Neverwinter Forest in fear and faith

Another sunny day graced the wilderness, blessing it’s inhabitants with comfortable conditions. Despite the heaviness to the air, a light breeze danced through the woodlands to ensure that the temperature stayed pleasant. Taking advantage of the weather, Rannoch sat before the den. As a breeze passed by a soft smile came about his lips. With this wind came a gusto of scents, some of which he had never sampled before previously.

Perking at this mysetery, the child jumped to his feet and dove his nose to the ground below, frantically searching for what he had just smelled.

It had been a year — or almost that — before the little magpie returned to the wilds after the terrible storm. It had wiped out the forest she had been born and raised in: The Heartwood. To see it reduced to splinters crushed her tiny heart and so she fled. Thankfully, her flock had dispersed way before then and were unharmed, but to see her forest in such a state; it was too much.

Now, she had returned, only to find her home in a state worse than she could have ever imagined. A cry had burst from her throat, a sad, strained sound. It couldn't be! Her home! Her life! Her purpose to gather many wolf friends and live with them in the beautiful forest! With her dreams shattered, the bird fled once again. Crushed, but ever looking at the bright side, Shiv concentrated on finding a new home. No other woodland would be able to beat the Heartwood's glory, but perhaps she could find one that at least came near to it. She flew directly to the nearest forest, directly north-west from her scorched home.

She had perched upon the twisted roots of a tree, pecking at the ground, inspecting. The dirt here was fresh, most likely held delicious worms. The scent of wolves was heavy, though, and she had to first determine if they were friendly. She hadn't forgotten her previous encounters with them, most of which she remembered not so fondly. So the bird hopped away from the base of the tree, beginning to strut down a pathway that unknowingly would lead her directly to the wolf pup that sought to seek her out.

He padded forward dutifully, his tail waving behind as he investigated further. This smell was one that oddly resembled the stuff that his mother chewed up for his--- meat, wasn’t it? The idea of hunting was still beyond his simple consciousness and so this grew to some great confusion on his part. Peering up from his exploration, the boy caught sight of a hopping figure. He had never seen anything this strange-- the dastardly butterflies came close, but this was just weird.

Gears shifted in his mind as sprinted off towards the other, his brows heavy with concentration and yips erupting from his mouth as he bounded along. Despite his confusion, the only thing that the cub knew was that this thing did not belong on his turf.

It was a splendid forest, if she did say so herself. The sky was covered, which was a minus, but it lent a certain charm to the area. It lacked the buzz of life the Heartwood had, though, something that Shiv greatly missed. She idly made her way down the path, looking up and around as she perused the woodland like she was at an open house inspection.

Suddenly, the family guard dog had come to defend his home.

The small yips and barks startled Shiv, who bounced back with fluffed feathers, staring wide-eyed at the silver-furred creature barreling towards her. He wasn't the largest thing she had ever seen, but the determination in his blue eyes was enough to set the magpie into a panic. She stumbled back a few steps before quickly taking to the air a few meters above the ground, screeching at the young boy.

@Cypress, @Eshe, @Scimitar-- help!!

As he charged, the other attempted to escape with a flurry of flapping wings. Pushing hard on the brakes to his hurried gait, the child froze in place and watched silently. The fur along his haunches spiked and his eyes widened as the other creature lifted from the ground to gain an amount of distance between the two. Fear coursed through him as he watched on with a haunted expression. Though his lower jaw fell, no sounds came out. Though his heart raced, he did not race in any certain direction. Instead, the child merely stood, his fear bundled around his entire being.

The butterfly that he and Cypress had come across was much less threatening that this creature-- it did not squawk back.But this creature? It was scary! The noise was the harshest sound that had ever touched his ears and startled him a great deal. It spread fear in a manner that he had never experienced before.

His lower lip trembled as he looked up to the magpie and his ears lowered upon his crown. “Dahd-de,” he stuttered, taking a step backwards to create even more distance between the two. “Mahmee-e,” his voice was trembling at this point, as was his ego. “B-BRUDDAH,” Anybody, help!!!

Well, that had been easy. His confidence left him in a heartbeat, the fire in his eyes becoming a tiny ember ignited only by fear. The little wolf seemed to freeze on the spot, staring as Shiv gave him a piece of her mind through high-pitched squawks. That's right, she thought with a smug glint to her narrowed gaze as she peered down at him. The gall he had, to simply charge at her like that?

Though when he began to cry for his parents, Shiv realised her mistake and suddenly swooped down to land in front of the trembling cub. "No, no!" she said hurriedly, glancing around quickly in search of any larger wolf forms. Oh, no! What if its parents were close by? She hopped towards the boy as he back-pedalled away. "Shiv sorry, so very sorry! Please, shhh, small wolf!"

His words were a babbled, slobbery mess hat fell from his mouth easily. Salty tears pooled in his bright eyes as the other being landed. He couldn’t control his sobs, nor could he hold back his tears. He was terrified, frozen, and uncertain of just what would happen next. Soon, words of reassurance reached tentatively in the distance between the animals. Unfortunately, these words did not settle kindly with him.  

He backpedaled again as the other neared him. “N-NAH,” he screeched in response, warning the other not to come any closer. All he wanted was this thing to go away. He quickly threw his eyes over his shoulder to see if anybody was rushing to his aid and was met with disappointment. “M-MAHMM, DAAHD--” his cries were urgent and his tears heavy as he foundered under the impending doom.

Unfortunately for Rannoch, as much as he wanted Shiv to back away and despite his warning shouts, the bird continued to bounce closer. She wasn't very fluent in reading others, especially when it came to wolves, and so the fact that the boy wanted her gone went completely unnoticed. She simply thought she had startled him. Or that her very presence made him tremble in fear. The thought made her ego swell with pride but she had to focus! There was still the threat of his parents or a pack mate bursting onto the scene. Shiv glanced over her shoulder again, before following the crying pup's gaze as he looked back.

"Shiv make better, yes! Shiv will...Shiv will..." she thought furiously, all the while keeping an eye out for any other, larger wolves. "Shiv will show small wolf where treats are, yes! Delicious treats!"

She heard the panicked cries from afar. In what was thirty seconds for the mother, but felt like eternity two the duo, the mother arrived on the scene like a bat out of hell. Rannoch, darlin'! she huffed worriedly, and then saw the tweeting source of the problem. Eshe, not at all fluent in bird nor caring to be, snarled loudly and surged toward her son, moving to stand protectively over him. Once there, her jaws snapped in the direction of the bird with the intent to destroy to appease her frightened boy and her frightened heart. She'd never seen birds go so close to young, though had heard that some might swoop down and eat your cubs if you weren't too careful. The magpie before her looked larger than a crow, and perhaps was carnivorous; she didn't know, she didn't care, because she'd eat the damn thing before it ever got a nibble of her boys, and throw it right back up for her kids to eat to drive the point home to its bird friends.

It all happened in an instant. From the sanctuary of them home came a snapping Eshe. Relief flooded over the worried child as he watched her approach, his head turning to view her glorious entrance. “M-MAA,” He screeched desperately, as if he were urging her to run faster. Once on the scene Eshe shielded him from the danger before them. In this moment he sunk to ground and pressed his head to her foreleg and closed her eyes, glad she was there to chase away the monster. Despite his newly-found solace, the cub continued to shake and sob as he found himself unable to wrangle his emotions in this terrifying moment.

It was within this solace that Rannoch found protection and with a simple snap of her jaws, Eshe sent the moster away. Relief flooded over him-- despite his fear-- as Eshe then picked him up and brought him back to the den. It would be there that he did not leave for the rest of the day, seeking the comfort of his mother instead.