When I was just a baby, I got sick very easily. Always down with a fever, could never stop crying. It scared the village, fearing that the creatures in the woods would hear my cries and come into their homes at night. It wouldn't be for a long few years that I would stop being sick all the time. My momma said it was a miracle. The village medicine lady said it was the mushrooms they fed me.
But a few short weeks after I turned seven-- and this I remember-- I got sick again. Worst of it all, this time around. They feared it was a plague. I was pale as the moon, running hot enough to warm their tea cups, and I was always throwing up.
They had tried everything to get me better. Mushrooms, roots, odd concoction soups and teas. Nothing stayed down, and nothing broke my illness. They isolated me afterwards, to protect the others, and let me die in peace. But that didn't happen.
No, the day they isolated me, all the cats in the area went missing. Nobody could find a single one, not even the ones taken in as a pet. Until they looked into the small little hut I was in, where they saw me, covered entirely with cats. Purring up a storm, licking me, refusing to leave my side. They didn't know what to think of it, and so they left me be.
I slept through most of it, after that. But after a week, maybe a bit longer, I got better. The fever broke, I could eat again, and I stopped crying. The cats brought me mushrooms to fill my stomach before I joined the rest of the village. Morels, I remember clearly. Imagine the surprise everyone had, watching the child left to die walk back into the village, suddenly healed and with all the village cats following her as though she was their goddess. My parents cried, held me like I was a baby again. The medicine lady was astounded, and the village elders gathered and whispered, keeping their words to only what they could hear.
I never did get sick again, after that. Even when everyone else was down with horrid illness, I remained healthy. And the cats never really stopped following me, either. It's not so obvious now, because they don't all follow me at once, but they all come to see me. It's an odd honor, but they saved my life, so I don't mind it.
Mushrooms also became a focus of mine after that. I wanted to know everything about them. How they grew, the kinds and their purposes, which ones were food or medicine, and which ones were deadly. The medicine lady was pleased to have someone to teach, and the foragers– numbers dwindling as they were– were happy to have another among them. I learned very quickly, too, which they enjoyed until my curiosity went beyond their knowledge.
I was not allowed out to forage alone. Still too young at the time, and too much to learn. And the woods, as I was always reminded, were hungry. They take foragers out with friends the least, it's harder to trick two or more than just one. So when I went foraging so young, I always had at least one escort. It kept everyone safe.
As I've grown older, the numbers dwindled. Foragers went missing more often every year, and many were afraid to learn the profession. I can't blame them, of course, but it has made things more difficult. Now, the few foragers left all go out with the hunting parties. It's protected those of us left for these last few years, but the woods have become more hostile. The cats are growling at whatever really lies in there more and more frequently, especially when I'm around the edge.
Though I've tried to ask the elders, they tell me nothing. As they do everyone else. The elders, supposed to be a pillar of knowledge, are silent as their people are dying.
My teeth grind as I sit on the bench outside of my home, buckling up my foraging gear. I have a bad feeling about going out today, and clearly the cats do as well, since they keep trying to pull off my shoes and stop me from moving. The pit in my stomach grows. This isn't good.
I hushedly talk to them, saying that I'm going to the medicine lady first. They seem to calm for the moment, and follow behind me as I walk. It's been a long time since I had a group like this follow me, and it draws attention. And chatter. It makes me bristle, but I just keep walking. Out towards the edge, but just safe enough. An extra large patch of mushrooms grows near her hut, so she's the least likely to deal with the woods creatures.
The woods do not like the mushroom people
I knock on the piece of wood outside her door and wait respectfully. Not like it does me much good. The old lady opens her door and yanks me through with surprising strength, shutting the door once all the cats come in.
Cats are sacred, magical beings. Respect them.
"Leana," the old woman scolds, "I've told you to never knock. Not you, never you."
"What if you're indecent, nana?"
She scoffs, "Then you would simply face the door as I clothe."
I laugh and take a seat as she gestures to it, getting climbed on by the cats. Nana hums, picking up one of the cats by the armpits to examine it. It meows at her a few times as she does, but doesn't wriggle much. The magic of the medicine woman.
"Hm. The cats do not agree with you leaving today. It's a bad omen."
"I've noticed their disagreement. Kept trying to take off my clothes and keep me in place."
She lets out a hum, crouching and looking at the cats around us. One of the largest ones walks up to her, one I nicknamed Ghost as a child. For the patch of white on his face that looks like a skull mask, while the rest of him is like the bark of a tree. Ghost places his paws on her knees and gets eye to eye with her, and there seems to be some kind of conversation that happens.
Ghost drops down after a minute or two and walks back to me, sitting beside rather than on. Nana stands back up, creaking and popping as she does. She lets out a groan, to which Ghost responds with a meow which sounds more like a laugh. She glares, I chuckle and smile.
"Seems Ghost has opinions."
