Broken Antler Fen Chartreuse

@Lilitu , but anyone else is welcome too!

While unable to travel far beyond the Brecheliant's borders, Wraen did everything to make this place her home, her little universe in a nutshell. She explored almost daily and, when too tired for that, she rested atop Arthur's Seat, enjoying the sunlight, watching idly her surroundings, while in her mind she travelled miles, visited worlds, jumped from the present to past or the future. Or sometimes she imagined herself there up flying with the birds, feeling the wind brush against her feathers and being absolutely free. 

Good thing daydreaming was, wasn't it? Today she too had come to her favourite place in the fen and, when she climbed the large rock, she noticed something that had not caught her eye before. The snow had melted some more by now, revealing a thin blanket of green moss. And there in a little hollow was a tiny patch of soil, where green shoots were sprouting up. "Eh, old man..." she spoke to her inanimate friend. "Congratulations!" she smiled and carefully lied down so that she would not crush the tiny plants that were making their way in the world.

Congratulations! 

Lilitu would have likely passed on by had she not heard her aunt's voice. As it was, she diverted her course to head toward Wraen instead, wondering who she was talking to. Except. . .there was nobody there but Wraen, who was staring at the ground. 

Hi, Wraen. Congratulations to who? she asked, brows knitting in confusion. Was she talking to tiny bugs or something? That would be quite odd, since Wraen was the one that had taught Lilitu that each creature had their own language—and Lilitu very much doubted that ants or beetles spoke their language.

And if they did, they were keeping very quiet about it.

"Well, now that you are here - why not to you too?" Wraen asked, smiling at the girl and by far her favourite niece, and then carefully jumped down from the rock to go and greet her properly. "There's a patch of green shoots up there," she explained. "Which means that spring's coming and this throne that I had the honour to occupy all through the winter months has, in fact, a private life of it's own. Who would have guessed..."  she trailed off thoughtfully. 

"So, green sprout in the wolf form - how have you been lately?" she inquired - it had been quite long since their last conversation.

She giggled at the joke, watching as Wraen hopped down from her perch. Then she looked up as her aunt described the greenery to be found atop a rock. A wide smile broke out over her face, her tail thumping against the ground in unbridled pleasure.

So the plants are coming back, Lilitu said triumphantly. I thought they might be gone forever! Underneath all the snow and ice, I mean. Does this happen every year? 

Being a literal "sweet summer child," she had no frame of reference. Winter's grip upon the earth might as well have been a permanent change. And while she didn't like it so much, she had grown resigned to spending the rest of her life in cold. The prospect of having her pretty flowers back was a significant buoy to her spirits.

So much a buoy that she completely forgot about Wraen's question. Oh, she added, um, good, I guess. Bored. No one around here is really fun except for you and Maia—oh, and Teya! She taught me to fish.

"Yup, it happens every year, be assured!" Wraen said and reached out to touch Lilitu's shoulder reassuringly. It was a little odd to think that, while this girl was almost a grown-up now, there was still very much of the world she had yet to see and learn. So much of unknown, so much to discover. Made her realize, how very little wonder the world sparked in an aging creature. How hard it was to keep that spark alive.

"Bored? Hmmm...." yeah, with no kids her age to hang around, it was easy to see, why would a young girl find it hard to hang around with bunch of adults, though she enjoyed the compliment very much. "Well, boredom is the best ground for creativity. It's a nothing that needs to be filled. So - what do you want to do?" she asked.

She was reassured, both from the touch and the re-emergence of plants. Spring had sprung—or, well, it was getting there, anyway. But the question was tougher, and the ease faded. . .gradually, but still faded. Her face scrunched up, muzzle wrinkling in deep, seemingly painful thought.

I don't knowww, Lilitu replied, drawing out that final word to an agonizing length. It's like—there's only so much singing to the trolls I can do before it all sounds the same, y'know? I miss Arielle. I miss Hotaru and the other kids in the valley.

She leaned up against the rock, pressing her cheek against the cool stone. Her eyes closed for a moment, and then one opened, peering curiously at Wraen. What do you do when you get bored? she asked. She bet Wraen never got bored. She and Maia had all the stories. Lilitu barely had any—wait—

D'you wanna hear about our mountain trip? Lilitu inquired, yellow gaze widening to its normal, ebullient glow.

Lilitu was right about one thing - Wraen did not remember the last time she had been bored, because her time was split between spurts of activity - either physical one in a form of hunting or a purely verbal one - talking with others - and lengthy naps, which helped her skip the "boredom" part. It was different for young folks - she dimly remembered herself being the same at her grand-niece's age. 

"Well, I understand it can get lonely, if you do not have anyone your age around. Adults are not exactly always exciting to have around," she sympathized with the girl. "Oh, do tell. I am all ears," she encouraged her to share the story. To be honest, she knew very little about Lilitu's life before Brecheliant and she was eager to find out more.