Coming of Age Ch. 07

Crystal considered her outfit before she turned and started to rummage through Serenity's clothes picking out a pair of black bootleg jeans and a nice green top. "Put these on and some boots."

"Okay... do I want to know why I am getting dressed up?" Serenity said as she stripped out of her clothes and changed into the outfit Crystal had chosen.

"What part of surprise don't you get?" Crystal asked as she was also changing into a pair of black skinny leg jeans and halter neck top.

Serenity whistled as she sat and pulled on a pair of boots, Crystal just chuckled before she walked into the bathroom to take care of her hair. Serenity just ran her fingers through her hair and styled it like she liked before she walked in to add a little make up. Crystal was brushing her hair to try to get the kink from her ponytail out.

Serenity finished putting on a little eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss then went out to her bag and found her wallet, checking to make sure her ID, cards and cash were in order before she stuffed it into her back pocket. Picking her dress watch out of her side of the vanity she read the time before slipping it on, it was just before they would normally have dinner.

"Are we going out for dinner?" She asked as she slid a bracelet on.

"Yes," Crystal said as she walked out of the bathroom and to her side of the vanity, she quickly put on a necklace and a few bracelets and a delicate watch.

Serenity went to reach for her keys, "am I driving or you?"

"You are," Crystal replied as she grabbed her wallet and put it in a little handbag.

"I never knew you could scrub up so well." Serenity complimented.

"I want this to be special, don't expect it all the time." Crystal glanced around wondering for a moment. "Okay let's go."

Together they went down stairs and pass the dining room, there whistles and playful teasing as they passed.

"Have fun!" Thais called after them.

"So..." Serenity said as she mounted her baby, she loved her chopper, the chrome and emerald green colours and just the roar of the Harley engine. "Where are we off to," she asked as she started her bike. Crystal mounted up behind her and wrapped her arms around Serenity for balance and purchase.

"It's this nice Italian place in town, I'll direct you when we get closer, than I thought we might go bowling or watch a movie." Crystal explained, she knew it wasn't exactly the most ingenious first date but she had never actually dated before and Serenity had not been specific about how she wanted them to get to truly know each other. So yeah, they might end up doing some really lame things, going and playing mini golf, going to the carnival and more but... hey... they were trying to get to truly know each other. Temperance and Bastion were pretty content with the relationship which had just appeared but Serenity was an Alpha, she had to know her mate, they had to have a partnership that transcended the mates bond.

Temperance bounced into Sky's room early thanksgiving morning, "WAKE UP!" She yelled.

Sky jerked into an upright position and squinted at Temperance. "What..." she grumbled not even concerned that she was exposing her body to Temperance.

"Since when do you sleep naked?" Temperance asked.

"Since clothes rubbed on my healing tattoos... what do you want?" She said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Get up... we've got to go..." Temperance told her.

"Go..." Sky grabbed her clock, "Temperance its five o'clock in the fucking morning get the fuck out of my room." She grabbed her blanket and pulled it over her head as she went back to sleep.

"Fine," Temperance bounced out of the room and into a firm body, Thais was before her, blocking her path.

"You may be excited but everyone else just wants to sleep, go home. We'll meet you at the manor." He told his sister.

Temperance huffed and went down stairs to gather her mate. Thais rolled his eyes and followed her back down, Myth was awake and sitting with a mug of coffee, Thais joined her. "Why are you always awake at this time?" Thais asked.

"I can't help it. My body clock says wake up and I wake up." She said as she stretched, she grabbed her bow and a practise quiver as she stood. She had set up a little range with multiple targets to practise on, the arrows in her quiver were blunt, oh they could still give someone a good flesh wound but unless they were really unlucky it was unlikely to kill them.

"I'm going to practise." Myth said just as Rachel came racing down the stairs as she pulled on a jumper, her archers glove and guard were between her teeth as she righted her jumper. Her brown locks still looked a little slept in but for morning practise she could live with it.

"Sorry," Rachel said as she quickly pulled on glove and guard.

