Chasing Luna

Frieda and the Children

:Charlie:

I was running through the woods in the predawn light, chasing the memory of a scent I could only describe as celestial. Only the Goddess herself could have left behind such a memory…

As I flew by trees, bushes, and undergrowth I could only just feel my paws striking the damp earth and the air flowing through my fur. It was pure bliss, this freedom to run forever. I leaped across a river, down a small cliff, through clearings, past rabbit mounds, and deer thickets. I was a hunter without prey, simply out to enjoy my world.

Suddenly the scent grew stronger, I swung around to my left, speeding up in anticipation of finding the source of that enticing smell of heaven on earth. Chasing it around the trees, through the berry patch, around the spider’s web, up the hillock, and into a meadow of rue and wild strawberries. I skidded to a halt, sniffing the air, trying to find it again. It was just here, the scent was incredibly strong in the center of the meadow. I closed my eyes, and let my nose do the thinking. I stood on my hind legs, snuffling up a column of air. When I opened my eyes, she was there, floating above me and smiling coyly.

“You haven’t caught me yet love, but the time is nearing,” she dove down to me, kissed my nose, then she was gone. I sat back, huffed in mild frustration, then howled at her departure….

I started at the sound of howling, sitting up so fast my head swam. I closed my eyes and tried to shake away the sound and to make the room stop spinning. I ran my hands over my face and hair, then swung my legs to the floor. I stood slowly and looked around at my clock, 530. I growled in frustration, but I knew that going back to sleep now would only end in desperate dreams so I stood, dressed, and went to my office. I pulled up the treaty document and started going through it. After an hour I had a generalized treaty with a little less legal jargon and bullshit to go through. I created a brief cover letter explaining that this was a general treaty open for negotiation and that I would be pleased to schedule a time to meet after the next equinox. That gave me about 6 weeks to organize and prepare my pack for a prolonged absence as well as fulfill my promises to the troubled wolves I had collected. I set up to print a few dozen copies of each then opened my email, looking for the secretaries notes on the impromptu press conference.

I finished with that mess of information just as I heard Frieda on the stairs shushing the giggling children she said she’d be collecting for breakfast. My stomach growled in recognition and I smiled to myself, anticipating a rather scrumptious first meal. I had the formatting complete just as my alarm was ringing and added the new document to the printing queue. I left my office then, inhaling deeply as I closed the door behind me. I slipped silently down the stairs, following my nose more than my feet. I waited patiently for Frieda to finish serving and seating the children before making my entrance to the dining hall. The warm scents of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and fried potatoes hit my nose and I couldn’t help but close my eyes and inhale deeply. The hushed sounds of childish giggles and gasps met my ears and I opened my eyes to smile at them. Some of the giggles peaked in volume, which I chose to ignore, and I made my way to the buffet table that Frieda had prepared. When I had filled my plate I sauntered down the line of tables, and then sat myself in the middle of all the children and between the twins I met the day before. “Good Morning Beth and Bess,” I greeted them. They couldn’t have been more than 5 years old and they stared at me with open mouths, apparently flabbergasted that I knew their names. I smiled and started eating, letting them get their bearings. It took a few minutes for all of them to return to their food, but hunger was a powerful being in children that no amount of curiosity or awe could ever sate.

As little Bess finished her plate, she looked at her sister's, eyeballing a bit of toast Beth had yet to consume. I smiled, children who knew hunger had only a few ways of dealing with plenty. Gobble it all up as quickly as possible, or try to savor every bite, making it last a good while. It seemed to me that little Bess was the former and Beth the latter.

So before little Bess tried to make a sneak attack on Beth’s plate, I got close to her ear and whispered, “You know, here in my house, I allow for seconds,” and I looked her in the eye then pointedly at her empty plate, “I’ll bet there’s a bit more toast and eggs over there if you want it.”

I winked at her and watched her little cheeks redden as she giggled. She was hesitant at first, but after a moment her hunger won out.

“Only get what you can finish, or Frieda will be quite cross,” I spoke louder this time, lacing my voice with an Alpha’s tone of command, just enough to let all the children know not to overdo it.

Frieda would be very cross indeed, but more with me for letting them overeat than them for wasting scraps. As I expected, once Bess had put a bit more on her plate and was headed back to the table, so too did a handful of other children, encouraged by her bravery. They got up in twos and threes got a bit more for their plates and sat back down. I smiled in pride at their reserve, thrilled that they had listened to Frieda and again to me.

There was nothing but soft conversation between siblings and new friends in the dining hall when I finished my second plate. Many of them were staring at their empty places wondering what they should be doing next. None of them noticed Frieda in the doorway to the kitchens, eyeing me somewhat crossly, but also observing the children with a deep sense of love and care that only she seemed to have an endless supply of. The next moment I caught her eye she jerked her head towards the kitchens. She was ready for them. I smiled with a bit of sadness, I had enjoyed the hour surrounded by children, they felt like they could all be mine and I wanted to relish that feeling of Family a while longer. Frieda would come to take them from me though if I didn’t bring them to her. Though perhaps I could play it out a few moments longer…

