Chapter 2
Hestia
The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the plane was the scent. I’ve never been sure if that’s an omega thing or a me thing, but scents are always the first thing that catch my attention.
The air here is fresh and crisp due to the cold.
Depending on which way the wind is blowing, I catch hints of salt from the Aurefirth Sea.
But that’s not where I’m headed. My reason for being here lies in the other direction, the Fossfell Mountains surrounding this valley.
The scent rolling off the peaks is sharp, deep winter already setting in at the higher elevation.
Those few whiffs have been my only encounter with the mountains. Since leaving the airport, I’ve remained in Arcandale Valley.
Down here in Starsfalls, it’s a pleasant winter with fluffy snow on the ground, and the sidewalks are neatly shoveled and salted.
Colorful lights fill the streets and stores and restaurants, evergreen garlands are strung around light poles, and Yule trees dot the town.
Holiday music drifts in seemingly from everywhere, bright and cheerful.
No need for rescuer services here, unless someone happens to slip on an icy patch of snow.
While I’ve enjoyed the cozy small-town atmosphere over the past few days, I’m ready to jump into work.
If I weren’t so anxious to get started, I wouldn’t mind spending more time wandering around, eating and shopping.
I’m so used to always being busy with studying or training that taking rest days has been a difficult change of pace.
The company schedules this time for trainees to acclimate to our new home. It gives us a chance to find supplies, register our license, and do all those administrative things that come with moving.
Except I did all of that on day one.
Since then, I’ve been wandering around trying different restaurants and window shopping. I don’t have many belongings, but I don’t need more. There wasn’t much room at the academy dorms, and in this career, there’s no point in collecting too many things if you might have to move every few years.
I did at least meet some of the other rescuer teams assigned to the mountains.
They were nice enough to show me around when I arrived.
Everyone was kind and helpful, no double takes at seeing I’m an omega.
My designation wouldn’t be a surprise, HR sent my file to every team here so we’re familiar with each other. I was given information about them too.
I pored over the files, memorizing everything. It’s important to know who has more experience treating wounds or who would be the best at digging someone out of an avalanche. Not that we aren’t all trained to do those things, but if we ever need to delegate tasks, I’ll know where I fit in.
I spent the most time looking at the information on my teammates, reading their files over and over. That’s what I do every night when I go back to the inn.
As much as I love research, the reason for my exhaustive rereading is that I haven’t met any of them yet. Normally my team would’ve been here to welcome me, but they had something to take care of and couldn’t make it. HR said they would pick me up when it’s time for me to start work though.
I didn’t think it would bother me if my teammates weren’t here to greet me, but since I arrived in Starsfalls, it’s been like an itch under my skin wondering where they are, what they’re like.
I’ve always had trouble being patient when there’s work to do, but this is a new feeling. Maybe it’s because I’ll be living with them for two years that I’m anxious to see how they handle working with an omega, especially because they’re a pack.
I was surprised they assigned me to a team made up of packmates, four alphas and a beta. You’d think their omega wouldn’t like me living with their mates for the weeks that we’re on call.
No other stations here are run by packs. The other teams in the valley are a mix of alphas and betas, and only a few of them are in relationships. I don’t think it’s common for a station to be run solely by packmates.
I was afraid of getting put in a group of all alphas, worried their instincts would push them to protect me and cause problems with our work. I hoped for a mostly beta team, since they’re more levelheaded when it comes to omegas. At least there’s one beta on my team.
I hope my teammates won’t treat me any differently. I don’t want the Rescuers to think omegas aren’t fit for this line of work just because some alphas can’t handle themselves.
I’ve never let my instincts negatively affect my conduct. If anything, they’ve been helpful since omegas are more sensitive to emotions. It comes naturally to me to empathize with patients, which helps me calm them while I render aid.
Alphas won’t be a distraction for me, and not just because of the medley of medication I’m taking. Romance has never factored into my goals. My dream has always been to become a rescuer, and I’ve never been tempted to deviate from that plan.