Myth shrugged, she was actually surprised by Rachel's dedication, she always showed up to early morning practise, even if it meant only getting a few hours' sleep. Real archery, specially the kind of archery Myth practised, wasn't an easy skill, it was nothing but practise until every movement became instinctive. The bow Myth used wasn't one of those fancy bows people used today in competitions; it was a long bow, an ancient weapon that hadn't changed in over two thousand years. It didn't have stabilisers, or any of those fancy add ons, it was a simple curve of wood, nothing special but in Myth's hands it was something more.

"Come, we are working on your stance today." Myth said.

Rachel winced; it always made her body burn when Myth worked on her stance.

"I know it hurts, and it hurts because my bow has a heavy draw weight. I'll be able to get you your own bow later today." Myth told Rachel as she helped tighten the wrist guard which would protect her forearm from the string as it released.

"Finally," Rachel replied which caused Myth to chuckle.

"Let's go." Myth said and they went outside.

Thais yawned but prepared a second cup of coffee as Rayven walked up stairs. He offered the mug to her which she took gratefully.

"You know this only needing a few hours' sleep is starting to annoy me." She told him as she sat.

Thais chuckled, "try not actually needing sleep." He told her, "as an Ancient sleep isn't necessary, we sleep out of habit or because we want to pass time, we don't need it. Twenty minutes of meditation a day and we are fine if we chose not to sleep."

"Why meditate then?"

"The body and mind need rest... lucky for us it isn't much, I have been told that the years leading up to the great flood Noah didn't sleep, he didn't have the time he had too much to do." Thais explained.

"Is it the same for all true immortals?" Rayven asked as she sipped at her coffee.

"Yeah... it seems pretty constant." He answered.

"So... is there anything I should know before we go today?" She asked before she sipped her coffee.

Thais shrugged, "depends, you've read all those books Crystal suggested right?"

Rayven nodded, she had read and re-read them, some things still baffled her about Were culture but Crystal had turned around and said that's common, that sometimes even Were don't get why they do things, just be open minded.

"Then you should be fine with Crystal's advice." He explained. "Don't be nervous, there will be a lot of highly ranked people at the manor, stand your ground but be respectful. They will have heard of you and will wonder what is truth and what is fiction and will try to figure it out."

Rayven nodded, everything he said made sense, "Who is going to be testing me the most?" She asked although she felt a little unwell as she thought about the possibilities.

"Three people, Ash, he is head enforcer, he is firm but fair." Thais said, "he will be testing to see if you are enforcer material. Da, he will be trying to see what kind of person you are, whether you will fit with the central pack."

"And the third?" Rayven asked, dread filling her as she thought about who the third person might be.

"Ma, like da she will want to know what kind of person you are, then like Ash she'll want to know what kind of warrior you are. She will watch you, then she'll challenge you. But she won't humiliate you, that isn't her style, you won't win, ma is just too good at what she does but do your best, don't submit until you have proven yourself to her."

Rayven shivered for a moment, she knew through Crystal's blood that Amy was the most dangerous being on earth, or at least she could be, she would not be looking forward to a one on one battle with her.

Thais stood and touched her shoulder, "Ma won't be out to humiliate you, I swear, she'll just want to see what you are capable of and push you further."

"A warrior never challenged, never grows," Rayven said twisting another saying to suit her purpose.

Thais nodded, "she does it to all of us... even da sometimes, being able to protect those who are weaker is important, it keeps the pack stable when they know that the central pack is strong and able to protect them."

Rayven watched Thais for a moment, "it must be difficult seeing the future."

Thais shrugged, "know no different," he wrapped an arm around her and walked her into the lounge room. "So they are going to play vintage loony toons, wanna watch?" Rayven chuckled and nodded, he knew she had soft spot for bugs bunny.

Serenity hugged Crystal as Nhor finally joined the group several hours later, they had finally all dragged themselves from bed and had a decent breakfast before gathering their things. "Ready to go?" Serenity asked as they had all gathered in the hallway.

"No but you may as well get this over with." Sky answered, she was a little nervous about meeting some of the people the triplets talked about. All those powerful people in the one place just boggled her mind.

