[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200614/033d9fd105fe9063c8b8c86d94916292.png[/img][/center] [center][Color=F9499A]. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .[/color][/center] Hana’s conversation with Cass was unexpectedly drawn short as they arrived onto the lit porch, the front door opening to reveal Sister Lark who was one of the younger Elders. Her warm smile was extremely welcoming and helped to dampen the nerves that were threatening to claw at her gut again. She knew she shouldn’t be nervous, this was supposed to be an exciting and happy moment after all but she still didn’t want to mess anything up and fail. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths before letting herself slowly relax, pushing the doubts away. This was the start of a new horizon and she was determined to greet it without fear or dread of what may or may not be. Her attention was pulled away from her own thoughts by the Elder before them, her chocolate colored eyes turning to the newly introduced member that had joined them on the porch and would be joining them on their journey. It was shocking, not one but two new members to go to the wellspring as well as join the coven. Hana wanted to find out more, see why they had decided to make the change and ask more about the other covens they had come from but that would have to wait another time. They were about to begin. She quickly took a robe for herself, not even worrying about the buttons as she pulled the soft ebony fabric over her head, letting it drop into place over her outfit. It was honestly a bit big on her, making her feel more like she was swimming in it than wearing it but the robe would have to do as is since she really didn’t have another option. It was at this moment however that Sister Lark decided to grace them with the knowledge that no personal items or familiars were allowed at the wellspring. An annoyed look with a pout swiftly made its way into her features, her thoughts turning along the lines of ‘[i]Why didn’t you say that five seconds earlier?’[/i] as she pulled her arms back into the robe. She crouched down until her hands reached the bottom of the dark material and lifted up to pool around her neck like a scarf, her shoulders keeping it there as Hana unclicked the strap to her purse. Carefully, she slid it off before removing her necklace and a multitude of rings while thanking her lucky stars that she hadn’t put earrings in today. Once those had been tucked away into her bag so nothing would be scattered or lost, she shifted the robe back into place and slipped her arms into each sleeve before setting her stuff down by the front door. It felt like no time at all had passed and yet, two more Elders had joined them and prepared to lead the group to the wellspring. Lark took one of the unlit lanterns from the hook on the house, a flame crackling to life with just a few muttered words from the Elder witch. The glow was lost in the light of the porch lamps but most likely would be a helpful guide once they left the area. This would happen two more times, the lit lanterns given to Lucien and Claudia respectfully before the group was told to go, all of them bunched together and left to follow. Hana decided to stay closer to the back of the pack, wanting to be respectful of the others and not really wanting to be crowded in the middle with so many other witchlings. They were outside which would help her not feel as claustrophobic if that were to happen but she would rather not take the chance. It seemed as though they were headed to the forest which wasn’t all that shocking since where else could the wellspring have been but the dazzling reveal of the path they would be taking made her feel giddy. How many times had she passed that area? She had never even felt a tingle of the illusionary and protective magic. It was incredible the type of protection and care that everyone had taken for their wellspring. She knew it had to be extraordinary before this moment but now, seeing it with her own eyes...it was truly amazing. The mass of witchlings slowly filed in, the narrow path not allowing them to stay as they were but she herself felt fear grasp her tight, her own fingers digging into her palms hard without her notice and probably turning them white as she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating. A sudden realization had hit her full force when she got closer to the path which had her excitement fading instantly, there was only one way in and she had no clue if there was any other way out. It caused panic and stark fear to seep into her veins. Hana didn’t feel safe, she felt trapped even if she hadn’t entered yet and knew that she was definitely shaking like a leaf. A startled yelp rang out as the last Elder placed a hand on her shoulder and it took a moment for her brain to catch up that she had been the one to make the noise. The hand urged her forward, her breathing becoming rapid and raspy as if she couldn’t get enough air. Hana forced herself not to cry and fall apart as she took weak steps forward, entering the path and knowing there was no going back. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging tight as she kept her eyes on her steps and trying to keep telling herself just one more step with each one. Each moment felt like an endless eternity of torture, dark memories trying to sneak their way into her thoughts, and each movement felt like cement blocks were tied to her ankles. She desperately wanted to arrive, anything to distract her from the crushing terror she was facing. Tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes and she blinked rapidly trying to force it away, not sure if she would be able to take much more. Any chatter was lost on her, their voices seeming so far away as she trekked forward. Suddenly, after what seemed like an eternity, there was a shift...not just in the color of the ground beneath her that she had been keeping her eyes on like a hawk but there was a tingle of magic drifting in the air. Hana let her gaze pull up to view what was around her for the first time, dark eyes taking in the strange sights. The plants around her were large, others just strange, and some were almost an unbelievable beauty that would have taken her breath away if she wasn’t already struggling with that problem. She wished she could stop and touch some of the foliage or take some samples back with her but it would be impossible and probably rude to ever suggest. The relaxing sound of rushing water and the blanket of magic dancing in the air were helping to calm her ruffled nerves if only by a bit, the threat of tears all but a memory but sadly the other troubles remained for the time being. It wasn’t much longer that she came into the grove of knotted trees, a blue glow painting the area due to the sparkling lake that held an ethereal beauty like nothing she had ever witnessed. It looked straight out of a fairytale, reeds lining the edges here and there, water lilies of unspeakably