The Night Before the Ceremony

7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNNc0EJvRH

“ That’s the name you want to go by?”

I paused with a spoonful of stew halfway to my mouth.

It was the evening before the festival, and as the village worked on wrapping up the last of the preparations, Rain, Flower, Echo and Bone had come up to the hut to join me, Raven, and Shade to celebrate my upcoming naming ceremony. I had officially informed Light about my decision the day prior, and naturally, everyone was curious.

Bone’s question, however, put me off.

“You make it sound like I’ve chosen something terrible,” I told him.

Bone leaned back, resting his bowl against one knee. “I didn’t say that.”

Beside me, Raven hid a smile as she tore a piece of cooked rabbit into smaller portions for Shade. He reached for one before she’d finished, earning a gentle nudge away with her hand.

“Can't you pick on him after he's eaten?” she asked.

“He’s been eating.”

“And I’d like to keep doing that,” I added as I shoveled the portion of stew into my mouth.

Bone let out a grunt, though he seemed pleased as he watched me continue.

For once, finishing a meal didn’t feel like a hard-earned accomplishment. I was hungry. The stew tasted good, and I could breathe deeply enough to appreciate the smell of it without immediately regretting it. There was still an occasional catch in my chest, usually when I first woke up, but even that had begun to fade within the past few days.

Having everyone gathered in the hut helped, too.

Shade sat between Raven and me, his bowl nestled in his lap. Echo had settled next to Raven, while Flower sat across from Rain near the firepit. Meanwhile, Bone had claimed enough space beside the table that anyone passing him had to step over his legs. It was crowded, warm, and someone was always reaching around someone else for something. Another cloth. Another bowl. Another portion of food.

I’d missed it.

“What did Light think?” Flower asked.

I shrugged. “He seemed happy with it.”

“Then I suppose we’re stuck with it,” Bone said.

I lowered my spoon. “You really don’t like it?”

“Didn’t say that, either.”

“You’ve said very little for someone with so many objections,” Echo pointed out.

“It wasn’t an objection.” Bone gave her a look before turning back to me. “It’s unusual, that’s all. Sounds more High Mountain than Mountain Forest.”

His explanation made me pause. Now, there was something I hadn’t considered.

“Oh…” I glanced down at my bowl. “Is that a problem?”

“No. Just something I happened to notice.”

“Names travel,” Flower added. “People do, too.”

“Well, apparently I've done more than enough of that,” I commented.

One corner of Bone’s mouth lifted. “And now everyone gets to hear about it.”

I scraped my spoon along the bottom of my bowl, gathering the last of the broth and a soft piece of root. Hearing the name spoken aloud felt strange at first. It still did, but each time I considered something else, I kept finding myself coming back to it.

“I wasn’t sure about it when Thorn first suggested it,” I admitted. “But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. It's fitting.”

Bone stopped with his bowl just short of his mouth. Rain looked up at me from across the fire. Raven’s hand settled against her knee, her smile fading. She and Echo watched me closely, appearing to be more curious now than alarmed.

“What?” I asked.

“ Thorn suggested it?” Bone asked as he slowly lowered his bowl.

“Yeah.”

There was a brief silence.

Rain pulled himself forward slightly, drawing his legs up to his chest. “You said something like that before.”

My brow furrowed. “Did I?”

“While you were still ill.” His gaze flicked toward Flower, then returned to me. “You said Thorn had told you things.”

I could barely remember what he was referring to. Addressing Blaze. Using the phrase Thorn had suggested. At the time, the explanation had been simple and easy to give with the little strength that I'd had. Not only that, it'd been the truth. But much like when I had told Light and Storm about it, I'd failed to realize just how strange it must have sounded to everyone else.

“I dismissed it as the result of you having a high fever,” Rain began to explain.

Flower set her spoon down inside of her bowl.

“We were more concerned with getting you through the night,” she said gently. “Whatever questions we had could wait.”

I glanced around the hut. Echo had gone quiet. Raven’s hand brushed mine, a small touch that kept me from looking away.

“Well?” Bone piped up, fixing his gaze on me, “You’re awake, you’ve eaten, and you no longer have a fever.”

Rain wrapped his arms around his legs.

“What did you mean by that, David?” he asked.

I set my bowl down.

