Reminiscing

AYSU

Jindo did get them some new clothes and Aysu and Ximun found the piles of new clothes waiting on their bed after they took a shower together. And after many minutes of sorting out the muddled pile, the couple were dressed and ready to take on a new day in the Moon Guardian Pack.

“I wonder what we are going to do today,” Aysu said, her arm hooking with Ximun’s while she tried to ignore the tingle on her shoulder from the delightful bite her mate gave her.

“Master,” Jindo answered from behind, “the people of the pack are throwing a party to thank you.”

“Oh, is that so?” Aysu narrowed her eyes because she recalled the way the woman named Shannon was acting around them. She then wondered if Shannon was going to be at the party. If so, it was imperative to hold Ximun closer than usual. Well, since they were already more united in their bond, any ridiculous attempt to break them would be repelled. But one can never tell. Some people can be more than cunning in their ways.

“How will the party be?” Ximun asked Jindo.

“As long as possible. We love to party here. But I have never been to any party, I was always guiding the prison and-” Jindo halted his words and his head ducked as though he was ashamed.

Ximun and Aysu then fully faced him.

And a concerned Aysu asked, “What is wrong, Jindo?”

“I was talking too much.”

“No, you weren’t. Why would you think that you were talking a lot? You barely said any words.” Jindo’s reaction made Aysu wonder if Nirel extended his wickedness to his worker. If so, that was terrible. Nirel truly became a man she will never understand.

“Jindo, you don’t have to be too careful around us. I know we are still strangers but we don’t intend to hurt you,” Ximun assured the man. “So, feel free to express yourself, okay?”

“Alright, my master.”

“You can call us by name,” said Ximun.

“Alright, master.”

Ximun and Aysu shared a look and they had to stifle a laugh.

“That’s fine. When do we leave for the party?” Aysu asked as they continued walking.

“In an hour. Should I prepare a small breakfast for you?” Jindo asked.

“There’s no need. Let’s tour our new house for now.”

Aysu was actually hungry but she chose to smile in support of Ximun’s statement.

Jindo grunted in response and with haste he rushed to the front and began leading the tour of their new house.

Exactly an hour later, an elegant carriage arrived in front of their gates. It was sent by the pack’s chief and upon entering the grand carriage, a tray of food greeted them.

“Oh great,” Aysu muttered in delight and before she sat, she grabbed one of the bread rolls in the tray. “Oh,” she moaned with glee and her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head. That was how satisfied she was. But could one blame her? It had been almost three days since she had a proper meal.

Ximun, who was watching her every move, reached for her hand and with a subtle smile on his lips, said, “I should have let Jindo prepare a meal earlier, shouldn’t I?”

“Well,” Aysu spoke as she munched on her light meal, “I guessed you weren’t as hungry as me.”

“I should have deduced that you were starving a lot. It has truly been a while since we’ve eaten.”

“Meh.” Aysu finished the bread roll and she moved on to the plate of chicken wings. “As long as we are both surviving and as long as we both have each other, it doesn’t really matter if you are not able to decipher my needs.”

“Really?” Ximun’s lips curled in wonder.

“Okay, fine. It will bother me if you don’t make an effort to understand my needs but there will be times when I’ll be really quiet about my true feelings. In that sort of situation, you would not be able to know what’s wrong with me unless I tell you. Now, in that case, it won’t matter if you are unable to tell what’s going on with me.”

“Really?” Ximun retained his state of perplexity.

“What else do you expect me to say?” Aysu protested while she tore the flesh of the chicken. “That’s all I have for you, Ximun.”

He leaned his head to the side while his body tilted more in her direction. “I have had terrible experiences in the past concerning that.”

“How so?”

“Every mate I have had made sure that I got burned for not being able to tell what they are going through. But how could I tell? They were mostly quiet about their issues. Besides, with them, there was no chance for mind links to manifest, so I had to rely on my instincts to figure things out.”

“That must have been stressful.”

“Well, yes. And I had other things to deal with as well. Court issues, council issues, palace issues, state issues, local issues, interpack issues, there were a lot of issues, Aysu.” Ximun appeared slightly excited in that moment and that made Aysu find that moment more precious. “In the midst of all that, how was I supposed to tell what my mate was going through especially when she refuses to give me a hint?”

“Those women should have given you hints. Because I am sure you would have been really concerned about them. You tend to be like that.” Aysu’s mind dashed to the time she first met him. “Well, you tend to be like that once you like a person.”

Ximun smiled. “I won’t ever live down the fact that I once hurt you, will I?”

