Fall Harvest Moon

Chapter 3. The Dance

Aurora checked her makeup and her hair for the third time, making sure her mascara didn't smudge onto her gold eyeshadow, proud she managed to get not just one but both sides lined with black arches, showcasing her caramel brown eyes with golden specks. Zara's purple glow showed her approval, she had to agree, the candy apple red lipstick wasn't too bright or glossy and matched her outfit. She didn't usually wear this much makeup, but checking her reflection, she was proud of the job she did by herself. Zara was purring with satisfaction, dancing and swaying in her mind. She clearly approved of this look and was very excited for tonight. "You look so beautiful Aurora," Zara cooed "well you always do, but tonight we shine." Aurora smiled and wanted to share Zara's excitement.

Running her hands along the dress, Aurora fell in love with the red satin and black floral lace design, the rhinestones sparkled under the light, Looking over her reflection one more time, she thought she looked like a princess ready for the ball. She knew she wasn't looking for a prince. Zara huffed at that thought and asked her to just appreciate how awesome they looked. Aurora smiled, she didn't know how she would handle tonight without Zara.

"Aurora!!! Time to go, we're going to be late!" Her mother called from downstairs.

Grabbing her black satin and lace cloak, she took a deep breath and opened her door. Zara was cheering her on each step, but when she reached the top of the staircase she saw her parents standing at the door. But they didn't seem to notice her yet, as Gabe held Brooke against his chest, as she was shaking her head, unable to hear what she was saying, she must be communicating through a private mind-link that bonded mates shared. Aurora quietly stepped back so her parents didn't notice her.

Taking louder steps and allowing Zara through to express her excitement, that her parents would think was hers. Aurora reached the top staircase again. "Okay, I'm ready, sorry for making you wait". This time, Brooke was adjusting Gabe's tie, turning to smile at her daughter as Aurora walked down the stairs.

"That dress looks amazing on you sweetheart," Brooke said with tears in her eyes. "You look so beautiful." she said fondly.

Aurora dropped her eyes as she tried to smooth the front of the dress. "Thanks mom, for getting the dress for me, I love it." Aurora felt embarrassed at the attention her parents were showing.

"As always, your mother is right" her father said as he kissed the top of her head. He kissed his wife's hand as he pulled them both in for a hug. "You both make me so proud, I love you both so much". Her father wasn't usually this affectionate and Aurora thought "maybe because it could be our last night together." Zara just nodded in agreement.

Trying to avoid tears that could ruin her makeup and have her parents worry more, she hugged them both tight before stepping back and taking a deep breath " I love you guys too, but we're already going to be late because of me, so we really should get going."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Her mother turned to grab a small box and handed it to Aurora. "This is for good luck, from both of us."

Looking at the small rectangular box, Aurora was surprised by the gift. She opened it and saw a beautiful jade necklace with a pearl amulet in the center that reminded her of a full moon. She absolutely loved it, it was beautiful, fancy but not too outrageous, she didn't really care for diamond and she loved the smoothness of the jade. As she was speechless, Her father took it and helped her put it on. She saw it matched beautifully along with her wolf amulet, it's like they were made for another. Still not knowing what to say, and feeling tears again, Aurora smiled brightly at her parents and hugged them once more "thank you so much". She cried, not caring if the tears fell and her makeup was ruined. She loved her parents with all her heart and she knew she wasn't ready to leave, not now, not ever.

Walking to the town courtyard where the festival was already starting. Aurora walked in between her parents' holding their arms as both support and to stop her from running away instead of walking forward. Zara was excited as the beat of the music seemed to pull her foward and Aurora didn't understand how she could feel both emotions at once. Brooke stopped before the main entrance, turned to Aurora, reached for the pendant and her wolf charm wished her luck and hugged her one more time. Her father squeezed her hand and smiled fondly at his daughter turned the three of them towards the main courtyard filled with music, singing, laughter and dancing. Everyone was in full celebration mood and Aurora immediately felt excited and eager to join in. Zara was spinning in circles to the music, she definitely was eager to join the party. Even though Aurora attended every year, it was Zara's first, and it was their first time to participate in the mates dance ritual. They both were excited and nervous.

The courtyard was open to slowly darkening sky, and fully decorated with red, orange and golden leaves hanging from vines and decorated lanterns that overhung the tables and along the walls gave the place a magical glow. Dozens of huge tables were all along the sides filled with hundreds of people from near and far away lands, talking and laughing together. In the center was a huge bonfire with dancers filling surrounding floor. Looking beyond the fire was the center stage with the head tables where all the alphas and leaders from the surrounding clans and tribes were going to be seated.

