Under The Full Moon

The Welcome

When they reached the village, Gale could see others rushing from their homes. As they greeted their loved ones, she felt her heart break when she saw the reaction of those that had lost a loved one. She had to look away, feeling tears well in her eyes. To her surprise, none of them yelled at her despite knowing that they had gone to help her. Her surprise grew when the wife of a fallen villager approached her. She could see the woman was heavily pregnant, her round belly visible. The woman regarded her before wrapping her arms around her in a hug, Gale's eyes widening. Broin watched the woman, his own expression a mixture of surprise and warmth. "It's not your fault," She whispered to Gale. "My Koda always wanted to help people," Gale looked at Broin, watching him as if asking for help, though she soon hugged the woman back.

"I am sorry for your loss... your husband was a brave fighter," Gale responded, the woman giving a soft laugh. It was a sad sound, though there was some happiness behind it.

"He always was. Braver than he should have been in some cases," She heard the woman say before she backed up a little, looking at Gale with tears in her eyes. "You are a beautiful young woman. Broin told us all about what happened to you, so I do not fault you for Koda's death. None of us do. I can confidently say that for all of us," The woman's words brought tears to Gale's own eyes. She hadn't expected the warmth of the welcome, especially from those that had lost someone that was fighting to help her. "Come, why don't you and Broin join us for some tea. Your friend there can join us as well. It's not every day a wolf wanders into the town of its own will," The wolf had been watching them closely, seeming to judge if the woman was going to be a threat to Gale or not. When she had decided that she wasn't, she had sat down beside Gale. 

"I'll catch up with the two of you. I'm going to help the others get the horses put away. If they need any further help, I might be a little late," Broin said, gently taking Gale's face in his hands. "Try to relax, make yourself at home here. You're going to be here for a while," He said softly. After giving Gale a gentle kiss, he let her go and started toward the others, helping lead a couple of the horses to the barn. Gale watched him go before she felt a soft hand on her arm. The young woman smiled, drawing her hand back once she had gotten Gale's attention. 

"Come," She said softly as she started walking. Gale followed after her, the wolf hopping up to stay at her side. "He cares very much about you. It's nice to see that Broin found someone. We thought he was going to be a hunter that was devoted to nothing but their work. He hadn't shown much interest in anyone else," The woman's words reached Gale as she walked just behind her. Her cheeks tinted pink as she continued. "Maybe you can convince him to settle down. He is always out and about but it would be nice to see him settle with someone that can keep him in check," 

"I-I don't know... I don't want to make Broin do something he doesn't want to do. If he wants to continue hunting..." She let her words drop off. It had always been something Gale had thought of. It wasn't her place to tell Broin what to do, even if it came down to the two of them settling down. The woman smiled at Gale. 

"That's very kind of you. I know a lot of women wouldn't be as relaxed about something like that. Most women want to settle down as fast as possible. It took me some time to convince Koda to settle, but when we found that I was carrying..." The woman stopped, resting a hand on her belly. "I just wish he would have come home. Our little one is going to grow up not knowing his father, but he will know his father was a brave man that helped someone that needed it the most," She lifted her gaze to Gale, giving her a sad smile. "We aren't far now," She said, referring to the distance between themselves and her home. 

When they reached it, Gale was mesmerized by the way the little home looked. It was a small dwelling, the inside dimmer than the outside and lit by a fireplace and a few lanterns. Gale had figured that the village was a primitive one when compared to the one she had lived in, but actually seeing the village and its dwellings... brought her comfort. She was lead inside and seated at a small wooden table, the young woman moving to get the tea ready. "Would you like some help?" Gale asked, feeling a bit bad for sitting while the woman worked. 

"I've got it. I just have to get this right here," The woman responded, setting the kettle down and getting a couple of small stone cups and the herbs for the tea. Picking up the kettle, she took them to the table and set them down. When she opened the lid of the kettle, steam rose from within. This showed she had been getting tea around for herself, to begin with, Gale showing up only giving her someone to settle and drink it with. The woman sat down with her once she had the tea set to brew, looking across the small table to meet her gaze. There was a silence that fell between the two of them before the woman spoke again. "Does your friend have a name?" She asked, turning her gaze to the wolf that sat beside Gale. When Gale looked at her, it shocked her a little to see that the wolf was tall enough that her chin could easily rest on the tabletop if she had wanted to. 

"No... I haven't given her one. I didn't want to name her if she was going to leave our company," Gale responded. The wolf flicked an ear, her eyes were half-lidded and relaxed. The woman gave a soft hum.

"Well, it seems to me that she isn't going to leave your side anytime soon. She looks quite relaxed there," The sound of the tea kettle moving made Gale turn her head to watch her. The liquid that poured from the kettle and into their cups was a soft amber in color and carried with it the smell of herbs and flowers. She thanked her quietly before she took a sip, the flavor of the tea washing over the inside of Gale's mouth. It tasted as though she had just stuck her face in a bouquet of flowers. She couldn't resist the soft thrum of pleasure that rumbled in her throat and chest, her face paling a little afterward as she looked to the woman. Instead of being met with a look of fear or a strange expression, the woman had been smiling. "You are alright. I'm not going to chase you off because of what you are," She said, her tone gentle as she lifted her own cup of tea and took a sip with a light sigh of her own. 

Gale admired the woman, watching as she leaned back against the back of her chair and looked down to her belly. There was no doubt in Gale's mind that it was turning with what she was going to do now that her husband had passed. Gale only hoped that there was something that she could do that would help, rather than get in her way.