“I mean I spoke to him,” I said plainly.

“ Spoke to him?” Rain echoed.

I nodded.

For a moment, the only sound was Shade working his spoon against the side of his bowl.

“Where?” Bone asked.

“The Shifting Place. At least, that’s what he called it.”

Flower turned sharply towards Rain. His ears had drawn back. For a moment neither of them spoke. Then she looked at me again, leaving her meal untouched.

“I know how it sounds,” I said.

“How did it happen?” she asked.

I clasped my hands together. “I thought I was home at first. At my grandparents’ cabin. I found Thorn waiting for me inside.”

Nobody interrupted as I explained what the place had looked like, or how strange it had been to find him there. I kept it brief. Some parts were difficult enough to understand without trying to explain them to everyone else.

“He was really interested in the woodstove,” I added, glancing at Bone. “Once I explained what it did, he thought you’d like it.”

One corner of Bone’s mouth lifted. “Did he?”

“Apparently, a fire inside a metal box sounded like something you should have.”

“Probably should.”

His smile faded slowly, but some of the tension had eased from his face.

“Was he suffering?” Rain asked.

I shook my head. “He looked tired. His hands were cold, but it didn’t seem to bother him. By the time I left, he seemed content.”

Rain lowered his eyes. Beside him, Flower rested a hand against his arm.

“Could he have come back?” Raven asked.

“Yes. I even asked him to, at one point.”

Her gaze stayed on me.

“But he wouldn’t,” I continued. “He didn’t trust himself to return without hurting you again.”

Raven looked down at Shade as he held his empty bowl toward her. She took it after a moment, and exchanged it for Bunny.

“I tried to argue with him,” I said. “But he’d already made up his mind.”

Bone set his bowl aside.

“Stubborn cat…”

Raven gave a faint, aching smile.

“Yes.”

I let the silence sit for a few moments before continuing.

“I asked him to watch over my grandparents. He spent the day watching us before I fell through the ice, and he’d already started caring about them.”

Bone looked up. “And he agreed?”

I nodded. “He smiled when I asked.”

“Good.” Bone glanced toward the fire. “He shouldn’t be alone.”

My throat tightened. “No. He shouldn’t.”

Raven reached past Shade and found my hand.

“And your grandparents?”

“They’re still back home.” I paused. “With my body. Seems like someone found me after the incident.”

Her fingers tightened. “You could have gone back?”

“There was a chance, but my body was badly hurt, and nobody knew how much it would recover.”

I told them about seeing my grandparents beside the bed, then seeing everyone gathered here. I left out the things they’d said to one another when they thought I couldn’t hear them.

But when I looked at Raven, there was something I couldn’t leave unsaid.

“I heard you tell me I could go.”

Her lips parted. For a moment, she watched me without answering.

“I meant it,” she finally said, looking down. “Rain said that you were suffering. I didn't want you to feel as though you needed to keep holding on just for our sake.”

Beside her, Shade folded one of Bunny’s ears forward, then carefully straightened it again.

“Was that when you decided?” she asked, looking up again.

“That was part of it.” I looked down at her hand in mine. “Grandma told me that she wanted me to be somewhere I could be happy. Find work I liked. People I wanted to come home to.”

Raven waited.

A small breath escaped me.

“Hearing her say that made me realize I already had.”

Raven’s eyes shone in the firelight.

Beside the hearth, Rain bent to retrieve a small piece of wood that had rolled away from the pile. He took rather more care placing it on the fire than it needed.

Bone cleared his throat.

“Well. There’s still work waiting for you.”

I glanced over at him and smirked. “I figured there'd be.”

“Been piling up.”

“Of course it has.”

Flower gave his arm a light tap, but I was grateful for the interruption. I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding myself until I felt my shoulders ease.

Echo glanced between Raven and me.

“Does that mean we can stop pretending we don’t notice?” she asked.

Raven turned toward her. “Notice what?”

Echo’s eyes moved pointedly to our hands.

Heat crept up the back of my neck. “Well… We haven’t exactly been hiding…”

“No,” Echo agreed. “You’ve both been very convincing.”

Bone let out a low chuckle.

Raven narrowed her eyes, though her hand remained in mine.

“You could find something else to be interested in.”

