Wereball Series - Along Came A Mate

Part 2 - Chapter 1

AN/ Yvaine is a name with scottish origins. As far as I know, it means "evening star" or "the first star of the night".

Do you like the cover?! :) 

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"Yvaine"

A familiar voice began to penetrate my unconsciousness.

"Yvaine, my star." Once again, there was the same comforting voice with a light caress on my forehead. My eyes tried to blink open but were too sticky from tears shed before bed.

After a few tries, I managed to make out a blurry shape in front of me.

"Grandma?" I was dazed. Surely, it had to be a nice dream that brought me back to Scotland. Why should Grandma be here with me in my student apartment in the United States without an ocean in between? Then, memories like lightning flashed in my awakening brain ...

Five time zones and two semi-discussions later, Lachlan and I had landed in our homeland. A large group of were-people, including uncles, aunts, grandparents, and uncountable cousins awaited at the gate, along with loud cheers, laughter, and 'boa constrictor' hugs. For the past two days, I had forgot all about the heavy luggage back at home and really enjoyed the moment, the 'here', the 'now', with my Scottish family.

"Oh, welcome back to the living world, Rionnag!" I let myself be hugged, sighing with a slight headache.

(AN/ Rionnag means 'star' in Scots Gaelic)

"Morning, I'm awake" I cleared my dry throat, before getting used to the darkness around us. "What time is it?"

"5 o' clock. Come on, we have a lot to catch up." She stood up after a kiss on the cheek. 4.30am was the time our grandparents always woke up, every single day of the year. Grandpa always declared it was important to wake up before cockcrow and before the sunlight punched the land.

"Your breakfast is ready, and your seanair is waiting for you."

(AN/ 'Seanair' means grandfather in Scots Gaelic)

I grinned happily as I snuggled in the pillow, as a sort of 'auto-cuddle', breathing in the smell of sage. Always loved that room. It had captured a distant childhood; invisible photos of memories hung everywhere I looked.

After a good body stretch, I left the blanket nest and headed for the bathroom, washing my face, and removing the fossil of tears.

"Oh, haló Rionnag." Grandpa was still the current Alpha, refusing to step down, arguing that age and aging were entirely subjective concepts, that every person aged at different paces. And my eldest uncle was also in charge of the pack to help him out.

As every morning for years, grandfather read the newspaper "Herald Paipear". It was delivered at 4 o'clock sharp, together with bottles of fresh milk, as in the old days.

"Hey, good morning!" I went to kiss him on the cheek and sat next to him, in the place my mother always used to sit at our family dinners. She had never refused to sit anywhere else, always next to her dad, to his right.

His pale skin and sharp features were barely affected by the passing of time. Those blue eyes, like mine and my brother's, examined me. It was like mirroring myself in them; they had the exact shape and colour tone... perhaps they carried more knowledge and had witnessed roughness that I would never have witnessed.

Grandpa and I were fighting different battles: I fought leukaemia and cancer, while Grandpa fought the growing numbers of rogues and rival packs.

He passed me half of the newspaper and I grinned as I took it and started reading, sipping my coffee. Part was in Scottish Gaelic, which I had learned as a child.