The Von Houten cottage sat at the outer edge of Waldstadt, just outside tree line of the Oakenward Wood. This made it easier for Dezzery and her father to take care of the results of their hunts before taking them in to sell to the butcher and leather workers. It also provided the easy option for sun or shade for the plants her mother and sister grew for their tonics and poultices. The welcoming sight of her home cleared away the small seed of fear she had experienced in the woods with the strange colored fire. Dezzery saw her younger sister, Abilene, already tending to the herbs for the day. Smoke floated out of the stone chimney over the lichen covered roof of the cottage. It was still early enough in the morning for the sun to cast a warm and pleasant light on the cottage's vine covered walls and its garden of herbs.
The rabbits now hung from her belt, thumping against her thigh with each step. On the way back, she saw two of the traps her father set up had tripped and took care of it. Dezzery hauled the doe and two rabbits to the hunting shed. She dropped the doe outside near the hanging rack before hanging the rabbits up inside. Abilene stood nearby when Dezzery reemerged to hang the deer to be taken care of later. A basket of herbs hung from the nook of her arm.
"How was your hunt today?" Abilene asked. The sun behind her cast a burning halo around her strawberry blonde hair. "It looks like you were pretty successful."
Dezzery began redoing the rope on the deer to hang it from the post near the racks. "It took me three shots before I could get this one downed. I guess my arm still needs a little more time to heal, despite most of the soreness being gone now."
Abilene set down her basket. She grabbed the loose end of the rope and tossed it through the hook on the post as her sister finished up her knots. Together, they hoisted the doe up the post with its hind legs first. Dezzery stood back with her hands on her hips, catching her breath as she looked at the product of her hunt. As much as she enjoyed tracking, cleaning the animal was...less enjoyable. Especially when her arms were tired. She was also badly craving more sleep.
"Say," she turned her attention to her sister, "Did you add anything to the offering bundle you gave me?"
Abilene rose an eyebrow, "No. Why?"
"Something...odd happened when I lit my bundle today."
Abilene picked up the basket she had discarded on the ground earlier. Dezzery noticed some golden yellow flowers and sprigs of rosemary inside. The yellow flowers looked similar to daisies, but the colors of the petals were not quite right. Abilene picked up her pair of scissors from inside the basket. She waved for Dezzery to follow with them.
"What do you mean?" she asked, strolling back to the garden. Dezzery walked with her, brushing fallen fur from her shoulders.
"It actually caught fire instead of smoked," she explained. "Thankfully, it was after I put it down. It smoked for a little while but then it started popping like our festival fires do when we place cedar or pine on them."
Abilene remained quiet as she snipped a few leaves from a mint plant. Her eyebrows furrowed as she moved to the next one. "I don't remember having anything like cedar or pine nearby when I made it. There shouldn't have been any cross contamination. Maybe there were remnants in your pouch?"
"But would it cause the flame to change color?"
"Change color?" Abilene's scissors paused their snipping. They had halted by more of those golden yellow flowers with the little petals.
"The flame turned black with a dark blue center. It seemed to...give off a darker light? Or it was more like sucking in the light around it," Dezzery struggled to explain what she meant. "It was a fire but it didn't give off light. It felt like the opposite of giving off light while actually being a light at the same time. I'm not sure if it was a trick of the eye when I looked directly at it, but I could have sworn the edge of where I was in the woods with the doe seemed to slowly grow darker, while the flame burned in the center of it."
Abilene looked at her with semi-concerned eyes. The brown and green hazel color stood out like the tree leaves when the sun hit them with golden light. "It sounds like you might not have gotten much sleep last night."
Dezzery put her hand over her sister's, "I know what I saw. I didn't really believe it but the forest was very quiet when it burnt out. That's really the only thing having me doubt what I saw was only caused by drowsiness."
"I do not think any of my plants could change the color of the flame. That is more in the realms of alchemy and I only know about herbs and flowers," Abilene snipped a couple more flowers into her basket. "It would take a powder of some sort to change the flame, not herbs. That much I know."
Dezzery sighed. She would have to confess to her sister and hope she would not utter a word to their parents.
"What about a chip of firestone?" she asked. "Would that change the color?"
Abilene quickly turned towards her sister, still wielding her scissors. The plants at the top of her basket almost flew out from the sharpness of her turn.
"You took the fire—" Abilene started to exclaim, until Dezzery attempted to cut her off with a hand over her mouth. Dezzery ended up cupping her hand in front of her sister's face while holding a finger to her own lips when she remembered the scissors at the last second. She did not want to add accidental stabbing to be added to the list of exciting things to happen to her before noon.
Abilene snapped her own mouth shut in response to her sister's reaction. She then looked down, remembered the scissors, and tossed them gently into the basket in her hand.
"You took the firestones?" she whispered harshly.
"Yes, I took them," Dezzery responded matter-of-factly. "I wanted to be quick so I could sleep some more before noon."
Abilene huffed her annoyance with her sister. She quickly rolled her eyes shortly after and gave a shrug of understanding.
"So you think maybe that's what changed the color?" she inquired.