“I could ,” Echo said playfully. “But you two are sitting right here.”

Flower’s smile deepened. Rain suddenly found the fire very interesting again.

“Is there something we should have been doing differently?” I asked, looking between her and Raven.

Raven turned back to me. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” I glanced around the hut. “That’s how I usually find out I’ve done something without knowing what it actually meant.”

Bone’s gaze lifted toward Raven’s hair.

My eyes followed his.

The feather.

“Oh,” I said.

Raven reached up, touching it lightly.

Echo’s smile softened.

“You brought her something you thought she’d like,” she stated. “She chose to keep it.”

“I did like it,” Raven added.

“I know. I just wasn’t sure whether…”

I stopped, unsure of how to finish my statement without making it sound as though I regretted giving it to her.

That irksome grin spread across Bone’s face.

“Whether you were promising her three more cubs?” he offered.

My whole face immediately started to burn.

Raven’s face went noticeably red.

“Bone!” we both shouted.

“What?” he quipped, barking out a laugh, “He asked.”

Flower shook her head as Echo laughed. Beside me, Raven rubbed a hand over her face, but she was smiling now.

“No,” she said, turning to me. “You didn’t promise me anything.”

I let out a breath. “Good.”

Her brows rose.

“I mean—”

Echo laughed harder, nearly falling back against Bone’s legs.

I closed my eyes, as if that would allow me the chance to escape from them.

“I’m just going to stop talking…”

“Probably wise,” Bone said, still grinning.

“I know what you meant,” Raven said, nudging my knee. “You saw it and thought of me. That was enough.”

I opened my eyes.

She was still touching the feather, stroking it gently between her fingers.

For a moment, I forgot the others were watching.

“I’d like to keep doing that,” I confessed.

“Bringing me feathers?”

“That, too.” I glanced at the feather between her fingers. “But spending time with you. Getting to know you.”

Her fingers went still.

“Not just because we live together,” I added.

Raven lowered her hand from her hair. For a moment, she studied me, and I found myself fighting the urge to explain myself further.

Then she squeezed my hand.

“I’d like that.”

I smiled before I could think of an answer.

She smiled back.

Something pressed against our joined hands.

Shade had leaned forward between us, leaving Bunny in his lap.

“Can I stay here tonight?” he asked.

“Of course,” I said, looking down at him.

He settled his hand more firmly over ours. “Mother, too?”

I glanced at Raven. Her smile softened.

“Yes,” she said. “Me, too.”

“Good.”

I looked at his little fingers spread against mine.

There was something else we needed to tell him.

I glanced at Raven. Her eyes met mine. After a moment, she nodded.

Raven shifted so Shade could sit more comfortably between us.

“Shade,” she began gently. “There’s something we need to explain.”

“Am I in trouble?” he asked, looking up at her.

“No,” I responded.

His shoulders relaxed.

On the other side of the firepit, Flower began gathering the empty bowls. Rain moved to help her, while Echo drew her legs aside to give Shade more room. Bone stayed where he was, his hands resting loosely around his bowl.

I turned towards Shade.

“Do you remember when I came home after falling through the ice?”

He nodded.

Raven’s hand settled against his back.

“I told you that your father had hit his head,” she said. “I told you that was why he was acting differently.”

Shade nodded again, slower this time.

“That was what I thought had happened,” she continued. “But I was wrong.”

He looked from her to me.

I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees.

“The person who came home that day wasn’t the same person who went to the lake.”

His brow furrowed. “But you came home.”

“I did…” I paused. “My name is David, Shade. That was my name before I came here. I came from somewhere very far away from here. A place that no therian really knows about.”

He watched me closely.

“The place with the metal box fire?” he asked.

Despite everything, I smiled. “Yeah. That place.”

“Thorn was your father’s name,” Raven explained. “David is someone else.”

Shade looked at me again. His eyes moved over my face as though he were searching for some kind of physical difference.

Despite wanting to reach for him, I stayed still.

“Where is he?” Shade asked.

I glanced at Raven. Her hand pressed slightly against his back as she looked back at me, her eyes glistening in the firelight.

We both knew that there wasn't a gentler way of breaking it to him.

I drew in a steady breath.

“He died, Shade.”

