Lost Bloodline 5 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Despite the concerns Koda had about the security of the little valley, especially in the light of his luck over the last several months, winter marched on without issue.

That is not to say there weren’t problems. Everything from accumulated snowfall damaging the roof of Banno’s tavern, to a few of the older members of the Ivory Spear tribe growing sick because of the chill weather.

In each situation, Koda did everything he could to assist. Helping repair Banno’s roof was the work of an afternoon, especially considering the immense strength that all of Koda’s family could bring to bear. The sick received treatment and Koda even made a trip on foot, with Finna and Arthene as escorts, down to Amberpost to purchase herbs that the village had run short on.

The sight of Aegisclaw and his mates around town grew more and more common as the winter neared its deepest months. If Koda was unable to find someone to help during the days when storms did not layer more snow over everything, he pitched in with digging people out, or brought firewood in for people who might need it.

It got to the point with the firewood that Kris actually ordered the erection of a temporary structure in the village center for Koda to store the wood there, allowing anyone who had a need to come and get it. With the strength that the champion had, and his relative immunity to the temperatures, it was far better for the older and younger members of the community to remain safely inside the village rather than wandering afield to hunt for wood like they normally needed to.

Following his own, admittedly rough, knowledge of forestry and under advice from Sienna, Koda made sure that he was only clearing deadfall and other damaged trees. The handful of live trees that he cut for the firewood he made sure to take from areas where the trees were growing too close together. The last thing Koda wanted was to damage the forest that the village relied upon for part of its livelihood.

Another round of envoys from the Silent Plains tribe arrived with news in those weeks, carrying requests for the spring melt and offers of trade. The blacksmiths of Silverstone, who had just finished up the last of the weapons-forging that they’d been doing to equip everyone who had wanted some kind of weapon to put Calandra’s training to use, were happy to take on the orders for the spring and began turning out arrowheads, knives, and spear-heads for the tribesfolk. Even if some or all of the items weren’t actually purchased come the spring, there would be other buyers for the goods.

And as such, the winter passed slowly but without any major events beyond the Longnight celebration that the village had roughly halfway through the winter, as the snows piled deep in the mountains and all the villagers were thankful of their champion’s hard work to keep their homes warm.

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“So, it’s a ceremony that the entire village observes, but it’s not a communal one?” Koda asked in confusion while he sat on the leather-padded couch in the common area of his home. Around him, his mates and friends were lounging or working on small handcrafts to keep themselves occupied.

“It varies depending on the family,” Sienna asked from her spot snuggled into Koda’s side.

The wolf beastfolk had one arm tucked against her chest while the other lay on Koda’s, gently stroking his chest through Koda’s shirt. Her tail wagged slowly behind her, bouncing between the backs of her folded legs and the back of the couch.

“Yes,” Samira added from her spot sitting on a small cushion on the floor to Koda’s right. The nimble caracal woman was working with strips of thin bark, weaving them together into a wreath of sorts with surprising speed while she talked. “In the Silent Plains tribe, larger families might have their own ceremony in their homes, while others would gather in the meeting hall that either did not have a family, or were smaller sizes. They all united in that Longnight was a time for reflection and time spent with those you hold dear.”

“That makes sense. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t going to be an issue if I’m not doing something special, like with the Pack’s Hearth we did a few months back,” Koda said while running one hand down Sienna’s back, getting a happy shiver from his wolfish mate.

“No one will fault you for wanting to spend time with your mates,” Arthene said firmly from her spot sprawled in front of the fire. The bear spirit was buck naked, her muscled form on full display as she sprawled across a thick fur rug to soak in the heat rolling off the fire and dozed. It was a sight that would have distracted Koda, if it had been the first time he’d caught his luscious mate doing it.

“Honestly, I think more people would have strong opinions if we didn’t spend our first Longnight together like this. There’s a reason that so many babies are born towards the end of the summer and middle of fall,” Finna added from her spot in a chair near Arthene.

The rabbit-eared woman had a block of wood in one hand and a thin knife in the other, carving careful curls of the pale wood away and flicking them into the fire, or onto Arthene’s bare stomach to tickle her.

“As I told you before, the only thing that is expected of us during Longnight is to keep a fire lit or candle burning the entire night in vigil,” Sienna said, stretching one leg out until her hip popped and groaning contentedly before snuggling back into Koda. “And we definitely have the firewood to keep a vigil-fire burning.”

Koda just continued his quiet, affectionate petting of his mate. The ceremonies and traditions of his new world were rather different than what he was used to, but he didn’t mind that change.

When he’d first heard of Longnight, he’d thought it was something akin to Yule or Christmas from back home. But it turned out that the ceremony itself was fairly low-key. Adults would keep some kind of flame burning throughout the longest night of the year, with many staying up through the night to ensure that their chosen flame would not go out.

