15 Begrudging Preperations
Alistair reluctantly let me go with my sister and as we passed the foyer, I couldn't help but to look over my shoulder at the two men following us.
"You get used to it after a while," Triaa quipped as she opened the doors to the outside which caused River to bark in excitement.
I paused for a moment at River's appearance.
"Are you okay with what he told us earlier," I questioned and watched River give, what I assumed, was a shrug.
"Can't say I blame him. The poor man did watch as his sister was violently decapitated," pausing for a brief moment, she continued.
"From what Rune has mentioned, Alistair's parents died in a bloody battle leaving him with his two siblings; his twin brother Gavrill and his younger sister, Damaris."
I stood in silence as I pondered over the information River had just piled on me.
"Noir," River spoke, her voice unusually gentle. "Damaris was only 10 seasons old when this happened."
My heart sank even further at the thought of not only Alister's sister being murdered but at just how young she was. Still a pup. She never even got to shift.
"Where is Garvill now," I questioned, new to the fact Alister had a brother, a twin at that.
Birthing multiple pups in a single birth was rare so finding out Alister was a product of that piqued my curiosity further.
River once again shrugged as she scratched her ear. "I'm unsure. That is something you have to ask Alistair yourself. All I know is he is somewhere within this pack."
That was the last thing I heard before the snapping of fingers brought me back.
"Did you hear anything I just said," Triaa piped, a hand on her hip.
"I Uh...," I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Sorry, systir. Can you repeat that?"
Sighing, Triaa looked at me and lolled her head to the side.
"I said now that you're awake and moving around, the pack is throwing a feast in acknowledgment of us joining the pack and their soon-to-be Luna or you know, some might refer to you as Freya," Triaa said, wiggling her brows before continuing.
"Also, your mate put off the pack run after you collapsed during the initiation ceremony until you recovered, both run and feast are happening tonight!"
"Why are you so excited," I questioned, rolling my eyes.
"Oh I don't know," Triaa responded sarcastically. "Food? Dance? Mead? Run? Freedom? The basic shit we live for?"
Humming in agreement, I followed her to a small building before she whipped around and pointed to the men following us.
"Oh no, no. You two disappear. We have to get ready. Go make yourself useful or better yet," Triaa paused, sniffing the air, "go bathe."
She ignored the growls as we entered the small hut. "Really, you learn to ignore it."
"I don't think it's that simple in my case, systir," I retorted, looking around before a small elderly woman approached, bowing her head.
We tried on many different garments before Triaa decided what I was wearing was "the one".
Looking at myself, I wore elk skin boots that had fur wrapped from the ankle to the knees. My "gauntlets" were similar, starting from my wrists and ending at my elbows. My breast band was that of soft, thin brown elk skin, pushing my breasts up as it was tired off and my top clung tight to it exposing most of my mid-section with soft fur draping over my shoulders in thin straps. My lower half was also wrapped in elk skin, just long enough in the back and the front to not show off anything inappropriate but exposed my legs to their full potential.
My hair, I suppose, was simple.
Split into two layers, the bottom layer hung loosely as the top layer was braided from the top of my scalp and down. On each side, one small braid was placed before blending into the already loose strands.
Triaa then took a thin sharpened piece of kol and lined my eyes.
When she was done, my sister took a step back and clapped. "This is perfect!" Her tone however was lined with mischief.
Vör, what did I do now?
I sent up a silent prayer as we excuse ourselves from small hut and made our way to the village center, arms interlocked.
Vör - Goddess of Wisdom