For a moment, the room went completely still as he watched me. I almost wasn’t sure he’d understood until I saw his gaze move over towards Rain.

“After Rain pulled him out,” Raven added softly. “He and Flower tried to help him.”

Rain lowered the bowl he was holding.

“We tried,” he said quietly.

Shade turned back to me. “But you’re right here.”

I opened my hand beside his.

“This is still his body, but Thorn’s spirit didn’t return to it. Mine did.”

He looked down at my palm, then slowly rested his fingers against it.

I waited before carefully closing my hand around his.

“That’s why I was acting differently when I came home.”

Shade rubbed his thumb against one of my knuckles.

Nobody hurried him. At one point, I heard Rain set the bowl that he'd been holding down so carefully that it barely made any sound at all.

“Did he want to go away?” Shade asked.

Raven drew in a slow breath as she pulled him closer.

“He was having a difficult time,” she said. “He'd made choices that hurt both him and us, and he didn't know how to make things better.”

Shade lowered his eyes.

“Was it me?”

“No!”

The word left us both in the same breath, filling the silence of the hut. The suddenness of it startled him as he looked up and glanced between us again.

“You didn’t make this happen,” Raven said, caressing his face. “Nothing you said or did caused your father to die.”

I frowned as I thought back to the night I had found Raven mourning over Thorn’s clothes after I'd returned from Bone’s. She sounded so certain. I wondered whether she’d ever been able to offer herself the same reassurance.

“When I spoke to him, he wanted to know you’d be cared for,” I said to Shade. “You and your mother.”

“Can he come here?” he asked, turning back to me.

“No.” I replied, holding his hand gently. “He isn’t coming back.”

Shade looked down. With his free hand, he pulled Bunny closer against his side.

“Is he still at your other home?”

I nodded. “I asked him to watch over my grandparents for me. That way none of them have to be alone.”

“Are you going to go back to them?”

I shook my head. “No, Shade. I’m staying here.”

“Even after tomorrow?”

“Even after tomorrow,” I assured him. “I won't be going away just because I'll be given a new name.”

Shade's fingers tightened around mine.

“Does Light know?”

“We’ve talked about it,” I said.

“And he said you can stay here with us?”

I nodded again. “He did.”

Shade glanced toward Bone.

“He’s got work waiting for him,” Bone said, nodding towards me.

That answer seemed to satisfy him more than anything I’d managed to say. He shifted closer until his knee pressed against mine.

“Will you still teach me how to carve?” he asked.

“If you still want me to.”

He nodded quickly. “And how to hunt?”

“I promised you I would, didn't I?”

Shade nodded again. His fingers remained wrapped around mine as his gaze dropped to the floor.

“Do I have to call you David?” he asked in a small voice.

I swallowed. “You can, if you want to.”

“But do I have to?”

“No,” I said, offering him a small smile. “You can still call me Father, if you’d like.”

He leaned forward, pressing his face against my chest.

I wrapped an arm around him and felt his free hand catch in my clothes.

“Alright,” he murmured.

For a moment, I couldn’t answer. I rested my hand against his back instead.

Raven shifted closer. Her fingers brushed mine before settling beside them, and we held him between us.

Across the fire, Flower lowered the bowls into her lap.

Shade's grip gradually loosened as he remained tucked against me. Eventually, he lifted his head and reached for his bowl.

“Can I have some more stew?” he asked.

I glanced at the pot.

“Thought you were finished,” I pointed out, smirking.

“I was.”

Bone leaned forward and peered into the pot.

“Lucky for you, I’m finished, too,” he said playfully.

Shade smiled and held out his bowl.

The conversation returned slowly after that. Flower asked Raven about tomorrow’s preparations. Echo reminded her of something she’d left at her hut. Rain finally sat down again, looking relieved when Shade asked whether there would be food at the festival as Bone served him.

By the time the pot was empty, he’d moved back beside Raven, with Bunny tucked beneath his elbow. Echo was describing someone’s attempt to carry too many baskets through the village earlier that day. Apparently, the preparations they'd been tasked with had survived. The baskets hadn’t.

As I laughed with the others, I found myself glancing toward the entrance.

There was someone I hadn’t asked about.

“Do any of you know if Blaze will be coming tomorrow?”

Echo’s story trailed off.

“To the festival?” Bone asked.