vibrant colors drifting along the surface, and the air was a pleasant mixture of sweetly fruity floral. The combo of sight and smell were so overwhelming but peaceful that she finally felt like she could breath. The shakes drifted off though there was a small bit of fear still clawing at her, it was more of a nagging reminder than full blown panic. The last red tasseled pillow waited for her on the shoreline and she made sure to have a sit quickly, not wanting to be the reason for delay. Hana knelt on it, tucking her feet under her and waited for instruction. It was obvious that blood was going to be involved if the dagger meant anything and she wasn’t really looking forward to that fact. At least healing was in her wheelhouse of skills which meant she would have no problem with taking care of herself and possibly others if the need arose. She would just have to be careful to not overdue herself with trying to help too many people. The process seemed easy enough though she had no doubt there was much more to it. She carefully took hold of her dagger, the wrist of her free hand out above the wellspring and did a quick clean slash before she could think too much about it. The blooming of pain was instant, the burn of the cut and the scream of her nerves telling her very clearly that she was injured. Her hand began to shake, the pain of her wrist traveling to her fingers and every small movement of her wrist at all was agony. The dagger dropped from her hand, blood trickling from her wrist into the wellspring while she grabbed her cup, filling it with water swiftly before letting her blood flow right behind it. The thought of putting this concoction into her mouth let alone swallowing it was gut churning but she wasn’t about to give up, not now. Hana closed her eyes, downing the vile bitter potion that left a horridly foul taste to linger in her mouth. She set the glass down, teetering on the edge of whether she might puke or not when miraculously, she felt fantastic. A rush of magic flowed into her veins, her skin tingled pleasantly, and she felt light as a feather. It was like skating over ice, that smooth relaxed feeling of gliding before the exhilarating feeling of picking up speed for a jump that makes your heart just pound in excitement in hopes of landing. Only, she hadn’t landed, she had fallen, crashing through the ice and now she was drowning. The power was a crushing force through her body, the pleasant tingle now a stabbing pain that attacked from all angles, and her breath choked in her lungs as she bit back a scream. Her body shook hard, everything around her a blurry mess as black danced in her vision, her mind feeling like it was breaking, and her body might split apart at the seams. However, just as harsh, violent, and swift the pain was to take over her was also equal in how quickly it ended. She was left in the quake of it physically drained, feeling weak, slow, and shaky once again but in another way as her mind tried to catch up with what had happened to her body. Her muscles slowly relaxed from the tense position they had been in, the sting of her wrist reminding her that this wasn’t finished yet. Hana moved to cover her wrist, letting the healing magic flow over her skin and stitch her wrist back together. Blood still coated her arm and probably other places on the robe but the cut was perfectly healed with not even a scar or red mark to prove it was there. That had to be one of the strangest moments of her life. It was almost enough to make her wonder if being a witch was worth it but that thought was stopped dead. A witch, she was a witch now. She had done it! She had made it through the trial. She felt like she could conquer anything. Her personal moment was cut short though by the wretched sounds of someone emptying the contents of their stomach. Hana glanced in the direction of the noise, her eyes landing on Calypso and her heart going out to the poor girl. That had to be an awful feeling and no doubt would be a bit embarrassing. She weakly stood, swaying a bit as she did so as if drunk and moving with the intent to help her or at least see if she was alright when Summer’s voice dragged her attention away for a split second. She was about to ask Summer if that was really necessary and to back off Calypso when the ginger took a dive for the dirt. Just unceremoniously plopping over unconscious which had her scrabbling and tripping to the girl’s side to see what was wrong. She shouldn’t have passed out unless she lost too much blood, right? Hana moved Summer carefully, looking over her arms to see the cut still flowing with blood and completely unsealed. Her brows furrowed, confusion clear on her features as she looked at the injury. This didn’t look like any healing had been attempted on it but maybe Summer was just extremely bad at it, who was she to judge. She placed her hand over Summer’s wrist, focusing her magic and energy into that spot, continuing to do so until everything stitched together good as new. Hana ran her hand over the skin gently, making sure to double check if anything was amiss and when it proved to be alright, she stood though now swaying a bit more than she had as more exhaustion set in. She glanced around, watching other people be healed by other members which caused a soft smile to grace her lips. She noticed Arken, still sitting on the ground while wincing at the pain trying to stem the bleeding of his wrist with his other hand. She made her way over to him, weakly kneeling down in front of him and placing her hand under his wrist. [Color=F9499A]”Here, let me.”[/color], Hana spoke softly while moving his right hand away so she could take a look at the cut and replace his hand with hers. She felt the magic flow from her fingertips once more, her focus on healing his wrist which she was able to do even if it had taken longer than it had with herself or Summer. She felt tired, like she hadn’t slept in days or that fuzzy feeling that happens with a high fever. She pushed the feeling away, rubbing her hand over his wrist as she had done with Summer making sure no damage remained. [Color=F9499A]”There, good as new.”[/color], she smiled gently before dragging herself up. She stumbled a bit, having trouble standing herself and getting really worried she might pass out soon. She should have eaten more at the party and now she really was paying for it but hey, if she was too exhausted then maybe she wouldn’t have a panic attack or hyperventilate on the way out of here.[Color=F9499A]”Does anyone else need some help healing? Calypso, are you alright?”[/color] [center][Color=F9499A]. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .. * 　　　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 .[/color][/center] [Color=Silver][b]Speaks With[/b]:[color=BFA658](Arken)[/color][@Infinite Cosmos], [color=e9dd25](Calypso)[/color] [@canaryrose] [b]Mentioned[/b]:[color=silver](Cassandra)[/color][@blackdragon], [color=f6989d](Summer)[/color] [@Danvers], Those Not Mentioned By Name [/color]