The Summer Bonfire Festival (Year 20)

While Clove worked beside her father, an array of wolves approached him. Most came to say hello, and others introduced themselves. Clove quickly assessed them, noting their appearances and scents, not thinking much of it. Until. Her nose twitched, paws full with a plate of dried meats when the scent of Tojo-Kai danced in the breeze. Akito? She stops, her eyes scanning the bustling plains but she can’t see much with all of the moving wolves. Another worker bumped into her, and she nearly dropped the plate of meats. Gotta finish this first. She continues to help set the food out, wondering if more Tojo wolves will be arriving.

Having just set down another tray, Clove’s ears start to twitch on her head, picking up a familiar voice. Ember! Spinning around, she watches her sister and… Erik? That was his name, right? Glide across the plains and walk up to their father. Wagging her tail, Clove waits patiently for her turn to say hello to her sister, smiling warmly and wrapping a paw over her shoulder to hug her. “Ember!” She said, nuzzling her and enjoying their reunion. “I've missed you so much.” Still looking at her sister, she motions toward Erik and Artorias with a sly flick of her muzzle. “Is this his first time meeting Tati?” She whispers, assuming they’d met before but she wasn’t sure. Man, having Tati meet your crush would be so nerve-wracking! Wait, had she introduced him to Akito yet? Did Tati even know who Akito was? Now her mind was spinning. Oh well, she had time to figure it all out.

She, in fact, did not have time.

Clove smells him before she sees him- that familiar, masculine scent she could pick out in a crowded room, flooding her with a rush of emotion and drawing her attention. It wraps her in a sensory embrace, igniting a spark of recognition that flashes within her eyes. Akito. “Ember, he’s here.” She whispers again, keeping her sister close. “Akito is here.” She doesn’t dare to turn around and look for him just yet. “How do I look? How’s my hair? My necklace?” She raises a paw and starts nervously fidgeting with the pendant, making sure it’s sitting square on her chest. The depth of her crush on him was so obvious. Just his scent made her all jittery and nervous.

And as Ember looks at her sister, they share an unspoken message between them. He’s walking up now. Straightening up, Clove continues to pretend she’s talking with her sister, but really, she’s making some final touches to her appearance. Ember gives her a silent thumbs up, and Clove slowly turns around just as Akito nods to Artorias. Clove nearly melts where she stands, watching as he gravitates toward her to greet his brother and her sister. Clove waits patiently for his gaze to turn towards her, aligning her contrasting eyes with those endless pools of celestial grey. She feels heavy beneath his warm smile, the magnetism of his well-groomed appearance drawing her in like a gravitational pool she can’t resist.

“Hello, Akito.” She says, smiling sheepishly. There is an electric charge between them, a palpable tension that those around them can feel. “Thank you.” She receives his compliment well. “It was a birthday gift from my Mother and Father.” Oh yeah, her Tati. Now would be a good time to introduce them formally; a lot was going on, and it would be easy for them to slip away with Ember and Erik while Tati was preoccupied. Taking a breath, she decided to do it. “Oh, have you formally met my Father, Artorias?” Hopefully, she wasn’t making him feel even more awkward. “Tati,” She calls for Artorias, who is still close by. “This is Akito- he’s from Tojo-Kai.” She says, keeping it short and simple. She didn’t want to call him a friend. Couldn’t quite call him a boyfriend. He was somewhere in between- so for now, he was Akito from Tojo-Kai.

After Artorias greets Akito formally, Clove moves in to pull him away. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?” She says, motioning for him to follow her towards the larger layout of foods and refreshments.

"Clove Carpathius"