Chapter Twenty-Three

Nucamma woke up early the next morning. He had to get to work. He wanted to visit his pet pony first, so he left Atohmma sleeping. When she awoke, she remembered Venomma's recent plight. Her mind went back to the blanket and she remembered the old lady. She recalled Venomma saying, her blanket was given to her as a gift by an old fairy who only visited on the vernal equinox. She wondered whether Venomma thought the old lady was a fairy, and that her infrequent visits resulted because she kept to herself. She also resides in a hidden cave by the lake and does her work in the nearby village. Somehow, Atohmma thought, Venomma made that up. She noticed Nucamma was gone and then she got off her bed. Atohmma was about to grab her toothbrush when she saw it through her window. Leaves were blowing around crazily. It was a high wind. The trees were swaying. She observed the way the wind just whistled. She thought to herself, it must have been a strange turn in the weather again. Knowing that it was most likely a no-moon now, she went to her calendar after brushing her teeth and taking a shower. She checked the days and indicated seeing no moon out last night when she went to the pasturelands. As she double-checked the calendar, she noticed that today was a special day. It was her birthday. She couldn't believe she forgot again. It was normal every year, for her to forget her birthday. She noticed that she felt strange and the weather was weird but when she looked outside, it was not threatening. She saw it as just a breezy day. She didn't have a clue about what to prepare for today. She just decided to do something later on tonight in celebration, so she spent most of the day, running around purchasing stuff and making snacks. She even ordered a cake from the baker. She had no problem planning her celebration.

The sun came out hot after a few hours, but the wind was wild. Even the other villagers were aware of the strange weather. There was a bit of concern. There was a scattered light rain and the fog was whiter than usual. No one noticed the elements were at work. The battle of the elements was mentioned by the oracle Cobra, however, no one paid heed. It would have been unexpected and Atohmma had forgotten, that she needed to look out for it. She went on preparing for her night.

Now that everything was prepared, Atohmma ventured outdoors to send an invitation to the natives for story night and her birthday celebration. She thought it had been a while since they had a story night, so she saw it fit to entertain everyone with it, during the celebration of her birthday. She didn't leave anything out. She had to fly over to Nucamma's village to let him know. She decided to walk out of the village and use her unusually large wings from there, so no one will notice and ask questions. She knew he would have been at work, so she went there first. When she found him, she invited him and he said he will be there. Nucamma knew he had to get her something special, but while at work it was difficult for him to leave, so he thought about it and planned an early escape that day, to go to the market.

Atohmma flew back to her village and walked for part of the way. She remembered having to invite the old lady by the lake. She walked over casually, but the old lady was not at home. Atohmma presumed she would have been in the nearby village, doing her blankets and mats, so she flew across from the direction of the lake. Upon reaching the village, Atohmma walked as though she had all the time in the world to spare. She observed the old lady from a little way off, sitting in front of a shed. She was busy doing her embroidery. "Hi, how are you keeping my lady," said Atohmma to the old lady. "I am doing well Atohmma, it's good to see you here. Are you just passing through?" said the old lady. "I came to invite you to my birthday celebration tonight. I didn't remember, so I understand it's a bit last minute, but I hope you can attend," she said pleading to the old lady, with a cute look on her face. "How can I not. Of course, I'll be there." The old lady, knowing that she would have liked to finish the present she promised Atohmma, knew she couldn't at this short notice, so she had to get something else." "Well, I'll see you later, I already prepared everything down to the cake, so you do not need to bother yourself with any extra load tonight." smiled Atohmma. "Okay dear, I'll see you later, get back safely dear." said the old lady. With that Atohmma left.

On her way back, Atohmma went to play a bit with her pet pony and share a part of her day. She took him back to the village with her after playing a while. The pony was happy for this moment, as he missed Atohmma and liked being in the village. There was much more movement now, as everyone became aware of Atohmma's birthday night. They were busy decorating along the village street and their caves and placing seats. Some went to purchase presents and everything was happy despite the breeze, heat, and fog. Atohmma was of age now, but she was not aware that she was the chosen one. The elements were beginning to battle. In the forest, the Diamond-Back oracle Cobra noticed the changes in the atmosphere, and his great wisdom was aware that very soon, the Elemental Shield would appear and protect their world from the battle that was brewing.

Meanwhile, in the other village, Nucamma went to purchase something special for Atohmma. He searched his mind, trying to figure out what she might like. He knew she had almost everything she needed, but he walked around, hoping to find a hint at one of the market stalls. He came across a wall sculpting. It was in the shape of a pony, so he thought it must be the perfect gift. It would remind her of her beloved pony. It was colorful just like she would like it to be, so he settled it in his mind that this was the perfect present for Atohmma.

Some of the villagers had begun the celebration with music. They played every possible instrument that the village knew of. The natives chanted some songs in between. There was drumming, Atohmma's favorite instrument. It was unlike any previous celebration she had. Unknown to her, they were thankful to Atohmma for everything she did for the village and to make the Wolf Festival possible. They included their gratitude with her gift of music and celebration. The night was cool and the wind was fierce but that didn't stop them. Nucamma was there, the old lady was there and everyone else. Atohmma received a neat little package from the old lady. Within it was a new mat she made for a countertop. She gave that to Atohmma as her birthday present. Atohmma loved it. It was cute and had little frills on the edges. She adored Nucamma's gift of the sculpted pony and hung it on her bedroom wall. All the other gifts were also nicely packaged and Atohmma happily received them. They ate, drank, told stories, sang, and danced. They heard howling of wolves in the distance and despite the no moon, the night sky was beautiful and everything was going along smoothly, until midnight.