The Will Of A Life: Astras

The Froster Holiday Break

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Chapter 12
A Froster Feast of Friends
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   As they arrived home a large gathering of hoods were hanging around the front of the base partying and just being themselves in general. Some chased each other (one in particular relating to a certain head injury that will not be named), while others ate food and drank. There had been a large bonfire appearing out of thin air as Vera displayed her magic and they all cheered. With the party in full swing the group soon jumped in on the fun. Comera stayed by the trees, this wasn’t exactly her home as it was theirs and froster is a celebration of families. She looked around at the joyous occasion and found herself happy.
   Leon approached from her side and asked her what was wrong using a line of sigils. She read it and explained that she wasn’t really a fan of big crowds. Leon understood and left. In an instant he returned with two plates full of food from the large tables around the party. He sat on the ground next to Comera and placed the plates in front of them on a large root protruding from the ground. Comera thanked him and asked him for a favor. He wrote asking how he could help and Comera explained that she had gotten everyone gifts for the holiday as it was traditional where she came from, and she wanted to leave them at everyone's doors for when they went back. Leon looked at her with a rare kindness and wrote that he would show her them after they ate.
   Comera smiled and looked at the beautiful bounty of food on her plate. There was soft and steamy rice drizzled with a creamy cheese sauce, and the adjacent pile of veggies had been beautifully chopped, seasoned and cooked to perfection. There were juicy and delicious cuts of steak and pork to the right. The steak was a perfect brown with a glaze of sauce that could make anyone drool, and the pork had been rolled and breaded before cooking to create an aroma more golden than the food itself. The amazing scents of the food created a perfect harmony that ignited all of your senses from the first bite. Even Leon found himself astonished by the richness of the dish. They had finished eating dish after dish and stopped only when they couldn’t eat more. Comera hadn’t realized it but Ashen had joined them in eating. When they finally finished they both looked at the party that hadn’t lost even a hair of its charm. Leon remembered his promise to help her deliver the gifts so he placed the plates on the tables and helped Comera up and inside without anybody noticing. They dodged between people and groups and flying food. As they reached the door and slipped inside they both let out a sigh of relief.
   There was no telling when the party could end or move inside so Leon and Comera started rushing from door to door leaving wrapped presents at each. They swerved from hall to hall and Leon became happy seeing how much thought went into each gift. They heard the crowd of people open the door and picked up the pace.
   Once they reached the last hallway, belonging to Rosaria the mothkin, they paused and caught their breath. They looked up at a giant tube in the ceiling which led to her room. There was a ladder to the side but it didn’t seem to offer much help as there wasn’t any end in sight. Comera knelt down and carefully wrapped the box in ink before shooting it upwards for what seemed like forever before she reached the top and left the gift there.
   Leon suddenly heard the approaching footsteps of the woman and he ducked into a rainbow colored door with Comera. Inside the door there were an insane amount of buttons with different names and rooms. Leon pressed the one that said entrance and instructed Comera to follow along with sigils, before opening the door. They walked out and were suddenly in the entrance where a large group of hoods were chatting. He put his hand behind his back and wrote for Comera to thank him for showing her around so people heard it and wouldn’t be worried as to where they went.
   “Thank you for showing me around, Leon, this place is huge!” Comera said acting surprised.
   Vera looked over their way and popped up next to them.
   “Thanks for showing her around! I was going to ask Aldrador or Rosaria to do it, but now I don’t have to!” she said happily. Vera pulled Comera away and they sat on the stairs away from everyone else. She was quiet for a while and she then asked Comera a question, “Was the city alright? I heard about Yumida but other than that?”
   “It was big… but I think I liked it that way. Aldrador helped me find my way around, and the mall we went to was amazing!”
   “Mall?” Vera questioned.
   “Oh yeah we call them that on Estatia, but it's that giant store that was filled with other stores.” Comera explained.
   “I see…” Vera said, putting her index finger to her chin in thought.
