Ascendant Moon

Chapter Seven: Cultural Differences

The cell door opened and the werewolves took a step back, while Marwen stepped forward, past the imaginary line dividing her from them.  She stopped, placing her hands in her hips and grinned, revealing her jagged teeth. 

"That was not so hard was it?" She said with confidence, despite the russet wolf altering into a more aggressive position. She cast her eyes over him. "Do not worry. I will not bite... much." 

 The wolf growled and the Alpha stepped forward, angling himself so that they could still see each other, but the view was partially blocked. "Such anger." She taunted. 

"Well, you did manage to strike him in the forest. Can you blame him?" The Alpha stated calmly. She decided she liked this Alpha. 

      From what she had seen of his behaviour so far, he was a good, noble leader. It was a rare thing in the Fae realm. Either you ruled with a fist of iron, or you were easily swayed like Erylis. Marwen resisted the urge to punch something at the reminder of her once friend. She would have Ronric cowering beneath her feet, if it was the last thing she ever did. But first, the wolf people. 

"I suppose not." She answered, taking another step towards the Alpha. "So now that you have released me, what do you plan to do with me?" 

"You will be shown to your room, which for the time being, will have a guard placed by the door. We will discuss this training of yours further once you are settled." 

Clever. "So I am trading one prison for another it would seem." 

The Alpha shrugged. "You could stay down here, but trust me, the room upstairs is a lot nicer. The guard is a temporary measure, until I feel it is safe to let you wander freely." 

"Very well." She agreed. "Though I wonder just how much you have researched about my kind." The mistrust hung in the air between them, which amused her greatly. Out of the two of them, she had more reason to doubt the wolves then they had her.

A flash of confusion crossed the Alpha's face before it was masked. Marwen smirked widely. That brief expression had told her everything she needed to know. They do not know I cannot lie.

      "I will admit; I'm still working my way through the text." The Alpha conceded to tell her. So she had a bit of time then before he discovered this little fact. She did not think the guard would be at her door long once the Alpha unearthed that part. "I see," She answered smirking. The russet wolf shifted in agitation. She knew she had unnerved them with her vague answer, but refused to utter another word. They will all find out soon enough. "Let us see this room of yours then." 

       The Alpha nodded and motioned for her to step in front of him. As soon as Marwen walked into position, the Beta wolf immediately sidled up against her calf, making sure she was blocked in against him and the Alpha. She cared not. If she really desired to, she could take them out. There was no harm in going along with their perceived sense of security for now. Only when she had trained them, would they truly be a threat. 

       The Alpha though, her blood tingled at the idea of a worthy fight between them. The confrontation was creeping closer along the horizon and she could hardly wait. Marwen marched in time with the werewolves, the steady rhythm of the Alpha's footsteps behind her in symphony with the clicking claws of the Beta wolf across the hardwood floors. 

       Her sharp eyes noted the occasional head poking out of doorways or around corners as they traversed the house. She presumed rumour about her existence had spread throughout the pack and members were taking advantage of this slim opportunity to gauge how otherworldly she truly was. From the wide eyed, shocked looks she was receiving, Marwen thought her appearance was still just as intimidating as ever. 

      Eventually, they came to a stop outside a plain, unremarkable white door with a silver lock. The Alpha stepped around from behind her and turned the lock, whereas the russet wolf remained glued to her side. He pushed the door open slightly and stepped within, motioning her inside. 

       Marwen glanced around the room. It was indeed nicer than the cage in the basement. The floor was hardwood with a large furred rug taking up most of the space. The bed was spacious and was similar to the ones back in the Fae realm, with pillows, coverings and a mattress. There was a small table by the bedside, containing a drawer. A window seat was at the far end of the room from where she stood, with a view of the forest she had found herself in. She had no doubt that the glass was reinforced and those windows were locked. 

     "There is a bathroom through there." The Alpha inclined his head towards another door and she paced over, peering inside. There were porcelain basins, with metal attachments, one small and one large. Another was in the shape of a seat and had a pool of water at the bottom. 

"What are these metal things for?" She asked, prodding one with her finger. It twisted slightly.

 "They're taps. One runs hot water and one runs cold." The Alpha stated, turning one of the metal fixings. Water gushed out and Marwen carefully placed her fingers within, letting the stream of water spill over her skin. "Do you not have these in your world?" 

     Marwen shook her head. "Water is brought in buckets from lakes or rivers and heated by fire if it needs to be hot. If you are lucky, a water fae might fill the bath for you." She assumed the bigger basin was a bath, though it looked nothing like the wooden barrel ones she was used to. 

"Hopefully you'll find this much easier. " A smile crossed the Alpha's face. She did not know why, but she found she liked it.

"And what of this?" She asked, pointing to the chair like thing.

     The Alpha did not speak for a second, gazing at her as if he did not know if she was being serious or not. Marwen c****d her head to the side as his cheeks seemed to change to pink. 

"You...you don't know what that is?" He eventually spluttered out. 

Marwen shook her head. She had just said that had she not? What was wrong, was it some kind of torture device? 

"Erhm, its well, it’s a toilet." The Alpha managed, satisfied. 

"Toilet?" This still did not answer her question.

      The Alpha raised his eyes to the sky with an almost begging expression. Perhaps it was some kind of torture device after all and he did not wish to tell her.  "You know, where you do your... Ah, business. Relieve yourself."

Oh. "We call it a lacush." She responded. She would have to do her part to ease these cultural differences if she was going to be here for some time.

 "Ah, yes, well, I'll remember that. I'll leave you to settle in." The Alpha garbled out, quickly leaving. 

      Before the door closed, Marwen could swear she heard the Beta wolf laughing.