“For the dwarves there is a bit extra,” Calandra added as she returned from the kitchen with a wooden platter set with clay mugs and a steaming pitcher of hot spiced wine. “We hold that Longnight, the day that the old year ends and the new one begins, is the day that the gods are most likely to visit us. As the year dies, the barrier between the spirit world and the physical is at its thinnest, so no dwarven family would turn away a visitor that came knocking.”

“So long as your tradition doesn’t require me to put my clothes back on, I don’t care,” Arthene mumbled from her spot by the fire, rolling over to lie on her front like she was sunning herself on a beach. “I’m far too comfortable right now.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t flounce about naked while we had guests,” Koda said quietly, and Arthene turned just her head to look at him, her yellow eyes glittering questioningly. “I’m by no means ashamed of your body, in fact I’m rather protective of the sight of it.”

“Then I shall not give my mate a reason to be jealous,” Arthene replied languorously, winking at him smoothly before letting her face fall back to her arms. The next part of what she said was muffled, but Koda could still hear it over the crackle of the fire and slosh of the wine as Calandra poured for them. “He certainly keeps me satisfied enough to want to please him.”

“I do my best,” Koda said with a snicker as he accepted a mug from Calandra, pulling the dwarven woman in for a kiss of thanks.

“So we get to spend another night just enjoying each other’s company,” Samira said, pausing her work to lean her head back on the couch behind her and smile up at Koda, her tufty ears wiggling. “Some families have their own ways of honoring the death of a year and birth of a new one. And traditions need to start somewhere, right?”

Koda was about to answer that question when Finna suddenly sat bolt upright, both of her long ears standing on end. Before the lapine woman could say anything, Koda caught what she’d heard as well.

The scratch of claws on wood, like a dog scratching at a door to be let in.

Koda was on his feet within the next moment, Sienna reacting to her mate stiffening by moving out of the way to let him up. Ruby fire raced along Koda’s limbs for a moment as his totemic gauntlets formed around his arms and his armor took shape over the loose tunic and pant’s he’d been wearing.

The scratching sound came again, at the back door of the house that looked out on the yard and the edge of the forest nearby, this time loud enough that everyone heard it.

“Koda,” Calandra murmured warningly, her olive eyes wide as she took the mug he wordlessly handed to her on his way to the back door.

He didn’t respond as both Finna and Arthene leapt to their feet to follow him, with Arthene snatching her bone club from where it hung on a hook by the fireplace.

The scratching noise got louder and more insistent as Koda got closer to the back door, but given the sturdy construction of the door and lack of windows, he had no way of checking without opening it.

The heavy wooden door was sealed with a thick wooden bar and a metal latch holding said bar in place. As Koda reached for the latch to unhook it, the door shook slightly under another bout of scratching.

“I’ll open it,” Finna murmured quietly, stepping past Koda to flick the latch up and grab the bar.

Koda nodded, and as Finna lifted the bar up, he and Arthene readied themselves to deal with whatever might be on the other side of the door if it was violent.

Another bout of scratching saw the door start to swing inwards before Finna grabbed the handle and yanked it inwards. A pile of snow, a gust of wind, and a knee-high ball of fur tumbled into the small entryway that the back door opened into.

“Thera’s tits!” Arthene swore, lowering her club when she spotted the mass of fluffy fur so white it made the snow look gray. “Damn it, Pippin! Why didn’t you just say something!”

The odd little fox-spirit flailed about on the floor for a moment before he managed to right himself and glare upwards at Arthene.

Finna heaved a sigh of her own and used a foot to scoot Pippin further into the house so she could kick the snow back out and then close the door. The diminutive spymaster-slash-trickster gave a squeaky growl at his treatment, attempting to sound fierce and just sounding cute given his overly fluffy appearance.

“She’s right, Pippin,” Finna grumbled down at the far smaller creature as Arthene huffed and stomped back to her spot by the fire, tossing her club into the corner in irritation. “Why did you come by the back door? I know you could have appeared inside the building just like Thera does.”

Another squeaky growl was Finna's response before the plush creature turned to stare up at Koda, yellow eyes glimmering above the little fox muzzle poking out of his fluffy form. Pippin didn’t speak, but Koda felt that the little creature was here to talk to him.

“Come on, Pippin,” Koda said quietly, relaxing his grip on the spiritual weapons and allowing them to vanish in another silent flare of ruby fire. “Let’s get you something warm from the kitchen. Go relax, Finna. I have this.”

Finna darted a look between Pippin, who was now bouncing happily on his little paw-feet, and Koda before nodding once.

“No tricks, Pippin,” Finna said by way of warning. The affronted look that the little creature shot her told Koda that Pippin did not appreciate the insinuation that he would even consider doing something like that. The way his fluffy tail sagged also told Koda that there was a distinct chance that Pippin might have been considering doing something anyway.

