Akali's fingers were tingling when she left Pinta. The sensation of new tools for tattooing lingered in her hands. She thought she had already learned everything she needed to know about the art, but Kayn surprised her with more.

She walked into the busy Central Forest with a smile on her face and excitement in her heart. Learning was a step closer to her dreams. Today, a training session with a professional tattoo artist. Tomorrow, a session with the highest-paying clients! She could already see herself in a private room with a bamboo stick in her hand and a pomelo thorn in the other, ink sloshing in a bottle on the table beside her.

It was still bright outside, and she had a few more hours to spare before the celebration of Mayari tonight.

The forest was busier than usual. Colorful banderitas decorated the pathways and every shop and stall that lined them. Though the afternoon light had not yet faded, several Santilmo had already woken out from their daytime slumber, brightening the surroundings with their fire-like glow. A parade of dancing creatures marched and followed the pathway, singing and beating drums into a rhythm.

As Akali walked deeper into the Central Forest, she noticed how the shops and stalls displayed their merchandise--tables flowing with several kinds of enchanted goods. Bags of magic sleeping sand were sold at one booth, and vials of love potions were tendered at another. Pendant charms to ward off evil spirits were bartered at one shop, and stone amulets for different powers were traded at another.

Akali hopped from one outlet to the next until she came to a store inside a mushroom. A window was cut into its stall under its umbrella cap. A female dwende was organizing bottles of liquid over a shelf filled with assorted objects--carved ornaments, dried leaves, blackened bowls of rice, and burnt wood.

The dwende turned as if she sensed Akali. "Hey you," she smiled, her green skin stretching over her face. "Yes. You. You. You."

Green-skinned dwendes were the most cunning and devious.

Akali hesitated, but curiosity pulled her in, and she approached the window.

The dwende grinned. "I've got a new stock product you'll be interested in." She reached under the window and pulled out a small bottle of dark purple liquid. "Yes, this is the one. You'll like it, and you'll buy it." When she pulled the lid off, the fluid inside bubbled and made kissing sounds.

Akali's brows shot up, wondering why the dwende wanted to sell her a bottle of kisses. "What is it?" she asked.

The dwende raised the bottle to her. "It's a potion that will turn you back to normal if you turn into a toad. It's all the rage. Everyone is buying it." Then she pointed several times behind Akali. "That guy bought one, and that guy, and that guy, and that guy."

Akali didn't turn around to look. She was meticulous about it. Her grandmother had taught her to be careful with such creatures who would try to trick her. Her mangkukulam side was immune to any charms anyone could put on her.

"Why would I want that?" Akali asked. "I'm not turning into a toad."

"Eh!" The dwende didn't know how to react. "But, but, but everyone is turning into a toad nowadays. Yes, just wait. You'll turn, too. Yes, you will."

Akali chuckled at the idea of an epidemic that turns everyone into toads. Though it was possible, she dismissed it. "No, thank you." She then turned around without waiting for the dwende to try to convince her more.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" The dwende called out, but Akali had already moved back into the crowded pathway, walking toward the next stall.

She had paced farther before she could no longer hear the call of the dwende and returned to her touring of the busy Central Forest. She reached a portion of the market near the edge of the woodland, where the gathering creatures thinned, and there was better space to walk around. Plenty of stores and shops still populated the area, with colorful banderitas in yellow, red, green, and blue hanging over their front doors and windows.

"Akali."

Someone called her name, and she stopped, turning around until her eyes landed on a simple stall of agimat--pendants, charms, and amulets. A mangkukulam, a tall female creature in dark garments, stood behind it.

"What?" Akali asked.

"That is your name, yes?" the mangkukulam said. Her face was a solemn mask.

Akali knew how powerful a mangkukulam could be. She checked her mind the way her grandmother had taught her to ensure no one could look into her thoughts and she would not be controlled. Still, the mangkukulam knew her name.

"What do you want?" Akali asked, careful not to offend the lady. Knowing a name was a powerful advantage, especially for a mangkukulam who can do all sorts of enchantment with it.