“To the ceremony.”

He let out a grunt. “Couldn’t tell you.”

Raven rested a hand against my knee.

“Were you hoping he would?” she asked.

“A little bit, yeah.” The answer came out so quickly, I looked down. “He spent all that time here helping you look after me. It’d be nice to see him when I’m actually well enough to talk.”

Bone let out a lower grunt.

“I don't know how much conversation you're expecting to get out of him…”

I shrugged. “More than I got while I was asleep.”

Echo smiled. “An ambitious goal.”

“I thought so.”

Raven reached past Shade to collect his empty bowl.

“He knows about tomorrow,” she stated. “Light will have made certain of that.”

I nodded, though it didn’t quite answer my question.

After a moment, I eased my legs out from beneath me and stood.

Bone's eyes followed me as I crossed towards the wall.

A small stack of folded grey furs rested on top of a hide near the bed. I carried them back near the fire and set them down in the space Flower had cleared beside her.

Echo leaned forward. “Those look warm.”

I nodded. “They are.”

“You’re taking those to him tonight?” Raven asked.

“I’d like to.”

Bone looked from her to the furs. “To Blaze?”

I nodded, crouching beside the hide.

“For everything he did while I was sick.”

Flower retrieved a few bundles of herbs she’d brought and passed them to me.

“Make certain to keep these dry,” she instructed, “Especially if you intend to leave the parcel outside.”

“Thank you.”

I tucked them beside a rawhide pouch that I had filled with dried meat. Bone leaned forward, examining the growing package, then looked toward the entrance.

His gaze stopped on the bundle of firewood I had set aside near the doorway.

“For the ancestors’ sake, David,” he sighed. “How do you expect to carry all of that by yourself?”

I followed his gaze.

“I haven’t exactly worked that part out yet.”

“I can tell.”

Raven hid a smile as I drew the hide around the supplies.

“He’s already got pelts,” Bone pointed out.

“Yes, but have you seen the state of them?”

He let out a short breath through his nose.

I frowned slightly as I thought about my first visit to Blaze’s hut. I remembered the pelts I'd seen him use as bedding; every manner of grey animal pelts that were in varying states of wear and neglect. Just like Thorn’s had been.

I suppose I knew who he'd learned it from, now.

“He’ll just wind up putting those on top and keeping the old ones underneath,” Bone said.

“Then at least he’ll have something decent on top,” I countered.

Echo laughed softly. “He has you there.”

Bone ignored her.

I folded the furs around the wrapped supplies, keeping the grey side outward.

“They’re the closest I could find to his coloring,” I said. “They might not be a perfect match for a snow leopard, but—”

“They’ll do,” Bone cut in.

I looked up.

He reached out and tested the edge of one between his fingers.

“They’ll do…” Bone paused for a few moments before he pulled his hand away and crossed his arms. “But if you think this pays him back, you’re wasting your time.”

My hands went still.

“I didn’t say I was paying him back.”

“You just said it was for what he did.”

“It is.” One of my hands settled on top of the stack of furs in front of me. “He brought medicine. Kept the fire going. Stayed here when he could have easily gone home. Some of that must have cost him something.”

Bone looked down at the parcel.

“I remember waking up and seeing him there,” I continued. “Sometimes only for a moment before I fell asleep again, but I knew he was watching.”

Raven lowered her eyes.

I smoothed the folded furs beneath my hand.

“He didn’t have to stay.”

“No,” Bone said quietly. “He didn’t.”

“I know this doesn’t make us even. I just want him to know that he has someone that's willing to look out for him, too.”

For a few moments, Bone said nothing.

Then he pushed himself to his feet with a grunt.

“Get something to tie that with.”

“You’re coming?” I asked, looking up at him.

He glanced toward the entrance again.

“ Someone has to carry that ridiculous pile of wood…”

Raven smiled as she passed me a length of cord. I bound the parcel while Bone gathered the firewood, then tucked it beneath my arm and followed him towards the entrance.

“We won’t be long,” I told her.

Shade stood beside her as she lifted the hide for us.

Outside, the last of the evening light had faded. We made our way down the slope past people carrying the last of the festival's supplies between the huts. I found myself tightening my hold on the parcel as I watched them.

Tomorrow, they’d all be gathered to hear Light announce my new name.

