the house again and shucks off her dress, hanging it from one of the branches once she's so deep in the trees that there's little chance the neighbors will spot her. She knows if her son returns early he'll simply roll his eyes, even if he has no memory of the distaste for clothing she never manages to get past. The sky is growing darker, and she can see the stars beginning to twinkle through the tree branches.
The wind whispers through the trees, but she cannot make out the message. Rather than trying harder to listen, she lies down on the leaves carpeting the ground and relaxes her mind. It may not be her message to understand. Perhaps it is for Jakub, instead.
When her son returns, she will tell him everything. She knows now that delaying until she is sure he has reached full maturity is no longer an option, and may be no more than a mother wanting to protect her cub as long as she possibly can. Today has proven she is pushing them all farther than they are willing to go right now, and he is fragile, made more so by what he puts himself through time after time to protect them all, not that he remembers.
He will need time to become strong again, and the sooner he recovers all his memories and can begin, the better. They will make decisions, but she thinks returning and facing their fate, rather than running, tails between legs will be what he wants, what is best. He has only wanted to protect them all until he is able to do everything he can to keep them safe.
She is not sure what he will be capable of once he is unfettered, but it's time they both find out.
~
Bożena goes about her days as if everything is normal. Her thoughts do not stray from her work, from her sisters, from preparations for winter. But there is an undercurrent swelling, and this time, it’s coming from more than just Edyta. There is a faction growing restless, sisters who are not content to wait for whatever will come. And Bożena knows her time of ignoring things, of putting Edyta and her plotting off, is quickly coming to an end.
Soon, she is certain, they will come to her and demand to know what’s to be done about Grażyna and her son. The boy will be coming of age, and he will no longer be a boy. He will be the man they have all been told to fear since their own making.
And Bożena has no idea what she will tell them when the time comes.
Puszcza : Bożena
Bożena bolts upright from a sound sleep, her eyes wide and alert in the dark. The cloud cover is so heavy it hides the stars, but she doesn't need sight to know each and every one of her sisters, from the oldest to the tiniest babe is wide awake and staring into the pitch black night just as she is.
“It’s him, sister, isn't it? ” Edyta asks. Even in the dark, Bożena recognizes her voice as well as the vibration of her body. Edyta is ready to run, to chase, to fight. She would take off now in the dead of night, following the hum, trusting her sisters to follow behind and give chase. Mentally, she understands the need for care and planning, but her body neglects to listen.
“Yes, ” Bożena says.
She hears the rumble go through the women the moment she confirms what they already know. Most, she knows, had thought him dead. There had been moments she thought he might be.
But Bożena always knew, deep in her bones, that Grażyna is too smart to have died out among the humans that quickly. She is crafty enough to have found a way to hide the whelp and his power, and all the sisters needed to do was wait them out. At some point, they had to come out of hiding, and her patience will have been rewarded, as it is now. Any thought she has other than hunting them is gone in this moment, and she’s reminded that they have laws for a reason, and Grażyna defied them all.
Now, that time is here, and she has to plan. It’s been decades since any but a few of her sisters walked among the humans for longer than
The wind whispers through the trees, but she cannot make out the message. Rather than trying harder to listen, she lies down on the leaves carpeting the ground and relaxes her mind. It may not be her message to understand. Perhaps it is for Jakub, instead.
When her son returns, she will tell him everything. She knows now that delaying until she is sure he has reached full maturity is no longer an option, and may be no more than a mother wanting to protect her cub as long as she possibly can. Today has proven she is pushing them all farther than they are willing to go right now, and he is fragile, made more so by what he puts himself through time after time to protect them all, not that he remembers.
He will need time to become strong again, and the sooner he recovers all his memories and can begin, the better. They will make decisions, but she thinks returning and facing their fate, rather than running, tails between legs will be what he wants, what is best. He has only wanted to protect them all until he is able to do everything he can to keep them safe.
She is not sure what he will be capable of once he is unfettered, but it's time they both find out.
~
Bożena goes about her days as if everything is normal. Her thoughts do not stray from her work, from her sisters, from preparations for winter. But there is an undercurrent swelling, and this time, it’s coming from more than just Edyta. There is a faction growing restless, sisters who are not content to wait for whatever will come. And Bożena knows her time of ignoring things, of putting Edyta and her plotting off, is quickly coming to an end.
Soon, she is certain, they will come to her and demand to know what’s to be done about Grażyna and her son. The boy will be coming of age, and he will no longer be a boy. He will be the man they have all been told to fear since their own making.
And Bożena has no idea what she will tell them when the time comes.
Puszcza : Bożena
Bożena bolts upright from a sound sleep, her eyes wide and alert in the dark. The cloud cover is so heavy it hides the stars, but she doesn't need sight to know each and every one of her sisters, from the oldest to the tiniest babe is wide awake and staring into the pitch black night just as she is.
“It’s him, sister, isn't it? ” Edyta asks. Even in the dark, Bożena recognizes her voice as well as the vibration of her body. Edyta is ready to run, to chase, to fight. She would take off now in the dead of night, following the hum, trusting her sisters to follow behind and give chase. Mentally, she understands the need for care and planning, but her body neglects to listen.
“Yes, ” Bożena says.
She hears the rumble go through the women the moment she confirms what they already know. Most, she knows, had thought him dead. There had been moments she thought he might be.
But Bożena always knew, deep in her bones, that Grażyna is too smart to have died out among the humans that quickly. She is crafty enough to have found a way to hide the whelp and his power, and all the sisters needed to do was wait them out. At some point, they had to come out of hiding, and her patience will have been rewarded, as it is now. Any thought she has other than hunting them is gone in this moment, and she’s reminded that they have laws for a reason, and Grażyna defied them all.
Now, that time is here, and she has to plan. It’s been decades since any but a few of her sisters walked among the humans for longer than
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