"Aurora!! Aurora!!" She heard someone calling for her but it was so crowded around the entrance as people were trying to find their seats, she had a hard time finding the voice she recognized easily as her best friend. Before she could see her, she felt someone running into her open arms as her arms were still holding on to her parent's beside her.

"You look amazing! I love your dress! How come you didn't invite me to go shopping with you? Are those new shoes too! They look amazing! Doesn't this place look so amazing!?! I'm so excited! Aren't you? Where are you sitting? You have to sit with us!"

Prying the girl from her arms, Aurora looked at her best friend Elenore. "Elle, slow down! One thing at a time, remember?" Her bestie was so spontaneous and excitable it was always hard to hold her still. Smiling fondly at Elle, she noticed Elle was wearing a bright blue and black dress that had butterflies patterned around the hems. Her shiny heels made her appear four inches taller. "Elle, I love your dress too! Of course, we would love to sit with you!"

Jumping up and down, Elle grabbed Aurora's arm and led her and her parents to the table where her parents were sitting. "Come on, I've been saving your seats all night!"

Aurora rolled her eyes and smiled harder, they were no more than 15 minutes passed the time the doors opened and the grand entrance hasn't even started yet. Aurora and Elenore's parents greeted each other, as they were old friends themselves who were also raised together both the girls fathers were highly respected head clan members.

Everyone was excited about the grand entrance of the alphas and leaders. Aurora loved her friend's outfit and had to compliment her hair. Elle was wearing tiny blue jeweled butterflies clipped to her black soft curls, which was in perfect contrast with her dress, she was wearing silver eyeshadow and baby pink lipstick. Her dark grey eyes shone bright with excitement, Elle was excited about possibly meeting her mate tonight. She was talking a mile a minute about everything she did to get ready and how she had to go shopping in town that day for her new shoes.

The sound of drums marked the beginning of the grand entrance, the music stopped and the people on the dance floor quickly moved to the sides and created a path that allowed the leaders to their seats on the main stage. The first in line leading the way was their tribe Chief Eric Silverclaw, head Alpha of the Eagle Clan, when he reached the center of the stage, he introduced each leader as they stood at their place at the tables. Everyone cheered and welcomed the visitors as they took their seats and entertainers quickly filled the dance floor to perform songs and dance to honor and pay respects to their guests. Aurora and Elle held hands and joined the chorus of the song, they both knew all the words and loved those moments when they could join the traditional songs they both deeply missed.

When they were children, they were both part of the dance group and loved every performance they took part in. After every child's first Moon ceremony, they are given the choice of what role they want to dedicate themselves into the community, provider; which are harvester, teachers, doctors or just everyday worker. Or, they can choose protector; trained in combat, stealth and watched over the community. Both Aurora and Elle chose protector and spent their days training and patrolling the grounds together, but during last week they had separated shifts, Elle used all her allowed time off to prepare for tonight. And they didn't get to see each for the past couple days. Aurora wished they could've met up before to get ready together. It could've been their last chance to do so.

When the songs were over, the dancers left the floor and servers carrying huge bowls and trays of food appeared and placed them in the center of the tables. Aurora watched in amazement as they lifted the lids and revealed the most mouth-watering aromas of all sorts of meats, fish and sauces and steaming vegetables. Looking at all her options, she didn't know where to start.

Aurora had a hard time keeping up with the conversation between her parents and Elle's parents talking about their daughters' first time participating in tonight's festivities. Elle and her parents were excited and talking about her potential mate, while not so discreetly eyeing around the courtyard. Aurora knew her parents were only putting a good show, convincing their friends how excited they were too. Elle's family was well aware of their true feelings about their baby girl leaving, but everyone seemed to be in a cheerful mood, so Aurora tried her best to answer the questions with equal enthusiasm. Talking about the festivities reminded Aurora that she was about to join the main dance and she stopped eating so she wouldn't feel any fuller than she did now.

Taking a drink and looking around the room, Aurora missed the question Elle's mother had asked. She realized everyone at the table was watching her and waiting for an answer. She apologized and admitted she missed the question.

"Are you prepared for tonight's dance? Elenore says you two haven't practiced together all week." She asked again.

"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I've picked up some extra night shifts so I haven't had much time for dance practice." she replied.

"Ah yes, Its a shame we needed the extra shifts, so many lives forever changed and not with us this evening", Elle's father was referring to the missing female shifters. The tension between the adults quickly changed and Aurora knew they communicating through mind-link and before anyone could say more about it, Chief Eric stood to make an announcement, and with a wave of his hand the courtyard grew silent, allowing him to speak.

