It was early spring. The snow was almost completely melted, the birds were singing again and the leaves on the trees were budding. There was still a chill in the air and one still needed to dress warmly, but it was still spring. For her this was a great time of year. The soil had become soft enough to till and get her garden started, and soon she could start to hunt and fish again. She'd once lived in the town on the lake, lake town as it was now called. Her ancestors had hailed from the once wondrous town of Dale, which had once prospered until the fall of Erobour.
She had lived in Lake town all her life, along with her father and two younger sisters. About two winters ago a sickness came to their town, And not even two months later, she had lost her whole family. Her father had been a blacksmith and had been able to provide for the family to live comfortably enough. Her two younger sisters, who happened to be twins, had been her world. She had helped her father with raising them, and they were very well behaved children and very smart. They were only ten when the sickness had taken them, they had barely even lived and yet already their time had come to an end.
She had remained in Lake town long enough to bury her family, sell their old house and any belongings she didn't need, and set off for her father's old hunting cabin in the woods. It was at least a two day trip especially since she was carrying her supplies, yet she didn't mind. She'd never been one who prefered the hustle and bustle of the towns, she had always had an affiliation with the wilderness all around her and knew she no longer had any reason to stay in her hometown.
She sighed deeply as she looked out the window of the small cabin, this time of year always had her remembering her family. She had a cup of tea in her hand to help fight off the last of winter's chill, and was dressed in some thick wool clothing she had made herself after she had moved here. As she took another sip of her delicious camomile tea, a whine caught her attention. She put down her cup and made her way to the pile of blankets in front of the fireplace, carefully she knelt down and moved back the top blanket. There nestled in the blankets was a beautiful black wolf pup, she had found it abandoned and almost dead not too far from her home. She'd felt bad and knew she had to try to help it, so she took him home with her and had immediately placed him down in front of the fire to get him warm. She forced some fluids into him and then waited. She'd spent the whole night and most of the morning looking after him around the clock to try and help him recover, his slight whining and small movement's were a good sign.
He was small and more than likely too young to be away from its mother, her heart melted as she gently patted its small head as he whined again. He was moving somewhat and he had just slightly opened his silvery eyes, she could tell he was scared but too weak to move. But he didn't show any signs of aggression which was a good sign, he trusted her enough to know she was helping him and wasn't a threat. Slowly she leaned over and grabbed the small bowl of water she'd left near him, and was delighted when he, with her help, was able to drink some water by himself.
For most of the day she'd stuck pretty close to the small pup. Making sure that he had both food and plenty of water to help him get better. With his food she had managed to find an old calving bottle, and filled it with fresh milk to bottle feed him. The first feeding had been messy which didn't surprise her, and he had successfully gotten more milk on them than in his belly. He did much better the second time around and she'd patted herself on the back for her small victory, once he had figured out how to suckle from the bottle he became a bottomless pit. He greedily drank the whole bottle every feeding, yet she knew again this was a great sign.
Marinna once more spent the night alongside the little pup, enabling her to feed him quickly when he awoke hungry, or by keeping the fire going so he remained warm. Again she didn't mind in the slightest, she'd always loved animals and so she was glad to help this one in need. Luckily she was able to get some rest throughout the night, for the next morning she was awoken by a little pup happily nibbling on her nose and licking her face.
" Well, look who's up" Marinna said in a soft, gentle voice as she opened her green eyes. She was greeted by a pair of silver eyes that sparkled with mischief, his tail was wagging and he excitedly barked at her, followed by a growlish, mini howl. She bursted into fits of laughter at the purely adorable way he said 'You're up, I'm hungry'.
" I get it. Well, come on then let's go get your breakfast." She said as she patted his head and then got up from her nest of blankets. Her waist length black curly hair was immediately put into a braid before she headed over to her table. She filled her kettle with water and filled the pup's bottle with milk, then she put the kettle to hang in the hearth, before she sat down with the bottle in hand ready to feed him.
" Arff. Rrrr arff." She laughed as the pup excitedly barked and jumped at her trying to get to his bottle.
" Calm down. It's coming but you have to let me sit down." She said in a stern voice to which the pup listened, he immediately calmed and sat down, his little tail still wagging a mile a minute.
" That's a good boy." Marinna said happily as she sat down and patted his head. As a reward for his good behavior he was greeted with the sight of his bottle which he greedily began to drink. He nestled into her lap and used her body as support, while he was drinking his milk, she gently began to pet him while humming an old lullaby.