"Perhaps," Dezzery responded. "What else would it be?"
"I don't think a magical flame reaction to fire stone would be a dark fire that sucks the light out of everything," Abilene gave a judging look. "That's practically the opposite of a firestone."
"I was thinking the same thing," Dezzery said. "But I thought, maybe since it was with an offering to the forest folk, it turned dark as a result. Like they don't appreciate my shortcut or refused the offering."
Both the sisters stood still in the garden, one clad in leather breeches and the other in a linen skirt and apron, as they looked down in thought. The sun was in their eyes now, rising up higher. They heard one of their neighbors' roosters crowing from a few houses away.
"I should go put the firestones back," Dezzery broke their quiet moment of thought. "If Momma and Papa aren't awake already, they will be soon. And I want to crawl back into bed before they ask me to do any chores."
"You lazy bum," Abilene teased. "They're going to make me do everything."
"You're sixteen now. While you'll always be the youngest, you can't be babied all the time," Dezzery smirked.
Abilene scrunched up her lightly freckled nose. "I'll make sure to leave you all the work tomorrow then," she teased.
"Anyways," Dezzery quickly circled back to their original topic, "I am hoping it is not the spirits of the wood being angry with us. The Autumn Festival is soon and it would be best to mend things before then if they are cross about something."
"We can figure something out later," Abilene started pushing her sister towards the cottage. "You should hurry inside or Momma's going to tan your hide before you get to the doe if she finds out you took her little metal box!"
"Alright, alright!" Dez held her hands up in surrender. Abilene stopped her insistent pushing. "I promise I'll help you with whatever you want later if you cover for me while I catch another hour of sleep."
"I'm holding you to your word, Dezy" Abilene retrieved her scissors.
"Hunter's honor," she replied, hand to chest, before turning and jogging quietly to the back door of the cottage.
As quietly as she could, Dezzery slipped through the door, having opened it just enough to fit through. She carefully took off her bow and quiver, carefully not to let the arrows make too much noise as they bumped against each other. She placed them on the table next to the door. She looked around the main room of the cottage for signs of anyone up and about. She noticed her father's boots were missing as she tiptoed to the front room of the cottage, where her mother dried her herbs and would take visitors looking for a poultice or medicinal tea. When she poked her head into the small front room, she was not as lucky as she hoped. Her mother, Nelle, was already hunched over her main worktable paging through a book. Dezzery waiting for her mother to notice her presence before she dared step into the room any further.
"Good morning, Dezzery," she greeted, not looking up from her book.
"Morning, Momma," she returned.
Nelle's eyes scanned the current pages in front of her. She flipped to the next page before she asked, "How was your trek in the Oakenward this morning?"
Dezzery took a few more steps into the room, using the movement to distract from the motion of her hand slipping into her pocket to pull out the small box of fire stones. She was not sure how much her mother was paying attention to her movements from the corner of her eye, but if she knew anything about Nelle growing up, it was that she was always watching. Almost always, anyway.
"It was quite lovely when I wasn't focused on tracking," Dezzery answered. "I can definitely feel autumn coming, with how cold my fingers were. The leaves are already changing as well."
Her mother acknowledged her answer with a small nod. Dezzery continued towards her mother, or rather the smaller table of drawers behind her. She leaned back against it; the small box hidden in her gloved fist behind her.
"Where has Papa gone?" she slowly pulled open the drawer directly behind her as she talked.
"He's gone to meet with the other elder hunters in the Circle," Dezzery gently placed the small box into the drawer as her mother answered. "I believe they're discussing what to do with Arimae's Hunt at the Autumn Festival this year."
Dezzery managed to shut the draw behind her right as her mother finished talking and turned to face her. Loose strands of gray and dark auburn hair framed Nelle's aging face. She was told once her hair was as light as Abilene's but had darkened as she got older. She wondered how much her sister would look like their mother once they reached the current age of their parents. The older woman's hazel eyes questioned Dezzery, the crow's-feet at their corners deepening with her mother's critical gaze. But her lips asked a different question:
"Are you going to participate in the hunt this year?"
Dezzery was stunned for a moment. She had thought she had been caught, not expecting the question Nelle decided to ask instead.
"I-I'm not sure," she fumbled her answer while trying to collect herself. "I don't see why not."
"It is traditional of hunters to join once they reach the age of early adulthood," Nelle took a step toward her dark-haired daughter. "You'll be the first huntress in a while to participate if you chose to do so."
Dezzery tried not to give herself away when she looked directly into her mother's hazel eyes. She concentrated hard to keep her breathing slow and steady, hoping her mother did not read her true reason for being in the front room. She tried to hide her surprise with Nelle gently cupped her cheek with her hand.
"There's no need to be so nervous, sweetness," her mother's face softened. Dezzery relaxed at the touch. "You've grown up into a remarkable tracker just like your father. You don't have to join the Hunt this year if you don't want to. I know your father and I will both still be proud of you."
Dezzery's heart warmed as she smiled at her mother's words. She was not nervous about Arimae's Hunt, but her mother did not need to know that. She fully intended to join. But it was nice hearing how proud her parents were of her straight from her mother.