He told the story of why they gathered tonight under the Fall Harvest full moon to feast and pay respects to the Moon Goddess. When man first came to the land, they were tired, cold and hungry from their long travels to find a homeland. The Goddess wanted to help the new settlers, so she adopted them as her children and provided them with a harvest of food they could grow and feed themselves. She gifted half of her new children the ability to shift and harness a gifted animal spirit from the land or ocean, and the other half godlike beauty and strength. She also gifted them with a mate bond of true love that ensured healthy and strong offspring. Every year they should thank her for all her gifts that she bestowed upon them, and how tonight's festivities gave them the chance to find their other half and seal their bond that was blessed by the Moon Goddess.

Starting to feel nervous again, Aurora grabbed her friend's hand. Elle turned and gave her a reassuring smile and held her friend's hand tight. Zara was also giving her a pep talk "we'll just participate in the dance ritual smile and wave, then we can leave." Aurora didn't know how she would make it without them both.

When the music started and people started cheering, Aurora realized she had missed the end of the speech and quickly rose to cheer along with the crowd. The music filled the air and people quickly filled the dance floor. After the welcoming dances were over and the music switched to a slower tempo, the lights dimmed over the tables and all the crowd hushed in anticipation. Aurora knew it was the signal for the participating dancers to take the floor.

Aurora and Elle hugged their parents one more time and Elle grabbed her hand as they walked towards their positions on the dance floor.

The ladies were on one side of the bonfire waiting to make entrance and the men were already lined up waiting on the other side. The women were to dance around the fire in growing circles until the were picked by their mate, if you reached the edge without a mate, you were to leave the floor so the matched pairs could have their first dance. The music started and Aurora was focusing on the beat, wishing she went to those extra dance lessons. Zara was excited and urged her to take the first step. When, suddenly, a familiar scent of cedar and citrus made her eyes widen and she discreetly scanned the floor for a possible exit. When the music tempo increased and the ladies started their dance, Aurora placed herself very end of the ladies' lineup, away from the citrus scent. Instead of approaching a dance partner, she quickly stepped to the side as to pretend she wasn't part of the dance lineup and made her way to an exit she saw through the side entrance. The lights were dimmed among the crowd and all the focus was on the dancers pairing up on the floor. No one even noticed she had left. Aurora wanted a quick getaway. She wasn't even planning on leaving the dance. But she knew, she wasn't ready to face her mate and wanted to get as far away and fast as she could. Zara was protesting and wanted to turn back, Aurora decided to shut Zara out and she didn't want to go back to her parents, they were probably still seated trying to watch for her possibly pairing on the dance floor. She knew she didn't have long before they noticed and decided to make her way to the forest to try to clear her head. She took off her heels and started to run. She sensed a wolf on guard patrol quickly approaching her from the forest, she announced it was her, that she had an wardrobe accident and needed to quickly change her outfit. The wolf never showed itself out from the trees shadows, but she could sense it was one of the captains who led patrol groups. She knew they weren't alone but could not tell who else was out there. The wolves warned her not to be out alone. Aurora apologized and stated she was trying to be quiet and quick to return to party, they allowed her to go without escort, she ran home and waiting inside until she felt she was truely alone, she quietly ran out the backdoor into the forest, she wanted to clear her head and get rid of that wonderful aroma of citrus from her memory with the fresh air.

She hitched her dress as far so could and ran all the way to her favorite spot where she had just watched the sunrise that morning. She couldn't believe that, no matter how hard that she had wished, her mate was there at the feast. Trying to make her choice if she wanted to go back home and hide, or go back and meet him, which her wolf inside really wanted to do. Feeling guilty , she opened her min and allowed Zara to speak up. Zara was quiet but agitated, pacing and wanting out so she could go back.

Holding her talisman and feeling her parents' gift, remembering their love, she looked at the rising moon through the clearing feeling as if the moon goddess was focusing her moonlight on her, feeling shame for running away. She apologized to the moon goddess and her wolf for trying to reject the gift that was given. "I'm sorry, I thought I wasn't ready. I wasn't thinking of anyone else but only myself. It's not fair of me to deny your gift and my mate either. I'm ready now and I thank you Moon Goddess"

Looking down towards the courtyard and feast, hearing the love ballads and watching the newly coupled dancers dance together, wondering if Elle found her mate and was one of those couple's. Aurora was preparing herself to head back to the party when she suddenly became aware she wasn't alone.