Ashes

Serene

~ Iorek ~

I turn to her after taking my vest off. Her body is wrapped around the black animal and her blanket is at her feet. I walk over and pick it up. I lay it over her, "sleep well" I gently whisper to her. Her face which usually wore a stern look is now relaxed and peaceful in the moonlight shining through the window. She kinda looks pretty when she's not wearing a stubborn look.

I wake in the middle of the night to sounds crying. I roll over expecting to see Serene in my bed but don't. Startled, I sit up and try to scan my moonlit room. Ryu is on the edge of her bed staring at the corner. I follow his gaze and see her rocking back and forth. I get up and walk carefully towards her and make out that her knees are up and her head is shoved into them. Her arms are wrapped around herself. I reach down to gently place a hand onto her shoulder. She stops rocking and her cries go to sniffles. I place my other hand on her other shoulder and squat down in front of her. She slowly lifts her head and stares at me. "Serene..." I brush the hair out of her eyes to see them glossy. She must be doing this in her sleep. She responds with a sudden scream and pushes me onto the floor. Bewildered I try to stand only to be trapped underneath her and meet a fist to my face. "Serene stop!" She swings another blow to my face, it cuts my lip. I grab her fist as its swung towards me again, "SERENE!" The yell must've woken her up because she stops. Her eyes are wide and confused as she gets off slowly. I stand up and take her arm gently. I guide her back to the bed. She whimpers and I look at her. She hides her face but not before I could see tears streaming down her cheeks. I sigh and pull her in for a hug. "What happened" I ask, stroking her hair. She stands limp in my arms and doesn't answer me. "You don't have to tell me what's the matter, but know that I'm not going to hurt you". She pulls away and goes to sit on the bed. She pulls her knees up  to her chest and stares at the wall. Ryu curls around her and her body seems to relax. "Try to get some rest okay?" I tell her as I go lay back down. "I'm here if you need me." She doesn't respond and lays down on top of her animal. I sigh and roll over. She's obviously been through a lot, I know that much. But what happened to make her act like that. What was she dreaming about? My mind spins until I start to drift to sleep.

It's the next morning and I roll over to see she's still sleeping. I get up and silently start to get dressed. I hear a thud. I look behind me and see she has fallen on the floor. Still sleeping and her hair is over her face. I chuckle and walk to her side. I pick her up in my arms and place her back onto the bed. She groans and opens her eyes. "Morning", I say. She groans at me and rolls over, facing her back to me. I chuckle, "Feel free to come out whenever you want" I open the door and leave my cabin to go to see Owaki. A young girl with auburn hair tied into two braid runs up to me. "Iorek!" I pick her up and swing her around. "Hey Eden, you're up early!" She giggles, her green eyes sparkling. She puts her arms around my neck. "I wanted to see the girl. Is she up yet?" I glance at my cabin, " I'd give her space for now." I put Eden down and she runs off with arms out like an airplane. I walk to Owaki's cabin and tap on his door. It opens and he gestures me to come in. "Morning my child" he closes the door and I sit on his rug. "Owaki, how would you feel if we made her a part of this tribe?" He sits down in front of me. "Why do you ask my son?" I scratch the back of my neck, "I don't think she has a tribe." Owaki nods understandingly. "Do you think she will make a good mother to our future warriors?" I take a deep breath, "Well, actually I feel like she could be a warrior..." He doesn't say anything for a few minutes. "She's been out on her own for who knows how long. She probably knows the forest really well. And she has a panther that could help us in battles and get food-" he cuts off my rant, "Iorek my child, if you think that is best then I trust you. You are going to take my place when I die. Prove to me that you can handle things better than you have before. Finding her was your idea, show me you can take care of her and this tribe." I nod. "Yes father."