Jade Goldlight's Arc

Chapter 13 of 20

Morning light spilled pink through the cherry blossom branches. Jade stepped onto the wooden platform with Raihan at her heel. The villagers had been busy in the night. A tall post stood at the base of the trunk, and a flag hung from it — earthy brown and green, a black wolf howling at its center. Her sign swung beside it. Both belonged here now. She climbed back down to the workbench someone had built against the roots. On it lay a golden bridle, left as payment from a traveler the mayor had sent her way. Jade ran her fingers over the engravings. A real job. Her first. She sat and worked. She cleaned the leather, polished the gold, and tightened a loose strap with her own hands. Raihan watched, smoke curling at his paws. When she finished, she tucked a small twist of silver wire into her pocket — a tiny wolf she had bent that morning, rough but hers. A private mark of what she meant to be. The traveler returned at noon and paid in coin. Jade closed her hand around it. The job was done. The home was marked. The promise was moving.