Evers Mum

 

Hisoka listened carefully.

Kimiko had expected more of a reaction, especially after Sinder’s dramatics. She asked, “You don’t think this is important?”

“It is. Undoubtedly. But there is a time and a place for everything, and this is neither.” He took her elbow and guided her to the door. “Kimiko, you have people to meet and a betrothal to formalize. Eloquence, rejoin your father and brothers and await your suitor’s pledge. Suuzu … ah.”

Suuzu stood just inside the door. More accurately, he leaned against the wall, looking dazed. He must have arrived close on Hisoka’s heels, making him privy to the entire explanation. Here was the shock she’d anticipated, but why should Suuzu be so rattled? Automatically, she checked on Akira, who was already moving toward his best friend.

“Hey, Suuzu.” Akira sounded worried. “You doing okay?”

The phoenix silently pulled his friend close, pinning Kyrie between them. The little crosser warbled a questioning note. Suuzu’s low trill seemed to reassure him, but Kimiko was concerned by his posture. Suuzu radiated an inexplicable distress.

Hisoka said, “Sinder, I apologize for the inconvenience, but will you carry a message to Boonmar-fen Elderbough at Kikusawa Shrine, letting him know what’s transpired. The two of you will protect the treasury. No access. From any quarter.”

“Understood.” Sinder left so quickly, he seemed to vanish into thin air.
 

Kimiko frowned at her companion. Suuzu held himself even more upright than usual as he escorted her toward her evening’s obligations. “Are you worried about something?”

He seemed to haul himself into the present and managed a wan smile. “My role is minor. Better to ask if you are worried.”

“Not really.” She gestured broadly with her free hand—gratitude, anticipation, happiness. “I never once expected to have the full set.”

“Of …?”

“The Five.” Kimiko added a skip to her step. “Do you know the two I haven’t met?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll introduce me?”

“Gladly, should the need arise. But the spokespersons are quite forward when it comes to seeking human interaction.” He gestured to the fore. “As you shall see.”

Kimiko followed his gaze. The wolf watching their approach was quite tall, quite tanned, and quite beautiful. Hurrying her steps, Kimiko was already rattling off greetings and compliments. Adoona-soh Elderbough’s surprise modulated into pleasure, and her posture shifted to a stance that was universally understood.

Shocked by her own boldness, Kimiko ran straight into her arms. She was pulled close, her cheek pressing a vest of thick golden fur. Warm and wild and a welcome surprise. Closing her eyes, Kimiko came to rest. This person was a stronghold, and she felt safe.

The she-wolf laughed, low and husky. “Not the least bit shy, this one.”

Suuzu said, “At times like this, Kimi reminds me of Akira.”

“That one,” she scoffed in brusque affection. “Where is your nestmate?”

“With Gingko. Just there.”

Kimiko drew back enough to see where Argent’s famous son stood with Akira. She’d beg an introduction to the half-fox later, but she was more surprised by the quick change Akira had undergone. Isla’s father was fussing with the folds of a formal ensemble the color of flames. “Suuzu, is he wearing your crest?”

“He is.”

Guided by the phoenix’s obvious pride, Kimiko decided that now was not the time for gossipy tidbits. Reaching for his hand, she gave it a quick squeeze. “He looks good in your colors.”

Suuzu’s soft trill was self-deprecating. “He looks embarrassed.”

But just then, Akira spotted them and offered a small wave and a crooked grin.

“Don’t be silly, Suuzu,” Kimiko said. “He’s as proud as you are.”

“Hold your heads high,” said Adoona-soh. “You especially, Kimiko Miyabe.”

She eased out of the wolf’s embrace, belatedly offering her palms.

Adoona went one better, her big hands settling around Kimiko’s wrists. “I can see why Harmonious is so taken with you. I admire your resolve to tread a path less traveled.” Leaning closer, the she-wolf confided, “The chase was mine, as well.”

Now that was a story Kimiko wanted to hear.

“Your attention, please.”

Hisoka’s well-modulated voice carried across the buzz of conversation, which tapered off enough for Kimiko to catch the sound of her mother. Up on tiptoe, she spotted Mama near the center of the room, chattering at Lapis Mossberne. He acknowledged Hisoka’s call with a lazy twirl that must have created a sigil, for Mama’s voice was suddenly muted. Silenced by a barrier. With supreme poise, the attentive dragon guided Kikuko Miyabe to her husband’s side. Kimiko was sure she was talking the whole way and cringed.

“You are like your mother,” remarked Adoona-soh.

Kimiko was stung.

Adoona’s expression betrayed amusement. “You do not care for the comparison.”

“Mama is ….” There was no good way to finish that. Kimiko tried again. “I don’t want to be like her.”

“Resemblance takes many forms. Will you hear the favorable reports that have come back to me from Kith and Kindred alike?”

“Reports?” she echoed, uncomfortably aware that she was whispering instead of listening to Hisoka’s welcoming remarks. Like Mama.

“Wolves often weave the day’s surprises into their song, and many are glad to have crossed paths with you.” Adoona’s voice was low, sure. “A seeker of connections, an improviser of courtesies, a granter of smiles.”

Kimiko had a hard time believing that those she met in passing actually remembered her. Surely a reaver of her rank wasn’t worth noting. Here today, gone tomorrow. Then again, she cherished each happenstance. Weren’t they wonderful because they were so fleeting and so rare?

“Others are brighter,” she protested.

Adoona cupped her cheek. “Do not complain of lesser lights to one who cherishes the moon.”

It took a moment for that to sink in.

The she-wolf wasn’t finished. “Kikuko Miyabe entered this room as if it were her own, and by her courtesies made us welcome.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. She’s very … in charge.”