Without another word, Koda led Pippin across the room to the kitchen. From the quiet gasps and murmuring from the girls, they all spotted the fluffy creature toddling along in Koda’s wake. He caught Sienna’s eyes and made a patting gesture to indicate she should stay there before ducking into the kitchen.

Just as he’d expected, the embers of the cooking fire were still glowing brightly, and a small iron cauldron hung partially over them, keeping more of the spiced wine warm.

“Wine? Or would you prefer some food?” Koda asked. He’d seen Thera treat the little creature like he was just another person, so he would do the same. Koda also distinctly remembered Thera’s warning that if Pippin were to ever actually speak to him, then he needed to listen closely.

Pippin gave a low bark, his eyes fixed on the pot with the spiced wine in it, so Koda collected a spare cup from the shelf and ladled up a serving for Pippin. When he turned back to where the fluffy little fox creature had been standing, he found that Pippin had somehow managed to pull out a seat at the table and was now perched on the chair waiting expectantly.

Koda offered the mug to his guest, doing his best to conceal a smile as Pippin grabbed hold of it with his front paws. The pose looked positively ridiculous, like someone was holding up a dog and pretending to move its arms around, but Pippin managed without an issue.

“So what brings you out my way, Pippin? Is everything okay with Thera?” Koda asked, using his bare foot to pull out the chair beside Pippin’s before settling onto it himself.

Pippin pulled his nose out of the mug, licking his chops happily and leaving his glossy white fur pristine, then nodded to Koda.

“Everything is okay? That’s good to hear,” Koda said, wanting to confirm and getting another little nod from Pippin. “Things have been so quiet the last few months that I’ve been worrying that it’s just a build up to something going wrong.”

Pippin nodded a third time and then growled quietly, his lip curling up to reveal a row of needle-sharp teeth.

“Something is building up?” Koda asked, the relief he’d felt from Pippin’s reassurance vanishing. Pippin nodded again before sticking his muzzle into the mug for another drink. The quiet little slurps that followed were a counterpoint to the muffled conversation he heard from the other room.

“Okay, so it can’t be something that is an imminent threat, otherwise Thera would have contacted me directly…” Koda murmured. Pippin didn’t respond with a nod this time, but his tail flicked once so Koda took that as a ‘yes’ and kept thinking aloud. “Unless she’s worried about revealing that she’s back if she were to reach out to me?”

Pippin snorted into his mug, his yellow eyes rolling derisively as well at that, but the little fox-creature set the mug down delicately and licked his chops clean of liquid once more.

“Okay, got it. It wouldn’t risk her cover. That’s relieving. I don’t want her to take any chances she doesn’t have to,” Koda said, feeling a bit of the tightness in his chest relax. It’d been growing ever since he’d laid eyes on Pippin in the waking world. “So it’s an external threat near us?” Pippin tilted his head to one side, little ears wiggling but not responding. “So not near us, but still a threat?” That got a nod of Pippin’s snout.

Koda rubbed his chin thoughtfully with his left hand while his right drummed on the table-top.

“I’m betting that it’s related to those elves that went through a few months ago?”

Pippin nodded rapidly three times, his narrow muzzle splitting in a fox-like grin while his tail whipped in a rapid beat.

“Okay, so it relates to them. Was it the elven force they mentioned? Or the Crooked they are supposedly fighting that I need to worry about?”

Pippin growled quietly for the elves and then barked sharply at the mention of the Crooked. But then the little fox creature continued to growl quietly.

“Something more too? Not the trolls, right?” Koda asked, his heart lurching in worry, but Pippin was quick to shake his head in refusal.

The plush little creature huffed once, then twice before he locked eyes with Koda. In those intelligent yellow orbs, Koda saw concern, anger, resolve, and a timeless will. For all that Pippin looked like an adorable little ball of fluff, Koda remembered well that the little creature was a servant of Thera that the goddess respected and likely had as much if not more power than the primal spirits like Arthene and Finna.

Thera had warned him of Pippin’s mercurial demeanor, and that if the little creature deigned to speak aloud to him that he needed to listen. So when Pippin barked again and Koda felt words entering his mind, he paid close attention.

“Champion Aegisclaw, there are indeed forces arrayed to the south across the plains, as your ‘visitors’ threatened. They do indeed battle with the Crooked. But what concerns me more is the news that the local human baron is gathering supplies during the winter. Signs point to some kind of campaign in the spring, and his eyes look this way and beyond.”

The fox-spirit’s voice was deep, almost regal, and at complete odds to Pippin’s physical form. It brought to mind an aged male scholar with a long beard and hundreds of hard-earned wrinkles, not a sassy ball of fluffy fur and tricks.

“Understood,” Koda said seriously, not allowing his surprise to show on his face. “We will be ready if something does come this way, and I appreciate the warning.”

Pippin sneezed, shaking his head fiercely enough to make his ears flop back and forth and resettle his fur before the innocent-looking ball of fur stuffed his nose back into his mug of spiced wine, lapping away without a care in the world.