Prologue Part 4

 (I woke up started, I was going to have to get used to that idea completely, especially since I almost forgot where I was.) And so, it came to pass that we spent our first semi-sleepless night together. The morning light poured into the room waking me up. I stretched, taking a moment to gather myself realizing I was no longer in my old room. (I wasn turned myself over to look my mate in the face. I reached over lightly shaking Nuvaro. He slowly opened his eyes, smiling as he leaned forward to lick my cheek, then gave me soft kisses. I smiled in return and Nuvaro grabbed me by my waist pulling me toward him. He purred softly in my ear, sniffing me once again before letting me go. We then got up and got ready for the upcoming day, heading to the baths first, we had to freshen up some after all. After taking a quick bath, we headed toward the dining room area. We sat down had breakfast with his father and mother. Making small chit chat as we ate. After we finished, we excused ourselves, waving light goodbyes to his parents and headed to the training field where a new set of recruits awaited Nuvaro' s and my arrival. I was excited to be able to see another style of training. I guess my excitement was more than obvious as we walked up to the training area with me holding onto Nuvaro' s arm with a smile plastered on my face. I just hoped it would not leave a bad impression.

Showing up to the barracks, Nuvaro reached up as if showing off the mark on my neck, almost as if it were an instinctual warning to the men about who I belonged to. I rolled my eyes lightly as I wondered why he felt that was necessary. Most of the morning hours were then spent getting me accustomed to the way he taught the warriors. There were some snags as the new trainees spent most of their time staring at me instead of listening to Nuvaro, which left me with mixed emotions on whether it was a good idea for me to be there. So, I decided to ask because remaining silent would not get me anywhere.

Cedren: "I know I am supposed to be here with you cause your father wants us to be together, but is it a good idea? It seems to be distracting the recruits too much."

Nuvaro: "They will just have to get used to it. You are not the only female warrior. So, I do not know why they are acting so strange."

Cedren: "I am not sure, surely I am not that fascinating, am I? Or is it my eyes that is throwing everyone off?"

Nuvaro: "Well the eyes are a defining feature in our culture. It is possible it is throwing everyone off. Your eyes are not only two different colors but fluxed as well. So that indicates big time status to them."

Cedren: "Geeze, I hope they get used to them soon, everyone in my village has the flux or multicolored eyes. I know I ended up with both, but really now, most in my family have these eyes."

Nuvaro: "It is alright, they will learn, and they will respect the fact that you are my mate, or they will have hell to pay. For now, let us focus on training, okay?"

Cedren: "You are right. Sorry about that. Let us get to it."

Nuvaro then asked to see my skills with the bow and sword to start off with. The trainees all watched on as I demonstrated the skills I had been taught. Going through each thing I had specialized in, I demonstrated with flawless accuracy. Pleased with my form and abilities, he showed me some new methods to add into my routine. I was thankful they were easy to incorporate. I then showed him the self-defense and hand to hand I was taught. He was pleased with my forms and showed me some new ways to guard myself and counter. The rest of the day went off with a series of training regiments before we decided to call it a day. That first day was exhausting and interesting all at once. I just hoped each day would seem to flow smoother from here on out. Before I had realized it, the first morning would become an ingrained ritual. And I rather enjoyed it for whatever reason. His father was more than pleased with how much I could contribute. The troops had finally quit acting strange and training sessions seemed to fly by like they were nothing.

Things went this way like clockwork for the first year. As a result, our bond had grown quite strong. The proof was in the color of our markings. The stronger the bond, the darker the mark becomes. It had neared a deep crimson color so far. The sham-men confirmed our soul bond was unbreakable now. We would always be able to find each other regardless of distance, which was an excellent sign for the village. It was an indication that we would be strong leaders. The soul connection also came with new abilities that would allow us to always find each other no matter the distance. It was a useful thing especially if we ever got separated while hunting or in battle. Part of our personal training to ourselves was making use of the soul link to make sure we could find each other, no matter the distance.

We knew how tiring that training could be, but it was well worth it. During all the time we had spent together, there was always that feeling of someone lurking in the background. I could never seem to place it. Even if I told my love about this odd feeling, there was no way for me to prove that someone had been watching. I would just have to deal with it till I could figure something out. Now we had gone on several hunts since I moved to the village, but this would be the first large scale one. The time had come for another massive grand hunt to feed the village. Jerky stores had gotten low, so a massive hunt was in order to re-up supplies. This would be the first big hunt of this size since leaving my own village. Our days had been filled with so much training and defense tactics it was an easy thing to forget the food stores needed to be completely topped off from time to time. The first day of the hunt would be in animal form. Serving as more of the bonding experience our villages prized. The following two days would be as themselves. So, the day was set for when we would head to the hunting grounds.

Hopes were high that it would be yet another grand hunt. When the day to depart arrived, the group set out to the hunting grounds. His father was quite happy with the plan and location and gave us his blessing and best wishes. We had finally arrived two days later to the area we were to hunt and setting up camp took around three hours or so. Little did we know that we had been followed by someone from the village. Their obsession was turning out to be a strong one. But regardless of that, we had several carts to fill with meat and greenery after all. Half the Pan's ran out into the wooded areas surrounding the camp and began the first stage of gathering essential herbs. After setting things up, the remaining Pan's scattered and disappeared into the woods and began their tasks. The healing supplies were running low as well after all. We had just finished setting up the last of the tents, I was making sure the messenger birds were taken care of. After finishing that last task, I smiled brightly at Nuvaro, running up to his side.

Cedren: (Standing with excitement clearly gleaming in my eyes, I could not help but utter my words excitedly.) "It is my first massive hunt in your clan and not my own. I am so excited. The pans are already on the ball and gathering herbs. They are so efficient, and the troops are already setting up the perimeter."

Nuvaro: "I can tell just by the look in your eyes. Yours are the only ones who change completely depending on your mood. They are always so fascinating to look at. And they're mine alone."

Cedren: (Uggh, he is teasing me again damnit, and in front of everyone. I lightly slapped his shoulder.) "Oh, come on now, you are always trying to embarrass me in front of everyone."

He grabbed onto me pulling me to him as he headed to our tent, I blushed hard lightly facing down as he gave me a big smile before pulling me even closer to him, nuzzling the side of my neck through my hair. Lightly inhaling my scent, he lightly growled in my ear playfully before pulling me to the futon. I had gotten so used to his form of lustful play, but I did not mind it. We fell asleep in each other's arms as we waited for dawn to come. With all that was going down, that very night, someone had followed the caravan all the way to the hunting grounds again. This had been their pattern ever since Cedren came to the village. Every hunt was followed, any move made outside the village itself was always followed. Determined to carry on with whatever they were eventually planning, they watched on the outskirts as the whole camp was set up and everyone had gone on with their tasks. It was like they were making notes of every move that would be made over the next few days once again. Their only hope was to remain hidden during all the trips to the mountains for supplies. This was just another added continuous pattern that would eventually continue, most likely till they were stopped. The following morning, to my surprise, Nuvaro was up first. It clearly must be the excitement of the hunt. I kind of understood how he felt, but it was still a shock. I was not used to seeing him get up first. With our room back in the village, the morning light poured onto me first thing always making me get up early. I could not help being surprised.