Suuzu made a small sound. Was he hushing them? No, he was trying not to laugh.

Adoona said, “I know three Nightspangle whelps whose praises multiply. Hisoka purrs at the very mention of your name. Isla, who outshines whole constellations, looks up to you. And in a shocking turn of tricks, Argent approves of you.” Her tail swung wide. “Eloquence may speak for the Kith, but you shall speak for your den. Much as I do.”

Kimiko still wanted to protest. “I’m not anything like Mama. Everyone knows that’s Noriko.”

“The elder daughter?” scoffed Adoona. She certainly didn’t shy away from confrontation. “She has your mother’s form, but she has your sire’s doting, deferential nature.”

Just how much had transpired in the short time she’d been off with Eloquence and Ever?

Adoona searched her face and nodded. “Listen and consider. Kikuko is human, but she pursued a reaver and won his affection. Without her courage to defy tradition, you would not be here to pursue your own unlikely match.”

Kimiko blinked, then blinked again as tears threatened. Never. Not once had it occurred to her that she was following in her mother’s footsteps. Mama, who loved people and gossip and taking charge. Mama, who was hasty and stubborn and quick to befriend.

“Suuzu, am I like my mother?” she asked tragically.

The phoenix brushed her cheek with a hasty kiss. “I maintain my position—you are like Akira. Now take heed, for Harmonious has nearly finished building anticipation for Eloquence’s grand entrance.”

He and Adoona drew her into the center of the room and remained on either side. Kimiko faced her parents and Harmonious, who welcomed her belated arrival with a broad wink.

“The time has come to present my son,” he boomed. “Eloquence is escorted by my dear Anna.”

As every head turned, Kimiko went up on tiptoe, eager for a glimpse of the reclusive second wife of Harmonious Starmark.  No one knew anything about Ever’s human mother. Harmonious always laughed off questions, saying Anna preferred a quiet life and thanking the world at large for respecting her privacy.

Eloquence’s questing gaze found Kimiko’s, his face brightening enough to warm her cheeks. And then he bent to speak into his mother’s ear. Not that he had to bend far. The woman at his side was quite tall and definitely not from their part of the world.

She was rosy-fair with hair the soft yellow of a sunrise sky, loose and straight as a mare’s. As she came nearer, Kimiko could see that her eyes were blue. A striking beauty, like a storybook queen. Most startling was her age, for while Anna Starmark was clearly a woman grown, she looked no more than twenty.

Kimiko was grateful that Isla had told her that this woman’s life was linked to her bondmate’s. Anna probably looked exactly as she had the day Harmonious began to tend her. A sobering thought.

Would Kimiko’s family grow old around her, while she remained unchanged, a living relic of the early days of the Emergence? Another thought came, more vexing than it should have been. Was she doomed to be mistaken for an adolescent boy for centuries to come? Perhaps Eloquence would agree to an extended courtship, giving her time to gain some semblance of maturity.

Figuring this was one of those times when she was meant to take the lead, Kimiko stepped forward and offered her palms to initiate the formalities. “Your son speaks of you with obvious affection.”

Anna’s smile was grave. “Two of my sons are utterly smitten, and I have no doubt you will rally the rest in support of your pursuit.”

Her Japanese was perfect, if a bit formal. And it was a little difficult to tell if the lady thought Kimiko’s pursuit was a good thing. She tried to get a read off Eloquence and found he’d adopted the receptive posture they’d practiced yesterday. She firmed her own stance, and his demure smile held approval.

“Your kin are shrinekeepers,” Anna said.

“Kikusawa Shrine.”

 “When I first came to this area, Kikusawa gave me shelter.”

Kimiko asked, “You lived at our shrine?”

“I considered it home.” Again, that grave smile, and Anna’s fingers tapped lightly upon the circlet of stones at her wrist.

Attention drawn, Kimiko saw that the bracelet was one of a matched pair. Each clear stone gleamed with an inner light, as if she’d captured starlight within the crystals. This woman wasn’t just a reaver; she must be a beacon. Suddenly, Ever’s fanciful description of his mother holding stars in her hands made sense. In the eyes of her child, she would shine.

 “Kikusawa gave me shelter,” Anna repeated. “But I repaid them poorly, for I brought nothing but trouble.”

“I didn’t realize. My grandfather was more familiar with the shrine records than I am. I don’t remember any mention of a reaver named Anna.”

The woman traded a long look with Eloquence, who dipped his head.

“Ever tells me that you love the Star Festival,” said Anna. “Since your visit, he has been full of questions about angels and starfolk and saints.”

“The Star Festival has always been an important celebration for my family.”

“And for our pack,” interjected Eloquence. He nudged his step-mother. “For good reason.”

Kimiko was sort of relieved to see Anna’s expression morph into fond exasperation. She was less stiff that way, more normal. Maybe even approachable, once they got over the awkwardness of beginnings.

Anna said, “It might interest you to know that once upon a time, I was Miss Anna Green.”

“I see.” But of course, she didn’t. The English name stuck out, her accent somewhat different than Isla’s. Kimiko wasn’t sure if it signified a regional difference or indicated some earlier era.

Eloquence stepped in. “Before Anna met Dad, her family name was Green.”

He gave subtle emphasis to the English surname, as if there was a connection he expected her to make. Her grasp of English was rudimentary at best, her worst subject. All she’d retained from middle school were a few basic phrases, numbers one to ten, the names of farm animals, some varieties of fruit, and colors.

Oh.

Kimiko quickly shifted into stammering, babbling, gesticulating comprehension. Green was midori. Midori was green.

The woman simply nodded.

With a warm chuckle, Eloquence banished any lingering doubt. “Kimiko, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce Reaver Anna Starmark, battler class, better known to history as Saint Midori.”