Idonea’s heart panged painfully at this resolve, and she was very aware as to why. Because the last thing she ever wanted was to end their relationship.
She had never felt this feeling so deep, her hand balled into a fist at her chest as she walked further away from their room. Taking in the well-lit floating fortress, the hallway led to a ballroom where most of the attendees were. They were taking advantage of the food and beverages served here. A lot more adults concentrated around the adult punch bowl than really anything else. Many children either ran around the edge or stood near their parents, everyone here was dressed fancily. It was almost like Idonea sneaking into a party for CEO’s and celebrities. She felt very out of place here, only observing parties like these from the outside but never within. And the smell of greed, vainglory, hatred, lust and rage wafting off of some of these groups made her feel queasy.
Reminded that places like these are a warzone on a psychological level. Some parts of this ballroom were not as tainted by such negative scents. She looked at the buffet and if she wasn’t so sick in the stomach from both the anxiety and the smells of negativity, she might have served herself a plate. When Idonea’s process of inspection reached the tables filled with dessert, there were two kids-an older brother and a younger sister by the scent alone-hiding beneath the table and sneaking themselves multiple servings of cookies. The kids failed to notice her, blinded from underneath the tablecloth, just their grubby hands poked out and blindly grabbed for their next snack.
These kids amused her, so she got close and grabbed a few cookies and handed them off to them. They excitedly munched and exclaimed how the food here is great.
She kept handing off their treats until one of them finally checked and loudly whispered.
“Christ on a bike! Brother! A lady is here!?”
“SHUSH, sis! Maybe she will go away!?”
“I can hear you two...” Idonea snickered, these kids would be dead for sure if they were ever hiding from a true monster. The kids stood under the table, completely silent. This is where she knelt and moved the tablecloth just enough for her to peer in. What she saw were two red-headed kids, freckled just like Leas, with eyes as pale green as the swampy lakes. The boy must have been nine years old, while his sister, a year or two younger, his red hair was cut to the ears, what this timeline likes to call a bowl cut. His sister’s hair was much longer and parted in two braids. They both wore fancy clothes but none of them were left clean after what she assumed was the remnants of chocolate staining their sleeves and collars.
She tried to fight away a laugh, only allowing a smirk on her features, “For your information, staying quiet after being found won’t save you, pups.”
“Bah! Narky hole, leave us be!” The boy half yelped and hollered. He was the one glaring daggers at her.
His sister prodded her brother, whispering, “Maybe...we should go.”
Idonea had two things she could do in this situation; let the attendants know about the kids or let them go. The only thing these kids are hurting is their future heart, arteries, and teeth. She grabbed two more cookies and offered them both. “I won’t tell anyone.... but I think this method isn’t the best way to get sweets. Drunk adults are not attentive, so it is easy enough to just take it from their unattended plates.”
“Ye promise?” The lad and little miss grabbed a cookie from her and ate it slowly.
“I am no squealer. Now run off!”
The kids did as she commanded, running away to the nearest exit. Hopefully, they will do as she suggested. Hopefully, their parents will find them. She stood up, looking for her next pathway. Being so deep in the crowd, she had a harder time smelling where Leas would be.
“What cute kids...”
Her skin nearly popped right off when this voice reached her ears from behind. It didn’t belong to anyone she knew either, so she turned and faced the individual with hands raised, gloved fingers curled. This individual is completely gorgeous and young, long wavy black hair with streaks of blond tied into a French braid. Her skin is bronze with freckled high cheekbones. Plump lips painted red, dressed in a green sequined short dress with sleeves that covered her arms. A strange fur shawl over her shoulders, under the layer of perfume, this fur stank of seal. Her purplish eyes are like a certain someone in Idonea’s life.
Idonea focused on those eyes more, finding familiarity to it but nothing in this woman’s appearance and gait confirmed anything. And her aroma smells similar to Leas, like a watered-down version of it with a kick of something else. Blood families sharing similar smells only differing by a fraction is just a natural occurrence. Kind of like green tea and its different flavors.
This suggests a familial connection between this woman and Leas. But they don’t look anything alike!
What the~!?
“Mmm, don’t be so scared, pet.” The woman leaned forward; arms crossed behind her as her posturing seemed to indicate playfulness, but her eyes told a different story. She was inspecting every part of Idonea, just like a shark does to a fish trapped in netting. Her presence screamed authority.
“I am being cautious ... I can tell you found me offensive.” The contempt pours out of your skin so thick...lady. Idonea responded bluntly, forcing her raised gloved fists beside her hips. No matter the psychological intimidation, Idonea kept her head high, only allowing a twitch on the corner of her lip. She is prepared to bare her fangs if needed, and maybe even scare this lady if she had to.
“Pft, offensive? No... no... my first thought is how peculiar...” The woman circled around Idonea, relaxing her posturing as if she was just having a normal conversation. Her attention never leaves Idonea, just seeing a different side of her. Eventually, the woman stepped close with a painted grin that never reached her accusing gaze. This woman is shorter than Idonea, so she had to peer up at the wolf. “You smell of him.... but you also smell like a wet dog~”
I SMELL LIKE WET DOG!? It didn’t matter if the woman’s words were strange, it didn’t matter that this woman knew of Leas and claimed to smell him off of her. Idonea’s lip curled, exposing some of her gritted teeth in preparation to flash some sharp fangs. Maybe the stranger will run at the sight of werewolf teeth, trying to get help from the attendants, but it will only make her sound crazy. That was Idonea’s impulsive plan. This woman is really getting the worst side of Idonea.
