Red Moon, White Moon

Chapter 13: Acceptance

Morning already – nertz. It had been weeks since Hayden and I made our dash to Bear's house, with no communication whatsoever with anyone. He kept telling me the gang was okay, but right now we needed to lay low, get better, and work on a plan. That consisted of him having me do some absurd exercises, him sitting around drinking something called banana beer, and us getting into arguments with each other. Rolling out of bed, I looked over my body in the mirror and was very happy with how I was healing up. The scars from the orbs were minimal, and, for the first time in days, my body did not feel like it had been hit by a truck.

After showering and getting dressed, I headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Unlike every other day when I ate by myself, Hayden was actually in the kitchen cooking us something to eat.

Looking up from the skillet Hayden saw me and said, "Good morning, pansy. Breakfast is just about done."

"What's all this? Usually, you're still passed out for another hour or two."

Hayden turned off the stove and slid the last omelet onto a plate. He handed me one and took a seat at the bar. "Can't I do something nice and not be questioned about it?"

"No," I responded curtly.

He laughed, shook his head in agreement, and started to eat his masterpiece. I had to admit it was one of the best omelets I'd ever tasted. Wiping my mouth, I reached over and grabbed the book I'd been thumbing through from Bear's den. It was a Celtic book on Filtiarn. I figured since that was the character the gang gave me in my role-playing group, it wouldn't hurt me to understand more about it.

Taking a swig of milk, Hayden noticed the book and asked, "What do you have there?"

"This? It's a book about some wolf lord named Filtiarn. The group I hang out with at school and play this game with gave me that name." I quickly shut the book and tossed it over to the table. "It's nothing really. I think it's dumb."

Hayden let out an outrageous laugh and slapped me on the back. "I would watch what you say—Filtiarn, she was one wicked lady. She was one of the most powerful, beautiful, and cunning warriors ever in our ranks."

Shaking my head in disbelief, I turned towards him and asked, "Are you telling me this is real, and you knew this person?"

"Well, when you're roughly six thousand years old, there's not much you haven't experienced in your life," he said, finishing up his food.

"Filtiarn was a woman?" I asked.

"No, Filtiarn is a title and the last person to hold it was a woman," he answered, tossing his toast back on his plate.

He got up, took his stuff to the sink, and started to clean up. I could tell he didn't want to talk about it, but, as always, I was not going to let it alone. "So what can you tell me about her?"

"I can tell you she would not appreciate all the tomfoolery that you and your friends include her title with," he answered swiftly, drying off his dish.

"Tomfoolery?"

He turned to face me, wiping his hands on a towel and leaning against the sink. "Yeah, you know like silliness, giddiness, and antics. That sort of thing."

I smirked and took a bite of my toast. "It's clear you do not understand how seriously these guys take this game." I rubbed my hands together over my plate to remove the crumbs from my toast and elaborated. "Trust me, it's their life, and they're very respectful. Even to the point where I think it is pure madness."

"Good to know," he replied.

"So tell me about her."

Hayden threw the towel on the counter, went over to the fridge, and grabbed two banana beers.