River Blossom Celebrates Midsummer
#3 of WritingCornerChallenges
This is a vignette that happens later in the story than is currently released. This is inspired by me taking something that happened in my family, as part of an actual holiday celebration, and mixing it with what happens when two people start living together. It's not exactly "a depiction of a holiday", but I think that it does fulfill the spirit of the challenge.
This is Canon, and I will likely put it (or at least a reference to it) into the appropriate chapter.
Now if only Trever weren't such an asshole.
Challenge Prompt: "Present a holiday celebration (real or world-specific) in an in-world chapter from one of your established story worlds."
River Blossom Celebrates MidSummer
World: Wolf King
This is a vignette that happens later in the story than is currently released. This is inspired by me taking something that happened in my family, as part of an actual holiday celebration, and mixing it with what happens when two people start living together. It's not exactly "a depiction of a holiday", but I think that it does fulfill the spirit of the challenge.
This is Canon, and I will likely put it (or at least a reference to it) into the appropriate chapter.
Now if only Trever weren't such an asshole.
River Blossom checked everything. Again. She had the vines and herbs. She had the water. She even had the wine and salt and the bow. She'd even asked Autumn Leaf to loan her the items that weren't actually part of the Midsummer rites, because the new home hadn't actually been properly blessed yet, and that needed to happen sooner rather than later.
Master had "kiss-ened" it, or so he said. It must be a ceremony from his world. It involved him taking her to bed and making love, so it was already a thing from his world that she liked.
She'd set the whole thing up. She knew that Trevor had a long, and very frustrating day yesterday. Apparently his new 'press' wasn't functioning how it should, and he'd spent most of the day yesterday trying to fix it. But, the Midsummer rites were supposed to happen at sunrise.
And it was Midsummer! It was the best holiday of the year! And he'd done so much already that was showing actual results. She wasn't sure how they were supposed to thank Rumesh for the timber to build the house, since it was made of bricks. Those were from the earth, though, and had straw in them. Maybe that would count.
She went back upstairs to their bedroom, and shook Trevor's shoulder. "Master. Master, it's Midsummer. Blessed turning and growth!"
Trevor growled at her. "What time is it?" He rolled onto his side, then onto his back, letting out a massive yawn.
River Blossom stood up, now that he was awake. "It's a little before sunrise. Blessed turning and growth!"
Trevor groaned, then hauled the blankets over his head and rolled away from her. "Let me sleep. It's too early for this."
River Blossom clambered up onto the bed. "Master. It's. Midsummer." She pushed her muzzle down next to his. "Blessed. Turning. And. Growth."
Trevor had never been married. The last time that he'd lived with anyone, it had been early in his Naval career. Since that point, he'd been a bachelor, and enjoyed that. No screaming children thundering down stairs for presents on Christmas. No Easter Egg hunts organized for their entertainment. Certainly not any that he didn't volunteer to participate in. Shocker: he hadn't volunteered to participate in any of them. "It's cold. It's dark. Come to bed." He reached one arm out to snare around her waist and draw her in against him.
For the first time since he'd starting enjoying her body, she resisted. "Master! Master we... TREVOR!" She squealed out as his hand cupped one of her breasts and he hauled her down. "Master we have to build the fire and light it, and we have to make the offerings to the gods! We have to do the rubbing and the wrapping! It's... Master, it's important!" She pulled away, or at least tried to. His arms was still wrapped around her chest. It wasn't quite 'groping' as much as it was keeping a source of warmth next to him in the cold house.
Trevor grumbled, and yawned again. "So go build the fire and light it." He closed his eyes.
River Blossom started trying to kick the blankets down off of his body, but she was laying on them. "Master, you have to get up and hurry! Sunrise is soon, and we have to get the fire built to greet Rumesh!"
Trevor was exhausted. He'd stayed up the night before fixing the lever on the press, which had broken after testing. And when he'd finally come to bed, he'd been welcomed by an enthusiastic River Blossom, who had been far friskier than normal. Not that she particularly wanted anything, but she'd been excited and had simply started rubbing and stroking him, and he had basically laid there. Not that he didn't enjoy it. Not that he didn't participate, at least a little bit. But after the third round of sex, she'd finally calmed down and they went to sleep.