"One minute," Thais said as he walked to the door and opened it just as Jay was about to start knocking.

"I..." Jay started to speak.

"I know," Thais said interrupting, "you made it, your plans fell through, can you come, will it be okay with your ma... blah, blah, blah. Get in we are about to go." He grabbed Jay's sweater and yanked him into the house, throwing the bolts home once the door was shut.

"How..." Jay began.

"Long have I known your plans will fall through," Thais said again interrupting. "Three weeks."

"Does..." Jay said turning to Sky.

"He do that often," Thais said much to Jay's annoyance as he had again interrupted. "Yep and I know you are about to say that he is pissing me off."

Serenity stepped between Jay and Thais, "time to go." She turned to her brother and glared at him, he knew how much it annoyed people when he did what he was doing and had long ago curbed the habit.

Thais chuckled and willed them all to the manor. Rayven blinked, shocked as she had never travelled by way of Ancient before, she glanced around a little stunned. Haley was waiting for them, she had changed drastically from the time when she first came to the manor, she was no longer the thin, catatonic woman. Now she was a healthy happy woman who was confident enough to tell even Wolfgang off if he was tracking mud through her freshly washed floors. As Anna had started to slow down and relax into comfortable retirement, or in other words become the permanent child minder, Haley had stepped forward with Maria to share her duties and help care for the young ones in the absence of their parents.

"Hi everyone my name is Haley. Welcome to the manor," she started handing out maps since most of these people were new to the manor. "You've been put up near the triplets although Nhor you have a ground floor room, they will show you where they are and mark the maps for you. A simple rule for this house, if you see a yellow door do not open it, in fact ignore them, they are dangerous to people who aren't Ancient."

Haley's head turned as she heard a crash which caused her to glare a little, "I'll leave you to it." She told the group and raced off.

"What was that?" Rayven asked as they started to move.

"Sage, she was stretching and her wings clipped a side table and knocked it over, it held that heavy brass wolf that Anna loves." Thais said as they went down a hall passed the grand stair case. Over the last fifteen years Wolfgang and Amy had built new extensions to the house to allow for the much larger central pack, which was now a lot bigger than it had ever been before.

They paused at a door and Thais opened it, "Nhor this is your room, Temperance said she would make it exactly like your other room although you have a door leading outside here." Nhor walked in and grinned as Thais hadn't been lying, this room was exactly like his other one. Thais touched Nhor's map and his name appeared as well as the rooms of everyone else that he knew, as Thais already knew which rooms they would pick. Nhor glanced out the window at the luscious forest, "would your parents mind if I stretch my legs."

"Go for it." Thais answered and showed Nhor the hidden door, which led directly outside. "Keep the map with you, if you get lost the map will lead you back; just tell it you're lost."

Nhor nodded and went outside.

"Come on let's get you guys settled." Serenity said and they left Nhor's room and went back out to the entrance hall. Gwynt was waiting for them with their aunt Sasha. "That is our brother Gwynt and our Aunt Sasha." Gwynt and Sasha both waved, they were close even though there was a decent age difference between them. Sasha's mousy blond hair was tied back in a ponytail and her grey eyes sparkled with mischief. Gwynt however took after the triplets, almost, as unlike them he had inherited their father's skin and had a nice tan instead of alabaster skin. His eyes however were his most unique feature as his right eye was pale blue while his left eye was a vibrant green.

"Hi," Gwynt and Sasha said together.

"Hey squirts," Serenity said.

Gwynt frowned as he stood taller and puffed his chest out, "hey... I've grown three inches!"

Serenity chuckled and wrapped an arm around him as they all started to go upstairs, "you're my little brother, you'll always will be a squirt to me." They turned left and at the next junction turned left again.

"Pick a room without a name on it," Sasha explained as she gestured down the hallway. A couple of heads popped out of a room at the sound of her voice and when they saw who it was they raced out.

"Hey Ren, I heard that there will be a binding ceremony for you as well as your sister?" Nicki said as she came to stop before the group. Nicky was a perfect blending of her parents, the almost alien like fae features from her mother Nancy and but her father Shia's darker colours. Her twin Nathan came to a stop beside her, he took more after his father but there was still the alien quality to his features which pinpointed him as part fae.

