❆ ❆ ❆ Chapter Twenty Seven ❆ ❆ ❆

A Moment of Respite

[Snow]

“A little more…more…are you scared or something?” Snow egged Aela on.

Seasoning and greens were all neatly laid out on the cooking counter, The meat had sprinkles of pepper on it. Snow had taken the title of instructor, and Aela, the rowdy student. This task was quite possibly harder than anything she has ever done. Aela had a lot to learn, to put it lightly.

“Jeez, how much more? Why don’t I just dump the whole thing!”

“Obviously don’t dump the whole thing, you forehead!”

“Who are you calling forehead.” Aela sprinkled pepper on Snow’s face.

“Hey!” Snow complained followed by a sneeze.

Aela was laughing.

“Ok, I think that’s good enough.” Snow sniffed.

“So it’s like a light coating, gotcha.”

“This isn’t so bad, still tedious but it's a lot more complicated than I figured.” Aela concluded.

“Mhmhm, you know a good meal is something everyone always remembers.” Snow nodded.

After dinner was made and served Aela and Snow sat at the table. This was the first time Aela held a genuine happy conversation at the dinner table. She spoke about pranks she would pull on Laura, and some then some of their adventures together in the elven forest. Aela was actually a very colorfull person, and the troublemaker type. It reminded Snow of herself, funny enough. Snow savored the moment and the-somewhat-decent food Aela painstakingly crafted.

“So, Snowflake, Any boys you got waiting at home for you?” Aela redirected the conversation to her. Snow grew red a tad bit

“No! Well, I mean. There is one, I kinda, like. Like.”

“Ohhh, so you do fancy someone? Come on, spill it, what’s his name?” Aela demanded.

“His name is… Randelian Windram. Everyone calls him Randal though.”

“Windram?!” Aela's face grew surprised and then very intrigued, “So I guess our little princess likes bad boys. I never would have thought.”

“He's not bad! Hes.. actually kinda goofy.” Snow said with an embarrassed frown.

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“Well, if that kid has half the grout of his father, he’ll grow up to be a dragon rider or somethin.”

“Dragons aren't real…”

“Says the half angel.” Aela smirked.

That night they traded some bedtime stories. Snow told Aela about her adventure in the mountaineer kingdom to which Aela was an avid fan of. Aela especially liked the part where she played the deathly game of hide and seek against Rezlo, the devil imp. Afterwards, Aela told her of a similar imp encounter she experienced, but instead of playing a game, she just blasted the imp away with a frost tornado. It was a very comical night.

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The following morning, Snow awoke to the smell of bacon.

“Bacon?” Snow rose from the sheets. Aela was cooking on the stove across from the bed.

“Found me a nice squealer on my rounds this morning. I thought I would surprise you but-” Aela sniffed, the smoke emitting from the pan turned black. “Uh, Snow, I think it's burning! What do I do?!” Aela sounded like a kid.

“Take it off the fire!” Snow hopped off the bed and took over before Aela could commit arson with the bacon. Inside the pan were over a dozen strips that barely fit inside of it. “Aela why did you put this many!” Snow tried to flip the strands, there were another dozen underneath. “There's more underneath?!”

“Yeah, I'm not going to waste it!” Aela shrugged.

“You cook it in small portions at a time! And these strands are so thick!” Snow said in disbelief.

“Oh well. Now I know.” Aela smiled as Snow saved what was left of the bacon.

Snow did the best she could and saved about ten strips from complete and utter disintegration. The strips were half burnt but they were still mouth-watering good. After all this time, bacon was a blessing from heaven. Aela grabbed some of Snow’s gear and put it on the table, while putting on her own.

“Snow, the black knights are nowhere to be found. They haven't even touched any seals this morning. I figured we should take the day off. I’m going to the wolf gorge to check on Mina’s pups. Do you want to come?”

“Aela suggesting to take the day off? You're scaring me. Yeah, I’ll go. It will be a nice change of pace.”

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They went to the top of wolf gorge. Snow sat with her legs sticking into the pen. The pups were play-fighting with her boots. Based on their behavior, they were either teething or having a fantastical battle, where her boots enacted a mythic beast of legend. Mina was laying on the other side watching, seemingly relieved that the pups had a distraction and purred while Aela rubbed her stomach.

“Mina’s tired, that's good. That means she's actually being a mom now.” Aela continued to rub a happy Mina’s stomach.

“She deserves some rest. She's been a very good girl.” Snow said while shuffling her feet, in abrasive counters and dodges against the claws of the small devils.

Snow turned her gaze to the inside of the gorge. The rest of the pack were going about their day, resting in their dens or playing. Which made Snow realize, even if there are big issues in the world. It’s okay to stop and appreciate the things you have. Another beauty of wolves, they live in the moment.

“Aela, I'm glad I went back. To help you.” Snow said with content.

Aela leaned against Mina and closed her eyes, unresponding.

Snow put on a face.

“Well! Say it! I know you want to!” Snow demanded against her silence.

“Alright, alright. I’m glad you came back to help me Snowflake. Now shut it, I want to take a nap.” As fast as Aela said that, she fell fast asleep.

The nibbling devils had ended their battle, they failed to defeat her mighty boots. They were tired and scurried to Mina’s protective coat to rest. Everyone seemed sleepy. Snow snuck over to her companions and laid right next to Aela. She looked to the sky, and enjoyed the view, before too, falling asleep.

It was a lovely day off.