"The messenger from the Dawnbreak party has arrived in Ironshade."
Serena blinked slowly and raised a brow. "Really, so soon?"
Darius chuckled. "Not soon enough on my part. I have been anticipating it for ages now." He counted on his fingers and nodded.
"Hm, how long now?" she asked.
"Two years maybe, I think three summers would be more accurate to count. It truly has been a long journey," Darius replied.
Serena’s lips parted slowly and then she nodded in acknowledgement. It must have been a lot of pressure for Darius to seal this deal quickly. Elder Iris had talked about dwindling supplies, in all this time they had been together not once had Darius brought it up.
She smiled wistfully, he was good at hiding his stress unlike her. She fiddled with her fingers unsure of what to say next. The atmosphere felt so tense, the last they talked was about him finding out that she was married before.
Serena closed her eyes briefly and recalled his last words to her.
I think I’d rather bleed for you than feel nothing at all.
The memory surfaced sharply, and her breath caught. But she steadied herself, cleared her throat softly. Darius’s gaze flicked to her at the sound.
"Have you even been to Dawnbreak?" She asked.
Darius remained silent for a few seconds, tapping his finger thoughtfully against his chin. "I have," he said at last. "But it was so long ago. They could have had a whole building taken apart and put together again since then... That’s how long it’s been."
Serena’s eyes widened at his words, she herself had only been to two neighbouring packs in the West. It was something of a missionary quest, to help out ailing people. Everyone knew how strange and mythical the North sounded like.
"Did you enjoy your stay?"
"I did, it was for about a moon, give or take," Darius began. "I went with my mother on... I think it was a pilgrimage. I was not so sure myself."
"Pilgrimage?" Serena echoed.
The North was the farthest thing from religious. If anything, they were considered mythmakers and skeptics in equal parts. They were the most mixed society of any werewolf pack. Most, these days, did not consider it a werewolf pack since they were not homogenous. Everyone had their own origin story of how they came to be.
Serena had read Dawnbreak’s in passing. They were the largest group to break from the Great Pack and moved eastwards, but the conditions were too harsh and they moved to the North. In the process, some families broke off.
They settled up North and all was well until some sort of disease spread to those in the North and they formed a pact with the fae and a symbiotic relationship was born. Slowly, they had begun to integrate other creatures into their community and there was Dawnbreak. The largest ’pack’ in all of Kaldora.
Darius tugged on his collar and then laughed. "Well that’s what my mother called it. It really was not a pilgrimage."
He settled into the pillows behind him, sinking into their softness with a content sigh. "My mother just said it to get us out. Turns out people in this pack aren’t too fond of traveling, but we did."
"Just you two?" Serena asked.
"My father would sooner give up the mantle of ruling than let that happen. Oh no, my aunt, uncle, and Livia came with us. It was hard to convince my father to let his wife go, but somehow she did it." A glint of mischief passed through his eyes. "She was persuasive."
"So yes, I did enjoy my stay but it was something I would never forget in my life." Original content can be found at NoveI[F]ire.net
Darius shot up from his leaning position, nearly startling Serena. He gestured widely in the air as if he could conjure up his memories at a whim.
"There were so many parades...and more people than I’d ever seen in my life. Some of them could fly, Serena. Actually fly." His voice dropped in awe, boyish wonder creeping into his features. "It was like watching one of those stories mother used to read me come to life."
Serena laughed and laid on the bed watching him with undivided attention. He looked adorable.
"And just when I thought it couldn’t get more mind-blowing," he went on, "someone held fire in their hands- ." Darius cupped his palms as if scooping water, then mimed lifting a flame to his face. He paused, hand hovering near his mouth, and shook his head as if to dismiss the image.
"Mother loved every moment of it. She laughed until her cheeks hurt. I wished Father had come, but the pack came first. He was dealing with something urgent."
His voice softened as he rested his chin in his hand, eyes half-lidded. For a moment, he wasn’t in the room anymore- he was back on those cobbled streets, small fingers entwined with his mother’s and Livia’s, the scent of roasted nuts and spice-laced wind curling in the air.
A smile spread across his lips and he hummed. "Maybe you and I can go there someday."
"Really? That sounds more like a dream than anything else," Serena said, glancing at him.
"It’s very much possible," Darius said with certainty. "We just have to find the best time and go for it. I’ve been in this pack for far too long." He leaned back again, eyes bright. "Besides, I got word there’s a new gathering of artists there."
A sad smile spread across the woman’s features and she exhaled slowly, he was already thinking ahead and firmly placing her into future plans. She did not have the heart to tell him that her time with him was severely limited, everything was getting more and more complicated by the day.
"That’s wonderful," Serena said in a small voice. "About the messenger? Where are they now and why did you not meet with them?"
Serena had to steer the conversation away from that before her heart began to ache.
"Oh, they’re in good hands," Darius replied, stretching one leg out. "Cedar and Emmett went to meet her. I got a letter."
Serena tilted her head. "Why didn’t you go yourself?"
Darius grinned lazily. "I think it’s below my rank at this point. And... I wanted to spend my afternoon with you."