Sorin was unable to find the time to see Caspian, not till the day of the spring festival.
He never left the cottage to begin with so there was no manner in which he could suddenly leave that wouldn't arouse suspicion. The very last thing Sorin wanted was to put Caspian in danger because he was a little too eager to see him again.
And he was, his distracted state was constantly pointed out by his family and his mother worried that he had come down with an ailment but he was simply lost in thought.
Sorin had come up with a foolproof way to cure his ailment, he would sneak out of the festival and go to the edge of the woods to search for Caspian.
The sheeps were safe in the pen so his brothers would be out of the way as well. He would get to see Caspian and leave the festival early, it was the perfect solution.
So Sorin looked brighter on the morn of the spring festival much to Maven's surprise. She knew that her younger brother hated public outings and she expected him to try to get out of going.
Their fancy clothes were brought out for the festival, only the finest silks. The excitement was too high for anyone to bother about breakfast, not that it mattered because there was enough to eat and drink at the festival.
The festival would run from the early hours of the morn right into the early hours of the next day.
And before Sorin could even get up from his bed, his brothers and father were already long gone, leaving behind the ladies of the house and Sorin who was reluctantly getting up from his bed.
Maven was already dressed up but it would take hours to get her hair ready. Their mother had to tame Maven's wild hair and then make little braids in them and attach accessories.
So Sorin wasn't in a hurry when he trudged out of his room to wash up. However, the splash of cool water on his skin made him spritely and reminded him of his plans for the day.
After that, Sorin could no longer sit still. He was dressed in no time, going to his mother who paused Maven's hair briefly to comb out her son's hair.
Maven in turn concentrated on his face, making soft tutting sounds under her breath as she smeared a scented oil over his lips. "It's so dry it's already falling off." She scolded him, keeping it to herself that the lip oil was tinted red. Sorin's lips were already pretty red, it didn't make much of a difference.
Sorin beared through his mother and sister's ministrations but the moment Maven tried to powder his face, he dashed away.
"I'll go ahead then!" He called from his safe spot at the doorway.
It was best if he went alone because he could easily stay out of sight till it was time to make his escape.
If he were with his brothers, one of them would constantly have an arm around him, not to mention the touchy girls with hawk eyes.
Maven was hellbent on getting him a date and his mother would treat him like a toddler. They all had their obstacles and he was prepared to get past every one of them.
Sorin trudged slowly to the town square, wishing that he could go in the opposite direction. It was still early in the morning but the town was mostly deserted, the gentle morning sun spilling over empty houses.
The sounds of celebration reached Sorin before he even got close to the square. He just had to endure some hours of this and then he could leave. By then, his family would be certain that he had returned to the cottage.
Sorin didn't bank on getting caught by his siblings mere minutes into reaching the square. Escaping was futile and soon Maven joined the group, there was always someone with Sorin and he found it difficult to break away till the main dance of the festivals, the spring dance.
People who paired up for the spring dance usually ended up married and young girls and boys were eager to get their heartthrobs to dance with them.
Sorin knew his oldest brothers would be getting married soon, their lovers were sweet girls but they also joined in with his mother and sister to dote on him so they weren't his favorite people.
In the tense air before the spring dance, Sorin skillfully slipped away. He had eaten a lot because it was a rule of the festival that you had to eat what was offered you.
The twins had taken this opportunity to give him whisky mixed in with grape juice. He should have known it when they were all smiles as they offered him the mug of juice.
Sorin generally avoided alcohol because it was bitter but it had been mixed in with sweet juice and he didn't realize till he had downed the whole jug and looked ahead to find his brothers laughing hard.
He felt no different afterwards and he decided that perhaps they had put in only a little amount of whisky in it, that had been less than an hour ago.
Now as he hurried through the deserted street, taking the shortest route because he had no fears of bumping into anyone, he started to feel a little warm. It didn't stop him and suddenly energized, he ran across the wide grassy fields to the edge of the woods.
"Caspian!" He recklessly yelled into the depths of the woods.
The sun's brightness was starting to wane, the skies turning to a beautiful painting.
Caspian's name was hardly past his lips when the werewolf appeared in front of him in a flash, visible surprise on his face. It looked like he had acted more on reflex than anything else, like he had heard Sorin call his name and his body moved before his mind could process what was happening.
Sorin immediately threw himself into Caspian's arms, his head was swimming a little and he felt a little giddy. The scented oil on his lips that his sister had made to replace whenever she ran into him was wafting into his nose, it smelled good.
"Sorin?" Caspian called in concern, holding up all of Sorin's weight effortlessly with a hand.
"Take me to your cottage." Sorin deadpanned, looking up at Caspian.
Caspian cupped Sorin's face to get a proper look at him, a little confused and a little worried. "Oh fuck, you're drunk." He muttered when he realized what was happening.
Sorin's response was to stand on his tiptoes and place his palm on Caspian's face in return. "Nooo~ I'm not…" He drawled, his eyes going half-lidded. "I just missed you and I feared that you had left after all." He sighed, his hand dropping to the crook of Caspian's neck. "I left the festival just to see you."
Caspian's dark green eyes widened, his eyes darkening momentarily until something caught his attention in the distance. He unintentionally let out a soft growl and held Sorin closer, there was someone in the distance.
That made up his mind for him and in the next moment he was running through the woods with Sorin held safely in his arms.
Sorin was still a little out of it so he didn't seem to notice what was happening, not till he was in the safety of Caspian's cottage.
The cottage itself looked straight out of a fairytale, the woods around seemed to have accepted the cottage to be a work of nature itself and it was spectacularly camouflaged, not that anyone would come to the woods in the first place though.
Caspian gently laid Sorin on his bed and grabbed an exquisitely carved wooden cup to get some clean spring water. Fortunately, Sorin had the presence of mind to drink the water, looking more alert afterwards.
"So you did have a cottage." He whispered, his eyes wide as he looked around.
There were flowery vines growing through the interior of the bedroom and all of the furniture looked hand carved, they were made with exquisite details added to them.
Caspian smiled now. "I wouldn't lie to you." He sat on the bed beside his little human.
"It's beautiful." Sorin still spoke in hushed tones, his eyes and lips glistening as he looked around the room once more and then rested his eyes on Caspian.
"You didn't leave." He murmured, sitting up higher to be closer to Caspian.
Caspian held Sorin's face in a hand and leaned closer. "I said I wouldn't." He smiled, drawing a deep breath. Sorin smelled of grapes and roses, it was intoxicating.
"Kiss me." Sorin requested breathlessly, looking up expectantly at Caspian.
Caspian was dumbstruck, a slightly drunk Sorin was incredibly dangerous. He looked down at Sorin whose soft, flaxen hair was in a disarray from their journey here, his eyes were a little dazed, soft lips parted.
Caspian wasn't a saint, his restraint crumbled fast and he leaned forward to claim Sorin's lips.
The sun was slowly setting outside the vine-covered windows, the cool spring breeze blowing in.
On the bed, Caspian was draped over Sorin, and he welcomed the weight, wrapping both his arms around Caspian's neck. Their kiss tasted as sweet and warm as spring, the last rays of sunlight painting them in its glow.