Maybe someday I’ll find a pack to settle down with, but they’ll have to be okay with me being away for weeks at a time. There probably aren’t many who would be okay with that, especially protective alphas, but that’s not something I’m worried about right now.
At least there’s only one more day until I meet my teammates. I just have to distract myself until then.
I’ve been camped out in the local bookstore today, Pen and Tellem, reading everything they have on the history and geography of the Fossfell Mountains. I want to learn it all before I get out there in person.
A shadow falls over the book in my lap, and I quickly put my hand on the stack of books next to me in case they bump into it as they pass by.
“Are you finding everything alright?” a friendly voice asks, cutting through the cheerful background music about knotting around the Yule tree.
The question surprises me and I startle, knocking over the books piled around me despite my best efforts.
I recognize the white-and-pink-haired woman standing over me from the front desk. I always remember a fellow pink-haired person.
“Yes, yep, I’m fine. Sorry, am I not allowed to read the books before I buy them? I’m going to buy these. Some of these. Well, most of these. Sorry,” I say, getting on my knees and gathering the books scattered over the floor.
I thought I saw other people reading in here, but I’m never really sure if you’re allowed to read the books before you buy them.
“Don’t worry about it, you’re welcome to read whatever you want,” the woman says, joining me as I try to re-stack my book fortress.
“I don’t think I introduced myself, I’m Alice.
It looks like you’ve found plenty of books already, but do you need help finding anything else?
I haven’t seen you here before, are you visiting Starsfalls? ”
“Kind of. I’m moving to a little place in the mountains, and this is the closest town.
If you have more books about the history of the area, I’d love to check them out.
I already looked through the natural history and local history shelves, but I’m not sure if there are some in other sections I missed,” I say.
“Living out in the wilderness in a little cottage, surrounded by books, that’s the life,” Alice says dreamily.
“I’m not sure I’d describe it exactly like that, but I do have plenty of books,” I say.
And that’s not even counting the books I’m about to buy. I think half of my meagre moving boxes are books.
“We have a folklore section you may want to check out.”
“That would be great! Folktales are so interesting, and they often have some basis in fact. Even the ones that are like, you should avoid this part of the mountain because it’s cursed and you’ll wake up days later with no memory because you fell through a hole into another world.
But really, it’s poisonous gas escaping from a crevice that’s causing fainting and memory loss,” I say.
“It totally makes sense people came up with mythical explanations for things they didn’t have the tools to understand yet. Let me show you to that section then. Your books will be fine here until we come back for them,” Alice says.
I follow her to the folklore shelves, and from there she takes me to the other sections I missed the first time around.
The store has more relevant books than I realized, though I shouldn’t be surprised.
Pen and Tellem is several stories tall, and the upper floors are so big they’re mostly hidden in shadows if you’re looking up at the balconies from the ground floor.
I soon collect several new stacks of books.
Alice runs off to get me a cart, a two-tiered trolley I load up with my finds.
While she shows me around, she subtly questions me about why I moved here and what I do, and basically ends up getting my entire life story out of me.
I don’t mind telling people about myself, but I wouldn’t normally lay out my hopes and dreams to someone I just met.
I try to keep up with the conversation while looking at the books, making sure to ask Alice about herself and the town. I want to learn about the place I’ll be calling home for the next two years. Starsfalls seems idyllic on the surface, but you never know if it’s harboring some deep, dark secret.
From what Alice says, it doesn’t sound like that’s the case. Besides a few mishaps over the years, the local drama isn’t very dark. She tells me a lot of fun little stories about the bookstore too, which is clearly one of her main interests. I empathize, my job is my passion too.
The biggest bookstore news is the renovation of its greenhouse. We take a detour to see it, and when Alice opens the door, it’s like stepping into a holiday explosion.
It smells amazing in here. When I entered the bookstore, I noticed it had that festive scent under the book smell. I thought it was just the scented candles up front, but clearly it’s from all of this.
