95. Kaya
Kaya
The snow had stopped coming down, and I was ecstatic. I jumped out of bed and rushed to the closet to throw on clothes and my boots. Cade mind linked me as I was brushing my teeth. "What is the rush?" "It is winter, solstice. There is so much to do." I peeked out of the bathroom to see Cade still lying there. He had moved the pillow to cover his face. "Take your time this morning. I have much to do with Helen, Kimi, Saka, Len, and Robert. Don't open your gift yet. That is later." I ran to him and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
His arms reached out, wrapped around me, and pulled me to the bed. "Stay in bed. It is a holiday; we have nothing scheduled." He mind linked. I tried to pull away, but he had me in a vise. "Cade, you have nothing to do but enjoy the day, but I have stuff to do. Now let me go, or you will not like how I get out of this bed." I mind-linked him. He pulled me tighter to him, bringing his face into the crook of my neck. "Cade, let me go." I mind-linked again. His grip loosened. "I am interested in seeing what you would have done if I had not let you go." "Trust me, you would have hated it."
I ran out of the room to the room next to ours. Before I could even knock, it swung open, and Robert was standing there. I signed. "You ready? We have a lot to do this morning." "So I have been told." It was early in the morning, and the sun had not even come up yet. We both made our way downstairs. Kimi was already waiting. Len and Saka were not there, but Helen came down the stairs right after we arrived. Kimi was practically bouncing. She launched herself at me in a hug. "Happy Solstice!" She mind-linked me. "Happy Solstice."
Helen then mind-linked me. "Okay, what now?" "Okay, so I had the tables all set up out front of the packhouse last night. We need to decorate the outdoor area. Kimi, Robert, Saka, Len, and I have been collecting greenery the last week in our spare time, so much of the outdoor space needs to be decorated. We don't use heaters in the north, but I know many will want them, so those must be brought out and set up. Also, I don't care if it snows, but others might want some coverage, so we could set some tents up over the tables. Like we had for the tournament. Also, we must do it fast because everyone will arrive at sunrise. "
We all got to work, and Saka and Len finally arrived with their mates to help set up. I looked at the couples. They seemed so happy, and it made me happy. I never knew why anyone would reject such a gift of the Goddess. I smiled when Saka's mate had to bend slightly down to kiss him. Saka and Len were shorter than their mates, but it did not bother them in the slightest. It shouldn't bother anyone. They were made for one another. I was so happy they would be staying. I looked at Kimi, who was putting some branches around the rim of the tent.
I hoped she found her mate soon. Both of us had grown up excited to have one, and we talked about it so often as children. It was the ultimate gift the Goddess gave us. Robert came over and helped her as she struggled since she was so short. I went to the kitchen to make sure everything was ready. "Good morning, Becky. Happy Solstice." I signed. She had been working hard on sign language and could understand it perfectly now. However, she still needed practice with doing it herself. "Happy solstice." She mind linked.
I looked at all the food for the day. There was a ton of it. The hot dishes were in what Becky told me were crockpots. They would keep the food warm all day. It was important to me that she enjoyed the festivities, too, and I didn't want her or the rest of the staff to have to do everything all day. So food would be kept warm or cooking in those things. Then, there was the raw food that would be caught and devoured later. My friends pilled in, and we took out so many bottles of booze. There would be drinking all day long. The massive party started early and lasted until the next morning.
I looked at the area outside. It looked like a wonderland. Saka came up to me. "Wish Nieva was here." He mind linked me. "I do, too." I smiled. Kimi came and held my hand as we looked at everything. The people started to come in. Gifts in hand. Gifts were given before breakfast and before prayer. We all left, hurrying to get the gifts we had for those we were giving them to. Cade came out of the packhouse with an envelope and a considerable gift wrapped in brown paper. I smiled at him.
Being so short, I had to get on a table for everyone to see me. I mind-linked the pack and Kimi at the same time. "Before we eat and say prayer to the Goddess, it is time to give gifts. We do this because the Goddess gave us the gift of life, mates, and the ability to be our wolves. So give your gifts, and we will pray and eat in a little bit." I approached Cade, who was smiling and looking down at me. He really did tower over me.
He pushed the big brown package toward me. I set down the gifts that I had wrapped and tore into it. It was a snowboard. "The boots are in packhouse." I wrapped my arms around him, hugged him tightly, and signed. "Thank you." I bent down and picked up a small package. He opened it and took out the bone knife I had made for him. It had a wooden handle. He smiled at me. "You made this?" I watched his lips say. "Yes." I signed. "Do you like it?" "I love it." He pulled me into a bruising kiss. I signed. "I need to give Kimi and Robert their gifts." "Yeah, and I need to give Mark and Helen theirs.
We separated, and I found Kimi, who was talking with Robert. I handed a gift to Robert. He opened it first. It was a bone mug. I signed, "What you will need a cup to drink out of today." He smiled and handed me mine. I opened it up to see it was a book, Moby Dick. "When I found out your pack in the north would whale, I knew that book would interest you." he signed. "Thank you." I mind-linked him, then I looked at Kimi, who was smiling at me. We handed each other the gifts. "Ready?" She mind-linked me. I nodded, and we tore our gifts open at the same time.
I looked down at the hair wraps. "Kimi, they are beautiful." "I knew you would love them." She looked down at the necklace I had made. "Kaya, this stone is really cool." I turned around. "Okay, braid my hair with the wraps in them. I want to wear them." I mind-linked her. "Kaya, we have the hunt later. You will just have to take them out." "Well, you can braid them in again after the hunt." "Fine." she did it fast, and I put her necklace on her neck. I had made it out of a cool rock I found when I had talked to my brother by the river. We smiled at each other. We waited half an hour for everyone to get their gifts. Then Cade led the prayer to the Goddess, and we dug into the food and drinks.
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