"So, where are you from?" Lili inquired sweetly, breaking the awkward silence. The two betas did not know how to respond to the zeta who appeared to be so soft and small at that moment as he hung his head and let his gaze fall to the floor.
"Herth. It's not far from here." Syri did not lift his gaze as he responded.
"Ahh, I've heard of it," Lili responded with a slight nod of her head. "Do you miss your family?" The epsilon inquired as she attempted to break the ice that had recently formed.
Syri shook his head as he answered, "I ran away." The space surrounding the six suddenly grew silent as the five heard the zeta's words. It was as if they were the only ones in the tavern, and Syri was the only thing they could hear and see. Kip and Calix turned their eyes to the floor as they heard Syri add, "They don't know I am here."
"Oh." Lili's response was hushed as she did not know what to say. Ibbi was silent as he looked at the wolf who had barely reached adulthood but had already been through so much. Kip also grew solemn as he realized the zeta's struggles and took a drink from his mug as Calix's gaze remained turned to the ground.
"Well, then there's only one thing we can do about that." Everyone turned to look at Bevy as the alpha spoke up. "We take you shopping, Pinkie. You have officially been inducted into the team, which means you are part of us now, and I will not have my teammate rotating through just two shirts, not on my watch." A smile covered the alpha's face as she lifted her cup and declared, "To Syri, the newest member of the squad!"
"Ae!" Sounded unanimously from the other four as they raised their glasses and made a toast to the newest member. Syri's eyes glistened as he saw the five raise their glasses and gesture to him before taking a generous swig. Warmth replaced the cold awkwardness as the six downed the remainder of their drinks before Syri was dragged out of the tavern by Bevy and Lili.
"Oh boy, the girls have been activated," Kip commented with a light laugh as he and Calix followed the happy group of Bevy, Lili, and Ibbi as they led the zeta down the main street. A small smile came to Calix's lips as he watched the zeta be dragged down the road by the two females. The green-eyed let his gaze trail over to Kip who was unconsciously smiling at the lilac-haired epsilon with hearts for eyes.
Calix felt his heart ache as he watched the grey-eyed beta gaze at the epsilon lovingly. Calix, however, sucked in his emotions and pushed them deep into his soul as he continued to follow the giggling squad down the lane. The beta put on a smile as the zeta turned and smiled at him. Syri was not aware of the effect his smile had on the beta who had given him a small smile in return; it sent warmth into Calix's calm soul and eased the ache in his quiet heart.
Kip and Calix obediently followed the happy group into a boutique that happened to still be open only to immediately hunt for a seat on which they could rest while the three shopped for the zeta. Syri silently smiled to himself as he saw the shelves and counters stacked with clothes and recalled his first shopping spree with Estan in Alia. Familiar with shopping, the zeta contently followed the alpha, epsilon, and omega through the small store as they picked out various sets of clothes.
Within ten minutes, a mountain of shirts, blouses, and pants was presented before the zeta. Bevy, Lili, and Ibbi stood patiently as Syri blinked his wide eyes at the sea of clothes. "Ermm..." Syri sounded as he began sorting through the pieces. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don't have much lorne at the moment." It was true. Estan had snuck a small coin purse onto the zeta when Syri had set off to obtain a job as a worker in the palace, but other than that, Syri had nothing. He had yet to receive his first payment.
"Oh, don't worry, this is a gift from me to you as the newest member!" Lili proclaimed as she saw the expression on the zeta's down-turned face. Syri immediately began waving his hands in front of his chest as he quickly responded, "Oh, I couldn't. You worked hard for your lorne."
Lili smiled at the zeta softly before saying, "Please, dear, it's not like my father is lacking in lorne. Lord knows he probably has too much of it!" The epsilon's voice was kind as she added, "So, don't you worry about a thing."
Syri let out a small breath as he looked from the epsilon to the clothes before looking back to the beautiful female. "If you insist-"
"I do!" Lili was quick to intervene. "And that settles it! Let's get you all set up, shall we?" The apprentice said as she brought out her coin purse and helped the zeta gather the clothes.
Before he knew it, Syri was walking down the street with several bags of clothes and a few pairs of shoes. Bevy had insisted on gifting the zeta with some shoes as the zeta had been wearing his work boots. Syri was still in shock from the sudden gifts and frantically pondered on how to repay his friends' kindness.
The faces of the six were bright as they walked down the bustling street and headed back toward the palace. Syri let himself fall behind the other five as an ache entered his heart. The ache had been present throughout the night of fun, but Syri finally let it show as the group approached the fields separating the palace from the town. It was an ache that had captured the zeta's heart when he heard the news of the death of the prince's mate.
Syri could not stop his thoughts from trailing back to the prince as he walked down the dark path. 'Where are you, Prince? Are you alright? I am sorry I can not be there for you. Please be safe in this night of pain.'