There are evergreen trees everywhere, tiny ones for tables and giant ones as tall as the roof. In between, the greenhouse is packed with potted winter plants: red and white and pink poinsettias, Yule cactuses, and flowering bulbs, along with cut mistletoe, garlands, and wreaths.
The greenhouse is beautiful, and it makes me want to buy a bunch of plants. I should probably wait and see what my station is like first though, I’m not sure if there will be room for them.
“Do you need recommendations for some light reading while you’re up in the mountains? Will you even have internet?” Alice asks, gasping like that horrific possibility just occurred to her.
“I think I’ll have decent internet access. I’ll take those fiction recommendations. Now that I don’t have to study as much, I have time for fun reading,” I say.
“You definitely need to mix in fun reading. It gives your mind a break from reality, broadens your horizons, lets your imagination run free—I’ll show you to the spiciest books we have,” she says, taking a hard right at the next row.
I suspect Alice mainly shows me her favorite books, but they sound interesting enough so I’m not complaining.
“You’ll love this series. Big Tex is an amazing character, so worldly.
This book is about the time he got stuck in a haunted house, and here’s where he wins the world martial arts tournament.
This is one of my recent favorites, Big Tex: Broken Heartland, where he buys a ranch and rehabilitates injured horses.
Oh! That’s another great one, Big Tex & Pete Moss: This Saddle Fits Two,” she says, pulling books off the shelf one after the other.
I end up with an entire stack of just Big Tex books in addition to the other novels I pick out. I’ve never heard of the series, but there are a ton of them. If I end up liking Big Tex, I’ll have plenty of new books to read.
Alice pats the top of my stack. “This here should get you through the long winter nights in the mountains, nowhere to go and nothing else to do…” she trails off and looks at me slyly, “unless your hot bosses can keep you warm?”
“No way! They’re not—I mean, I don’t know if they are, but—my bosses are taken. And anyway, I wouldn’t fraternize with a coworker, especially a direct superior,” I say, rushing to cut off that train of thought.
I can’t be the new girl in town who’s already trying to weasel her way into a closed Pack. Besides, it’s like I said, I could never date someone I work with. I maintain a very clear divide between my personal and professional life, and I’m sure my bosses do too.
According to their files, they’ve been mentoring trainees for close to a decade with no issues. I’ll do my part to keep things professional by not starting rumors about us.
“Alright, I get it,” Alice says, laughing. “No getting it on at work, even if it’s a romantic setting, sitting around the campfire where they cook you a hearty dinner and protect you from the wolves.”
“I don’t need them to protect me, I can take care of myself just fine. Wolves rarely attack humans anyway. I’ll just stick to the books for romance,” I say.
She agrees, so I think my reputation is safe.
My cart is so full I can’t see over it anymore. Alice helps me bring it up to the checkout.
“How long do you have to spend up there?” she asks as she rings me up.
“Just two weeks at a time, and then I’ll have two weeks off,” I say.
“I was worried you’d be working up there for months. I’m not sure I could handle that. I’d go stir-crazy. Winter in the mountains can get pretty bad though. You might get snowed in with your bosses at some point,” Alice says.
“From what I’ve read, we shouldn’t be stuck up there for long, if at all. The Fossfells are never impassable for half the year or anything.”
She accepts my words, but her comment about getting trapped with my bosses gives me a twinge of anxiety. I hadn’t considered that. I’m used to working closely with my classmates, but I wasn’t around them 24/7. I don’t even know yet if I’ll get along with my teammates.
I try to shake off the lingering worry of being snowed in with strangers as we load my books into the rental car.
Alice makes me promise to come back and visit to let her know how work is going. I’m not sure if she’s just being friendly or angling for gossip, but I’ll be here for a few years and could use some friends, so I agree. Even if she is after gossip, I want to visit the bookstore again anyway.
I return to the inn and immerse myself in my new books, hoping to stop obsessing over what my bosses are like.