Firefly Glen [PHE] young & beautiful

AW, set during the arrival of Akashingo.

It was not the impressive march, nor the adornments of the wolves that came a day past the others that garnered Lotus’s attention—it was the way in which they commanded the attention of so many others, simply with their existence.

The silver girl slowed her pace at her mother’s side, who had also stopped to observe—and found she was breathless for a moment, for she had seen nothing like them. Reyson had given word to his children to expect the cultures of many within the next month, and to embrace—but her mother’s tension was palpable, and she found her honeyed eyes tracing the soft frown that lay on Meadow’s face.

“Mother…?” 

When Meadow looked to her, she proffered a smile that did not meet her eyes. 'I'm going to go find your father. Please wait here, or find your brother, hm?'

And then she was gone, leaving Lotus with an arched brow and a slew of unanswered questions.

where was the boy she’d met last time? since she and chani had first spoken of their future, sobeille had wondered after him.

what had his name been? she wracked her memory until it came to her: matteo (@Taggak). he’d seemed just inoffensive enough he could be useful for their purposes, but as she walked between throngs of people, she did not find his scent here.

she did find a very young wolf; she was watching a retinue with eyes wide in question. dis be your first big gatherin’? sobeille asked, but it wasn’t really a question. ’ave you seen de beasts dey be ‘untin’? dey be so big, dey can gobble a little pebble like you whole.

Others were adorned in artfully crafted materials—cloaks—headpieces. She thought she caught a glimpse of intricate drawings upon their fur, and suddenly, she self-consciously brushed the feather she had strung behind her ear, feeling it all rather foolish in the wake of such grandeur and beauty.

Blinking—her eyes were drawn to a voice close to her, and she noticed the yearling was talking to her. Trying to hide her surprise with the flash of a smile, her honeyed eyes drew over the sharp angles of the darker girl, a brow arching as she shifted her weight, muzzle canting only slightly, deciding to ignore being referenced as a tiny rock. “That obvious, huh?”

when the girl turned her head, sobeille noticed a feather sticking from her fur. this reminded her of etienne, and for a moment both party’s gazes slid back to the moving band of adorned wolves.

sobeille was suddenly self conscious in her own way. other than the sigil pouch which she had learned from @Sialuk, sobeille was rarely adorned. and while she had never thought of being pretty as an objective worth fulfilling, she suddenly wondered if others perceived her as plain.

yes. sobeille answered honestly, but there was no malice in her tone; she simply answered as how she saw it. dat’s a pretty feather. do you be wit’ dem down dere?

A laugh trickled out of her—not at the expense of the other girl’s inquiry, but partly flattered that she would be considered tied to such beauty as to what paraded before them—never before had she considered herself as pretty, but they certainly were.

“Thank you—but nope! I’m with Sun Mote Copse,” she tilted her muzzle, eyes scanning before she lifted a charcoal paw, pointing in the direction of their camp. “We’re a pretty small group,” she offered, a small smile toying at her lips. “What about you? My name’s Lotus.”

for a time, sobeille did not understand why lotus laughed. it was not until she spoke again that the saltstrider parsed it was not at her expense.

still, she was irritated with herself. breezing past it, sobeille's gaze settled on the retinue below. i be sobeille. i'm from sapphique, on de coast.. next to a name like lotus, sobeille had no lasting gravitas. it did not conjure to mind the soft lull of a summer morning, verdant rings of green lily pads bobbing between the endless still of blackwater. nor did it summon the image of a perfectly formed pearly flower.

to her, it only reminded her she was named after a man that had been butchered by a bear. 'ow small?

Sobeille—it was a pretty name, or so Lotus thought. It sounded almost exotic, much like the girl’s accent—and Lotus shifted her weight, angling to regard her companion with another smile before a light shrug followed. “Just my family and another,” she offered—wondering if this was information that maybe wasn’t the best to share with someone who had just informed her she was like a tiny pebble that could be gobbled up.

Probably best to change the topic...

“What’s the coast like? I’ve never been to the ocean before.”

what sobeille took a liking to — almost immediately — was how natural lotus’ company seemed. there were times she met strangers and she could sense the gap; either in her own mannerisms, or their interpretation of them — and it often unsettled the balance.

lotus provided a brief glimpse into what her life was like, but then turned the tables for sobeille to do the same. she offered her answer with the same uncomplicated ease lotus did; tit for tat, and while the months in their age differential were large, would she not grow to be sobeille’s equal? best treat her like one.

de sea is— she took a sigh bordering on wistful. it is like nothin’ i ever seen on de land. it is powerful an’ it is loud. de tide takes and de tide provides. everything from de sand to de wind is different on de coast - stronger, more turbulent, colder sometimes. but sometimes it be warmer too. and de food! dere is a whole world underwater dat no wolf ever seen- dere are wolves in de ocean, but dey look very different den you or me.

she fell silent, anticipating a volley of questions but also inserting her own. and de copse?