Idonea would have tried it if she hadn’t felt someone pull her away by the arm, her face was met face full of hard chest. And just one whiff clarified who it was...
“L-Leas!?”
“I was looking for you everywhere...” He smiled at Idonea, reassuring and so warm she nearly forgot her earlier grievances towards him. And she would have easily had if she hadn’t been careful.
Her scowl returned full force, ready to yell at him in front of this stranger. But this stranger interjected, chiming in with a perfectly smooth voice. “It has been a while...hvolp”
...did she just call him pup!? Leas dropped the smile, eyeing the giggling black-haired female with just the corner of his eye as if she had just interrupted something fantastic. That neutral expression materialized into a pout. He did not vocally respond, just watched her. For some reason, the other female said nothing else, just holding his stare with her own. She looked so happy to see him, a completely different approach compared to the earlier interaction with Idonea.
It suggested all the wrong things to the werewolf.
“Okay...my comfort zone has officially been breached. I’ll leave you two to be...reunited or whatever!” Idonea tried to remove herself from the equation, but Leas only pulled her in closer with one arm around her waist.
“Nonsense! She should apologize to you...after all, how could my own blood insult my elskan so openly? Right....ommu?” Leas mumbled the last bit, as if he didn’t intend for Idonea to hear. But she could hear it and felt his annoyance bridled beneath the plain tone.
Did he just call her...grandmother!? Or am I mistranslating!? Idonea studied the other woman from head to heeled painted toe. Nothing showed that this lady was older than thirty-five. She looked in her prime! This reminds her how her wolf kind doesn’t age, with her mother not even sporting a single gray hair and she has been around much longer than anyone. Seeing the end of the ice age is what her crazy mother often claimed.
WHAT ARE YOU?
“Oh ho ho! Don’t call me that, my silly hvolp! I just...heard that someone had just started living in your hjarta and wanted to make sure it wasn’t a repeat of last time...” She said the last words with a shiver, the complete utter disgust colored her bronze features because the memory alone deserved this reaction. “What an unfortunate curse...”
“Figures...A lot of talking. Not one apology still.” Leas chuckled, smiling but again lacked the warmth from earlier on. He turned to Idonea, the warmth back on his face as he mused, “Don’t mind her.... she’s too proud to ever admit being wrong.”
Idonea couldn’t react, the questions filling her head till it felt like a huge headache. She couldn’t even look at Leas straight in the face, feeling like most of her problems involved him. She wanted to avoid him just to get a break from these crazy feelings, and yet here he is again with a lady he claims is his grandmother. What the hell is going on?
“LAESDICH VOSHK BRENNAN! When have you become so rude!?” The strange woman puffed out her cheeks, showing that she was offended. Then she waved them off, turning her back to them. “FINE! I’ll remember this when you come to me all mopey when you break up!? Don’t expect any kleinur doughnuts from me this time, hvolp!?”
Okay....now I sense grandma vibes. Those vibes were lost by the way this woman sauntered off like a supermodel on a walkway and the body of one, her head exploding with more questions. I... don’t know what to believe anymore.
“Nea...she isn’t worth worrying about.” Leas pulled her out of her mindscape, nuzzling her head with his cheek. She would have swooned because of it if she hadn’t been so freaked out by the whole thing. The whole thing included Leas. Even his safe and warm snuggles aren’t going to fix this.
“Leas... I don’t know what to worry about anymore. When everything about you is so-” She gained the courage to push away from him, glaring daggers at him. When he looked confused and hurt by her outburst, she slowed her rage down and softened her front. He may have caused these feelings, but he still doesn’t deserve her full anger. Even that wasn’t enough, her fists shook beside her to reel it all in. “So-! I...am so very overwhelmed right now. I want answers...but I-I need space more than anything...”
His hurt expression may have at one point made her stay, maybe some time ago him calling after her would have stopped her tracks as she turned and ran. Maybe the memories of their affectionate relationship would have made her turn back, but none of that mattered to her in this state.
People watched her strangely as she ran past them. Security tried to ask her questions, but she ignored them and ran right out to the deck. She hid from anyone that looked for her, from anyone who could see her panic. She didn’t want to explain herself to anyone so much.
Idonea found herself on the quarterdeck. There weren’t as many people out there. If anything, she recognized two familiar kids playing near the railing. Their chocolate-stained clothes and red hair gave their identities away. A woman and man watched them from their lounge chairs. They must be the children’s parents.
This relieved the she-wolf enough, making her finally stay where she was and lean against a wall to gather her oxygen. She stood behind a corner that these people can’t see, and it was the perfect place to let out her pent-up emotions.
The werewolf thought that she was going to lose herself to her beast side again, feeling her skin pimples and her face burn as if about to change. What came forth instead was something wet, and it dripped down from the corner of her eye to her chin. Her very human gloved hands reached for it feeling.... Tears?