In her hands Artie held patches. The logo of the club, alongside bow shaped pieces that spelled ‘Old Gods MC’ for the top and ‘California’ for the bottom of the kutte. Themis held the logo up, looking at everyone with confusion. In the meantime Odin had gotten up and walked around the table. The women stared at each other, Odin’s eyes hard, Themis’ still wet.

  “You really thought we’d kick you out?” Odin said. Themis was not given a chance to respond, before the older woman grabbed her in a tight embrace. “Welcome to the family, sister.”

  Odin let go, only for Carmen to take her pce right away. “I owe you,” she said, kissing Themis’ both cheeks.

  One by one, the club embraced her, whispering words of familial love to her ears. Her body was frozen all the way through, unable to even return the hugs. Artie came up to her st, a shit eating grin pstered on her face. Every embrace was sweet, but Artie’s was the sweetest.

  “We got you pretty good, didn’t we?” she said.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe,” Themis replied.

  Odin gathered the club as the actual sisters hugged the pain out, and took them out of the hof. The door was closed behind them, giving them privacy as Themis broke down again. New tears washed the anger and the pain away, this time it was… All kinds of things. Joy, pride, relief, everything and then some washed over her as her sister held her through it all. Music started being blurted out of speakers outside, as the party picked up. The insufferable hard rock Odin forced everyone to enjoy, that actually was not that bad with a couple beers in one’s system. Themis hated the music. But things were different now. It sounded like home.

  Artie let go and she felt herself fall, caught by the chair before she colpsed on the floor. Artie sat too, bringing her chair closer. She held Themis’ cheeks, raising her eyes to meet her sister’s.

  “We made it, big sister,” she said, with the widest smile Themis had ever seen.

  “We made it,” she concurred, her sister’s warmth finally breaking through the despair. She couldn’t help but crack a smile herself.

  A few minutes of sowing ter, the kutte felt completely different to her. It felt heavier, like a whole lot more responsibility was dumped on her shoulders. But also safe, like a suit of armor. No one could fuck with her anymore, not without consequences. She had the club behind her. Her face, finally dry of tears though still puffy eyed, glimmered with something she thought she had forgotten in prison as she and Artie walked out of the hof. Hope.

  The sight of the party outside caught her off guard in the best way possible. The club, the bar girls, all with drinks in their hands, were either mingling together or dancing to the tune of the speakers. Odin and Katrine sat at the bar, nursing whiskeys, Minhua was having a beer on the dance floor with Dinah, while Carmen was seated on a couch with a blushing bar girl on her p, whispering undoubtedly horrifically lewd things in her ear. Someone put a beer in Themis’ hand, as Artie dragged her to the middle of the room. She jumped on the bar, barely able to stand without her head hitting the ceiling, kicking an ashtray down to get everyone’s attention.

  “I got a toast, bitches, so listen up,” she said, her voice loud enough to be heard over the music. “Tonight, my sister is home. A year in the smmer, and she looks better than ever. I used to pray for times like these.”

  She paused to take a swig of her drink, as the women in the room ughed. “We are gathered here to honour her,” she continued. “The loudest, proudest, baddest sister I could not have asked for, and I would not trade her for the world. To Themis. Geia mas!1 t/n: Geia mas, from the Greek "Γεια μα?" (literally "To our health"). Common expression of meriment preciding drinking, usually alcohol. ”

  The room erupted into cheers. Gsses were clung, tables smmed, hands cpped, the very floor vibrating from the noise. Themis herself, despite the shame of being the center of attention, was swept up in the merry atmosphere and broke into ughter. Being tense was her norm in prison, and her changed mindset outside had not exactly proven itself rewarding so far. But, for the first time since she had gotten herself into that mess, she felt happy.

  She sipped her beer as the room slowly simmered down, her sister had always been good at stirring people into a frenzy. Then Artie jumped down, pyfully punched Themis’ arm and left for the lounge. Themis was hardly the type to dance, nor the one to… fraternize with the girls so fgrantly, in front of everyone. The only logical option was the bar. She took a seat on a stool at the opposite edge of where Odin and Katrine were sitting. She asked for a beer, and was delighted to see Raven serve her.

  She and Themis went back. They had started hanging with the club at the same time, and there was a certain kinship between them. The girl was not exactly Themis’ type, so they never passed a tentative camaraderie. Not that she had anything to be jealous of other women for, Themis just preferred her women thick. And as pretty as Raven was, her body left some things to be desired by that metric. Besides, the fuckup happened, and Themis had to go away. Even if there was something between them, Themis would have stomped it dead. She had seen women either drive themselves mad waiting for their sweethearts to get out, or find comfort in other people’s company. She couldn’t ask for someone to wait for her, even if it was just for a year.

  Regardless, Themis still considered her a dear friend. She shot the bar girl a pyful look, turning her body to show her the patches. She acted surprised to find them there, and she didn’t have to try too hard. Raven cracked up a cute smile, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Yup, just a dear friend.