Chained in Servility

Chapter 3

Raven closed the door to Corma's room and swallowed when she bumped into her father. His crimson eyes bored into hers and she pressed against the door, trembling fingers searching for the knob again.

"Raven." She froze, entire body tense as he spoke. Oh ancestors, she'd finally messed up. It'd been a wildly successful season and she hadn't gotten on his bad side once, but in the final, most important moment, she'd mseed up.

She flinched when he put his hands on his hips, color draining from her cheeks as she waited. "I'm disappointed." With that, Fallon walked away and she slid down the door, burying her face in her hands. Relief flooded her to the roots of her hair. She had a feeling the strike would come later, but at least it hadn't for now.

She forced herself to her feet as the warm scents from the kitchen tempted her. She peeked in and smiled a bit when as she saw her mother move around, poking at the fire on the hearth. Her mouth watered as fresh fish wafted toward her and she stepped around the doorway.

Immediately Dove turned and face her, opening her arms. Raven ran over and embraced her mother, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "Welcome home, Raven. I missed you so much." Dove's grip tightened and Raven clung to her, unable to stop the tears from falling freely.

"I missed you too." She hadn't been able to return home this past active season, so she hadn't seen Doven since that spring. With her of age, she had to learn how to be the chief and chiefs had to lead. There was no returning home during the active season for them.

Dove ruffled Raven's hair and the teen smiled up at her, receiving a light poke to the nose. "You got here just in time to help me pull everything out." Raven smiled warmly and nodded, brightening immediately when she saw the cloth in the boiling water.

"A pudding! What kind?" Raven was pretty sure she already knew but...

Dove poked her nose again and she felt the love radiate from her mother for the first time in nearly three months. "Your favorite, of course." Raven just nodded as her mother pulled away. With that, she helped set the table, settling with her legs beneath her on the cushion. Dove sat to her left with Qrow to her right. Dove just tutted as she looked at him.

"Honestly, Qrow, do you ever wash your hair? You look like you just dumped a pot of grease on your head." She reached over and ruffled his hair a bit. He rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide the small, affectionate smile on his face.

"Sorry, Mother; it's just so hard to wash my hair enough during the active season. Not like you would know, though." Despite the jab, there was no heat to it and Dove just chuckled. Raven could only smile as she filled her plate and started to eat. It felt good to be home after the rough season. She'd missed her mother immensely and no words could describe how happy she was to to be with her whole family again.

Fallon came in late and settled down, turning to Dove. "So how many births have there been while I've been away?"

"Ten, though we lost one of the twins and Masi died shortly after having her little boy." Raven winced at the revelation. Masi had been one of their most gifted medics, so losing her was a huge blow to the tribe. She'd planned on returning the following active season since her son would be old enough to stay with someone else but with this...

Fallon's expression fell and he nodded. "Her loss is a great one and a huge blow to the tribe. She will be missed by many. May her soul soar free." Everyone bowed their heads and gave a moment of silence in Mesi's memory before conversation returned to normal. Crop yields, loss of cattle to predators, and other mundane details floated in and out of Raven's consciousness as her attention to what Qrow had mentioned.