Choosing it had been one thing. Standing before the whole tribe while they heard it for the first time was another. I wondered whether it would still feel like mine when he said it.

“You’ve gone awfully quiet,” Bone remarked.

“Just thinking about tomorrow,” I told him.

He glanced at me over the firewood.

“Nervous?”

“A little bit…”

Bone let out a soft snort. “Get some sleep tonight. It’ll help.”

“I’ll try.”

We turned toward the warriors’ huts, leaving the voices and preparations behind us. I shifted the parcel beneath my arm and looked ahead for Blaze’s hut.

Smoke rose above Blaze’s roof, and firelight showed through the gaps in the hide covering his entrance. Bone followed me to the doorway, adjusting his hold on the wood while I freed one hand to knock.

Footsteps approached from inside. I drew the parcel closer against my ribs as the hide lifted.

Blaze stood in the opening in a loose linen tunic and trousers, without the heavier layers I was accustomed to seeing him wear. Behind him, the fire lit a narrow stretch of floor. He remained at the threshold, holding the covering aside as the heat from inside rolled past him and washed over me.

Blaze’s eyes settled on me first.

“David.”

I resisted the urge to recoil. It was the first time I had heard him use my actual name.

Not Thorn.

Not Breaker.

David.

“Evening,” I greeted him calmly.

He studied my face before his attention shifted to look past my shoulder. His fingers curled tightly against the edge of the hide.

“Growler.”

“Blaze.” Bone answered sharply.

My brow furrowed as I looked over my shoulder at him.

“‘Growler’?”

Bone’s jaw clenched.

“It’s a nickname,” he stated. “Apparently, it’s considered a privilege for an enemy soldier to be given a name by the High Mountains.”

A soft rumble rose from Blaze’s throat. “You've earned it.”

“So you keep reminding me.”

Bone lowered the wood beside the entrance with a heavy thump. I caught a loose piece that had rolled towards my foot before it could get away.

I returned it to the bundle, taking a moment to make sure it would stay there.

Meanwhile, neither Blaze nor Bone spoke as they continued to stare each other down above me.

“We brought you some things,” I said as I straightened.

Blaze looked back at me.

“There’s a portion of dried meat. A few bundles of herbs.” I lifted the parcel enough to show him the folded furs. “And these.”

His gaze lingered on them before moving to the wood beside his feet.

“All of this?” he asked.

I nodded, suddenly conscious of how much we’d left at his doorway.

“It’s for what you did while I was ill,” I explained. “The medicine, and everything else.”

Blaze stared at the parcel before straightening his spine.

“That wasn’t necessary,” he said flatly. “I have all that I need.”

Bone looked past him and into the hut. “Still sleeping under those old—”

I shot him a look. “Bone…”

He met my eyes and closed his mouth. I waited until he’d looked away before turning back to Blaze.

“The furs are grey,” I said. “I remembered the ones you had when I visited you before. I thought these might suit you.”

Blaze released the covering, letting it rest against his shoulder as he reached toward the parcel. His fingers brushed the exposed edge, then slipped beneath it to feel the thickness.

“They aren’t quite the right color,” I added. “Definitely not snow leopard, but they’re warm.”

He turned a section of the fur toward the light. I found myself waiting while he examined it, hoping he wouldn’t discover some fault I’d missed.

“You chose these?” he asked.

I nodded again. “Yeah. They were the closest I could find.”

His hand went still against the fur.

I’d expected him to refuse again, or perhaps tell me where he wanted me to put everything. Instead, he looked at me for so long that I started to wonder if I needed to explain myself further.

Then he reached beneath the parcel.

I placed it into his arms, careful to keep the smaller bundles from slipping out of it. He gathered the loose edge against them, his thumb still resting in the grey fur.

Without it beneath my arm, I felt strangely exposed.

“Rain and Flower helped select the herbs,” I added. “They should all be things you can use.”

Blaze glanced down at the bundle of supplies.

“You should have kept the food,” he said.

“We have enough. I set this aside specifically for you.”

His eyes moved over me again, then toward Bone.

“He’s eating,” Bone said, crossing his arms.

“Without needing to be reminded,” I added. “Usually…”

Bone gave a low grunt behind me. Blaze’s attention returned to my face. For a moment, I thought I saw some of the tension ease from around his eyes.

