Stone Circle No time

Skáld had been dangling a little flower above the childrens' heads, smiling fondly as he had the two of them more or less mesmerized by its movements when Tauris called out for him. He dropped the flower immediately and stood up, his unruly curls full of petals from the many flowers he and the children had plucked apart. He knew that they could sense his panic, but he gave each child a kiss on the top of their head, before he carefully pulled away, and bolted through the woodlands. 

Leaves fell all around him; the gilded forest had begun to wilt, past its zenith now that cooler temperatures had begun to creep in. He flashed through the stream, and zipped up over a knoll, to find Tauris with Gunnar, and he approached, out of breath, creeping forward with a shivering, fearful whine.