She didn’t much like being touched. It was more of a personal preference, for the vein in her body that produced any feelings had died long ago and left her prickly and feral to emotion. So when the Auxiliary and her daughter greeted the healer respectively, stiffening was the only way she could prevent herself from pulling away. Once they were done, she watched her breath show in the winter air and acted as if she had been cold, instead of rebellious.
Eris exchanged formal words in the glowing of the morning while Lana quickly made herself comfortable. She shifted her bag to the opposite shoulder and listened to the chiming of her beads as they swayed lazily against each other.
“No, I am ready,”
The woman said, her accents caressing the words in exotic tones and delivering a sultry tenor. She hadn’t an idea of how to perform such ceremony, for the west was much different than her homelands. Everywhere she went there was a different flavor or a distinct color. Lana could admit that here, the greens were brighter and the air was spicier. There were also divisions, homes, packs, all very strongly separated, unlike in Italy. She glanced at mother and daughter behind her thick bang and tried to imagine what she and Avery might have looked like at Artemisia’s age. They would have still had parents then; a bitter idea to Lana’s mouth even today.
Cas, nearly forgotten behind the greetings, stepped up beside her. Lana believed, especially then, that the companion could smell emotion. And she had such little left that whenever they changed the lynx was far too sensitive to them. The healer placed a dark hand on her head before motioning her away. The feline crouched almost defensively before taking another seat below the small slope the wolves were standing on. Jade eyes studied intently, well accustomed to the finer details of a culture.
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