"It's not what I want," the mangkukulam said, a hint of a smile played on her lips. "It's what you need." She raised her hand, and a necklace with a round pendant dangled from her fingers. It was only a circular piece of wood. Nothing was carved on it, like a coin without value.

Akali stepped forward to get a closer look. "What is it?" she asked.

"Something that can conceal your human scent."

Akali jumped back and looked around, worried that some of the other creatures, especially those that would want to eat her, had heard the word human, but none gave them any attention.

"I won't repeat myself, little diwata. Do you want it or not?" The mangkukulam raised the amulet higher.

Akali turned back to her with a glare. "How did you know?" Akali asked. "Did you look into my mind?"

The mangkukulam then grinned, showing sharp-edged teeth. "That and I'm part aswang. I can smell a good meal when it's nearby." She licked the air in front of her, and her tongue whipped out like a snake's.

Akali tensed with the urge to run away.

"I won't eat you," the mangkukulam said. "I never eat a customer." The wooden coin spun on its necklace, catching Akali's attention.

"Do you want it or not?" The mangkukulam asked again.

"It will mask my scent?" Akali asked, carefully leaning forward.

"Completely."

"What do you want for it?"

The mangkukulam grinned again. "A lock of hair."

"No." The answer came out like an explosion from Akali's lips. Her grandmother had always warned her never to give her hair to any creature who could do enchantments. "I know what you can do with a lock of hair."

The mangkukulam crossed her arms. "Then what can you give me in exchange?"

Akali thought for a moment. She had nothing with her other than what her natural body could produce. "Spit," she said.

"Not good enough." The mangkukulam shook her head.

"But I'm a diwata. My spit has healing properties."

"I can get healing elsewhere. A mangkukulam has many ways."

Akali took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "Blood then."

The mangkukulam tilted her head to the side.

"You said you were an aswang, yes?" Akali continued. "And I smell like a good meal to you? You can have a taste."

"Mmmhh--" The mangkukulam thought. "Spit and blood."

"What? No," Akali answered.

"It's a fair trade to protect your life." The mangkukulam uncrossed her arms and showed the amulet--the agimat--to Akali again.

Akali swallowed, looking at the wooden pendant. "Fine."

The mangkukulam grinned. She immediately moved to pull out a vial from under the table, and she raised it to her.

Akali leaned over the vial and spat into it.

When the mangkukulam covered the vial with a cork, the spit inside glowed bright blue like moonlight.

Akali held out her finger, and the mangkukulam pricked her with a sharp nail. A red dot bloomed at the tip of her finger where the needle had poked.

The half-mangkukulam and half-aswang flicked her tongue and licked the blood off Akali's finger. She tested it in her mouth before swallowing. "Mmmhh... a little salty." Then she raised the pendant.

Akali snatched it, looping it over her head and around her neck. "Good trade," she said.

"Good trade," the mangkukulam returned, satisfied.

Akali left the stall with the agimat, feeling protected. Now, she would no longer need to worry about other creatures finding out about her human blood. Her mind would ease, and she would be able to focus more on what she needed to do to become a tattoo artist. She nodded to herself, patting the amulet she had tucked under the chest of her red sarong.

The sun had already gone down by the time she left the stall, and several santilmo floated around to brighten the forest. The surroundings glowed warm yellow.

The air hummed with the music of the wind as if it was excited for the celebration of the Mayari.

Akali followed the flow of creatures until they reached a clearing in the woodland, perfect for catching the moonlight.

She found a spot where the grass grew short and looked up as the moon slowly drifted overhead. Shaded spots were carved on the moon's full, round surface like beautiful flaws. When it was already directly above, its light flooded the forest. Everything glowed bright blue.

Akali craned her neck to reach higher, and she absorbed all the light she could get. Warmth filled her body from her face to her toes. Her skin glowed like everything around her, blending into a monochromatic landscape.

When she was all giddy and drunk with the powers of the moon's light, she opened her eyes and sensed something or someone beside her.

She looked sideways and found Kayn standing there, half naked and baring his tattooed chest to the light with his eyes closed. His skin glowed like everyone else.

"You found me," Akali said.

Kayn didn't open his eyes, but he grinned. "Like you said, right under the moonlight."