Mint and Honey

[heartofcourage]

"We need one for Mama too, Lynn." Jamie said as Lynn bought them some of the treats, as if their father couldn't make her anything that she wanted when it came to baked goods.

"I'll even keep it safe for you in my satchel." Yasmine offered as another treat was passed to them and she instantly put the wrapped pastry in her bag. "Nice and safe for later, Jamie. I promise."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Do either of you want one?" Lynn asked Yasmine and Alex, prepared to buy for them.

"Save your money for you and Jamie," Alex told him with a soft smile, hugging the boy against his side briefly before Alex bought two of the treats and gave one to Yasmine. "We'll see if these are as good as my great-grandmother's."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Your grandmother was Sicilian?" Yasmine asked as he bought her a treat and handed it to her. "You don't look a bit Italian."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She was Italian, Venetian specifically with a bit of Greek. Her mother was from Sicily," Alex explained. When Yasmine commented on his looks, he paused. "I was adopted as a toddler. My birth mother was from these isles. My adopted mother is half Italian and half Scottish."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Adopted?" Yasmine asked, glancing at him with a quizzical glance. "What about your father?"

Yasmine was always curious about family dynamics. The one that Lynndon had with Aleister fascinated her. She knew that Lynn was not Aleister's child by birth, but he loved him with all of his heart just the same. Yasmine could barely remember her parents and hadn't seen them for a very long time.

 

[KieranSoares]

"My birth father... I have no idea. My mother told me before she died that he'd had to run away, that some people wanted him for his fur. I have reason to believe he was a Wolf, and of course the evidence is in my eyes," Alex explained softly, his cub-blue eyes meeting Yasmine's. "My adopted father, on the other hand, is a Scottish islander. He works with my mother. She's a healer and he's something of an apothecary."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Who just so happens to be the sister of the king of Inverness." Yasmine commented as Alex talked about his family. "You're very lucky. Most orphans never have the advantages that you have been afforded."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know that very well, and there isn't a day I'm not thankful for the opportunities my family has given me in love and money, and the many cultures I've had the chance to grow up and live around," Alex nodded. "My uncle offered me the same privileges and chances he offered his children and all my other cousins. Whatever he couldn't offer, my Uncle Durban could through his friends in faraway places. I know how lucky I am, and I do my best not to take it for granted, Miss. I hope to be able to offer similar opportunities to younger people one day when I'm in a position to do so."

 

[heartofcourage]

"It sounds as if one day many children will have you to thank for a bright future then." Yasmine said as Alex seemed so passionate about repaying the kindness that he had received throughout his life.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can only hope so. Even just one would be enough for me." Alex's attention turned to the boys as a werewolf villager with painted fur came to them, offering them each little gifts that many tribal werefolk were handing out around town to the human children who might not otherwise get to take part in the tribal celebrations. Alex recognized the Wolf and smiled. "The red paint suits you, Jan."

"Luna insisted we match," Jan, a handsome tan Wolf with a Swedish accent, answered with a bright smile. "You should see Ruben. He and Telma are in matching white because nothing else would show up on his fur."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We're coming for dinner tonight." Lynn said with a wide smile towards Jan as he held his present close. "Mama insists that we are going to come."

The entire Ghis family was gathering as they always did, this time at the longhouse in the village. It was Selena's idea and she wanted to host her family as Kitty always had. She had taken it upon herself to pull on her mother's mantel and be the quiet, guiding force for everyone else.

"You're a good man for doing as your wife insists." Yasmine said with a laugh. "And I'm sure your cubs match as well?"

She knew that he had two cubs with his mate and had seen them a few times. They were nearing the age of adulthood within the tribe, still too young to do very much but old enough to help out with tribal business.

 

[KieranSoares]

"They insisted too. So two little red and white cubs are making havoc somewhere," Jan chuckled. Their children, a girl named Soli, Lunar for 'sun sister' for having been born during a solar eclipse, and a boy named Joran for a hero among Jan's ancestors, were both white cubs (two being unheard of among a sibling group), one of them pure white like Luna and the other slowly developing timber-wolf grey as he grew older. Jan and Luna had tried for a long time to have the cubs, and then once Soli had come along, Joran was born just a year and seven days later. They were six and seven as of the past spring, and every bit the trouble their father had been as a younger man.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, I'm sure that they will have a happy Solstice." Yasmine said as Jan mentioned his two cubs, a look of pride in his eyes that told her that he was very happy with his little family. "These two and I have been trying to convince the healer to take time from his busy schedule to have a little fun. So far, I think we've failed."

 

[KieranSoares]

Jan couldn't help but laugh, coming close to whisper in Yasmine's ear, "If you want to make Alex loosen up, go get his little sister Viola. He always absolutely melts for her."

Alex raised an eyebrow at them and Jan handed him three of the little gifts. "For the girls and Ruari." Stopping a moment to think, Jan then shoved one more into Alex's chest pocket. "And for you." Jan got the smallest chuckle out of the serious man before he heard his group calling. Jan hurried off after hugging the little boys, trotting back into his place among the painted werefolk and tribal humans.

 

[heartofcourage]

Yasmine chuckled to herself as Jan told her that the key to loosening Alex up was his little sister. She noted that for the future as Jan passed gifts to Alex for his family and then one for himself.

"Well, young sirs, we should probably think about seeing a show before we get you back to the bakery." Yasmine said, glancing down at the boys. "How about the puppet show? It's always been one of my person favorites."