“How is your breathing?” he asked.

“Much better.”

“Still coughing?”

“A little when I first wake up. Then it passes.”

He watched me as I spoke, his gaze briefly dropping toward my chest. I remembered him doing much the same beside the bed, though I was rarely awake long enough to ask what he was listening for.

“I’m alright,” I assured him. “I wanted you to see that.”

His eyes lifted to mine.

“I remember you being there,” I continued. “Not everything, but sometimes I’d wake up, and you’d still be sitting beside me.”

Blaze lowered his gaze to the parcel. His fingers moved over the edge of the fur once, then stopped.

“You stayed when I couldn’t have blamed you for leaving,” I said. “I wanted to thank you.”

Behind me, Bone crouched to straighten the firewood. I heard the sound of bark scraping against stone, but kept my eyes fixed on Blaze.

He hadn’t answered. I let the silence linger between us as I waited, though it grew harder to stand still beneath it the longer it dragged out.

Finally, he nodded.

“I’ll use these.”

The breath I released was almost a laugh.

“Good. I hoped that you would.”

He adjusted the parcel against his chest, folding the loose fur over the supplies to hold them securely. I looked down as Bone rose. The wood was stacked neatly beside the entrance now, easily within reach from inside.

“There’s something else, too,” I stated.

Blaze looked up.

“I’ll be receiving a new name tomorrow. I was hoping you’d come.”

His expression remained still, but he didn’t look away.

I waited, resisting the urge to tell him when it would begin or explain that Light already knew my choice. As Raven had said, he already knew about the ceremony. What I wanted to know was whether he would be there.

The hide shifted against his shoulder in the evening breeze. As he drew the parcel a little closer, I thought he might finally answer.

Instead, he looked past me towards the darkening path.

“You should be getting home.”

I felt my stomach sink a little.

“Yeah,” I reluctantly agreed. “We should.”

I stepped back from the threshold. There was room for him to withdraw now, though part of me wanted to wait another moment.

“Goodnight, Blaze.”

He inclined his head.

Bone offered a brief nod of his own. Blaze acknowledged it without speaking.

We had gone several paces before I heard the hide in the entrance settle behind us.

The path was steep enough that I watched my footing as we climbed. Beside me, Bone flexed his empty hands, brushing a stubborn piece of bark from one of his palms.

“Growler?” I eventually asked, breaking the silence.

He sighed. “I was wondering how long it'd be before you asked.”

“It’s an interesting nickname.”

“It’s an old nickname.”

I frowned. “You don’t like it?”

Bone stepped around a root before answering.

“Depends who’s using it. And what they’re trying to remind me of.”

I glanced at him. “Being a soldier?”

He nodded.

“I put that life aside,” he stated. “Don’t always appreciate having it dragged back out again.”

I thought of Blaze’s voice at the entrance, and the way Bone’s jaw had tightened.

“Did Thorn ever call you that?”

“All the time.” His expression softened a little. “Once he got comfortable working with me.”

“Did it bother you then?”

“Sometimes. Usually because it meant he was about to ask for something.” Bone glanced over to me as I let out a laugh. “He knew what he was doing.”

I smiled down at the path. “Think I’ll just stick with Bone.”

Bone remained quiet for a few paces before he spoke again.

“You can call me Growler.”

I looked up at him.

He shrugged. “I know you won't try to make something of it.”

For a few steps, I couldn’t think of anything to say. He seemed content to leave the offer there, walking beside me as the first lights of the village appeared through the trees.

“Alright…” I finally said. “Growler.”

Bone gave me a sidelong look before giving me a playful nudge.

“Still have to come to work.”

“Oh, of course…”

His chuckle followed us several paces up the slope.

By the time it faded, I was thinking about the doorway again. Blaze examining the furs. The way he’d said my name.

I wanted to believe those things meant he might come. But I’d given him the chance to tell me, and he hadn’t.

“You think he’ll be there tomorrow?” I asked.

Bone kept walking. I watched his face, waiting to receive a grunt or dry remark that might let me stop worrying.

We had taken several steps before he gave me a simple, painful answer that would follow me the rest of the night.

“I don’t know.” 7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgtd54Zo5q

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