"True, I have my mate." Serenity said and reached out to take Crystal's hand.

Nicky's eyes went wide, "Crystal?" She said and got a nod from Serenity. "You're marrying the Vampire?"

"How many times must you be told, I am not a Vampire stop calling me that!" Crystal growled.

"But that is what you are," Nicky replied.

"Nicky..." Serenity said as she stepped closer to Crystal, calming her instantly, "she isn't a true vampire and because of that we do not call her one. You've been told this, next time you call my mate a Vampire I will let her kick your arse."

Nicky turned to Crystal, "does tomorrow 11 o'clock sound good to you?"

Everyone chuckled as the aggression in the hall vanished. Crystal took a deep breath, "one of these days you are going to regret picking fights with me."

Nicki shrugged, "I like a good fight, even if I am destined to lose."

"These are our friends, Sky, Jasmine, Rachel, Rayven and Jay." Thais introduced, "Nicky, Nathan, they are from Shadow Pride our neighbours, Mathew and Rebecca are from Fletcher Pack in Scotland. Lee-Anna is from the Dawn Star Pack over in Italy." Lots of hands shaking accompanied the greetings as well as a few sniffs.

"We aren't related by blood but our parents are all really close, we've been raised as cousins." Lee-Anna explained with absolutely no accent to give away the fact she was Italian. She had her mother's face, which her father both thought as a blessing and a curse, but with his darker colours. Her skin was a couple of shades darker than Gwynt's, her eyes were a dark hazel which changed slightly with her moods.

"You're ma must be pissed, she can't get rid of the accent she's developed and you have none to speak of." Serenity said.

"We'll... she doesn't know just yet... I always have a light one when she's around." Lee-Anna replied with a slightly smug grin.

Everyone chuckled. "Better pick your rooms," Thais said prompting their friends to grab a room while the cousins caught up. It wasn't often that they all gathered, in fact this would be only the second time that the whole extended family had gotten together in the last nineteen years.

Jay and Rachel were the first to come back, having both decided to just grab the closest rooms, just as Mira approached, she carried two boxes. "hi Mira." Serenity greeted.

"Hey," Mira greeted, she looked a little older but not too much, her hair had been cut short to keep her twin sons from yanking it out. She offered the bigger box to Serenity and the much smaller one to Crystal. "Now I am off before Daniel snaps at my mother." She crossed her arms and waited, it took Serenity a moment before she realised that Amy had willed Mira here and that she was waiting to willed home.

"Sorry, have a happy Thanksgiving." Serenity said before she willed Mira home.

"What's in the boxes?" Rachel asked. Nicky wrapped an arm around Rachel and whispered the answer into her ear. Rachel went bright red at what Nicky was describing.

"Nicky don't scare the girl." Lee-Anna said.

Nicky chuckled, "Come on I was just teasing her... besides... I didn't go into details."

"Rachel is human, not Were, give her a break." Her brother told her.

Nicky shrugged, "So this is your first time at the Manor?"

"Yes and no pranks," Thais said firmly as he knew how mischievous Nicky could be.

"Me...?" Nicky started to say as Sage appeared.

"Yes you," Sage said. "Who wants to go down to the gym?" She asked as she felt like a rough and tumble. "What no takers?"

"No, who wants to be bloody and bruised when they do the group photos." Lee-Anna said, "Besides that's what tomorrow is for."

"True..." Sage said agreeing, in this family some of the best fights happened the day after thanksgiving after everyone had caught up. Oh they were all done in good fun but in a family made up of mostly immortals; where most were high ranking warriors who didn't like to be bested; they were awesome to watch. "But I'm bored."

"Go for a run then. Or better yet go find Nhor, he's lost and he just doesn't want to tell his map." Thais replied.

"Who is Nhor?" Sage said.

"Centaur, you can't miss him." Serenity answered, Sage nodded and was suddenly gone. "So... would you like a tour?" She asked and got nods, she took Crystal's box and willed it to their room, they could play with those later.