Wapun Meadow the millionaire, the mansion, the yacht

For @Yglis! Sorry about the wait. RFC homies, your thread is coming up! Tagging @Sunny

When they left the bowl-shaped valley - back the same way they'd come, after discovering there was only one easy way in - they travelled north a ways, and then west again until they were standing in a meadow of bright green grasses, their flowers all just beginning to bloom. Grayday guessed that, in a few days, the place would be breath-taking. Maybe even to him.

"You two were born into the winter - I can't wait until you see all the colors," he said to the kids, tail whisking as he looked around. Green was one thing - he wasn't sure they'd ever seen purple before, or the deep blues and vivid pinks of some of the flowers that grew. They would know red, of course, but there were so many fuller, richer shades than blood. As far as Grayday was concerned, they were in for a treat. "How about we stay here for the night?" he suggested, putting his head down and snuffling against the dirt near his paws. There were rabbits around. "We can catch a meal and sleep in a little late - maybe the flowers will bloom tomorrow."

The ermine has travelled far from home. 

The land changed long ago from ice mountains and hills crafted of snow. The lights from the sky no longer touch the land. Her ancestors have no voice here and she cannot feel the power of Sedna beneath the ice plains. 

The ice turns to green and the green is surrounding.

The Arnaq laments at the loss of all that is familiar. The place is not green. The place is red and pink and yellow and white and more rarely; the place is spotted with blue and purple. 

The things, which remind her of the sky lights made into plants, are so vibrant it nearly hurts her eyes. They are beautiful in their own way; they are plants she has never seen but the Amaraq finds that they smell nice. 

The breeze shifts; it brings with it the scents of others. Yglis turns in its direction, not considering that whomever it may be is unfriendly, jogging excitedly across the meadow. 

All the ermine can think of is the long journey and how she has not seen anyone for months. 

She sends up plumes of sweet smell and buzzing creatures with wings. Yglis skids to a stop as she gets closer, panting with either excitement or nerves. 

"Ai!" the ermine calls out as she nears them, a large smile painted on her pale face. 

They look like no wolves she has ever seen. The male, obviously the father of the smaller child, is a grey color like the sleek seals that swim with Sedna. The child is darker than her father but this is not so unfamiliar to Yglis. 

The male is much larger than any wolf she has ever seen; he is larger even than the ermine's father. 

A shiver of apprehension skitters down the Arnaq's spine. Her ears fall flat, her head turns to the side, her black eyes drop to the ground. 

"Je m'appelle Yglis Cargyll Durrandon," she speaks with caution but not fear. "Kinauvit?"

"Frend...or Foe?" The ermine's English is shaky but she tries all the languages she knows with hopes of being understood. 

translations: Hello. My name is Yglis Cargyll Durrandon. Who are you?

Grayday twisted his head around at the sound of a woman's voice. The breeze had blown his scent to her, but had left the stranger unknown to the wayfaring family. Silver ears flickered uneasily at this, but - being a proud and narrow-minded male - Grayday saw no harm in a small, lone shewolf approaching his family.

"Hey," he returned, a bit uncertainly. Her ai had sounded somewhat like a greeting, or a hailing at least, but the rest of her words were a long string of nonsense to the male. Somewhere in there, perhaps, had been a name - but Grayday would be hard-pressed to guess where. And then, finally, she spoke words that he could understand in clear but slightly broken tongue. "Friend," he said decisively, deciding that, if those were his options, the choice was rather clear.

"I'm Grayday," he added, glancing toward his children to see how they were handling all this. Dawn looked somewhat apprehensive, but she shared Grayday's unrealistic belief that women were innately good and rarely dangerous unless provoked.

Her English is rusty and her comprehension of it is, at best, novice. 

"Frend," she repeats, enunciating strongly so that he knows what she means. The ermine too is a friend and will not hurt his family. 

"Yglis Cargyll Durrandon," the Arnaq introduces herself, certain he didn't understand the first time around. She does this with a small dip of her head and a wide, toothy grin. 

The ice-and-snow crafted woman sees Grayday's child's wary expression and her own softens.

She directs a gentle smile in the direction of the children. "Whut y'r names?"