If Sobeille was pulling her leg, she wouldn’t have been able to tell—and yet, the words flowed almost like a story as the dark girl wove an entirely different world than what Lotus had experienced. Keenly, she was most curious about these ‘sea wolves’ that were touched upon—but she wouldn’t interrupt to inquiry further—

—and when her company inquired about the Copse, Lotus had to withhold a small laugh, her head giving a light shake of wonder as she considered the absolute anti-climatic response she was about to burden her with.

Unless, of course, being among the blanket of lush grass, trees and rolling hills was an entirely different world to the ocean child.

“The Copse is…” She mused, humming slightly as a smile curled at the corner of her lips. “If you take everything you’ve just described to me and flip it around, that’s pretty much the Copse,” she decided, head tilting as she leaned back to study Sobeille’s thoughts. “It is the quietest place I’ve ever been to. Warmed by the sun along grassy hills, with winding fresh water throughout. Small forests all around—and almost cradled by one side of the mountain.”

She brushed back the feather tied to her hair—nose lifting as she felt not just the cold autumn breeze, but the hint of sunshine warmth that still lingered. “We definitely don’t have sea wolves—what are they like? You must find it so... different, here, in valleys like this.”

the copse sounded peaceful. sobeille was proud to be a child of the ocean's chaos -- but at times, she wondered what inland might be like, and knew (but would never admit) that it was val's genes pulling at her to explore.

a valley of lush grass, gilded by the soft touch of joyful sun. rolling hills, scenic vistas of rivers and their rich floodplains: small forests nestled in the proud palm of a rising mountain.

very different than home.

dat sounds nice. sobeille inserted, watching as lotus did something delightfully feminine to her -- brushed back her feather and lifted her rounded and young -- yet growing into something beautiful -- face to the prevailing wind. it is different. sobeille affirmed, without missing a beat. de sea-wolves -- dey have faces like you or me, but round bodies and sharp claws on de edge of their fins. dey do not 'ave legs. and when dey speak -- it is in a voice dat ours might sound like, if i was at de bottom of a tunnel, and you were very 'igh up. and sometimes dey do dis t'ing -- it sound like wind through two very thin trees; a burst of noise wit' clicks to dem. i t'ink dey use dat and listen to it. it rattles when u 'ear it.

anyway. we eat dem. sobeille finished, turning her gaze to lotus as if to say 'that's just how it is'.

Whatever Lotus has expected from the other girl, it certainly wasn’t what she had tagged on the end after offering in great depth these cousins of the sea—and a snort escaped her, turning abruptly to a laugh, the mirth dancing in her eyes casting upon her companion—

—“You eat the sea wolves?” It was a question clear of judgement—simply the enjoyment of learning so much and not expecting anything that came from the mouth of the ocean girl.

“What do they taste like?”

Even more importantly... "How do you hunt them?"

laughter danced behind lotus’ glimmering eyes. for a moment sobeille withered — for she had not told a joke.

recovering in the next instant (bolstered in part by lotus’ presumed interest), sobeille drew air out between her blackened nose.

i eat everything. an admission that delighted sobeille, for what context would lotus have to understand the deeper nuance lying beneath the surface? and if she did understand, who would lotus tell?

moreover, who would believe her?

we hunt dem on land. dere are some wolves dat hunt dem underwater. dis is dangerous. dey are faster, an’ ‘old dere breath longer. would be not’ing for dem to grab your leg an’ drag you under.

she ruminated on lotus’ second question, answering it out of turn. dey taste like anyt’ing else. like blood an’ meat. dey taste of de sea.

“I think I would like the sea,” she decided then—enthralled with the stories woven by the other girl. She was about to inquire more—what, then was the salt water like itself? Was it as warm as a still lake, or as cold as the rushing waters from a waterfall?

Before she could do this, though, the form of her mother appeared—a wane but forced smile on her face—and Lotus knew her time was up.

Without preamble that maybe one should keep their touch to themself—the shadowed girl swept up to her paws once more, her muzzle pressing gingerly to the shoulder of the other in quiet gratitude. “Looks like I’m being summoned—but thanks for the company!”

With that, she went after her parents—reminded only then, the looks that had shadowed their faces at the sight of the adorned and polished pack that had arrived only moments before.

sobeille’s face lit with eagerness as the girl shared she might like the sea. oh! a supplicant! her mouth parted to inform her that sobeille could make such a thing happen for her, but her jaw clapped shut as a long shadow cut between them.

the girl’s maman. sobeille apprised her with a wary flick of her gaze, thinking that she’d make a fine sapphiqian. there was a proud kindness to her gaze and the bronzing of her fur rich with color that did not descend down to lotus.

she flinched in surprise as the girl touched her, but the sensation was not unwanted. long after lotus left, sobeille sat with a paw to the heated place where lotus had brushed her shoulder.

then, in silence all too customary for her, sobeille resumed her lonely wandering of the camp.