Now, it hadn't even been four hours of sleep, and she was trying to get him to do chores? No. Absolutely not. "So go build the fucking fire!" He let go of her, and then almost ripped the blankets as he jerked them over his head. "Let me sleep!"
River Blossom stood up, and moved to the door. "Blessed turning and growth," she whispered, and then went downstairs.
The rites were supposed to be done with two people. Usually, the man and woman who were the heads of the house, though as the children got older, they took on more and more of the roles. It wasn't simply 'that's the way that it has to be', each step fed into the other, and many of the parts required two sets of hands.
She set the items out; the bowl of water to wash the herbs in. The vines and herbs, to be wrapped and braided around the wood, both gifts of Rumesh. The salt, gift from Shan; preserver of life and food, and desiccant for the burial of the dead. The bow, gift of Yyvash, defender of the home and provider of food. Wine, gift of Genta, to remind the people of the need to indulge and allow disorder to make their lives better, and ultimately more orderly.
Taking a deep breath, she reached for the salt when someone knocked at the door. That was unusual. Everyone else should be preparing their own offerings. She went to answer it, because it could be important.
Elder Reed Weaver was standing there. "Blessed turning and growth, River Blossom."
River Blossom's voice caught in her throat. Trevor should have been the first to say that to her. "Blessed turning and growth, Elder Reed Weaver."
The old woman sighed. "I just realized that this might happen. It's my fault, honestly. I should have thought of it sooner. May I come in, child?"
River Blossom nodded, stepping to the side to make room.
"I've already lit the fire in my home. Net Thrower is tending it." Reed Weaver walked across the lower floor to the staircase, then started to climb it. "Trevor will be joining you shortly." There was no door for her to push open, the staircase simply spilled into the bedroom upstairs. She crossed the short distance to the bed and hauled the covers back.
Trevor had just gotten back to sleep. The shock of the cold air and the motion of the fabric ripped him out of that rest. He whirled, lips peeling back in a snarl. He started sneezing violently when something hard smacked him on the bridge of his muzzle.
Reed Weaver pulled her cane back, scowling. "Don't you bare your teeth at me, pup. You're going to get out of bed, and you're going to go down there and tell her 'Blessed turning and growth', and you're going to do the proper MidSummer rites. And then you're going to properly consecrate this house. And if you don't move on your own, I'll drag you down there by your ears. You're plenty big, but that just means I have more to twist."
*
Trevor did join River Blossom. He did tell her 'Blessed turning and growth'. Under Reed Weaver's guidance, he soaked the herbs, and wrapped the sticks. He helped to build the fire.
He placed the small figurines in the corners of the house. He had no idea why the little alcoves had been built where they were until now. He hadn't had the time to think about it. They held the statues of the four gods, and each required their own prayers of blessing to be said.
The fire had been going the entire time, and when he'd finally finished the last of the prayers, and set the bow on the wall (string up, the stance of a guard and a hunter), he was about to ask if there were any other steps to this damned ceremony. Between the building of the fire and the consecration of the house, it had taken half of the day.
It was then that he noted the fact that the fire was still going. In spite of having been fed nothing but the one bundle of sticks. Camping wasn't his favorite thing to do, but a bundle of sticks with nothing else to go off of shouldn't have stayed burning.
And that the statues were all glowing, each one a different color. Shan was purple, Yyvash was red, Genta was blue and Rumesh was green. They weren't bathing the whole of the house in the light, but in the enclosed space, they were quite visible.
River Blossom and Reed Weaver both let out breaths, and visibly relaxed.
Trevor looked at the statues, and then the fire, and then the two women. "Something tells me that I'm going to have to start paying much more attention to religious and cultural matters."
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This story is a work of fiction. Any immoral acts included in this story are a fantasy and should not be taken as encouragement to perform or endorsement of these acts by the author. Specifically, because apparently it needs to be said; anything other than expressed consent for any sexual encounter by a legal unimpaired sentient adult is wrong, immoral, and evil. Unwilling subjugation of sentients who have committed no crime is wrong, immoral, and evil.