A Nagas tale

Spring Gathering

The end of March brought with it the first warm breeze. Audrey and Kogen had decided to enjoy the first spring day. They joined the gang at the lake for some fishing and grilling.  Audrey helped the girls practice their walking while looking for flowers. Olivia has joined them in the first flower hunt of the spring. "Leader Zer!!!" Audrey groans hearing those voices calling for him. She turns her attention to Kogen who remained in his beast form on his way to Audrey and the girls. He bumps his snoot on Audrey's cheek not wanting her to look at the group of annoying girls. The girls let out adorable giggles followed by "Dada!" Astrid held her hands out wanting to be picked up. Tabitha did the same following after her big sister. Kogen sat down and did as the girls asked picking them up and letting them do as they pleased. Which ranged from pulling his fur and poking his nose down to pulling his ear and patting his shoulders. Audrey drank the adorable sight of her children and her husband playing. "Huh, you aren't Leader Zer." the girls whined. Audrey giggled as she caught Tabitha who managed to crawl over his shoulder. "Oh! Good afternoon Elder Olivia!" The girls ran over bowing their heads to Olivia in respect. Audrey ignored the girls too busy watching her small family. "Good afternoon girls, what brings you here?" Olivia asks. "Oh! we wanted to give Leader Zer some gifts for the spring." They answer showing Olivia the gifts they had to offer. 'A dream catcher, wind chimes, and a rotten doe's eye.' She frowns knowing what that last gift was about. Kogen shifts from his beast form into his human form. "Audrey, is it warm enough for the girls to be out of the sun?" He seems worried. Audrey nods "Yes, this amount of cold is alright for Astrid." she answers. "Oh!! Honey! Why not join us in the hunt for the first spring flowers?" Audrey asks. He chuckles "Alright, the guys have the fishing covered." He agrees. "Flower picking is boring! Why not join us for some swimming?" The girls quickly rush over to Kogen. They reach for his arm but he steps away from them making sure Astrid does not fall. "The water is still too cold for that." He tells them without a glance. Audrey shot a glare at the other girls who had stayed back. A silent warning for them to back off. "Leader Zer! I made you a gift!" The one girl holds out the rotten Doe eye. Audrey frowns "It's nasty don't touch it." She scoffs. The other girls quickly rush to Audrey "Mother Zer! We brought these gifts for you!" They offer the wind chimes and the dream catcher. Audrey looks at them and smiles "Thank you two." she takes the gifts before showing them to Kogen. "We can hang these up at home. The sea shell wind chime will be so nice to keep near the girl's room." she offers the idea. "What about mine!?" The other demands they pay attention to her gift. Audrey frowns "A rotten doe eye is not a gift but rather a curse silly child." Audrey hissed. The girl frowns hiding the gift from Audrey "I've studied enough to know what your intentions are with that thing." The girl shakes her head "No I didn't mean anything." "Save it, I already see through your bullshit." Audrey huffs. "Come on I want to make a flower wreath for fertility this coming mating season." Audrey ushers Kogen towards an unbothered patch of grass. He chuckles "Already trying for the next set?" He asks. She nods "You offered them last time I'm just making sure we can make good on that offer." She answers back before giggling. The girl frowns unhappy that her advances are not yielding any results. "Ayame I think you should give up on the idea of..." "Shut up! I know Leader Zer needs more than some cum dumpster!" she scoffs before stomping off. Olivia sighs as the other girls turn to her. "Madam Zer," they whisper. She nods "I have already given you girls a warning about stepping on my daughter-in-law's toes, If you choose not to listen I am not responsible for what will happen." she shrugs. The girls look at their would-be-friend. Recalling the warning Madam Zer and the other girls gave them. They had left the tea house after venting their frustrations. The first to stop the group of five was the woman known as Willemina she was the go-to babysitter in the bear tribe. "Girls If you are all going after Leader Zer I suggest you look elsewhere." She giggled as she walked by. "I agree Audrey is not a push over and she's scary when you get her mad." The next woman answered as she followed Willemina. The group gathered in front of the group as they laughed and walked along "I agree, I do not appreciate you stepping on my daughter's toes." Elder Zer stepped up to them carrying the two babies they had seen Kogen carrying. "I fear what will happen to you girls if you push her too far." she sighs. The girls whined clinging to the Elder. "This is my only warning." she walked away without much to say. The girls knew they might have gotten on the leader's nerves with how they had acted before. So they made gifts for Audrey as an apology. They followed the leader and his wife to help them look for flowers. The other girls decided to leave this nut to her own devices not wanting any issues. These girls also decided after seeing the 'Gift' Ayame presented. Audrey and Kogen went about their day looking for