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 Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:12 pm
The grasses of the meadow caressed the gray hind’s knees, but this wasn’t the thick lush grass that it had been just a few weeks ago. It was turning yellow around the edges. Some parts of the meadow had been completely eaten away, leaving only bare dirt or mud. The flowers of spring were long-gone. Fall was here now, its fingers lightly touching the world.
Telyn was honestly growing fond of this meadow, oddly enough. A meadow! She wasn’t a ‘meadow’ type of deer, really. Meadows were for mothers and fawns and calves, not for young hinds! Then again, she was a mother… heh. There was enough proof of that as her children bounced---well, only Islwyn truly bounced; Tempest had been practicing her sedate ‘I’m-all-grown-up-now’ walk when she thought her mother wasn’t looking or when she thought stags were looking----beside her.
Still, it hadn’t been so long ago since Telyn herself had been patrolling the edges of the territory, occasionally talking to one of the Outriders. And now look at her! She had given all that up and for what?
Safety, two lovely children, a wonderful stag who was now a Captain… which was very well and good, but… she missed it. She missed being responsible for no one other than herself. One of these days, though, she would see the outside world… Brychan probably thought that his stories of his Outriding duties were sating his hind, keeping her from wanting to go out. In reality, they were doing the opposite, fueling her desire to see the world Outside.
Islwyn, as noted before, bounced at his mother’s side. He too had noted the brown patches of dirt among the grass, but it didn’t make him desolate; instead, he made it into a game, trying to leap from patch to patch. Occasionally, he slipped on a bit of mud, sending his spindly legs splaying and spattering his black coat with mud. Still, he wasn’t upset; the danger of falling was just part of the fun.
Oh, and trying to splatter mud on his sister while she was eyeing some stag or corps was kinda fun too.
“Come on, Tempest! See if you can jump from patch to patch!” he urged his sister, his tail wagging happily. He didn’t even notice the slight browning of the grass.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:37 pm
Tempest was indeed doing what was just mentioned. She was trying to look pretty and stuff for any male eyes that might be on her. Other than her brother of course, who was starting to get on her nerves as he splashed mud in her directon. She made a face and sent a glare in Islwyn's direction. "Islwyn.. stop it! You're getting me dirty!" How was she supposed to catch the eye of anyone if she had mud on her? It most certainly did not look pretty. And jumping from patch to patch was far from being graceful!
The young doe rolled her eyes, "No thanks" for she didn't care to join in the play. She was grown up now after all, she would have to act like it. Instead, she seemed content to stay at her mother's side.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:57 am
The dark orange hind stepped lightly through the dying grass, thinking even as she did so that it might be gone in a few weeks. Unfortunate, for grass was much prefered to the alternatives the deer had to settle for in the winters months. Which often consisted of either dead grass dug up from the snow...or bark. Neither of which was particularlu delicious or appetizing.
As she thought this, a joyful yell made her look over to it's source, and see a young black buck with a dusting of white hopping gleefully from patch of grass to patch of grass, occasionally slipping on a muddy bit. And, behind him, one rolling her eyes in contempt, the other looking in thought, were a hind and what could only be her daughter. With a grin, Aithne started to make her way over. She knew that grey hide from a mile away! It was Telyn, and surely from the looks of them, her and Brychan's children.
With a grin on her face, she trotted over. It had been much too long since she had spoken with Telyn, Brychan had made her think of that. And now she would meet the two young ones. They were indeed healthy and very nice looking, both of them. They looked a lot like their parents. "Telyn!" She called out when she was closer, and slowed to a walk. She had thought she would find her friend here, and she was glad she had.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:22 pm
Telyn dipped her muzzle into the grass, trying to get whatever nutrients she could from the grass. Blech. Maybe she should try digging for roots instead. They generally tasted a bit better and she felt that she ought to tell her children about the secrets of surviving winter before they grew up. After all, if Tempest was claimed this Anlach, it was possible that Telyn wouldn’t see her daughter for a while. Telyn would go back to Brychan’s little grove and stay there until birth while Tempest----of course, she would be the favorite of any stag who claimed her----would do the same in her stag’s grove.
Her thoughts were jarred as her name was called out. She knew that voice… grinning, she lifted her head from the grass and looked around until she saw the familiar red pelt of an old friend. “Aithne!” She briefly went into a gallop to meet her friend, slowing into a trot a few feet away. “It is good to see you again, Aithne. For a moment there, I was worried that you had gone off without me.”
