A Fresh Start

As she had already guessed, Rebel was here to stay, as her father decreed. It really wasn't that big of a surprise to Ember, given that Ashen no longer existed, and in a way it was kind of honoring that the Klein princess had chosen to come live with them in the aftermath. It made Ember smile all the more brightly at Rebel, especially when the other lady seemed so happy to see her again. Wow, she must've really made a good impression on her back at the ball! Austere eyes turned back to her sire when he explained why he had called her down. Give Rebel a tour of the castle, help her pick a room and get settled in. Easy enough! Were it any other request from her father, Ember might have just outright refused it right now, but she didn't want to mar Rebel's first day in the Hallows because of her own spiteful battle with her dad. "Yes sir," she replied curtly, ignoring the way Artorias grimaced at her before he dismissed himself back to his toys in the armory, leaving the two faes to themselves.

Once her father was out of sight, Ember's mood visibly shifted and she was once more the perky yearling she usually was. She smiled up at Rebel, blue eyes bright with excitement as she waved a paw in the direction Artorias had gone down. "Shall we begin with what you're already familiar with?" she suggested, leading Rebel down the corridor to the Great Hall. She knew Rebel had been here already for the yearling ball, but there were still things to see down this way too. "This is the Great Hall, and this is what it looks like most days when there isn't some big event going on." Ember led Rebel down the rows of long wooden tables, all neatly cleared away as opposed to when she had seen them with a feast laid out on them. "This is where we eat most of the time. We also have our big events, our balls and parties, and our pack meetings here. The piano is new; my dad just got that for us."

Ember led Rebel over to the massive hearth at the center of the interior wall, the fire inside blazing despite the heat of summer. "This is the Great Hearth. It stays lit all day and night. We never allow it to go out. It's a symbol of the Hallows and of my family, of the eternal light in the dark that the Hallows is." Ember smiled as she looked into the crackling flames. The hearth was probably the most important thing in all of Hearthstone. It stood as a beacon of hope, of shelter, of life. She was very proud of her family and her pack, and the fire symbolized both things. Leading Rebel away from the hearth, Ember pointed a paw down the southern corridor. "Down there is the armory. We keep all our extra weapons and armor in there. It's free to use for anyone old enough who knows how, so feel free to poke about." But right now, Artorias was in there, so Ember would not be. The other doorway on the south end of the hall was their next stop though.

"This is the kitchen! We've got ovens, ranges, and grills, plus a natural water spring for all your cooking needs." Ember sauntered across the spacious kitchen, gesturing to each thing she named so Rebel could take it all in. She spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her mother, learning how to cook and bake and prepare food of all kinds. "Over here is the pantry for all our dry goods, and down these steps is our wine cellar and food larders and general storage space." Ember led Rebel down the stairs so she could show her the rows of large wine casks and racks upon racks of bottled wine her mother and the rest of the pack's crafters made. "My mom is in charge of making all the recipes for the wines. It's probably our most popular traded item with other packs. I haven't gotten to try any of it yet because my parents say I'm not old enough, but my mom and dad seem to really love this stuff!" One day, Ember would find out why the adults all seemed to like the wine so much...

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"