"He can talk shit all he wants, I am not listening."
I laugh again and pet him gently, then look up at her. "So, what did he tell you Nana?"
She looks away, grim. "Something horrible will happen in those woods today if you go, chosen child."
I've never heard her call me that. "What do you mean "chosen child"? What will happen?"
She takes a ragged breath. "If you stay with the hunters today, Leana, you will all die."
Chills. All down my body, hairs up. The cats bristle, some of them even growling for a moment. They don't want me to die.
The protectiveness of the cats gives Nana a smile. She looks to Ghost and nods, and he nods back. I find myself wishing that I could talk to them, too.
"What do I need to do?" The voice that comes out is meek, sounding more how I did when I was young than now.
"I know you must go with the hunters today, but you must not stay with them. Break from them, and forage on the high hill, to the North. But even this... this will not guarantee your safety, Leana. The woods want you, very much. If you are not careful, you may still die."
This sets the cats screaming, and my blood cold. I either choose to die today and doom the hunters with me, or I run and risk my life alone.
I'm dying today.
While I attempt to process this, Ghost yowls over the rest of them and growls, which seems to silence the others. Nana sighs, taking a seat across from me, head bowed.
"I am sorry that this is your fate, Leana. I hope that you manage and come home safely."
She sighs, reaching deep into her robes and pulling something out. She holds it out to me in both hands. A knife, made of different kinds of bones. I remember someone trading long ago for the other white bone which makes the handle. Ivory, I believe? And it's wrapped with a leather cord to make comfortable. A feather and a stone hang off the handle, attached by the cordage.
I stare in disbelief, but know better than to refuse. I pick it up and hold it. "What is this, Nana..?"
"It's a bone knife, Leana," she tells me, "the only thing that will help you out there. The woods creatures use bones too, so it may be all that can kill them. It has been blessed, many times over. This should keep you safe."
"Will the blessings make me a target, Nana?"
She pauses, apparently not having thought of it before. "Maybe. So be swift on your feet, and sure-footed."
I nod, turning it around in my hands over and over. It's warmer than it should be, and it feels like a hum under my fingers. Must be the blessings.
"Wear it on your belt today, when you're sent off. Like a hunter would. And use it to gather, too. Make sure it is always visible, and always with you."
I nod, but she's not finished.
"When you get to the hill, you may have to wait for a long time for help. You should be safe there, however I must tell you these things, just in case you are not."
Once again, I nod. I've never been prepared for the woods like this before. Only ever been warned of when to leave, and how to feel when it's changing.
"There is a trail up the hill. It's thin, and can be hard to find, but do not stray from it. If you hear your name called, do not answer. Never answer unless you see someone you know. If it is someone you know, but they should not be there, run. Find the nearest patch of mushrooms and run to it. And if you are there in the night, make as little noise as possible. Make a fire, stay by it and up a tree, at most. Only fight if you have no choice. Do you hear me, Leana?"
I swallow thickly, then recite it back to her. She lets out a grunt of approval, standing back up and holding out a hand for me. I take it, dizzy with all the information to process. But I know I have to leave soon, and a forager leaving the medicine woman in a daze would raise too many red flags. So I attempt to steel myself, schooling my face back to normal. My hands won't stop shaking, though.
The cats gather near the door now, except Ghost. He jumps up, clear onto my shoulder, and gets comfortable. Purring up a storm in my ear. I give him a smile and a gentle headbutt, and Nana pats my free shoulder.
"You have all that I can give to you now, Leana. May the woods bless you today and allow you to come home."
"Thank you, Nana. May the village remain protected while we are away."
She smiles and shoos me out, the cats running out like a herd of deer. They'll protect as much as they can, that I know.
One of the hunters waits nearby, giving a soft smile and a wave to me as I exit. He seems confused by Ghost being on my shoulder, but doesn't ask questions. Everyone knows of my blessing from the cats by now. I walk to him, and he eacorts me to the send-off. I think his name is Bear– he is. The necklace he wears has the claws from one displayed proudly. Granted the new name by the Elders after taking down the ancient one in the woods, who they all swear to have been embued with magic.
Instead of talking, Bear offers an hand to Ghost to sniff. It's new, most don't interact with the cats much aside from feeding them. But Ghost sniffs his hand, then gives a gentle headbutt. Apparently this hunter is a good one. It's good that he's staying behind. The village would be in despair, losing this hunter.
The send-off is quiet, to not attract attention. The woods takes the foragers more often when it's loud, and they don't want their best gone. I can't manage to focus on it much, only vaguely recognizing that they're asking the good spirits to protect us today, and to come home safe.
At least some of them will. But I don't think that I will come home today. Even as the biggest cat we have, Cougar, comes to join and walk at my side. It sends a shock through the crowd that lands muted with me. I've never feared death, having faced it before. But today, I will see another kind of death. And I don't know if I will come back from this one.