At the border of the Great Wood a presence stirred, the vibrations of that being sending shockwaves along the leylines like a fly upon a spider's web. But no fly had ever been caught that matched the power of the visitor that darkened Narcise's doorstep. The Crone paused in teaching one of her Lhiannan and stood up. "Pray excuse me. We have a guest. Please return to your studies alone." Her follower simply nodded and Narcise left, seeking provisions within her house. The great tree stood lit up from every window, and she slipped into its waiting embrace.
Someone was coming. Someone whose presence had not been felt within this forest. She dithered around her stove for a time, brewing a pot of tea. Then, gathered up finger sandwiches and a platter complete with tea service, ready to greet her uninvited guest. Every footstep left a trail behind, glimmering in the darkness. Like that same spider's web in the morning's dew. She left her home and traveled to the edge of the Great Wood. To the one who had come.
"You must be hungry," she said, greeting the stranger. Someone who shimmered with Grendel's blessing. She knew him and yet did not know him. An ancient being, not too dissimilar in his way from herself... and yet not alike, as well. How quaint. "Welcome."
Uta
