Wolf-blood

Naming Ceremony

"Kneel and close your eyes," Lenus said as he wrapped the ceremonial cape around me. The cape was gorgeous, a pale blue covered in vines and flowers. It was Deu's naming cape, and she granted me usage of it for my own naming ceremony. 

I did as he said and I felt him raise the hood.

Oh, I'm so excited!!!

I'm not, we're getting another girls name. I mean, come on, give the guy something to work with. 

Vir, don't you dare ruin this for us.

Whatever.

Guys. He's starting.

"Oh Earth Mother, great and powerful, you are our rock, strength, and power. We ask you to watch over every creature present, especially Indie as she changes her name today to better honor herself and you.

"Anu, take this girl, and make her woman. Take this immaturity, and make it mature. Take this wisdom, and strengthen it. Take this power, and harness it. Take this magic, and make it stronger. Take this leadership, and enforce it. Take this care, and make it more. And lastly, take this name, Indigo Calypso Darenger, and change it.

"Do you wish these things to be done to you, Indigo Calypso Darenger?"

"I do."

"Do you promise to never renounce the Earth Mother, Anu, in any way, shape, or form?"

"I do."

"Then I, Belenus Apollo, hereby rename you on behalf of the Earth Mother, Artio Flidais." Lenus finished it off by pulling the cloak off as a symbol of rebirth. I was a new person now, no longer Indigo who sucked at Arithmetic, no longer Indie, best friends with Michael Gordon, no longer Calypso who ran away to the Fortitudo, no longer Darenger whose grandfather and father work at her school, and no longer Squirt, her father's daughter.

I was just me.

It was 24 days after I had shown my family the life forces. And they agreed. It changed everything. They now respected the life around them and through them. They said prayers after each hunt to honor the creature and thanked Anu at any given chance.

Orvar taught me how to skin and gut my own game, but I wasn't very good, so I still made him do it for me. He was also teaching me the bow, which, not to brag or anything, I was a natural at. I could hit a target from 80 yards away, right it the center. Oh yeah, I had the skillz.

Lenus was teaching me a few tricks to cooking and other jobs like that. Which I didn't mind, because my meals always ended up overcooked when I made them.

Deu was teaching me to hunt and fight. Her classes were fun. I got to go hand on hand combat with her and learn to defend myself. Granted, I mostly lost, but every once in a while, I won. Then, when we did hunting, I was a pro. I could just sniff the air, find whatever she's looking for, and bring it back in 20 minutes flat.

But whenever I got alone, I started to think about all that Anu had said. She told me that I had to spread the life forces to my enemies. Now, that could only mean one thing: my old family. I kept pushing it off, saying I'd do the strangers first then my family. Unfortunately, I hadn't been very productive there, either. I had to get moving, otherwise the Earth Mother wouldn't trust me anymore.

But I pushed that from my mind when I remembered why we were here. It was my naming ceremony, and now I was officially Artio Flidais. Bear protector of the wilderness and woodlands. I smiled. I was so glad I didn't choose Hannah.

I was pulled roughly aside by Deu who said, "Great. Now, you deserve a party. A naming ceremony isn't complete without a party." 

I smirked. She and I had become closer during training. "What do you have in mind, Ms. Flower Face?"

"Well, My Bearish Maiden, I propose we go to the town, steal you a hot dress, and go out to clubs."

"You're kidding, right? I'm thirteen, I'd never be allowed in a club."

"Please, girl, your look at least as old as I am, and I look at least twenty one. And, if worst comes to worst, we could sneak in."

I smiled. Deu was an evil genius. "Let's go Flower Face."

"Oh, we will, Bear Lady."

Two hours later, at 2:00 AM, we sneak into the biggest club, Nightforms. Deu had gone all out and gotten everything, so she managed to curl her blonde hair into messy waves and give herself smokey eyes. Her dress was black and hugged all of her curves. As for me, she gave me tiny ringlet curls, black lipstick, and an electric orange dress that, I won't lie, had alot of cut-outs EVERYWHERE. And I loved it.

As soon as we got in, no one cared any more that we were too young. The place was packed to exploding. We swiped some drinks and drank, comparing the different tastes. Deu was asked almost immediately to dance, and I was asked not too much later. I was a bit tipsy, so I said yes and screw whatever happens. He bought me a drink and I drank it because, hey, why not? We went out to dance but eventually another girl caught his eye and he walked away. I didn't mind, though. I could've danced alone all night long, for all I cared. I went and got drinks, danced with strangers, met up with Deu, and got more drinks.

I couldn't tell you how much I had, but I'm guessing it was a lot. And I was no hard core drinker. Eventually, I was again asked to dance and I of course obliged. The person had blonde curly hair and I liked the way it looked when the different lights hit it. We danced for a while to a faster beat, until a slower song came on, and he grabbed me to dance. I didn't object. He rubbed his hand lower than was appropriate, but I didn't move it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I moved closer. We danced and danced and eventually I realized that he had been talking. But I didn't care. Until I heard that one word. The one word that ruined my night out clubbing, drinking mysterious alcoholic beverages, and dancing with strangers. The one word that could've penetrated through my drunken delirium. 

"Indie."