The days passed… Slowly but not because of boredom. Athan wasn’t a child. His difficult circumstances however, instead of making him harden, made him hold onto the curiosity and enthusiasm of a children. His reactions to the witch’s experiments, simple happiness of eating with someone and occasional sadness when he thought of his brother were basic and genuine expressions of emotion. In a way, this made Ashe appreciate his presence. He was never comfortable with the few humans that visited his home, regardless of the humans’ intentions. An ashen heart of a witch beats slowly, but with Athan always being an open book, understanding each other was never a problem. 

The young human always keenly watched Ashe work. Athan was told that Ashe makes potions for the demon he's met previously, who then takes them and in return gives the witch whatever he needs. The boy didn’t know what these potions and various trinkets did, and he didn’t really want to know. Athan did, however, want to help.

“Hey… I know that you’re taking care of me out of mostly guilt but- I do not want to just do nothing and live like a… cat.” The boy said as one of his ears twitched, perhaps in self-awareness

Ashe didn’t think of it this way, to him the small chores Athan did was more than enough. He didn’t fully relate to the boy’s feelings but he did understand them. Over the days they spent together, he also became better at communicating his thoughts. He broke the silence after a little pause as he gathered said thoughts.

“I understand. But I really don’t do a lot in the first place to need help.” He wanted to say that Athan just being with him was surprisingly helpful, but he wasn’t that comfortable with communication yet. “I will soon go to collect some ingredients I need from the forest- you can come and help me.”

Athan’s face lit up, he instantly agreed and ran towards his bed. He kept all of his belongings in a small wooden box next to it. He didn’t have much on him. Athan only had a single change of clothes when he got here and the witch only had a couple pieces he could spare. He began thinking that maybe he should learn how to sew. He looked at Ashe and tried to think of something that would look nice on him, it was difficult though. He didn’t have much experience with clothing, and it was hard to imagine the witch without his large cloak that almost looked like it was swallowing his figure. Before his train of thought wandered too far away, he focused and found a brown cloth bag. Another one of Ashe’s spare items he got as a gift. He returned closer to the witch and waited for what he’d say. After another moment of silence realized he should clarify.

“Oh I didn’t mean right now. I have plenty of-” Ashe didn’t finish his sentence when he looked into Athan’s eyes. They looked like they were shining. An expression of such enthusiasm was so alien to him that Ashe thought perhaps this was another symptom of Athan becoming a familiar. 

“I suppose we could go right now, it is fairly early. We have to return before it’s too dark however. We might even have to return tomorrow” The witch replied instead. He also partially lied, it was far later into the day than he preferred to collect his materials. He always went on the same day every year and it always only took one day, but for some reason he didn’t want to disappoint Athan. 

“Alright let’s go I’m sure we have a lot of work to do” The boy announced while attempting to hide his enthusiasm. Ashe took his large leather backpack and set off into the dark forest. He urged Athan to follow him closely, or else his visage would be swallowed up by the trees and it would be difficult for the boy to find him. Athan didn’t like how the warning was worded, but it was fair.

They walked on the foliage among the dark bronze leaves. The forest appeared normal at first, however it never changed seasons. The enchanting view of a forest in fall was always visible from the witch’s home. In fact nearby villagers knew that once they saw red and golden leaves flying with the wind it meant they were drawing near to the witch’s domain. The size of the forest was unknown, it was believed that the witch himself was responsible for this spell. 

As Ashe and Athan walked, they picked up various mushrooms and plants. The leaves decomposing and becoming one with land yielded rich and potent ingredients. It wasn’t Athan’s first time wandering among these trees but last time he definitely didn’t have the luxury to enjoy the view. Athan was often asked to find and collect various things from the trees, since it was easier for him to climb and Ashe had a difficulty looking directly up at the sunlight. He collected everything as per Ashe’s instructions and insisted on carrying all of the bags. Athan was about the same height as Ashe but there was no doubt that he had more stamina, especially now that his lifestyle drastically improved. At first the witch thought that bringing Athan would just be good for the boy’s mood but he didn’t realize how much more he’d be able to collect. They wouldn't even have to return the next day.

They wandered the forest some more, at some point Ashe began looking for something more specific and stopped foraging for everything else. Athan sometimes fell a bit behind because he was easily distracted by this forest. the small animals, the birds, the falling leaves, the gentle columns of sunlight neatly peeking from gaps in the foliage. This place had a different aura, as if the trees were alive, he felt like a kid who’s never been to the woods before. Ashe grew worried that they’d get separated. He grabbed the tail of his cloak and extended it to Athan, urging him to hold onto it. Although a bit embarrassed, the boy agreed and they continued foraging. 

“What are we looking for exactly?” Athan asked for the third time.

“It’s hard to explain… I’ll know it once I see it.” Ashe responded with the same cryptic text as before. The boy really wanted to help so he asked once again.

“I want to look for it too, it can’t be that difficult to describe right?” He said.

Ashe wanted to say that if the thing he was looking for was around, he’d see it anyway so there was no need. He knew Athan better than that by now though, so he decided to comply.

“It’s a small berry, usually grown in the roots of trees. I won’t miss it if we come across it, it’s bright blue and very rare.” And so they kept on looking for the berry. Some time passed and it was beginning to grow dark. Even though the ingredient they were looking for grew on the ground, Athan couldn’t help but keep looking up. Eventually they were about to return, but something strange happened. Athan noticed a disturbance in the scenery, strange cracks among one of the countless trees. He quickly climbed it and saw bright blue berries softly glowing along one of the upper branches. He picked them and ran to Ashe with excitement. 

“Are these what you’re looking for?” Athan said with excitement.

Ashe was stunned, he didn’t expect one of his rarest and most precious ingredients to actually be found. He usually found it once every few years. 

“But how? they only grow in the roots, at least that’s what they are supposed to do. These are clearly what I’m looking for though.” He replied

"I don’t know, but I noticed something weird with that tree. It had strange marks alongside it, and I felt like it was calling out for help. Maybe the berry decided to climb up from the tree’s roots and sprout from the bark? Or something like that”

Athan’s theory didn’t sound impossible, more than that Ashe was surprised at how good Athan's intuition was. He had fun, and felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long while. 

“Yeah, maybe.” He said, with a smile. The first smile of his that Athan had seen. The boy didn’t say anything else, he was taken aback by the sudden shift in Ashe’s usually frozen face. 

On the way home he was no longer enchanted by the views of the forest, his mind was occupied with the image of a happy, smiling witch.