a nettle so they told her to name me this - Nettle, but they only tell the use name and we learn of the spirit name - the secret name - when we come of age and undergo the herd’s rituals for it.” She is a little sick from the telling, as she does not think so much about their birth-herd has ever been told to outsiders before and much of the knowledge is herd-bound and sacred to them, but she is eased by the telling too, as if it had been a heavy burden upon her.

She smiles at the cat, “You think so?” her eyes shine in her face with happiness, for she is glad that it will be the earth for her. Thoughts of patterns reaching completion enter her head, and she feels that something has come full circle - perhaps all that time rustling around in the forest, following creatures she had no business following had not all been for nothing as others claimed. “I would like that, and I think he would too. He needs that reassurance I think.” Both her ears flipped back to catch the gentle purring that filled the air with its pleasantness, but the laugh almost startled her as it came unexpectedly and she could almost feel the excitement that bubbled in the cat curled up on her back. “Has no one ever asked you about it before? About what you can do?” That seemed to surprise her but then, she thought, nothing here seems to be as much of a surprise to them as it is to Tick and I. “We have to do that sometimes,” she said, not at all afraid of abandonment but seeming to understand. It resonated, to be honest, with her and within her - she could relate, though Tick and her had gone much farther to collect themselves than they had intended to but what was done, was done and there was no going back, or so they told themselves.

Nettle listened and was lulled by the purring tone of her teacher until her ears pricked at the mention of Raven, and her face broke in recognition and unparalleled happiness. So much so, that her body seemed to shake with it though she was careful not to unseat the cat as she moved around in a small circle, trying to burn off some of the excitement that bubbled up inside her. “Raven - I know her!” she crowed happily than seemed to remember where she was and promptly quieted down, further listening as more of her questions were answered. “I think a fear can be overcome, but I think it requires great courage and great heart, and maybe time too. I don’t think it is something that happens right away…” but she smiled at Oceantree. “I believe you have great courage and great heart.” feeling the cat shift and stir uneasily. The smile left her face and it filled with compassion though she couldn’t relate - the herd had always been there, if there wasn’t a mother, there was Old Mare, and if not her, there was always a Twisted Hair to care for the young ones. Family; the herd was all about family - it was their way of life.

“You can still have trouble knowing where you belong even if you had a mother and father to raise you.” but she doesn’t say that that is the problem for Tick and her, that for them, there was no place in their herd so they struck out together to go elsewhere. Nettle found strength in Oceantree’s testimony though, and smiled at her. “I think Raven taught you well and I think you’ll teach me well, too.” she nodded her head to emphasize her belief in this, though she missed the small feline weight of her teacher as the cat-mare leapt down from her back and prowled through the grass her feet. “I like that idea… I’ve always wanted to see the desert. I hear it’s very… brown.” and she laughed.