Pure Moonlight (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"Are you going to come with us to meet them?" He asked with a tilt of his head. Kreston quietly took Selena's hand and kissed her cheek when he saw the flowers. Ruben looked at them quietly, knowing what they symbolized, but he'd never talked about the little sister he'd never gotten to keep.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I think this time it should just be you and your Da, Ruben." Selena said softly. "I'll meet them in time, but for now, it's time for you to learn everything there is about being a wolf."

She left it at that as she started to dish up the plates for the men in her life. She served Ruben first and then Kreston before she finally sat down with her own plate.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Are you sure, love?" Kreston asked softly. If he were honest, he'd been hoping she'd come.

"You should come. Da always says how excited they are to meet you."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena gave Ruben a smile as he told her to come with them. She still wasn't sure even though they wanted to meet her. This was a moment that Ruben needed to have on his own.

"Your Da and I will talk about it, Ruben." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You really should come, Ma... You're as much a part of all of this as we are." But he didn't say anything more after that, knowing his mother was stubborn about such things.

It was three days, once Ruben was sure of himself, before Kreston intended to take Ruben to see his family for the first time. As Ruben went to get his cloak, Kreston came to Selena, pausing behind her to wrap his arms around her and press a kiss to her cheek. "You're sure you don't want to come...?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm positive." Selena said softly, turning to look at Kreston with a small smile. "You need to spend time with Ruben, Kres. I've had him to myself for ten years. Your time is now."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It doesn't have to be one or the other, love. We're a team now." He kissed her lips sweetly but he didn't push, knowing she'd come into it on her own eventually. "If you need anything at all... there's always a Golin within earshot, hunting in the forest." He was going to worry terribly, that much was clear.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Just go and have fun, Kreston. Ruben has been looking forward to this for days." She said softly, giving him another smile before she kissed him one last time.

 

[KieranSoares]

"If you don't come next time, my entire tribe is going to follow me home, I hope you know," he chuckled before embracing her tightly. "I love you... I'll see you in a few days."

As Ruben and Kreston set out, both paused to wave back at Selena before disappearing into the forest. Neither wanted to leave her, but they knew it wasn't time yet for her to go.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena waved back at them. She knew she should have gone, but it was important that the both of them bond and have a good time. She hoped that it would make Ruben's transition just that much easier.

 

[KieranSoares]

The days that followed were painfully quiet, the only sounds that greeted her were whatever sound she herself made, and perhaps the passing bird or small animal. On the third day, however, she received an odd visitor. A man, dressed in furs and hides with all manner of equipment that marked him a hunter, came knocking on the door.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena answered the door and stared at the man for a long moment before she greeted him. "What may I do for your, sir?" She asked, her hand reaching for the knife that she kept at her waist.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Pardon me, ma'am," the man tilted his beaten up wide-brim hat, underneath which very clear and dangerous eyes shone. "I was passin' through on m'way from Edinburgh t'the coast, an' I noticed an awful lot o' werewolf tracks round yer 'ome. Looks t'me like an adult male an' a half-grown cub. Cubs bein' round is bad news fer yer safety, ma'am, always means there'll be more 'round t'protect it. I was jus' wonderin' if ye'd like me t'take care o' yer wolf problem, no charge if I can keep the skins. Ain' right fer a lady t'be terrorized by them beasts."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not being terrorized by any beast, sir." She said softly. "The wolves that live in these parts are kind souls that wouldn't hurt anyone. I think I will have to decline your offer."

 

[KieranSoares]

The man raised an eyebrow and clearly he thought she was absolutely daft. "... If y'say so. But if ya change yer mind, I'll be out east o' here a while." He made his way away, but it was crystal clear that he was suspicious of her, and he likely would seek wolves in the area after seeing the tracks.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sir?" Selena called as he started to walk away. "If you attack any wolf out in those woods, I will make sure that your life is a living hell until you take your dying breath."

 

[KieranSoares]

The hunter paused and turned to fix her with an icy glare. "... Y'must be th'wolf lover they were talkin' about in town." He said no more, and went on his way. How such rumors had gotten out was a mystery unless someone had seen Selena with Kreston.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena watched the man go, thinking about what he had said. She trusted Kreston to bring her son home safe and she hoped that the man wouldn't stick around too long.

 

[KieranSoares]

The next evening, Kreston and Ruben returned quietly, and Kreston let out a quiet sigh of relief while Ruben went to find his mother. "Ma? We're home!" He called. He was dressed in the same sort of clothing as Kreston and other tribal wolves, likely having gotten them from Kreston's family.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Look at you!" Selena said with a happy smile as she knelt to hug Ruben tightly. "You're so handsome, my love."

As she hugged Ruben, she looked towards Kreston with serious eyes, motioning off towards the woods with a slight tilt of her head.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kreston nodded and, spear in hand, he went outside to make sure there were no hunters nearby. Ruben knew what was going on but he ignored it for the moment, showing Selena a leather satchel he'd acquired. "Look what grandma made for me! And grandpa gave me a stone knife too, but Da wasn't too happy about it." He showed her the sheathed, leather-wrapped blade hanging from his simple leather belt. "And they asked me to give you this." He pulled a beautiful shell out of the satchel where it'd been wrapped in a soft fur to keep it from breaking. "They said it's a water charm that Lunasians pray with whenever there's not enough rain." It was a beautiful curled shell that was certainly from the coast, painted with lovely blue waves and raindrops and curling symbols of wind. On it's domed top was a design Selena knew well, a prominent tattoo in Kreston's fur on his right shoulder. Male wolves always carried their family's emblem on their right shoulder.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, it's lovely, Ruben." She said as she took the shell and looked over the delicate piece. "And I'm happy that you had a good time with your father's family. It was too quiet around here without you around."

She kissed her son's cheek and hugged him tightly again, letting him know that she was happy to see him.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You have to come back with us soon, they said they'd come here to see you if you stay away much longer," Ruben smiled before going to his room to safely store away his new belongings. Just as he returned, so did Kreston. Ruben busied himself with stoking the fire for his mother while Kreston came to kiss Selena gently, conveying wordlessly how he'd missed her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena kissed Kreston's cheek back gently, looking into his eyes for word of the hunter that she'd met while he was gone. She had hoped that the man would just move on his way and not darken her doorway again. She was busy raising a family and didn't need a man like him trying to ruin all of that.

 

[KieranSoares]

"... There's been a few hunters in the area within the past day... according to their tracks, it looks like two of them are actually hunting here, the others were just passing," he told her quietly. "They look like they're working together... I'll try to get them away, but Ruben shouldn't go into the forest until we're sure they're gone. It might be safer for us to go back to the tribe, Selena... all of us."