AN: Day 4 includes a New Year Tradition from the Czech. It's an easy one – maybe try it on New Year's and see what you get!
Kirstte gnawed at a sugared pear while she flipped through the book in front of her, ignoring the activity around her as the others came up for their first meal of the day. She did not move until Vilkas sat next to her and reached for an apple. She smacked his hand with the back of her spoon and he glared at her, shaking it. "What was that for?"
"Those aren't for eating," she said, not looking up from the book. She could feel him looking at her so she turned to the appropriate page and pointed. "We're going to try some traditions from other cultures. I thought we'd start with this one." He scanned the page and then frowned at the bowl of apples.
"We can eat them after, right?" She arched a brow at him and he shrugged. "I love apples and for some reason, Tilma only buys pears now and not apples." He shot a pointed look at the pear in her hands. She grinned and took a bite out of it.
"Yes, Vilkas, you can eat them after. And I'll make sure Tilma gets apples and pears going forward." He kissed her on the forehead in thanks and she rolled her eyes. "Are you going to pick out a branch for the wreath?"
"Absolutely. I promised Lucia that we would take her and Sofie." He tilted his head to where the two girls were gathering their winter garments. Lucia was unusually subdued and Kirstte frowned. "I'll go get our gear and see who else wants to go. Maybe you should talk to her," he suggested. She shook her head and they watched as Ria approached the two girls, kneeling down to talk to them. Sofie scampered off, disappearing out the back door as Lucia and Ria talked. Once they were finished Ria gave Lucia a smile and sent her out after Sofie before walking over to Kirstte.
"What happened?"
Ria sighed and sat down. "Sofie had a nightmare last night and was screaming and it scared Lucia." She looked towards the door they had walked out. "Lucia is okay now, but she's worried because of Sofie's nightmares. And Sofie still won't talk about anything. I think she's upset that she scared Lucia." She propped her elbows on the table and placed her chin in her hands. "Any ideas?"
Kirstte nodded, stretching as she rose from the chair. "Yes, actually. I assume you're coming today?" She did not miss the look Ria shot across the room at Anders and bit back a grin. "We're taking the girls, so I'm sure Anders will be joining us, and probably Toral which means Njada will most likely come as well," she continued.
"Of course I'll go," Ria answered, eyes still following Anders while he walked across the room, deep in discussion with Torvar. Her eyes cut up to Kirstte's knowing smirk and she flushed. "Let me go grab my stuff." She disappeared downstairs and Kirstte chuckled, accepting her cloak and gloves from Vilkas. He sent her a questioning look and she waved it off.
They tromped through the city, picking up a few extras, and Kirstte grinned at Lucia, who was riding on Anders's shoulders. Sofie was walking between him and Ria, looking at the ground. "Lucia," Kirstte began, nodding thanks to the guards who held the gate open for them. "Did you know that dragons can't have dreams?"
Lucia blinked at her with wide eyes. "Really?" She leaned forward and Anders reached up, adjusting her to keep her from falling.
"Really," Kirstte confirmed. "I have a friend who's a dragon. He had never heard of dreams before he met me. Want to hear about it?" Lucia nodded.
"Back before I joined the Companions, I had a big important quest to defeat a really bad dragon," she began, falling back to let Vilkas lead as she talked. "In order to get to the bad dragon, I had to travel with another dragon. His name is Odahviing. We became friends." Lucia's eyes were huge and Sofie was looking up at her also.
"After I defeated the really bad dragon, I needed some time to rest and recuperate. I mean, it's not easy to fight a dragon!" The girls both giggled and Kirstte paused as they navigated towards the evergreen trees. "Odahviing took me to a place only dragons can get to so nobody would bother me while I was getting better." She ignored some of the surprised looks from the adults and kept talking. "The first night I was there, I had a really scary dream about the bad dragon. I dreamt that he was eating my friends and my family and everybody and I couldn't do anything to stop him. It was really frightening and I woke up screaming so loud it scared Odahviing!" Lucia gasped and Sofie reached out, clutching Ria's hand.
Kirstte nodded. "He thought I was being attacked and when I told him it was just a dream, he got really confused. I had to explain to him what dreams were and do you know what he told me?" They both shook their heads and she stopped walking to look very seriously at them. "He told me that even though bad dreams are scary, I should be happy for them, because after I wake up, I know that they're not real and that whatever I dreamt about, I can defeat. It means I'm stronger than whatever scares me." She started walking again. "Have you ever been scared?" she asked Lucia.
She nodded. "I was scared when my mama left and my aunt and uncle came and made me leave the house. There's lots of scary animals and monsters!"