Seeing that the wolf was friendly, Dawn pushed forward (still techincally behind her father, since she was underneath him and peering out at the pale woman from behind her father's legs) and gave a loud yap to capture the attention of both adults. "I'm Dawn," she declared. "And this is my brother @Sunny! We're on an adventure!"

Very pleased with herself for being able to answer such big and important questions, Dawn sat back and waited for the adults (and her brother) to be very impressed.

Grayday looked down at his daughter, amused at her forwardness. She'd grown out of her shell quite a bit, lately, and even more so while they'd been on their journey.

"Yep, a big family adventure," he agreed, turning his attention back to the stranger. Yglis, as she'd introduced herself - at least, Grayday thought she'd introduced herself. "What about you?" he inquired of the shewolf, tail wagging. "Are you on an adventure, or just passing through?"

He had been nearby, playing and rolling in some fallen berries. hearing the conversation going on he stood up. red and purple stains on his pelt as he walked over to sit beside his father and sister "I am Sunny. Also a friend." he said slowly and as clearly as possible so that the woman would be able to understand him better. walking around to Dawn he placed a quick lick to the top of her head and laughed, knowing it would annoy the stuffing out of her.

Yglis finds herself enchanted by both children; she has always been the kind quickly won over by pups. 

"T'at is very importan' job fer pup," Yglis smiles with awe and surprise. She has not interacted with children since she herself was only a wee child but the ermine is not out of practice. "Yer ataata is lucky to have ye'," the Arnaq continues.

She turns her attention next to Grayday. "I do not kno'. I go wher' wind go," Yglis admits. Suddenly, she brightens and her face lights up with another large grin. 

"I com' wich ye?" The ermine asks, tail wagging hopefully.

Ataata.

Dawn's eyes turned sharply toward her father - she'd understood at once that the word applied to him. Dad. Ataata. It's the same thing, she decided, turning her hawk-like gaze back to Yglis as she listened greedily for more strange words. No more were forthcoming, but in Dawn's opinion, the woman's question was an even greater treasure.

"Oh, can she Daddy?" Dawn begged, turning in a circle under her father's chest and gazing up at him with imploring, puppy-dog eyes.

Grayday merely flicked his ears at the unfamiliar word and, after a moment, discounted it completely. There conversation was moving on, and it hadn't seemed like important information. He was more interested in how adorable Sunny was, being all professional and protective of Dawn. His kids were growing up faster than he could keep track of them - he was glad they'd finally taken this time to strike out on their own for a bit.

"We're kind of doing the same thing," Grayday noted, appreciating Yglis sentiment. It was freeing to travel without plans - something he'd been trying to teach his children, lately. "We're not going anywhere in particular, but we'd be happy to have you along," he went on.

"Ataata? That means..." Sunny paused for a moment and thought about the context in which is was used, figuring it meant Father or parent "Father right?" he asked out loud. He had mixed emotions about a stranger coming along, but supposed she wouldn't much trouble. 

crap post. not much muse at the moment

The girl, Dawn, is more easily excited than her brother, Sunny. The ermine smiles at the pair, finding Sunny's protection over his sweet sister adorable. 

Her coal eyes return to Grayday as he speaks, beaming with excitement at the prospect of travelling with them. "T'ank ye," she dips her head in gratitude, smiling with genuine relief. 

Her attention turns next to Sunny as he speaks up, asking about her foreign words. "Aye. It mean Fat'er." 

"I kno' t'ree languages. I teach when we get t'ere?" Yglis offers, glancing to their father to see if he disapproves. 

this lady is cool, Dawn decides then. "How do you know three languages?"  she pipes up, curiosity glinting in her gaze. "What are they?"  she sways upon her paws in the slightest, the odd woman an object of great interest to the girl. she looks with curiosity to her father, for languages is a word she knows in passing, but has never truly stopped to think of the benefit of knowing languages.

Grayday gave one more wag of his tail before dipping his head down to sniff at the grass. He felt comfortable enough with the woman's presence, as long as he kept his kids in sight. Leaving Dawn to converse with the woman, he bumped Sunny's hip with his own and indiciated a rabbit-trail he'd picked up.

"Let's get dinner," he suggested, "And when I say "let's", I mean you."

With a cheeky grin, he sat his butt down in the grass and waited for Sunny to commence his hunt. Of course, Grayday would help soon enough, but he wanted to see how Sunny did on his own for a bit, first.