flowers in the field. Audrey found daisies growing in large patches. "Oh! my god! we can make Daisy chains!" she giggles before sitting on the ground letting Tabitha down to play with the flowers. Kogen joined Audrey letting Astrid play with Tabitha. Audrey starts weaving the flowers together making a few of the daisy chains before moving on to making a flower wreath for fertility. "what are the chains for?" he asks. Audrey nods "These are a sign of goodwill. I want to give the girls some luck in finding themselves partners." She answers pointing to the two girls walking nearby. He sighs "You are too nice sometimes." he grumbles. Audrey shakes her head "If they find somebody else to bark at I will again have you All to MYSELF." she giggles. He chuckles "Of course there has to be a trick." Once the girls were done playing Audrey walked over to the girls. "Uhm excuse me." she calls out. They look at her worried "I apologize Miss Audrey we did not mean to make you angry!" they step away after giving the quick apology. Audrey giggles before putting the chains over their heads "I wanted to give you two these." she answers. The girls look at the daisy chain confused. She smiles "I put a little spell to help you two find spouses. These are as a thank you for the wind chime and the dream catcher." She gives them a smile before rushing back to Kogen. The girls look at the chains before looking back at Audrey who is guiding the leader back to their camp. "she is really nice. I feel bad for going along with Ayame." The other girl whispers. "Y... yeah, your right Luna. How about we try to stop Ayame from trying to rip this apart." she murmurs. "I agree let's go look for the others, Norma."  Audrey and Kogen spent the day playing with the girls in the grass and sun. As the world warmed up around them Audrey went out a lot more which made Kogen nervous. He argued with her about staying within the barrier so she was at least protected but she refused, explaining to him about the gathering and how she and the girls had started planning the decor and events. He would argue but the girls were taking a large weight from his plate. So he gave in and agreed to let her go with the girls as long as he checked in on her from time to time. Audrey and the gang had a bit of a struggle to clear out the main venue space after all of the landslides and stuff. The Villagers are all set to come back in a day and a half. April was only two days away and the venue was just barely ready. Audrey made sure to keep a clearing for the men to spar and to have some of Kogen's troops help build up the fire pit to welcome the spring. Audrey looked over the checklist while the girls sat in their stroller. "how is everything going?" She lifts her eyes to find Kogen. She smiles "Everything seems to be ready I just need to make sure we can source enough food." she mutters. He nods "Let us worry about that, for now, do you mind showing me around?" he asks. Audrey nods excited to show Kogen the decor they had settled on. The year before they settled on roses as the flower of choice but this time Audrey and the girls settled on Daisies, Yarrow, and red tulips. Kogen looked at the decor and smiled "Why Daisys?" He asks. She nods "Daisys are a sign of innocence and Loyal love." she explains. He touches the red tulips "Passion and if the men cannot word their thoughts it's also a way to declare ones love." She explains as his eyes wander over to the yarrow. This flower he knew well but it was mainly used as a medicine. "Yarrow is such a useful flower." she leans on Kogen "They mean Everlasting love." she giggles. He looks at her and chuckles "My this year's decor is so romantic." He teases. Audrey nods "Yes! I believe it is always best to set the mood! which is why we set the tables up with tea light candles and only for two people!" She explains showing him the example table next to him. "We will have a different seating area for the families so that the two people can have time to themselves!" she nods "And this time around I asked Ivonka if she could bring a few more wedding dresses for the girls to use if they don't have one!" she explains excitedly. "You even thought of that huh." he chuckles. Audrey nods "I asked Leon to get a band for the event and the girls are currently teaching any of the bachelorettes how to dance to the songs we've chosen!" she giggles. "Ballroom dancing?" Kogen asks. Audrey shakes her head "Nope! Last time I was so lost learning the dance we did so I asked the girls to teach the bachelorettes how to dance to that song." Kogen chuckles pulling Audrey into his arms. "well how about we practice?" He asks. Audrey smiles and nods "I could use some practice." She laughs as Kogen starts the dance. Audrey followed after him as he spun slowly before letting her step away from him. He pulls Audrey back to him and hugs her. She giggles "Kogen that was wrong." Audrey points out. He nods "Hm I can't dance without the music." he answers. In reality, Kogen had spotted that girl Ayame walking into the clearing with a few other girls. "Dada! Dada!" Astrid and Tabitha both whine wanting to join in the fun. Audrey chuckles before Kogen lets her go. Kogen had not told Audrey knowing she would freak out if she knew that girl had been stalking him since that day in the lake. 

