It's difficult to get a good rest when you are concerned of so many things. The moment Adalia closes her eyes thoughts and images of Catrina and Kaiden linger at the back of her mind and peel back her eyelids open. To stay awake is uncomfortable as she does need her rest, but to try sleeping is almost painful. She switches her position, facing left, right, prone, supine, hands under the pillow, over the pillow, clasping together, knees bent, straightened, together, apart. Nothing helps. Frustration joins into the pile of emotions as she stares at where Klawa fixed the tent.
As if all of those aren't enough, a racket starts to build up and floods Adalia's ears. The wolves talking and laughing and the pups shouting and screaming. Sandwiching her head between the pillow and blanket does not help. After about an hour, however, more pleasant sounds soothe her brain. Music flows around. The melodies of woodwinds and strings guided by the rhythm of soft drums. It's enough to calm the disturbed, almost enough to put the restless to sleep. Finally, Adalia manages to get her eyes shut.
"Adalia," Klawa calls as she pushes away the drapes covering the doorway.
She replies with a simple "hmm" as she turns her head to see the aged wolf.
"How are your wounds?"
"Not as awful."
"Can you stand and walk?"
"I did try to run away. So, probably. Why?" Adalia tilts her head and narrows her eyes.
"Well, after what happened earlier it felt like I'm keeping you here, which isn't true at all. So, I want to bring you out on a little walk around the village. There's a little festival going on, maybe you can even have some fun."
"Wouldn't everyone panic the moment they see me? A demon."
"Just keep yourself covered like what you did before. There will be no problem."
Adalia stares at the ceiling and sighs. After what had happened earlier, she's unsure if being out among the wolves would be a good idea. However, she would prefer not to be bedridden, doing nothing, and be fed by Klawa. She hasn't needed extended rest with how advanced injury treatment is in the agency hospital. Even during the time whe she would need them, when she was but a small child, her mother would always scold her for not staying in bed as she would instead be playing around their home.
"Alright, I'm going. I'm starting to get bored anyway." Adalia grabs the curtains she used before and Klawa helps her put it on. Adalia is covered from head to toe apart from her face.
As the two exit the tent, Hawu greets them right outside. "Hey, Adalia. Ready to go to the festival?" She's cheerful and excited. One might assume Hawu is only putting on the act as she wants to make Adalia feel welcomed. However, while that is true, only to an extent. Hawu is very much excited to show Adalia around and introduce her about her culture.
"You're coming with us?" Adalia asks.
"Yes, can I?"
"Sure." Adalia looks over her left and right before looking around.
"What's wrong?" Hawu asks.
"Where's your brother? What's his name again? Is it Hawu? Or is that your name? Sorry I..."
"It's alright, many wolves got our names mixed up too. I am Hawu, my brother is Lawu. Lawu is busy right now, he's helping to prepare the main event of the festival. It's a whole dance with a lot of props. But anyway, are we just going to stand here and talk about the festival or are we going to go there? Come on, let's go!"
it only takes a few minutes of walk before they reach the crowd. The joyous lively atmosphere reminds Adalia of the Epsilon Districts of the Grand Metropolis. Wolves of all ages are around. Some are wearing vibrant masks of wood and leaves, especially the pups. Buying and selling from the little stands and stalls. The music is loud and clear as the musicians are playing on a stage, somewhat in the middle of the crowd. Festive decor of colorful leaves sewn together hanging by a thread goes from structures and trees. The occasional trees make them rustle which completes the melody. There's even a ferris wheel and a merry go round made of wood, stones, leaves, and ropes.
The smell of flowers, sugar, and spices welcomes everyone with joy and glee. However, underneath all the sweet fragrance there is a different smell. A smell of herbs and medicine, of gauze and rubbing alcohol. The smell of a hospital. Even more hidden, underneath all those layers are the smell of flesh and blood. The scent of the wounded and injured. They're very well hidden, but they are present.
For the first time after she woke up, Adalia feels warm. For the first time after she found herself in enemy territory, she feels relaxed. or the first time after she got separated from her partner, Adalia is feeling positive. For the first time after everything stressful and concerning, she smiles. She wants to see more, to know more.
"So, what do you think?" Hawu notices her smile.
"It looks festive alright," Adalia shrugs and tilts her head.
Hawu hesitates for a second before committing her hand to give Adalia a gentle pat on the back. "Now, before we do anything else, we have to get you a mask."
"Of course." Adalia understands well the reasoning. She wouldn't want to ruin the festivity.
"Oh, but before any of that..." Klawa reaches into her leather bag. "Here's for you to spend." She hands Adalia a pouch, tied shut with a ribbon.
"These are?" Adalia opens the pouch.
"Our money. Yellow is one, orange is five, and red is ten. There's also brown that is 50 and black that is 100, but nobody here uses them."
The coins are quite heavy and solid despite being so thin Adalia feel she would cut her fingers by holding them on the edges. Fortunately, they are rounded to prevent such accidents. Beautiful geometric patterns glow like embers trapped within the coins as she moves them in the light. These are probably to prevent counterfeit, though she wonders what method was used to achieve such effect. Otherwise, the coins are perfectly blank and smooth.
Colorful masks are set on a wooden frame. There are three types of them, a neutral expression, smiling, and mouth opened. There's a red one with streaks of white and black and has a mane of furs, another is green with yellow and orange accents, crowned with paper flowers, and there's still more. A mixed wolf sits on a rug beside them, carving more masks.
"Oh, Hey! Madam Klawa! Miss Hawu! And who is this shy little one?" The carver greets them. Adalia hides her face behind Klawa's body. Which really sells the narrative of her being a pup.
Klawa smiles and pats Adalia. "I found this one near the walls. She was buried in a landslide all on her own. She got pretty beat up and doesn't want anyone seeing her body."
"Oh... My, is she alright?"
"She's well and recovering. We're getting her a mask so she doesn't have to hide herself all the time."
"Alright, alright." The carver looks at Adalia. "Hey there, what's your name?"
Adalia looks up at Klawa. Her expression is asking if she should tell her name or if Klawa would give her a more wolven name.
"Hey, he's asking your name. Tell him," Klawa says.
"I'm Adalia," she stutters.
"Adalia, that's a unique name. So, Adalia, you're looking for a mask, right? Why don't you take one that you really like? I'll give it to you as a gift."
Adalia pulls both sides of her hood as she makes her way to the wooden frame. All of them look pretty. She doesn't care much as to which one she likes more. So, she took one that is most comfortable on her face. Mask on, tied over her hood as she doesn't want to show her human skin and hair. She shakes her head, nods, and jumps to make sure it is as secure as she can make it.
"She's loving it for sure," the carver says.
All four of them laughs. All for different reasons. The carver is happy to have made an unfortunate pup happy. Adalia is laughing as she realizes how childish she must look from the outside, which works in her favor. Hawu laughs nervously because she knows it's not a pup hiding underneath all that cloth. Klawa laughs because the other three do.