This was, of course, referring to their old plan of exploring the World Outside, as Telyn called it. “Oh! Right… umm… these are my children, Tempest and Islwyn. They’re both from Brychan.” She had to wonder if Aithne had heard of the stag… he was getting a small reputation, which pleased Telyn.
“Come on, Tempest… you used to be fun!” Islwyn’s ears drooped a little, genuinely unhappy. Jumping from place to place wasn’t as fun if there wasn’t someone to jump with. Hm. Well, just see how Tempest liked it if he got new friends! The only other younglings that he knew were Chirin and Braith… neither of them seemed like the type to play games just for the fun of it. Chirin was more likely to attack him and Braith would just sit there sighing.
The fact that his mother broke into a run caught Islwyn’s attention and he wondered if there was a race going on. No… no wait… she was just talking to someone. He wandered closer, curious about everything in general. “Left without you, mother? What does that mean?” his head tilted to one side cutely.
Damn curious younglings… Telyn thought fast of a way to get rid of her son without hurting his feelings. “Islwyn! Look at that! What is it?” she asked excitedly, nodding in the opposite direction.
It worked like a charm. Islwyn’s tail wagged. “What’s what?” he asked, looking around before wandering off in the direction that his mother indicated. If there was something here and his mother didn’t know what it was, it must really be interesting!
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:31 pm
Tempest huffed a little at her brother's whining.. although she felt a little bad. She really did like her brother even if he could be a pain. But she was growing up! She had to do.. hindly things to get the attention of suitors. She didn't want to be left out this Anlach if she could help it. Her father had told her not to rush, but well.. she wasn't paying any attention to that.
Blinking as Telyn suddenly took off, she stood there stunned for a moment before quickly following. Seeing a hind she'd never met, her ears tilted forward. Who was she? The name was unfamiliar as well, but she smiled and nodded when Telyn introduced her. Which was followed by a giggle as Telyn cleverly distracted Islwyn.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:51 pm
Aithne grinned at Telyn. "No, not yet. The circumstances did not favour for it, and besides, one is a lonely number." Her tone was whistful, but she smiled wickedly, a twinkle in her eye. At the introduction, she paused again to look at Telyn's pair. Yes, both as Brychan had described, strong, healthy, and nice looking, the both of them. "Hello Islwyn, Tempest. I'm Aithne. It's nice to meet you both I've heard much about you." At the mention of Brychan's name, she nodded, as if she had just remembered.
"Ah yes! As a matter of fact I met Brychan only a few days ago, he was the one that told me where to find you actually. And of course, told me about your twins as well," she said with another look over to the younglings. Though they looked similar, theire personalities were quite different, as she could already tell. Tempest seemed fairly calm, and, from the looks of her, interested in the stags. Islywn was a great deal more bouncy and uninterested in any of the does by the looks of it.
She held back a giggle of laughter as Islywn turned about excitedly, searching for the non existent thing his mother had just distracted him towards. "Yes," commented Aithne playing along. "Perhaps a a strange type of bird?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:30 pm
Telyn grinned widely, happy to hear that her friend was waiting for her. That made her feel much better… “So you’ve met Brychan?” Naturally, Telyn was a little jealous. She had been getting a good deal more possessive about her stag lately, which would be trouble in the future since he intended on seeking out a few more hinds. Waitaminute… seeking out more hinds? Pieces of the picture locked into place for Telyn as she sized up her red-pelted friend. Yes. Aithne would be a nice addition to the harem. And then Telyn---the favorite---wouldn’t consider her a huge threat. It made sense to the grey hind.
“Go see what it is, Islwyn, and come back to tell us all about it!” she encouraged her son. Turning back to the other females, she grinned ruefully. “Well, he does get too hyper for me to deal with. Besides, Tempest here could use a break from her brother’s antics.”
“You’ll have to meet Rhomae,” she said to Aithne. “She’s another hind in Brychan’s harem. And she’s interested in our little excursion.” Hmm… maybe she ought to be more careful about talking about this in front of Tempest, but she doubted that her own daughter would sell her out. And to whom anyway? Brychan already knew and he was the only one who had any real power over her. Besides, maybe Tempest would be interested in coming along. A girl ought to see a bit of the world before settling down.
“A bird?” at those words, Islwyn glanced up to the trees and started trotting off, intently watching the branches for any strange looking birds. There were the normal little blackbirds, the familiar robins, and several others that Islwyn recalled as ‘always being there’. Nothing out of the ordinary…
He continued his little walk, still looking up at the sky. By pure chance, he managed to avoid stepping in anything. His path took him down to the little creek, which he ignored as unimportant. It, after all, wasn’t a bird! Unfortunately, the resting geese were birds, and they weren’t happy about this gangly calf intruding their world. One particularly large goose hissed at him and stretched out its huge neck, trying to intimidate Islwyn.
