Fire And Ice

Chapter 72 - Back to School

Natalia's P. O. V

It didn't take long for my leadership duties to take the form of a routine. The day often began with a shared breakfast, with all our members and guests present. Then we began working the soil. After several attempts, I'd long since come to terms with the fact that I was barely capable of keeping a plant alive, but Timothy and Kaesha were naturals, for good reason I suppose. Timothy's gift gave him a special affinity for trees, which he seemed to apply to other plants. Meanwhile, I suspected that Kaesha's goddess level of plant care even sans magic stemmed from the unique identity Witches had as keepers of the balance.

I was often shooed away from working on our plants by one of the two. Since the day I'd accidentally set a few young sprouts on fire in a burst of frustration, their trust in me when it came to our crops was lower than the seeds beneath the ground.

After my daily attempts to be useful in the fields were thwarted, I often migrated my efforts to my office, plotting out our projected spending and earnings. Being a princess gave me a plush financial cushion, but I wanted our reliance on that to end as soon as possible. The plan was for Kaesha and Timothy to eventually use their abilities to expedite the growth of our food sources, but we needed to learn how to sustain them ourselves before we got their magical boost, in case they ever became unable to help somewhere down the line.

The Claw Moon Pack had made good on their offer to send trainers, the first three arriving just a few weeks to the end of summer. With their help in both the food and defence department, my members studied under their tutelage in alternating day shifts. With my ban from the fields, I was the only one that seemed to have purely combat lessons. Aside from learning how to fight as a wolf and against a wolf with the others, a member of their defence council held sessions with Timothy, Kaesha, Hailey and I on the fundamentals of keeping a pack safe and secure.

Before I knew it, three months flew by in a blur and resumption dates were upon us. I would have opted to stay till November and then fly back to cram for finals if I'd just had Killdrain to contend with, but my attendance at the Syren school was more than just for the sake of grades or a diploma, so I needed to be there in person to digest the lessons.

So, after months of working in what had come to feel like my element, I was back in the city, on my way to the first class of the day at Killdrain.

Walking in early, I was greeted with a warm chorus of 'hey's' and 'hi's' from most of the study group members. This semester, there was one class we all shared, and that shared class was my first one of the day.

"Looks like someone got a tan." Beth said with a smile, her skin a nice flush of pink.

I shrugged. I hadn't taken note of it, but the consistent work in the sun plus the warmer climate than the usual city chill had likely given me more colour, so the comment didn't shock me.

I noted the intricate braid that had been crafted into a crown around her head, as well as Ada's fresh braids, "You and Ada seem to have had fun with your families."

At that, Beth lit up, talking about how she'd gotten the chance to connect with her grandmother and learn more about her family heritage, after which Ada launched into how she'd gotten the chance to be babied and enjoy good food at home.

Throughout their narrations, my being was hyperaware of Annya. Since the day she'd reacted strangely to me after my Uncovering, things had been off. She oscillated between ignoring me outright during group interactions or being entirely too close. And she'd ceased talking to me without someone else present altogether.

Today, she chose to be within breathing distance, nearly leaning on me as she listened to the girls talk about their summers. She was so close that her scent of perfection nearly drowned out every other one my nose was capable of picking up. I would've just taken it as the new part of the normal of our relationship, if Nathaniel wasn't glancing over at her every few seconds, looking ever so slightly uneasy at the proximity between us.