"Thank you, Momma," she replied. She gave the older woman a hug. Nelle returned the embrace. The familiar smell of star anise, cloves, and dirt that always clung to her mother filled her nose. She held on a little longer for comfort when she remembered what she saw in the woods earlier this morning. For a second, she thought about mentioning it to Nelle, but changed her mind.
"I'm going to go back to bed to get a little more sleep before I finish my chores," Dezzery told her mother once she pulled away.
"Alright, I suppose I can leave you unbothered just this once, since your father isn't here." Nelle winked at her as she returned to her work.
Dezzery climbed the steep wooden steps leading up to the loft in the cottage. While her parents slept in a small room off of their small kitchen, Abilene and her sister slept in the decently sized loft that looked out over the main room of the cottage. It also served as storage space for any extra supplies the family often ended up with over the winter. Dezzery shrugged off her cloak, letting it drop to the floor at the foot of the old bed she shared with her sister. She stripped down to just her leather breeches and linen shirt. Bodice abandoned on to the old rocking chair beside the bed, Dezzery spread out her arms and landed face first into the straw stuffed mattress. The wooden frame creaked under her sudden weight dropping onto it. She reached for the old and worn crocheted blanket lying near her pillow, wrapping herself up in it. Her young adult body was much too long for it now, making a better throw than a blanket, but she did not care. With a deep sigh, she nestled in and fell asleep.
Dezzery awoke to flicking on the side of her thigh. A lock of her black hair hung over her open mouth, the rest of it draped over the side of the bed. Her right forearm tingled, having lost feeling from her head laying on it instead of the pillow. She removed the lock of hair, turning to her assailant. Abilene sat on the bed next to her, eyes sparkling mischievously with a little smirk.
"You almost look adorable when you drool in your sleep," she said.
Dezzery stretched out across the bed, feeling her spine crack. She sat up next to her sister, rubbing any dried saliva she feared was on her face.
"And you produce the loveliest of little snores I oh so adore waking to."
Her sister scoffed and teasingly rolled her eyes.
"Have a nice little nap?" she asked.
Dezzery stretched again, reaching her arms high above her head. "It feels like I slept pretty soundly. How long was I asleep?"
"Only an hour or two," Abilene casually reached for Dezzery's hair and began gently combing it with her fingers.
Dezzery kept her head still. She looked straight ahead and let her sister play with her hair, "So what brings you to flick me awake?"
"I am going over to the Widogast farm around noon after I make some deliveries for Momma," Abilene started the section of hair she finger-combed. "You could come with me and maybe listen for any rumors on the way? Perhaps someone else had a similar experience."
"What do you need to go there for? Weren't you there a couple days ago with Mother?" Dezzery asked.
"Momma used up the few honeycombs we got from Mrs. Widogast for a first aid salve she requested. And Momma asked me to drop it off when I could. I figured I might as well do it after some small deliveries today."
"I might as well," Dezzery said. "I just have to clean the animals I brought home before Papa sees I haven't touched them yet."
"I'm sure Jarek would love to see you too. He asked about you last time I was there with Momma," Abilene gave a small smile as she dropped the finished braid.
Dezzery pushed her sister with her shoulder as a response. She could not help the shy smile growing on her lips, despite disagreeing with her sister's insistence on her childhood friend thinking more of her. Abilene tumbled back onto the pillows.
"I bet he daydreams about you as much as you dream of him," she said.
Dezzery's lips betrayed her as they curled up against her will. She reached across the bed for a pillow and smacked her sister with it. Abilene gasped with feigned offense, before reaching for her own and smacking her elder sister back.
"You need to stop casting me with your silly little romantic fantasies," Dezzery laughed between hits.
"Your smile says it's more than just my wistful hoping," her sister retorted.
The girls went back and forth, giggling as they hit each other with their pillows. The seams were worn, causing some of the down to come out of them as they hit each other. Eventually, their giggling grew into laughter, causing Nelle to step in to the main room of the cottage.
"What is going on up there?!" she yelled up to the loft. "You girls better not be destroying those nice pillows or you'll be mending them!"
The sisters stopped their fight, sheepish looks on their faces as they exchanged a glance.
"Yes, Momma!" they both called back. They waited until they heard Nelle's footsteps retreat back to the front room before they dared move.
Dezzery picked at a seam in the pillow on her lap, inspecting it for need of mending. "Honestly, I doubt he sees me beyond a good old friend."
"I still think you're blind as a new kitten with how he looks at you," Abilene responded. She tossed her pillow back to its place, jumping up quickly. Dezzery looked up at her to say something in return, but her sister was already across the loft. She disappeared down the ladder with a quick wink and scurred back outside.
Dezzery was left alone with her thoughts. She sighed in defeat before she let them settle in. Dezzery did not have time for romance right now. Not when there was a long winter to prepare for and the Hunt to think about with the festival coming in a few weeks. She reached for her discarded clothing, putting them back on to finish the rest of her chores for the morning. Hopefully, she might learn a thing or two in town with her sister afterwards.