Jade wondered if she would feel more at home with the wolves than she did with the witches. Or would she be trading one set of problems for another?
A small face appeared at her elbow, a child of perhaps five or six, wearing a crude paper-mache mask. Her pigtails bobbed and she looked up at Jade with big, blue eyes - wide and inquisitive.
“Um. Hi,” Jade said.
The big eyes darted from Jade to the bread-roll still on Jade’s plate and then back to Jade again. Jade looked over at the big buffet table where there will still plenty of rolls to be had.
“I think there’s some, you know, over there,” Jade said, gesturing with her finger to the table. Blue eyes looked again to Jade’s roll and back to Jade.
“It’s a wolf custom,” broke in Lucia, her eyes bright and happy. “She sees you as a higher ranking member of the pack and if you share your food with her, you’re acknowledging her. By feeding her from your own plate, or if you prefer, going to get her a roll, you’re saying that you’ll help her. You’ll care for her as a packmate.”
“Should I do it?” Jade asked, eyes slipping sideways to Paris and then to Lucia. “Is that what I’m supposed to do?”
Lucia smiled. “It’s up to you, Jade. Do you wish her to see you as a packmate that can help her?”
Okay, so more than just tossing a roll at the kid and being done with it. This would be a werewolf declaration of sorts. Jade looked around the room at the happy collection - while she still didn’t know much about the werewolves, they had invited her to their carnival, taken her out on a run, played in the forest with her. She may not be ready to accept a job offer from them nor even think about leaving the coven, but Jade thought… she thought she could be comfortable with them. There were precious few places and groups of people for which Jade felt that way. Lucia and Galen, across the table from her, watched her with open and waiting eyes. Jade sensed they would be fine with whatever she chose. The decision was hers. Paris was also a calm presence by her side. If he thought it was strange that the wolves were taking such a shine to her, he didn’t act like it. Jade looked down at the little girl, her pigtails messy from a day of playing. Her was mask crooked, colored with child-friendly paint in bright, sharp colors - red, blue, yellow and green. She was waiting so patiently for a small child - not fidgeting at all or making any whining noises.
Jade would have to be a real puppy kicker to say no to that face. Even if she didn’t particularly like kids.
She took the roll from her plate, broke off a piece for herself and then gave the remainder to the little girl. Her small hands snatched it up and she gave a happy ‘yip’ and scampered off, running on her short, chubby legs. She fell into a circle of other kids, excitedly breaking up the roll and sharing it with the group - clearly some kind of small-child champion for getting it from the witch-guest. Jade turned to Paris, smiling wide, proud of herself.
“Perhaps I should turn over all werewolf interaction to you,” Paris said, taking a bite of his own food.
“If they’re always going to feed me like this, I’ll say yes,” Jade responded, taking another bite off her plate. Heedless of whether it was gauche or not, she used the bit of roll she’d saved to sop up the juices and spices on her plate, leaving it relatively clean. A quick look around showed that most others had done the same as well.
A sharp barking sound from the child’s play group caught her attention and she looked over to see three furry kid-sized things where there had been actual children before. Two toddlers were fighting over a toy, yipping at each other, while a third fell down on her butt and started crying. They had all sprouted ears and some fluffy patches on their faces - cheeks and chins mostly. The toy, a stuffed tiger, was rent apart with a ripping sound. Jade could see each of the two tug-of-war children had sharp tiny claws that had torn the fabric, helping it rip apart. It was some kind of small-child werewolf brawl. Jade hadn’t seen any adults change form and wondered if they would shift as the children did - partially, or if they would shift fully to a wolf, as Paris indicated they could. Jade was looking around for some parental types - responsible looking adults that could maybe sort the whole thing out when Lucia pushed back from the table and roared. There was no other word for it. The sound rang in Jade’s ears, sending her ear drums thumping and making the hair on the back of her neck rise. The children dropped the pieces of the toy, the sobbing child stopped abruptly - all three of them turning to Lucia with blinking, nervous eyes. Truth be told, Jade felt a little cowed herself. Lucia’s roar had cut through Jade’s skin and run along her nerve endings settling firmly in the animal part of Jade’s brain. That part now sat straight like a soldier at attention and told Jade, ‘PREDATOR AFOOT!’
The other wolves, the adults, seemed not to think anything strange about this and kept on with their meal. The crying kid sniffled once or twice and then quieted down. The other two children looked like they made some kind of peace between them, though the toy was still in tatters. Jade looked up at Lucia to see her shaking her head, as though she hadn’t just roared like a wild animal in a crowded room.
Lucia’s brother Galen spoke up as Lucia took her seat again. “There you have it, Jade. Werewolf diplomacy at its best. Alpha always wins.” Lucia turned and looked at her brother, giving him a feral smile.
Suddenly, Lucia’s benevolent offer didn’t seem quite as harmless as it had been only moments ago. Jade swallowed. Maybe being favored by the weres wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The rest of dinner passed with no further incidences although Jade’s reaction to Lucia’s roar was on her mind for the remainder of the meal. Jade had been so relaxed, so comfortable that she’d forgotten she was in a room with beings capable of shifting into sharp-toothed carnivores. To the weres, this must be a normal occurrence - no one else was disturbed or bothered by it. Jade wondered if any of the weres at all were even remotely concerned about her and Paris’ power as Jade was about their ability to shift.
She let Paris say their goodbyes, trusting in his political training and skills to convey all the necessary words and sentiments. She froze for a moment when Lucia stepped forward, reaching around her to pull at the ribbon at the back of Jade’s head, freeing the mask and catching it as it fell. Lucia took off her own mask, settling Jade’s much smaller one inside the shell of her own.
Jade stood still once more and let Lucia scent her again, this time only a brief brush of Lucia’s cheek against Jades, while Galen clasped one of Paris’ hands in both of his and pressed them together, both of them without their masks as well.
“I hope we will see you again soon, Jade. Kipling said, ‘The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.’ You are a friend to the pack now.”
Jade managed a nod and what she hoped was a suitable smile. It looked like on her growing list of ‘Things I’ve done since becoming a witch,’ she could now add, ‘Friend to the Local Wolf Pack.’
She just wasn't exactly sure if she’d put it next to, ‘Caught attention of Demon,’ or ‘Learned hella cool magic,’ yet.
###
About the Author
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."
~ Albert Einstein
Margarita loves the art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of putting pen to paper proves challenging, elusive. She develops genuine, relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.
She enjoys pursuits which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain. This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When they do, the results are magical.
Margarita has a special
spot in her heart for dogs and lives with three of them. It can be a little overwhelming but the quality snuggle time makes up for it.
She lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family. You can keep up with her at:
http://www.margaritagakis.com
Other books by this author
You can find both my books on Amazon!
Covencraft
Trial By Fire [Book One]
Counter-Hex [Book Two]
Connect with Margarita Gakis
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covencraft 02.5 - carnival moon Page 4