Whitebark Stream cold winter air

Daylily listened with rapt attention as Kora went into detail about her pack’s own traditions. “Oh!” she breathed. “A flower behind the ear? How lovely!” She giggled at Kora’s next words, imagining wolves covered in berry juice. “That sounds like something that the pups at Oakstead would do! Cover themselves in berry juice. It sounds fun!” The description of “island nights” also sounded achingly familiar to festivals that would be held in Day’s own home. She sighed longingly as she thought of home, though she did not regret her decision to leave it. “Yes,” she said, “setting up for big festivals can be exhausting.” She would know from her own experiences helping the adults set out food and decorations for holy days.

“My traditions?” she asked, and thought hard about what she might say. “We have many, related to our eight holy days that follow the seasons. Telling you about all eight would take far too long.” She thought some more. “Well, it is almost Imbolc now, which is one of our holy days, so maybe I’ll tell you about that one? Imbolc takes place in winter, being the second holy day that falls on that season. But it is not really a celebration of winter itself. Imbolc is a time to prepare for the coming spring. It is a fertility festival. We plant seeds if the weather is permitting; in a place like this, it would be too cold to do so on Imbolc because there would still be snowfall.” She looked around the woods to indicate the snow on the bare tree branches and on the ground. “We clean out our dens, getting rid of old bedding, we check our caches. Imbolc is also a time of renewal; mates may renew their vows to each other, those who are religious may rededicate themselves to their gods. We may try to patch up relationships that have had some problems. Overall, it is a time of cleansing, and healing, and a time to bless our space and rid it of any negative energy.” 

Daylily finished speaking, aware that she had probably bombarded Kora with too much information. “Forgive me for going on and on,” she said, bowing her head. “Please ask if you need clarification on anything.”