“I think it is a good reminder for you and me not to mess up.”

“I don’t know.” Ximun relaxed into the seat some more, his lengthy jacket spreading over the seat while his suit piece underneath sat on his body with sleekness. “I feel it is okay to mess up. That’s one of the ways we get to learn.”

“Not if something goes very wrong,” Aysu replied. “There’s a limit to the amount of mess up that can be allowed.”

“Hmm.” Ximun pondered on her words. “I can’t think of a worst-case scenario.”

‘Cheating,’ Alora said from nowhere. ‘Cheating is one of the greatest forms of mess ups in any relationship.’

“Alora,” Aysu delightfully greeted her wolf while she dashed Ximun a smile. “Where have you been?”

‘Oh, you know. I was here and there. I was in jail.’

“Wait,” Aysu lowered her voice, “you were in jail?” Ximun shifted closer in reaction. “Why?”

‘Hmm.’ Alora appeared in Aysu’s mind and she began to strut. ‘I might have caused a trouble or two over here.’

“Why?”

‘Because we met Nirel again.’

“You caused drama because of Nirel and that was enough to jail you?” Aysu trul y found it hard to believe. True, her wolf tends to be crazy, very crazy, but definitely not enough to drive her into the eight walls of wolf jail. According to the books, a wolf jail is mostly octagonal.

‘You weren’t there, Aysu. It was almost bloody.’

Aysu sighed. “Are you fine though? You went very quiet before the whole Nirel thing happened.”

‘Hmm, I am,’ Alora’s tune was dismissive of Aysu’s question. ‘How about that power surge huh? I could feel it while I was in jail. What’s going on with us?’

“I have no idea, Alora.” Aysu could tell something was wrong but she didn’t want to push it because her wolf seemed to not want to talk about it. “It just happened. It felt good but it is very strange and I wish to know what’s happening.”

‘Where are you guys headed now?’

“A party.”

‘Oh, yeah.’ Her groovy voice came on and Aysu wondered how her wolf partied.

“You won’t believe the day we have had here. We successfully carried out a women’s rescue heist. and-”

“Aysu, sorry to interrupt you,” Ximun touched her hand briefly. “We are here.”

“Oh. Alora, I have to leave. Ximun says hi.”

‘Tell him hi back. I felt the magic yesterday, he is doing a great job.’

“Yeah, whatever.” Aysu dropped the chicken wings and adjusted the alignment of her black gown. “Just make sure you don’t go away again. Don’t make me worry about you. You are not a child.”

‘Well, you aren’t my mother.’

Aysu rolled her eyes. “Just stay put, Alora.” Aysu accepted Ximun’s offer to help her down the carriage. “I have warned you.”

“Shall we?” Ximun asked, his head gently bowed in courtesy.

She tightened her grip on his hand. And with a smile, she replied, “We shall.”

They began to walk toward the exquisite mansion in front of them. It was a grander replica of their new house and it came with beautiful flowers and trees for any passing soul to admire.

“Why was Alora in wolf jail?” Ximun asked after their steps had advanced by many steps.

“Who knows? She would not say. I hope she is doing fine.”

“Do you have any idea what could be wrong?”

“She could be rebelling.”

“Rebelling?”

“Yes. Because of what happened with my father. They were quite close in the wolf world.”

“Oh, your father is one of the werewolves that’s able to enter the realm of the wolves?”

“Yes. He trained for two years.”

“Putting his killer traits aside, that is a cool feat.”

“Have you ever tried travelling to that realm?” Aysu asked while she recalled how it was once her goal to visit that world. But that was so long ago. The quest for death to help ease the pain and shame that came with being constantly rejected made her forget most of her dreams.

“Yes. I was taking a few training lessons and I was almost there.”

“What happened?”

At this point, they were already at the main entrance from where they could hear the hustle and bustle of the party inside.

Ximun responded to her question with a sigh. “Mayana rejected me. Well, the curse made Mayana reject me. And since things were going relatively well before then, it felt as though I had taken a huge blow to my soul. And I did.”

“Oh.” Aysu smiled. “No wonder you were so cranky the first time I met you.”

“Those were rough days.”

For many seconds, Ximun and Aysu shared a smile with which they silently told each other that they were glad they found each other.

Then, seconds later, Ximun offered that they head inside. So, he pushed the door open but before they could move a few steps closer to the insides of the mansion, a familiar voice called from behind.

“Aysu, wait.”

“Gideon?” Aysu was so surprised she could not hide it.

And as she stared at the man who had managed to grow a somewhat full beard, he smiled and said, “I am glad I found you.”