April 1st came around and Audrey was already scrambling to get to the main gate. Kogen did not hurry knowing A lot of these people took their time to walk. The village was buzzing with life again once everyone came back the night before. Audrey felt so happy to see old faces from around the village. Leon joined Kogen and Audrey in greeting the incoming bears. Astrid and Tabitha perched on their father's arms. Audrey looked at the names of the families joining this year. The same five from the year before which worried Audrey a little bit. 'if it's these same five families how have they not inbred yet?' She wondered. "I greet The Leader of the bear tribe." Audrey looks up at the man standing in front of her. He has white hair and looks bulky 'Who?' She looks at Kogen. He nods "Welcome." he answers. "Your name and tribe," he asks. The man smiles "My Name Is Darius Luvosky of the polar bear tribe." He introduces himself. 'Polar bears!?' Audrey looks at Kogen who nods "Write his name down." he instructs her. Audrey quickly wrote his name down. "is it just you who has come?" Kogen asks. The man shakes his head "No I'm coming with my sister, Aria Luvosky she is already 180 years old." he tells Kogen. The girl pokes her head out from behind him. Audrey is shocked by how young she looks and how much smaller she is compared to her brother. "she is a shy one, so much so that she is overlooked by my tribe members." he sighs. Audrey smiled at her and gave her a small wave. Kogen nods "I understand, please follow the girls waiting behind us." He points to Arnie and Talia who had nothing more to do. The man nods "Thank you," Audrey thought Yuri had a thick Russian accent but this man's got him beat. Audrey locks eyes with the young girl and smiles at her. The five families came soon after the polar bear siblings, praising Audrey for her good work on birthing heirs. They boasted about their son's year to find a mate and how they had a few more on the way. Audrey was pleasantly surprised to see the mothers pregnant. Kogen was not surprised to know that there was a way to protect them from certain death they were popping more children out. Once the afternoon came around Audrey was left in awe at how many different people came from outside of the Island just to take part in the ceremony. She looked at the list 'twelve polar bears, ten panda bears, and five brown bears.' She counted as she followed Kogen to the venue. "there are some that show up later but those are the ones that don't like to meet the Leaders." he grumbles. Audrey nods recalling a few that poked in after the explanation of the aura bond. We walked into the venue seeing the tables were taken up by the polar bears sticking together as well as the others. Audrey noticed the group of five girls that used to cause her issues. Her eyes land on Ayame who is dressed skimpily while the others are dressed modestly. Audrey did not make much of a fuss over it knowing that some girls felt comfortable in skimpy clothes. "Do you think these extra guys would be okay with the none bear tribe girls that joined?" Audrey asks. Kogen shrugs "I'm not sure." he answers. Audrey sighs "I hope so." she sets the clipboard on the table next to her. She takes Astrid from Kogen so he can start the ceremony.