" We need a name for you. I can't keep calling you boy can I" She said softly to the small pup, his little ears perked up as he listened and she giggled. She thought hard about a name that would suit him, something that would perfectly sum him up in a word. She didn't have to think long, for as soon as he looked up at her, she knew.
" Celeb" He immediately stopped and looked at her, waiting and totally responding to his new name. It was his very own way of saying 'Yes, that's my name. What do you want?'.
" Well... That's settled, your name is Celeb." Marinna said as he went back to his bottle. Once he was done and the day had surprisingly warmed up, she picked him up and took him outside. He took his time sniffing everything, every rock, her garden patch, the pond, absolutely everything. She told him 'Good boy' when he went outside so he would learn that this was ok, in the house wasn't. He spent a good hour outside running and chasing the sticks that she'd through for him, before he started to get tired, she could tell by his staggering and he was slowing down. And so she walked over to him, picked him up, and brought him inside. By the time she made it to her bed, he was completely passed out, having spent his energy running around.
By mid spring her garden had been fully tiled, her crops planted and just started to sprout, and by god had Celeb gotten big. He was at least double his size now and at least two and half months old, at least. She'd also slowly begun to introduce him to meat, since he was teething and the bones from her kills last year were a great distraction, as well as meaty fresh ones. Now that he was bigger and back in proper health, he slowly started to form his own little taritory around the house, and every few days he would venture out and make it slightly bigger.
Marinna loved having Celeb's company, he was very aware of his surroundings and especially her emotions. He already showed signs that he was fiercely protective of her when needed. He also loved to lie completely over her feet on the end of her bed. He had even helped on her first hunt of the year. He managed to help her track down a nice buck that would keep the two of them fed for at least a month or two.
The leaves were now open and full, in bright greens and dark greens, the hay had begun to grow nicely and she was able to let out the goat and chickens. The days had warmed significantly over the last two months and she was now able to wear lighter clothing. She had gathered a nice collection of furs and hides over the winter and beginning of spring, so she could get some nice leather and fur for some simple armor when she went out hunting.
It was a project she just couldn't wait to get started on. Marinna was what most people in the town had called 'abnormal'. Her father told her she just had so much energy, that she couldn't sit still and that's why she needed to keep busy. And she had kept busy for her whole life, only when she truly felt she'd done all there was to do, could she sit and relax.
Today was a beautiful day in which the temperature was above normal, there wasn't a cloud in sight as the sun sat high and proud in the sky. Celeb was already off outside, more than likely guarding the chickens and goat, which totally was his new pass time, while she had decided to bake. She gathered a few mixing bowls and all the ingredients she needed and proceeded to make several cakes, along with some fresh bread. The first cake she mixed up was a pound cake with lemon zest and some of the juice, the second cake was one her father taught her and happened to be a very nice honey cake.
Over the course of an hour she had two lemon pound cakes, three honey cakes, and eight loaves of bread cooling off on her large kitchen windowsill. She kept herself busy as she cleaned off her table and wiped it down with a wet rag, she then gathered her dirty dishes and took them out to the pump basin to wash. While she was distracted doing the dishes, Celeb suddenly jumped up and came up beside her with his hackles raised and head lowered in a sign of aggression. Instantly she pulled her dagger and looked around her, till her eyes landed on a patch of forest. There, in the trees was a massive black bear, larger than any she'd seen before.
He was beautiful in his own right, and yet his scars showed he was strong and powerful. She placed a hand on Celeb's head to stop his growling, and to show the bear they weren't a threat, thanking her father for all his hunting lessons. For the next five minutes all that she could do was stare at the brown eyes that stared back into her green ones. It felt like her very soul called out to the massive bear, longing to be close to it. It was a strange feeling and one that also confused her, yet she found she just couldn't look away. And so there she sat for at least ten minutes just staring at this huge black bear, until it turned and left, disappearing back into the thick forest, like a shadow.
Once gone, it was like she could breathe again, and that time had once again started. She looked over at Celeb who actually seemed to be able to give her this 'Are you ok?' kind of looks.
" Come on, lets go get a piece of cake." Marinna said in a way to distract herself from what had just happened, for honestly she had no idea what had just transpired between herself and that bear. She'd never before experienced anything like it, so earth moving and yet so soothing all at the same time. And so with a happy bark she got up and followed Celeb into the house, to go and have a piece of cake.