"And what did you do, even though you were scared?" Kirstte asked. The group stopped and waited before entering the trees, the adults listening just as intently as the children.
"I followed the road to Whiterun. I remembered my mama taking me there once," Lucia answered. "I was scared the whole time!"
Kirstte reached up and swung her down from Anders's shoulders, tweaking her nose gently. "That's right. And that was very, very brave of you." She squatted down and looked at both girls. "That's what being brave is after all. It's not about being the best fighter or the strongest warrior. It's about being scared, but doing it anyway. Everybody gets scared sometimes. Even me. And it's okay to be scared. And it's okay to be brave and you know what?" Lucia shook her head. "It's even okay to not be brave. Sometimes things are so scary that it's hard to be brave. Do you know what I do then?" She looked over at Vilkas and smiled gently. "I find a friend who isn't scared and have them help me." Silence fell and after a moment, she cleared her throat and stood.
"Now, who's ready to find a branch for the Jól wreath?" she asked. The group split into the trees and Kirstte found herself walking with Vilkas through the trees. He took her hand, squeezing it.
"I didn't realize you'd done that," he commented. "Gone into hiding after defeating Alduin."
She flushed. "I wasn't really hiding," she muttered and shrugged. "I did not return unscathed. It wasn't life threatening, but I was injured. It gave me a chance to recover from my injuries and figure out what I wanted to do next." She studied the tree they were next to, plucking at the branches. "My existence for over a year had been wrapped up in defeating Alduin. I had to take a step back and figure out who I was without him."
She could feel his gaze on her and dared to glance at him. The emotion in his eyes took her breath away and he pulled her into a tight hug. "I am glad you decided to come to us," he murmured against her hair. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She burrowed her face against his chest, returning the embrace. They stood there for several moments and then he released her and gave her a quick kiss. "Come on, let's get our branches and head back."
Kirstte gently whapped Vilkas in the back of the head and he looked at her guiltily, placing the apple in his hand back on the table. The wreath burning had been as spectacular as the previous year and Kirstte was now introducing the first new tradition. "I know we all love Jól and the traditions," she began, looking over the group as they crowded around the table. "I thought this year we would try some from other cultures. The first one is apple splitting. Has anybody here done this before?"
Toral nodded, raising his hand. "I have. We had some Breton neighbors and they always did this. The prediction was hardly ever right, but it was fun."
"Why don't you explain it to us then?" Kirstte asked. He cleared his throat and stood, reaching for an apple.
"You take an apple and slice it this way," he grabbed a knife and cut it in half, showing them the top and bottom portions. "And you look at the center, where the seeds are." He pointed. "If it's a star, it means you'll have a prosperous new year. If it's a cross, it means hardship is coming your way." His was a cross and there were a few murmurs. He grinned. "I got a cross last year and ended up here. That's not a hardship, right?" Kirstte snorted, she was well aware of what he went through before arriving at the Companions. He took a bite of the apple, chomping the cross and smiling with his mouth full. Njada wrinkled her nose in disgust, but reached for an apple.
"Everybody grab an apple, let's see what we get!" Kirstte took hers and sliced it in half, holding her breath while she opened it. When she spotted the star she exhaled gently and looked over at Vilkas, who was halfway through eating his apple already. "You're supposed to cut it in half," she drawled.
"I am," he said around a swallow and then showed her the star shape in the center of his apple. "I just elected to use my teeth." She laughed and shoved him in the shoulder; taking a bit of her own apple and sitting back to watch as the others opened theirs and debated what they found. Vilkas slung his arm around her, pulling her close to him. "Are we going to try a new tradition every day?"
"Not each day," she replied, "but there are a few that looked fun." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "And tasty." She added. He gave her a wide smile and grabbed another apple, biting into it. She leaned against him, eyes still on the rest of the Companions. "I think we need to talk," she murmured softly and felt him freeze. "It's not bad," she added hastily, "but we probably need to establish whatever we're doing together."
She felt him nod. "There's a lot to be said," he agreed. "But perhaps not in the middle of the Jól celebration?" She glared at him from the corner of her eyes and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "For now let's agree that we're interested in taking this further."
"Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "But a lack of communication has been our problem this whole time."
He chuckled. "I promise, we will talk, but I don't want to draw anything away from the celebration. Now, who's going to keep Torvar and Athis from killing each other over a piece of fruit?" He tilted his head to where the two were arguing over the center of an apple and she sighed. "The Harbinger's work is never done." He grinned at her and swatted her behind. She glared at him as she went to keep them from drawing swords on each other.