A Fresh Start

Ember hoped she wasn't being too boring with the way she was presenting the Hallows tour to Rebel. There was a lot to take in and some of it was more interesting than the rest, but she was trying to hit all the important bits without being too verbose. As they passed through the kitchens, Rebel surprised her by mentioning the raspberry tarts Ember had suggested to her back almost a year ago at the Yearling Ball. Ember's eyes lit up with recognition and she flashed a smile back to Rebel over her shoulder. "Yes, it was! I'm surprised you remember them!" It was such a small insignificant detail from that night, but apparently it had stuck with Rebel for some reason.

Down into the basement they went where Rebel seemed astounded by the sheer volume of wine the Hallows had. Most of it was manufactured fresh by the pack, but some of the particularly aged vintages had been here long before the wolves had settled the castle. Ember didn't really know the fine details of the wines like her parents did, particularly her mother, but there were apparently some bottles that were older than even her grandparents were! Rebel walked up to the nearest rack of wines and pulled out one of the bottles, seeming to consider it for a moment. Ember watched her new pack mate with a curious look. What on earth was she doing with that bottle...? Her question was answered when Rebel proved her name to be apropos to her personality and suggested they try a little sip of the wine together. Ember's mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide with shock. Was Rebel really suggesting they sneak some of the Hallows wine she was explicitly forbidden from trying?! She didn't know how old Rebel was, but since she had left her family and come to live here, she assumed she must've been old enough to drink at least. But to offer some to herself?!

Ember stammered for a moment, looking back at the stairs in apprehension as well. She couldn't deny that she'd always been curious of the wines, but was she willing to take the risk? After a moment of thought and deciding that she really only cared if she upset her mother right now, Em turned back to Rebel with a naughty grin and hurried over to the other girl. "Okay, just a sip." Ember took the bottle gently from Rebel's paws and extended the feline claws from her paw to spear the cork with one, prying it gently out with a pop. The rich scent of alcohol and summer berries began to seep from the open bottle. Em took a sniff of the bottle and wrinkled her nose, trying to decide if it was something she liked or not. Maybe wine was an acquired taste...? "You're the new girl, so you get the first sip," said Ember, handing the bottle back over to Rebel to try first. It was definitely because she was polite and not because she was nervous about her first taste of alcohol. No way, definitely not that!

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"