Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Fifty-Three 🌑

It was getting late, so I texted my father to let him know that I was going to be spending the evening at Accalia's house. There was a lot that we needed to discuss and work through, and while I knew my dad wasn't going to be happy about me being gone from home again, I knew that they needed me. 

Besides, someone had to stay and entertain Naomi. 

I was on the third wolf picture that I had drawn for her, before Yara entered the room to join the two of us. 

She came to sit down on the carpeted floor of the guest room, beside me, and then asked her question. 

"How is she?" she asked. 

"She's okay. Feeling better, Naomi?" I asked. 

Naomi gave a small nod of her head. 

"She's young- there's a chance she'll get better on her own," Yara said thoughtfully. 

Well, we could hope so. 

"I do have to wonder whether Fenn's plan is going to work," she said, "And don't get me wrong, that's not me being doubtful. I'm just curious. I think when you guys go to try to find the ingredients for the antidote, I want to come with you."

"I'm sure you can, Yara. We need all the help we can get," I said. 

 Yara smiled and then her expression became thoughtful, again. 

"What are you thinking about?" she asked. 

"My dad. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up...he thinks I'm just at a sleepover," I said. 

Her eyes flickered with amusement. 

"I could tell that something was on your mind," she said, "You don't have to worry about this, Ophelia. You know you're not meant to tell people outside of the tribe. Wolf law." 

I sighed. 

Right. Wolf law. 

I had already broken that many times in the past, though, given that Kate now knew not only about me, but about Accalia, Fenn and Uma, too, due to my actions. 

"Hey, it's going to be alright!" Yara said with some energy, "We should go, now. We should go and search for some of these ingredients...but Naomi-" 

"Mama, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Naomi said, with a hopeful smile, though I could tell from the dampness in her hair that her temperature was still high. 

Yara gave her daughter a quick squeeze, and then it came time for she and I to make our way out into the depths of the night. 

Her eyes scanned the forest for a moment, before she nodded decisively to the left. 

"Let's go that way," she said. 

I followed her, as we began to rush onwards. 

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly turned the torch on, so I could use it to light the way ahead. 

"This is kind of exciting, isn't it? You know, if you ignore the whole sense of doom and gloom," Yara said. 

"We need to try to stay positive," I told her. "Naomi's a strong kid. I haven't even known her for that long and I can tell as much about her." 

Yara adjusted the collar on her shirt and nodded. 

"Yeah, I suppose you're right in saying that, Ophelia. She's certainly a brave child, even if she is only four. She's wise beyond her years already, I feel." 

I smiled at the pride in her voice. 

"On another note, I need to buy some new clothes later," she said, "This has shrunk in the wash," she added, and I could tell she was referring to the shirt, it did look a little crinkled. 

We continued to move forward and she then spoke again. 

"Anyway, that's not what's important right now," she said. "Berries, flowers." 

"This would be a lot easier if I wasn't short-sighted, and if it wasn't night-time," I added. It was only a half joke. 

"Last year, I bought this really nice red dress, when I was out shopping with Uma," Yara began to say, as she began to collect some berries into her hands, I worked with her, "Later that day, some outsider wolves decided to come and roam outside our cave. I transformed into a wolf while I had just tried on the dress and ripped it to shreds." 

I sighed. 

"First world wolf problems," I replied. 

Yara scoffed. 

"Tell me about it," she said. 

A few moments later, we had collected up as many fruits and berries and flowers as we could manage, so we returned home. 

We swiftly placed the ingredients in a box in Fenn's room, where he was collecting them, and then wandered to the guest room to find Naomi. 

She had been sleeping before we had arrived, but her eyes soon opened up again and she peeked at us. 

"You're home! I missed you," she said, with a charming smile, as she bounded into her mother's arms. "I knew you would be back soon, though. You hate staying out beyond ten p.m." Naomi commented. 

"Naomi...how did you even notice that?" Yara asked, visibly intrigued. 

Naomi shrugged. 

"I just notice these things," she said. "Plus, I heard the door open." 

Well, that made a lot more sense. 

"Did you bring me back cookies?" she asked. 

"I'm sorry, Naomi, I forgot," Yara replied. 

Naomi looked a little disappointed, but she soon seemed to shake the thought away. 

"That's okay. All forgiven. Maybe we could bake some together tomorrow?" she suggested. 

Yara smiled. Her eyes went a little glossy in her relief that, for the most part, Naomi seemed to be alright. 

Naomi seemed perfectly calm, despite the situation. It just seemed to prove how mature she was for her age. 

"I know I'm going to be alright, mama. I promise. I pinky promise!" she said, holding out her pinky finger. 

Yara soon interlocked her pinky finger with the smaller one. 

"It's going to be alright, Naomi. I think you're right," she said, as she gave her daughter's pinky finger a gentle shake. 

Naomi's expression seemed to relax a little, then, glad that she had seemingly convinced her mother that everything really would be okay.