A Fresh Start

The tension between the two Carpathians was palpable and oh so obvious, but she wasn't about to touch that with a ten foot pole. No, she was going to keep her nose well away from whatever was going on there, that was for sure. At the very least Ember looked much more excited once her father was gone and they were left alone for her to be given a tour. It at least assured Rebel that this tour wasn't a chore for her pretty, new pack mate. "Sure," she replied agreeably when Ember suggested that they start with something familiar. She was led down the corridor that she remembered well enough from when she was last here during the ball and they walked into the large, open space lined with empty tables. She was kind of surprised to see the fire roaring in the hearth despite the fact that it was quite warm outside, but Ember soon explained the purpose and the symbolism behind it. "That's very poetic," she commented thoughtfully with a little nod.

She peered down the corridor that Ember pointed out, ears perking with interest at the mention of the armory. She'd definitely have to get that a look later on. She had a couple of loyal companions that certainly made the difference at times during her fights, but she had seen a bunch of wolves with various kinds of weapons and armor and she knew that was probably the next step in sharpening her fighting skills even more. Ember was already moving on to the next thing, however, and a moment later she was led into the kitchens and she gave little nods to show she was listening as she watched Ember move around the space and name all of the various appliances and cooking surfaces. This place was so much different than what she was used to! The only way she had ever seen food cooked was by an open fire, but things seemed a lot more sophisticated here. "I guess this is where those raspberry tarts were made, huh?" she asked with a grin as she walked over to the oven curiously.

Ember pointed out another feature, leading her over to a set of stairs that led down to the wine cellar and food larder. Curious, Rebel followed her tour guide down into the shadowed basement with a few lit torches mounted to the wall that cast enough light to see by. There was more bottles of wine down here than she could count! She looked back to Ember as she explained that her parents hadn't let her actually try any of the wine yet cause she wasn't old enough, but that her parents seemed to love the stuff. She hummed softly as she walked over to the shelves of bottles, examining them for a moment before glancing past Ember to the stairs behind her to make sure no one was up there that could catch them. Then she looked at Ember with a mischievous grin. "No one else is here... We could try a little sip if you want," she offered, already starting to reach for one of the bottles. "If someone catches us we'll just say I wanted to try some and you didn't have any."

"Rebel Klein"