To Bloom Again

10

Violet

Our shopping trip passed without any major incident, I was able to assemble a small wardrobe for winter within a reasonable price range even though Kanti kept telling me price was no matter. I had a few pairs of shoes that fit me comfortably as well as some shifting gear being made by the local coven. Our last stop was taking the longest, the Oberon pack had a tradition that mates designed each others solstice attire or parents until a pup matured and designed their own outfit before they met their mate. I had always worn my mother's old skins to the rituals in Oak moon and we didn't celebrate in the traditional way when I was in school, so it was somewhat of a surprise that new ones were going to be made specifically for me. It was also strange to me that after I was measured I was asked to design an outfit for Theo as he already had one for the festival. It felt wrong to change the design Penelope had made for him, like I was erasing her from his life. It had been a few hours and I still couldn't think of a way to do my task correctly. I didn't want to completely change the design but I wanted it to be apparent that I had changed it if that made any sense.

Penelope had made a complex design with embroidery covering every inch of the garment and the finest furs showcased around the arms and back. It was a custom in my mother's pack to leave the males chest bare and to add a full tail of at least one of the animals used in the garment. I had a small inkling of what I wanted to do but it was so different from the already made garment.

"No one will be dishonored if you change the garment Violet." Maya spoke from the couch opposite me her voice startling me out of my thoughts, she had joined us about half an hour ago when Kanti informed her of my issues with my task. "He is your mate now and the only one who will suffer is you keep the previous design is you. You will always see his garment and think of her, think you are less than, but the goddess saw fit to change things and put your souls together, in the next life his soul will likely have nothing to do with hers. Don't force yourself to play second in this life." Kanti added her own opinion.

"It's not just that." I shook my head and sighed "If I abandon her design I don't just wipe her from the garment I wipe her from the pack. I will be the one who erased her influence from a whole pack for a matter of pride." "And if you don't change the design in any way you will be considered less than her throughout the pack, they will see you in a fresh garment and see him in the old thinking you did not respect your new mating enough to change the garment." Kanti explained stretching back on the couch in a feline like way. "You will not do any sort of wrong by changing the design Violet." Maya assured me again smiling as I finally began to sketch a rough design.

I would honor my mother's pack and leave his chest bare preserving the element of the embroidery penelope had designed on long leather gauntlets that covered his arm to the shoulders connected by strips of leather and fur at the elbows making it easier to bend the arms. A tail from each wolf made into the garment was sketched hanging from the hip by a thick belt of braided leather. The pants I designed were more fitted than Penelope's had been but kept the same length and overall style. I discarded the embroidery on the thighs completely changing the majority of the pants to a series of mismatched fur patches. Down the sides of the legs I added leather strips with one strip having Penelope's embroidery idea on them in my own design while her design remained on the gauntlets. Whereas her embroidery told the story of Oberon as a pack my embroidery design spoke of our story. The story of Penelope, Alexander, Alice, Theo, and I. With a pair of mates at the bottom of each leg one happy one distraught with a third wolf. The design changed working its way to the hips with both pairs of mates separating until the two lone wolves joined together along the waistband of the pants just under the braided belt.

I loved the design but I wasn't confident in it and set out to draw another one more true to Penelope's original ripping the page away from the pad of paper and throwing it to the side with my other earlier designs. I immersed myself in the new design trying to change as little as possible. I was about halfway into my second try at the task when Kanti and Maya had enough. "This is the design we will give the seamstress." Kanti held my newly discarded design in her hand. I went to protest before Maya shushed me.

"You have done an amazing job with this design and to use any other would be punishing yourself for no reason. You did not choose to be paired with a second mate, and there is no reason you should act as if you are a replacement for something that was never right in the first place. I adored Penelope she was and always will be my sister, but you are now my sister too. I will not let you belittle the gift you were given by placing a dead woman first." Maya had tears brewing in her eyes so I nodded not wanting the tears to actually fall from her eyes on my account. She nodded in return wiping her eyes before she told Kanti to give the design to the seamstress.

"Now I know for a fact my daughter has been asking about you being late for your tour so we need to get going before she can terrorize my parents any further." She extended her hand and helped me off of the couch. Kanti reentered the room and held the door for us to rejoin Duncan in the main parlor of the shop where he accompanied us to the pack house to meet with Millie for my tour.

~

I changed into a pair of warm pajamas consisting of a pair of soft drawstring pants and a slightly oversized sweatshirt. I had put all my clothes away after my tour with Millie eating a small dinner with the betas and Mayas family afterwards before Aksel had to return to his pack Theo and his parents nowhere to be seen when we said goodbye to him. I had begun to feel my wolf about an hour ago, she was tired and groggy but I could actually feel her telling me that the dose of wolfsbane was beginning to clear my system. Right before I was just about to brush my teeth a knock sounded on the door to my room. The humming in my body told me it was Theo at the door before I could even exit the bathroom. "Just a moment." I called quickly setting down the toothbrush.

I opened the door Greeting Theo with a smile as I took in his appearance. While I had opted for the extra warmth with my heavy pajamas he had seemingly opted for comfort wearing a snug navy blue shirt and green and blue plaid pajama pants. "Good evening Violet." He stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants and leaned back onto the balls of his feet making an unsure expression. "Would it be alright if we slept the way we did last night?" he rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand "In the same room again?" He flashed a hesitant smile and my wolf stirred in the back of my mind as the bond hummed with his hopefulness.

"Of course, come in I need just a moment to brush my teeth." I stepped aside letting him into my room closing the door softly behind him. He nodded at me heading towards the bed as I went back to the bathroom to brush my teeth as he made himself comfortable. I took the time to brush my hair while I was in the bathroom attempting to braid it as well but I wasn't used to working with such short hair so the braid was sloppy with a lot of loose hairs. I was surprised to find my nest of blankets and pillows had been assembled by Theo when I emerged from the bathroom.

"Thank you for making my bed for me." I thanked him glancing over to the bed where he was laying out an extra blanket for himself. He looked up at me and nodded before frowning slightly. "Did you want help braiding your hair, I do it for Millie all the time." I grimaced playfully "That bad huh." Theo let out a chuckle.

"Millie has really tight curls just like Maya and I and but your hair seems to have a more relaxed curl but Maya says it's almost worse to have a messy braid in curly hair as far an knots forming while sleeping." He sat on the bed and gestured to the mattress in front of him for me to sit down in front of him. Sitting down where he had gestured to tensing slightly when he initially touched my head only to relax as he began to undo my messy braid running his fingers through my hair. My wolf and I had always enjoyed having our hair or fur played with and feeling the sparks from my mates touch as he did my hair had her falling asleep and me relaxing from the events of the past few days.

It took a few minutes for him to get a braid he was satisfied with undoing his work twice before settling on the third braid. "Sorry Its not perfect some of your hair is too short to do more than a few twists with but it's mostly in the braid." I hummed in acknowledgement "It's fine, it's certainly better than when I did it myself. I still need the practice with short hair myself." A large yawn cut through my reply. "Excuse me, do you need to do anything or are you fine if I get the lights so we can sleep?" I stood from the bed and faced him.

"I can get the lights go ahead and get comfortable in your bed." Theo stood from the bed himself nodding towards said nest as he turned on the bedside lamp. I conceded with another yawn and curled up in my nest as he walked towards the lightswitch. "Ready when you are." He hummed at my words and the overhead light went out. I closed my eyes as I listened to him climb into bed and turn off the lamp noting that he settled on the side of the bed closer to me before I fell asleep.