I gathered my plate, silver, and empty cup, stacking them neatly and deliberately in both hands. I moved slow enough to let the children closest to me see what I was doing, and they quickly followed suit. Keeping my eyes fixed on my path and my hands steady I led my little procession down the dining hall and into the kitchen. Frieda rolled her eyes at me but I could see the smile playing at the edges of her lips. She would allow me to play child with them, if only because it served her purposes of acclimating the children to her daily routines. I carefully stacked and sorted my dishes at the dishwashing station of our industrial kitchen. Then I walked through the area so as to keep my little cubs in a moving line of ‘follow the leader’. We circled the kitchens and ended in a group by the door back to the dining room. They gathered around me in quiet whispers, wondering what they were going to have to do next. Some of them seemed scared, some eager to do whatever was asked of them. Frieda came around the corner with the last of them and immediately began dividing up the breakfast chores. The two tallest were to do the dishes, which she would show them how to use momentarily. The twins and the next smallest three were given to me, and we were to clean the tables and chairs in the hall. The others were regrouped into other kitchen duties, cleaning the prep tables, sweeping and mopping the kitchen and dining room floors, scrubbing pots and pans that couldn’t or shouldn’t go through the machine. I left them in Frieda’s capable hands and took my little ones back to the dining room.

I led my crew to a closet behind the buffet table. It contained clean towels for wiping, cleaning, and polishing the wooden tables and chairs. I decided to put us up in line. I gave Bess a towel, Beth the lemon and vinegar spray, Alan and Eric received towels as well, and Zoe got the citrus oil. I took a towel as well and began issuing instructions.

“Line up behind me, Bess, Beth, Alan, Eric, Zoe,” I turned to make sure they were in the right order and continued, “Good. Now, I will pull out the chairs and we will all walk between them. Bess, you will wipe up any spills and brush all the crumbs from the table to the floor. Beth, you will spray each chair once and the table once for each chair, okay?” she nodded her understanding with eagerness, I smiled, “Alan, you will wipe down the table, all the way to the center. Eric, you will wipe down every chair, the seat, and the back. Zoe, you will spray each chair and the table just like Beth does okay?” She nodded as well, earning another smile. “Okay, any questions?”

Zoe raised her hand, I nodded to her and she half-whispered to us, “Who will wipe up my spray?”

I grinned with pride, she noticed what few would have, she’d make a leader yet. I brandished my towel, tickling her face, “I will! Once all the chairs are pulled out, I will come back around behind you to polish the table and chairs.”

Alan piped up next, “Why am I only cleaning to the center?”

“Because we will go all the way down one side of the table, then come back up the other side. We will only have to do the table we used to eat at this morning.”

They all nodded in understanding. With another smile to encourage them, I started our little assembly line. I checked back on them every few chairs, they were falling behind me a little, but they knew my plan to follow up behind Zoe and so didn’t seem too concerned, they wanted to do a good job.

As I worked my way up the other side of the table I checked their quality of work. They were doing quite well indeed, and Alan didn’t have to stretch too much to reach the center, being the tallest of my little group. As I pulled out the last chair they were almost to the end of the first side. I pulled the towel hanging from my pocket and set to polishing the wood. The chairs were a trick, I couldn’t do just the back and seat or Frieda would come after me, but I feared if I went too slowly my little proteges would think they were moving too quickly.

I worked quickly, wrapping my towel around every leg and crossbar to spread the oil, then left it to soak in instead of polishing it like I normally would. Surely Frieda would forgive me. I was making good progress, catching up to the little ones. I found a rhythm that had me completing two places for every one of theirs. By the time Zoe had finished spraying her last place, I was only five seats away. I paused for a moment, proud of our teamwork and timing. The children in charge of floors had just come out of the kitchen to start in here. I pointed back to the supply closet and told them to put their sprays away and their towels in the bag next to the door. Then I finished up my last chairs and bit of table and joined them.

“Great Job, all of you!” I gave each of them a high five, “Now we must ask Miss Frieda if there is more for us to do.”

They followed me curiously and we found Frieda barking instructions, corrections, and praises as she circled the kitchen, supervising the groups. I gathered my five around me, and we waited patiently by the door for her to notice us.

“You lot have finished then?” They all nodded eagerly, “Oiled the wood too, yes?” Frieda eyed me, surely convinced I had forgotten her standards.

Zoe came to my rescue, “Yes ma’am, we cleaned and oiled the whole table and every chair!”

Frieda looked down at Zoe with a mixture of surprise and pride, “Very well then, you lot are free until lunch then. Charlie will show you where you can go in the meantime. The others will be along shortly and I’ll call the whole house for lunch at 1130.”

Effectively dismissing us I took my crew out of the kitchen and back through the dining hall. I gave them a general tour, showing them their care and learning rooms before taking them outside. The weather was nice this morning, and my backyard playground had not seen enough use since it was built. I stayed with them until the other groups of children had found their way out to us. I gave Zoe a kiss on the head and promised to play again soon, then I waved my goodbyes and headed back to my office. On my way back through the first floor, I told Claire about the mass group outside.

“Bring the rest of the pups outside, the youngest first, and put a few minutes between each group, give the new ones time to adjust. Let them all get acquainted before lunch please, the dining room will be more crowded then and I want them comfortable with their new peers.”

Claire, director of the Care Center, nodded in agreement and went to the toddler's room to carry out my requests. Satisfied for the time being, I ambled up the three flights of stairs again to my office, ready to tackle the organization of people and paper. I checked my watch, 1032, I hoped the adults in the ballroom were still sleeping, and that the ones in the field were patient enough to still be there.