War. There had been whispers of it on the wind for as long as she could remember. Their dark allies in Ideolanthea, the country to the North of Demuto, had invaded the continent across the sea decades ago. Since then, Ideolanthea had sunk its claws into one province after another. The ones left standingwere still fighting its dark magic, and they’d been at a stalemate for a few years now. Roping Demuto into their fight might be enough to tip the scales in their favour, but humans and artemians alike would be reluctant to fight alongside the ideolan. It might be a disadvantage to be human, but Aelia would rather have no magic at all than touch the darkness that fuelled Ideolanthea.
“Did the Peregrinians have anything to say that wasn’t absolutely fucking terrifying?” Aelia pushed a loose strand of hair off her face with the back of her arm, keeping her flour-covered hand at a safe distance.
Otis huffed a laugh, placing the baking cloth over the pastry before pouring some ceramic beads on top and chucking it in the oven. He added a few logs to the heat compartment for good measure and went back to his filling.
“I take your silence as a no.” She washed her hands, noticing the water pressure in the tap was a little low. She’d need to check the water when she checked the flues; they’d had plenty of rain so their supply couldn’t be running out. Another thing to add to her bottomless list of things to do.
“Not my end at least.” He smiled at her. “How about you? Did you manage to sell any of your pelts?”
Aelia couldn’t help but smile. She put her hands into her pocket and pulled out a handful of coins, placing them on the table in front of him.
"They took all of them."
She couldn’t sell the pelts to anyone in Callodosis without people wondering where the hell she’d got them from, so she had to sneak them to a Peregrinian who was sketchy enough to keep his mouth shut every year in return for a low price. The money she made from the pelts was nearly as much as she made all year logging in the forest. Her strength had helped her negotiatea little more than the humans, but nowhere near what a normal artemian could earn working the forest. Prejudiced bastards.
“Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.” Otis grinned down at the coins, relief easing the lines of tension from his brow. “Go on, you go wash up and I’ll finish this.”
“You sure?” Aelia eyed the jagged fragments of crockery stacked on the worktop. “We’re running dangerously low on plates as it is.”
He grabbed at the cloth and whipped it at her, making it snap at her thigh with a painful cracking sound. Aelia yelped and skittered across the room. Sometimes she forgot how wickedly fast he could be.
“Cheeky git. Get out of here before I change my mind and let you finish up instead,” he said, grinning.
She didn’t need to be told a third time.
The paths runningbetween the trees flickered with dappled green light as the sun streamed through the dense cover of leaves. Birdsong and the gentle caress of the breeze helped to dispel her sense of unease as they walked to the village centre with arms full of the various dishes Otis had prepared for the feast.
Aelia had been trying not to catastrophise, but if Otis was concerned, she couldn’t help worrying about what might be headed their way. She mentally shook herself; there was no point in dwelling on such unlikely scenarios. Such an insignificant village tucked away in the middle of nowhere would surely escape all notice, even if these rumours were true. Truth be told, it was a wonder the Peregrinians visited such an isolated place at all.
The forest was busy with people rushing to prepare themselves for the upcoming event, not showing any sign that they shared the apprehension that she felt. So, she pushed such matters out of her mind and focused on the plans for that evening.
Every year, before the Peregrinian’s left, the villagers threw them a celebration. Everyone brought something, the spread becoming increasingly impressive year on year as the wealthier artemians tried to outdo themselves. Otis’s contribution would be lost amongst their dishes, but that wasn’t the point. Everyone brought something, and everyone got to dig in.
In return, the Peregrinians brought the forest to life, transforming their sleepy village centre into a dancefloor that would be full and heaving until dawn.
Aelia dropped off the dishes with Otis and was quickly roped into helping with the set up. She was all too happy to do as she was told, replacing the candles in the lanterns from the night before, and setting up the huge table laden with so much food she couldn’t fathom how they’d get through it all in one night. At least, that’s how she made herself feel better about sneaking the odd taste here and there.
The excitement was almost tangible as half the village turned up to help, everyone bustling around trying to get everything ready.
Aelia was just finishing arranging a platter full of sweet treats when something caught the corner of her eye. She whipped her head around and came face-to-face with a lithe man with white-beige hair, despite being only a few years older than her. That and the fact that his black ringed eyes lifted slightly at the corners were the main indicators of his second form, one he was all too proud of.
He put a hand on her shoulder and reached past her to steal one of the treats she’d just put in a pretty pattern, ruining the symmetry of it completely.
“Shiva,” she said through gritted teeth, shrugging off his hand.
“How’s it going, Aelia? Enjoying the celebrations so far?” He rolled the pastry between his fingers, the sugary coating falling onto the perfectly white cloth covering the table.
“What do you want, Shiva?” Aelia had never had time for his games. He was a Lynx, one of several in the village due to their proximity to the mountains. Typically, smaller towns and villages tended to hold families who changed into species that could be found in the local environment. Of course, there were a few families who had migrated and settled from other areas, but most families in the forest had been there for generations. Aelia had heard that cities were completely different, with artemians of all shapes and sizes living harmoniously, but the nearest city was far farther than she had ever travelled.
“Why would I want anything? Maybe I just wanted to see if you needed any help.” He smiled, a smug, oily thing that just begged to be knocked right off his face with a well-placed right hook. But now was neither the time, nor the place. So, she just smiled a saccharine sweet smile.
“I wouldn’t need your kind ofhelpif you were the last man left in the forest. Now stop messing up my table and kindly fuck off.”
Shiva tutted, feigning disappointment as he threw the pastry into the undergrowth. “You have such a filthy tongue. One of these days you’re going to have to let me see what else it can do.”
Shivers literally rolled down her spine at the thought, and she made no attempt to hide it.
“Baby, I’d rather blow a pinecone. Now, where do we stand with you fucking off?” She crossed her arms and waited, her expression carefully neutral.
