Wings of Destruction and Duty

19.1 || Aurnia

What a horrible child.

"Which child? Lottie or the spoiled birdie who wanted to trade her bracelet for your life?"

Koa growled and scratched his ear with his back foot. The birdie.

Koa's voice rang clearly through Aurnia's head as the two of them scampered down the cramped hallways and back into the bustling kitchen. She stood to the side, making way for a young servant who was busy balancing a plate of roasted goose peppered with carrots and potatoes. They shared a small smile as Aurnia's hand quickly shot out to block Koa's paw which now hovered stealthily over a sauce boat filled to the brim with thick cream.

Aurnia hummed. "Gloria is passionate about the things she cares about. If only her father would direct that focus towards something a little more productive."

I still don't like her.

Aurnia chuckled and tapped the centre of his forehead. "Remember, don't let others and their unkindness cloud the goodwill you hold within you."

Aileen beckoned from the other side of the room, her hands busied by the two bowls of steaming soup that she handed over without much comment. Aurnia nodded a short thanks before placing the smaller bowl down onto the ground for Koa.

She watched Aileen bustle around the room. The older woman's soul glimmered with a fire that had been nurtured by the hands of time and with every word she uttered, Aurnia felt a pang of loneliness. Few people could manage to dole out so much care without giving up part of themselves. Yet Aileen moved easily amongst the people around her. Each of her suggestions was met with a smile, with one young woman even moving out of the way to let her fill a pie.

Someone chuckled and she turned to see one of the young men from earlier on emerge from behind the massive kitchen table with his left hand cupped over a small wooden box. He slowly approached, then stopped and looked at Aurnia. She only smiled and motioned for him to come closer. He flushed and knelt before Koa's bowl with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Koa uttered a low growl, looping his tail around the bowl protectively.

The man wasn't deterred. Instead beaming and skillfully whisking the bowl out from between Kao's waiting claws. "I did some thinking and decided that it wouldn't be fair to withhold something that you helped us catch." He unveiled the box with a small flourish and Aurnia could not help but grin. There was no harm in letting her tiny friend experience the finer things in life, and lobster was the perfect place to start.

The young man tipped the contents into Koa's bowl and the sinyo began to happily hop around the room. Aurnia laughed and turned to thank the young man but he only met her eye and shrugged. "The mayor wanted the lobster shredded and served in a soup. He won't notice if a few pieces are missing."

She nodded, thankful for the warmth that Aileen's turnip soup brought on. As much as the taste made her want to shrivel into her boots, Aurnia had to admit that the bustle of a kitchen reminded her of home. The time before the Great War often flooded her memories. But now she found herself longing for the laughter of her sisters.

Youngest of all daughters and touched by the gods. Her mother had always said she was lucky. But now Aurnia wasn't sure how much faith she had in her mother's confidence. The gods were finicky. Their gifts came with impossible conditions and as Aurnia had grown up, she'd begun to doubt her mother's role as the priestess of the Astos Mountains.

Aurnia pondered the long nights she'd spent alone, wandering and searching for the answers to the glowing frost that often coated the doors outside her mother's study. Her fingers twitched. It had always been cold around her mother and after one particularly successful night of snooping around, she had seen the glacial wolves pacing by her mother's feet. They had called to her, said a name she'd failed to recognise. Then a gust of wind pushed her out the door.