The black calf stood his ground, staring at the strange birds. Wow! He had never seen those before! This had to be what Mother and her friend were talking about!
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:42 pm
Tempest tilted her head and listened to the three hinds intently. She had a sharp mind like her mother, and thus instantly picked up on what they were talking about. "Excursion? Are you planning on going somewhere?" she asked. That seemed obvious, but well... she knew that hinds didn't go anywhere outside the herd. That was sort of a cultural taboo.
"Oh.. mother, I talked to the storyteller this morning, he was saying weird things about a wolf. The same one daddy talked about, I think?" Yep, nothing got past her. Whether that was a good or bad thing, well... who knows.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:44 pm
She nodded her head in confirmation, noting the slightly different tone of Telyn's voice. Ah, but then, Telyn was in Brychan's harem, and the favourite she suspected, though he had not exactly come out and said it, the way he talked about her and their children implied it a great deal. But she knew Telyn probably wasn't that worried, after all Aithne wasn't really the over competitive type anyway. And, Brychan hadn't asked her to be in his harem, well not yet, and he may or may not. Time would tell she supposed.
She chuckled as Islwyn raced off to go see what the “bird” was, and shot a grin at Tempest. She could see how one as rambunctious as Islwyn might wear out Telyn and Tempest who were around him 24/7. “Rhomae? Yes, I don’t believe I know her, but if she’s interested, I’d say the more the merrier. After all, safety in numbers and who’s to say what may chance upon us?” She left out the ‘once we’re outside the herd territory’ bit, not sure how much Telyn wanted her daughter exposed to their little scheme.
But it appeared that Tempest, quite unlike her brother was not easily distracted, and she wasn’t lacking in intelligence either. She let the first question linger, not sure what Telyn would say to it, but knowing that she would have to be the one to decide how much they let on to her daughter. Though, Tempest might figure it out anyways, she was a sharp one. Aithne’s ears once again perked with interest at the mention of a wolf. She remembered Brychan had remarked casually about a little problem with a wolf. But, from the deliberately offhand way he had said it, she had guessed it wasn’t nothing. However he had said nothing more on the matter and she hadn’t pressed him. But, Tempest had heard from the storyteller of the wolf? “So,” she asked curiously. “What was the storyteller saying about it? I heard a slight bit from Brychan, but nothing more than the basics.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:30 pm
Telyn grinned with pride at her daughter, pleased that she was sharp enough to pick up on such small things. Most fawns would have just stayed quiet. Then again… well, Anlach was coming. It was also a source of pride that Tempest had temporarily forgotten about any bucks and stags and was now focused on the conversation.
“Something like that, Tempest… See, before you and your brother were born, Aithne and I had the same dream of seeing the world outside the herd before settling down. It didn’t… quite work out like that in my case. We don’t plan on actually running away for good; just long enough to see the world outside. Your father already knows about it. While he doesn’t approve, he understands that he can’t really stop us. Not with ease, anyway. The wolf is a problem.” She frowned a little and pawed the ground with one hoof as she considered the white wolf.
“We would definitely need more, just in case of such an encounter. This wolf… he’s a monster. What have you heard from the story teller?” Listening to stories, eh? Just like her momma then. That brought on another bit of pride.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:19 pm
Tempest listened to her mother quietly, somewhat confused and yet fascinated with her mom's idea of going out on a little adventure. She then shook her head at the question posed by both older hinds, "He wouldn't say much, just like dad." She sighed a bit, "If there's some monster wolf out there, I'd like to know more about it." She snorted lightly, disliking the idea of some big wolf that even her mom was wary about, being around. She always thought her mother wasn't afraid of anything. The strongest hind that she knew, and her father being the strongest stag that she knew. Her parents were the best in the herd as far as she was concerned, which meant she was one of the best too!
"So.. what do you think there is to see out there?" As much as her instinct screamed against the idea... she was somewhat fascinated with the idea of going out and exploring. After all.. she wanted to prove that she was a tough hind like Telyn as well... although.. missing out on Anlach would be kind of a bummer.
