Stuff and Things and Puppets on Strings

"Fine, fine! Sit, sit!" Iolaire motioned Kina to pull up a fur and handed the girl a sapling wreath. Only then did she look towards Nelu. "Not everything is black and white, darling." Yes, she knew that Nelu was very analytical, with crisp, clear expectations of things. This wasn't that type of lesson, however.

"Imagine," the old woman began, "being able to ward off bad dreams by making a net to catch them. If you catch the dream, it can't come back again, right?" Wiggly fingers motioned to the wreath before each child. "Like a spider we'll weave a net to catch the bad dreams. In the center there's an opening so that good dreams can get through." As she explained, Iolaire pulled out an already complete dreamcatcher and motioned to the intricate weave with the center opening. "The decorations that you add are pretty things that entice the bad dreams into the net."

"It's important to make a dreamcatcher yourself. It needs to be special to you." The black, white and ash woman shook her head. "It doesn't matter how it looks, only that it came from your paws. You put the time and effort in, so the dreamcatcher will work hard for you in turn." It was all fantastical, but Io imagined the kids might have fun with it.

"Iolaire"