History Lessons, and Big Reveals
The brunette had been standing outside of Alison’s door for about 20 minutes now, she was currently contemplating how to explain everything that happened that night. Also she wasn’t to make sure she wasn’t going to spurt out a million questions as soon as the blonde opened her door. Well here goes nothing, and the brunette raised a scuffed hand to the jarrah wood door knocking gently.
Moments later, Alison opened the door, dressed in a ripped plaid shirt and some black jeans. Her hair was in a messy bun atop her head, and makeup was void from her face, Emily thought she looked like a goddess when she was like this. “You been chopping wood?”
“Ha ha, very funny Em,” Alison rested a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow, “Why’d you pop by? Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“I’ve been resting for weeks now, although I probably shouldn’t have walked all the way over here,” Emily shifted her weight to her other leg, finally feeling the pain radiating through her body, “Can I come in?”
Alison moved to the side and welcomed the brunette inside, the house hadn’t changed much over the years except for the photos that had her family in were now photos of her and the girls along with Alison and Elliot. Although, Emily assumed those wouldn’t be around for long.
Pepe bounded into the house from the open back door, he barked softly at Emily and brushed up against her legs as she sat down on a barstool. Alison offered a cold drink and went about making it, chopping up strawberries and dropping them into the jug of water.
“I didn’t peg you for a gardener,” The brunette had seen the dirty gardening gloves on the end of the bench as she walked in, a few pots with light lilac flowers and yellow roses sitting in them were also on the bench.
“I’m not, but mum was and she would murder me if I let the flower bed go to waste. Also, it’s quite relaxing and I get to play with Pepe when I take breaks,” Alison couldn’t contain the smile that burst onto her face, even though she was going through tough times with her ex, Emily was glad that she had something that was keeping her happy.
A glass got pushed over to Emily, with a piece of strawberry on the edge and a few pieces floating around in the water. She gulped it greedily, not knowing how thirsty she had been. “Oh my god, this is amazing!”
The blonde hummed her thanks, before motioning to the back door, they made their way out to two patio deck chairs that overlooked the garden. Pepe bounded about the grass before grabbing a Frisbee and bringing it back to Emily, barking excitedly for her to throw it.
Comfortable silence fell over them, Alison was glad to be spending time with someone other than her dog, and Emily was enjoying getting out of the house she’d been cramped into for the past few weeks.
“Can I talk to you about something?”
“You want to know how I found you,” It hadn’t been a question, Alison had posed it as a statement because of course she knew that Emily was here for that exact reason. There really wasn’t much the blonde didn’t know, Emily gulped down the rest of her drink before answering.
“Yeah, I really do. See I have all these memories of that night and most of the questions I’ve been able to answer myself, but the one I can’t is how you found me.”
The blonde shifted in the deck chair so she could looked at Emily directly, placing her drink down on the floor, “If I give you answers, you’ll only end up with more questions.”
Of course she’s being mysterious, Emily rolled her eyes, knowing that the blonde was going to try and dodge her prodding questions. It didn’t matter, she needed to know even if it did give her a headache she needed – and deserved – to know.
“I need answers.”
“Have you ever heard of the Anamosa tribe?”
Emily shook her head, they had taken history in school but never once had the Emily learned about tribes or anything of the type.
“Anamosa means White Fawn, they were a tribe of warriors and chieftains that were about to leave their bodies and wander the Earth as spirits, communicating with animals. They were also able to hear each of the tribe’s thoughts while being a spirit.”
“What does this have to do with you rescuing me?”
“Patience Emily, I’ll get there,” She winked, before continuing as she played with the tips of her fingers picking at imperfections nervously, “Obviously that all hasn’t been confirmed, and only the last remaining people of the tribe would be able to tell the truth. Another thing that makes the Anamosa tribe feared and well-known is the fact that people had thought they were shape-shifters.”
“Like twilight?”
“Exactly, a lot of the background for the twilight shape-shifters came from the Anamosa.”
Emily started to wonder where the blonde was going with this extensive background of the tribe, had the wolves that fought been one of the tribe’s. It would explain the werewolf like height of the beasts, although it didn’t explain as why that white wolf saved her when the other had wanted to kill her.
“Unbeknown to people today, only a few of the tribe still live in our society. Mostly men, who live in the Rocky Mountain ranges living off the land and still living by the code of the tribe.”
“Are there women?”
“Well, in the tribe history only two women were accepted into the fray, and these women would most likely become the wives of the chieftains; among other things.”
“Ali, as much as I love the history lesson. Why exactly are you telling me?”
The blonde got up from the patio chair and ushered Emily inside, they slowly made their way up to the master bedroom before Alison pulled out an old worn and torn wooden box from underneath her bed. It had small engravings sketched into it, such as the symbol for Earth and water among many others. The blonde opened it gently, keeping most of the contents hidden from the prying eyes of Emily before she reached in and took out a long leather necklace with a metal pendant tied into the bottom of it.
“What is it?” The brunette asked as Alison slipped the – surprisingly heavy – wolf head necklace into her hands. It wasn’t the perfect shape of a head, almost like someone had spent hours etching away at a chunk of metal to make it perfect. It had a rustic feel to it, and Emily thought she might break it if she held it with too much force.
“It’s the pendant that the chieftains gave to tribe members when they first phase.”
Emily’s head snaps up, clutching the pendant a little tighter, “What? Wait, does that mean?”
“The history books don’t know everything, they especially don’t know about the third female who chose to live in society rather than roaming the mountain ranges.”
“You? You’re the third female?”
“Yes Em, I’m a shaman of the Anamosa tribe,” Alison puffed out her chest, gaining a confidence that Emily hadn’t seen for a long time, “and I’m also a shape-shifter. I was the white wolf that saved you that night. It was how I found you.”