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:34 pm
Aithne nodded as Telyn spoke of their ambition. Though it had been a while ago, before Telyn had ever met Brychan even, the desire to explore still burned as brightly as ever. Perhaps even more so as time passed, and she realized how mundane every day herd life could be if one didn't actually work to make it interesting. Granted that was sometimes easier than other times, when on occasion she found something interesting the discuss, it wasn't so bad. But on many occasions, as the weather grew bleaker and the conversation increasingly duller, she thought of running away. Just, running, breaking free. And not stopping until her heart was satisfied. But then reality, always the downer, would drag her back to where she was and common sense would once again win out over dreams.
She looked over as talk once again turned to the wolf. Ah yes, that beast. She frowned. "I'd like to know more about it too, I mean it wouldn't do to work so hard to slip past all the sentries just to be eaten by a wolf. Though I doubt we'll get much information. The majority of the herd hasn't even heard of it, and those that have wouldn't be willing to let a whole bunch of information slip to a group of hinds." She sighed. Such was life when you had no antlers.
At Tempest's other question to her mother, Aithne looked whistfully over the treetops. "I, for one, would give anything to see those mountains." Even now, the peaks of the great mountains were visible, jutting sharply into the clear sky, huge, indomidable masses. She couldn't even fathom how big they must be, especially if she could see them from the firebringer territory. And they were so far along the horizon too... She had always envied the birds, so carefree. They could fly wherever they chose, go wherever they liked for their only master was the wind, they were not bound to trudge along on the earth like the herla were. What would it be like, to fly? For then, she could certainly go to the mountains. It had been her dream for as long as she could remember to visit them. And now that that dream might become a reality...well, she didn't want anything to stand in her way. Especially not some wolf!
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:34 pm
Hm… ‘just a big monster wolf’ was not very much to go on. All Telyn knew of the dreaded creature was that it was a huge white wolf and very dangerous. Some hinds whispered that it could vanish into the mists like a ghost. It was getting quite a supernatural reputation… some said it wasn’t even a real wolf, instead claiming that it was an angry spirit from the past, come to get revenge on the deer. What it wanted revenge for was a little unclear, but that didn’t really matter. Certain types rarely let details get in the way.
Telyn was NOT one of those types, however. “The outriders won’t tell us anything, but Brychan will tell me,” she said confidently, holding her head up with pride. “And he knows more than the average outrider. He’s been promoted to Captain not too long ago.” Yes, she was bragging. What sort of hind wouldn’t brag about this sort of thing? It wasn’t even her accomplishment, but she still felt hopelessly proud of her stag.
What was out there? That was a good question, but one that she hadn’t thought about a lot. “… you know, I’m not entirely sure what’s out there,” she admitted, “But, that’s exactly why we should go out there. Just to see what it’s like. We can all see the mountain from here, but what good is seeing it if we’ve never felt it under our hooves? Or taste the sweet grasses? Or meet other deer? Life is all about learning, Tempest. Once we stop learning, we stop living.”
It was one of the few pedantic speeches that Telyn would ever give. And she felt rather proud of it too.
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 6:03 pm
Well that was somewhat.. poetic. She'd never heard her mother speak about anything with such conviction, except maybe when it came to her father. Tempest had to stop and think about it for a few moments, turning her blue gaze towards the mountains on the horizon. "I wonder if you could touch the sun from up there" she wondered aloud. "Or even the moon." After all.. the orbs of light always rose behind that mountain.
She smiled a bit, nodding her head, "I would like to see it." Little did she knew the actual dangers of climbing those peaks. Of the perils that even Rannoch and his group had faced when trying to scale it.
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:30 pm
Noticing her friend's obvious pride, she smiled. Aithne hadn't heard that Brychan had been promoted, but it was good news. Especially, if it would allow him to obtain more information on the wolf. But she didn't say that part out loud, it would seem a little..tactless perhaps? So instead she expressed her thoughts on the news of his promotion"Oh, has he? Well, that's wonderful news," she said with a smile. "And I hope you can weedle it out of him, after all, just rumours about monsterous wolves, entertaining as they may be really aren't good enough to run on," she commented again with a slight frown. Yes, she too had heard the stories of the other hinds, ghostly fantasies, but nothing of any substance that she could actually take into serious consideration.
And then, after the initial surprise of hearing Telyn's small speech, she agreed wholeheartedly. Exactly, it would an adventure! Even thinking the word sent a shiver of anticipation and excitement up her spine. It would be something to remember, she was quite certain. After hearing so many countless stories of Rannoch, one couldn't help but want to have an adventure to call one's own. Really...Rannoch stories were nice, but how could she ever truly relate unless she too went out there and did something, went somewhere, became somebody worth remembering?
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