The woods were peaceful as the clouds slowly rolled in, but it wasn’t the coming storm that would ruin that quiet. Loud barks stirred the birds from their nests as a stick twisted end over end through the grove, followed by a large white dog. Panting, Nana skidded to a halt and picked up the stick where it fell, her curled tail wagging furiously before she ran back to her fairy, grinning not one hundred feet away. Each throw when to a different direction, giving the wildlife a chance to settle down again before the nuisance came running through once more.
“Oh throw it again, Svea!” Nana said around the tongue that had spilled from her mouth. Her fairy was less enthusiastic about this game, but she was willing to do anything to help her stir crazy and growing familiar lose some of her energy. Even Svea was beginning to feel trapped in the cottage, and living with so many secrets for those who lived with her. She missed the days where serving her god meant prayers and attending ceremonies and cooking, not hiding in secret and lying to everyone around her.
She pushed a smile to her face and, half-heartedly threw the stick once more for Nana to retrieve. Thinking about what she was doing now had begun to push her mind back to living with her father, and, ever since the anniversary of her arrival in Shaman, she’d found herself becoming sadder and sadder at losing him. She knew he was ashamed of her, but she missed him and everyone in the cult so much. She thought about that life often, and how different it was here. How many rituals had been cast aside. With the baby more than nine months old, one ceremony was bothering the girl more than any other.
Nana pounced into her fairy’s lap with her stick, tail as difficult to see as ever. As all dogs do, the Samoyed had grown over the past year into her full size, but she had hardly matured mentally and she certainly seemed far less dignified than many other familiars Svea had seen, both on the rare occasion on this world, and back at home in Iceland. Still, the pup was her familiar, and she loved Nana with all her heart. With a smile she took the slobbery stick once again and kissed the furry cheek of the dog.
However, before she could even wind her arm up to throw, the sky split and the clouds that had threatened all day spilt their contents in a rapid downpour. Still not used to being in this sort of rain, Svea shook her head at the animal at her feet.
“No more today. I think we need to head home,” she said, walking toward what looked to be the driest path through the kingswood. “Besides, I still need to put supper on, and check on the baby.”
Nana nodded and, her tongue still hanging from her mouth, stayed just ahead of her fairy all the way to the house, pouncing through every muddy puddle she could before reaching the door. By the time they reached the cottage, both looked half-drowned and in no state to entertain visitors, but when Svea opened the door, letting Nana bound through and then following, a visitor – an important visitor – was what awaited her.
Her eyes widened at both parents being in the house with the baby, in the middle of what seemed to be a private conversation. “I’m- um- I’m sorry for interrupting. I’ll just… go,” she said before making her way to the small kitchen, not far enough from the crib to avoid overhearing.
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