   Comera just looked towards Vera knowing that little wrinkle in her forehead that only appears when she is truly in deep thought. She quietly stood up and stepped back down the stairs to Comera’s- no, her friends.
   She felt the serenity and calmness that can only be felt in a place with so many loud people having fun, the kind of loud that sounds almost silent when you think of it. Unless she spoke to herself she would never remember what anyone had said to anyone else. This was how she liked it, this silent commotion.
   She leaned against the railing at the end of the stairs and felt the pitter patter of people walking and raised her head. She closed her eyes and felt the warm, yellow-ish lighting of magical chandeliers. It was so…familiar. And that familiarity was from her past world from the family dinners each year. She used to hate the relatives who’d appear in her home, and she would always ignore and berate them. She resented that part of herself.
   She felt a sudden tug on her shirt and her thoughts cleared away. Feeling slightly spooked she looked left and right before landing her eyes on Nora with a stream of tears dripping down her puffy red cheeks.
   Suddenly feeling very flustered and worried she bent down and hurriedly asked Nora what was wrong. Through jumbled words and sniffles Comera understood that Nora was unable to find Aldrador and Yajurn amongst all the tall adults.
   Comera snickered happily with a light smile and swiftly lifted up Nora onto her shoulders. Her tears slowed and stopped as she held on tightly to Comera’s head. Comera placed her hands out in front of her, and was delivered gloves from the ink. She calmly laid her hands over Nora’s, finally seeing just how small she really was. Nora’s ways of speaking had made her forget that Nora was barely past six years of age. She began to walk slowly towards the party and advised Nora to look around for Aldrador because she was a lot taller than everyone else.
   Nora peered around the room from her new moving perch, and felt the heat of the warm lights against her wet and cold cheeks. Having forgotten her original mission she nestled her head against Comera’s soft hair, she smelled of roses and felt herself being slowly lulled to sleep by the scent.
   Comera had seemed to understand that nora really tired herself out whenever she cried. Sweeping her gaze around the room, Comera spotted Aldrador and summoned an ink claw but immediately recalled it and brought out a sort of black ink copy of herself with only medium length hair. The details were rough, but she handed Nora to it and grabbed a small bottle from a little ink platform next to her. She dropped a drop of the liquid inside onto nora then a light and warm scent of rose enveloped the child. Comera then sent the copy to deliver Nora to Aldrador. She then scanned the room once again and spotted Leon passing by Vera on the stairs scratching his head in wonder as to what could be going through Vera’s mind, and continuing up. She quickly turned to the ceiling and dripped a black ball from a pool of ink above Leon. he instinctively pulled a dagger and caught it balancing it on the end of his extended blade. The ink casing poured off and revealed a wrapped gift box. Leon was a cautious man and thus he quickly unwrapped the box and threw it high up in the case it was some form of explosive.
   What fell back down was the hair stick Comera had purchased. It was silver and Comera had added a gemstone similar to that of an Estian gem referred to as “tiger’s eye.” It was, however,  more of a light orange that was very similar to leons eyes. In its original form it was quite shiny however she had configured it in a way that removed the shine. Leon being of the assassin class needed to be able to hide easily and a shiny object would be counterproductive.
   Leon turned back to the party with his usual blank expression and there seemed to be a somewhat microscopic smile and a little shine in his dull orange eyes.
   He Continued up the stairs and down a hall.
   Slowly everyone started to return to their rooms Comera returned in the end after making sure Nora and Vera had gone to sleep. Once she got back to her room she practically melted into her bed after the many social interactions and exquisite foods. She drifted away into her blanket as the conceal spell lifted and her braid curled around her into a little nest. The end of her long braid had become white for quite a few feet now, Ashen then emerged from Comera’s Hood and began to sharpen her claws on the wooden bed frame before curling up atop Comera. A starry glow emanated like a projector around the room portraying each and every star and galaxy in Ashen's small body and Comera’s hood. A large star shot by and illuminated the white, galaxy plastered walls.
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Chapter 13
White Bark Red Wood
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