 

[KieranSoares]

Lynn immediately took point toward one of the blacksmiths' shops where a shadow puppet show was set up. The smith had set up a screen in front of his forge and closed most of the window shutters so children could sit inside in the warmth and see the screen clearly while the puppeteers hid behind the anvil and some water barrels and played out the show.

Lynn made sure Jamie got a good front seat, settling behind his little brother and looking after him. He tried to be as responsible as possible, knowing his parents appreciated it and Jamie could be shy on his own. Alex leaned on a wall beside Yasmine and a few parents and adult siblings that had brought little ones in. The smith stoked the forge up so it burned brightly, and the puppeteers began. The story was a child-friendly version of the story of the werefolk plague that had finally brought many humans and werefolk together less than a decade before, but it was long enough ago that most of the children hadn't been born or were too young to remember. It was a well-chosen story for the Solstice, a time when werefolk and humans happily shared their Lunasian traditions and the pagan humans shared their Yule traditions, and Christians would join in too, gearing up for Christmas.

The children went through a range of empathy for the abused people on either side of the conflict in the story, to tears for the sick werefolk, to outright cheering as an impassioned speech by the king rallied the humans to action and saved both the Erygonians and the Lunars. The story revolved around a little family of a Wolf and his human mate and their cub and human child, and ended with the family healthy and reunited, unafraid to be together in front of other humans or werefolk.

As the story came to an end, the children all cheered and clapped, and even Alex couldn't help a small smile. Having been a child at the time of the actual event, and having seen his own parents among the humans struggling to save the werefolk up until Brogan managed to convince everyone else, he very much appreciated the story

 

[heartofcourage]

Yasmine watched the show with interest. She had been a child when a human plague stole most of the people in her village, including much of her family. She knew that the were had stayed strong and healthy during it, caring for those that were sick and dying. She had never really known how it was possible and sadly there were those that blamed the were for all the problems that had been caused.

"Everyone seems so happy to be with one another." Yasmine commented, glancing st Alex who seemed to be as bright and cheerful as anyone.

 

[KieranSoares]

"The isles have always been a safe haven, Inverness especially. My uncle works every day to root out hunters and keep the peace," Alex told her, watching as Jamie and Lynn found a couple of their friends and began chattering animatedly with them. "Ever since my cousin Sam took over as Brogan's head general, only a small handful of fights have broken out between races, and they're usually settled quickly. There was a fight, a long time ago, that ended in the death of my cousin Eli, Lucy's father. Ever since then, Brogan has dealt with race-related crimes personally, and whenever there's a fight, he usually manages to make both sides see reason."

Meeting Yasmine's gaze, Alex shrugged slightly. "We have a strange and wonderful little corner of the world here... and the Invernessian people deserve it, human and were, after all they went through in the old days of Tamblin and his father."

 

[heartofcourage]

"When I was Jamie's age, a plague swept through my home. So many died. The were weren't affected and they tried to care for those that were ill. Of course, once people started to heal, they blamed the were. Many were imprisoned. A few were murdered. It was a dark time." She said softly, glancing towards the boys who were minglin with their friends and a few of the other were children. "You would have never seen a scene like this in my home."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The humans here blamed the were for the war just before the plague," Alex nodded his understanding. "The Erygonians we have here come from the Teo nation, among which are a few... cannibal tribes. When Suara Corel's son Tidannon led the Erygonians here to what he believed would be the promised land, a few cannibals came along too and wreaked havoc physically and emotionally. And even though Suara forced them to leave once the war was over, humans still believed all Teo were cannibals, and that the Lunars were traitors for welcoming them with open arms once all the misunderstandings were cleared up and the Teo saw they could live here without having to fight for their own land and safety. Now... that's a distant memory for most of us, though you'll find business owners here and there who refuse to serve werefolk, and you'll find a few werefolk too scared or too angry at humans to come anywhere near town. There was a short period where the humans believed the were had brought plague to try to infect everyone, or that the plague was the Gods' way of telling us that the were didn't belong here. But the truth of the matter was that plague came from Europe and was probably carried by human traders. The African Teo didn't have a resistance and neither did the isles Lunar. But those like Suara who came from Europe, southern Europe in her case, were immune."

When the boys came back to them, Alex smiled softly as little Jamie rubbed his eyes, and he scooped the boy up. "I'm sure your Da wouldn't mind you taking a nap before we all head to the Gol Dun."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I want to go see Mama." Jamie said with a yawn as Alex scooped him up and he rested his head on his cousin's shoulder.

"He won't take a nap without Mama lying down with him." Lynn answered. "I don't need naps anymore. I help Da in the bakery."

Yasmine smiled, knowing that Lynndon was trying so hard to be grown up in the face of his mother's illness. "And I'm sure he appreciates your time and efforts."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Come on, lad," Alex said softly, opening up the door. When they arrived back at the bakery, Jamie was trying to fight back sleep up until Alex carried him up the stairs. Lynn set straight back to work only to find there was nothing left to do. Aleister came down and gave Yasmine a smile. "Hiya, lass. How was it?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"The healer is much too serious for his own good." Yasmine said with a chuckle as she offered Lynndon the sweet that he had bought for his mother to enjoy. "But he does have his charming moments, I suppose."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Alex is a good lad, but yer righ'. He's too serious. It's a trait tha' runs in this whole family, whether Ghis by blood 'r married in like me."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I fail to believe that you can be too serious. Lynndon is a joy. Strong, confident, and willing to care for his little brother without question." Yasmine said with a soft smile. "We met Boar in the market and Jamie had flashes of the same. A normal little boy excited over a toy sword."