Say It Ain't So

Rob's apparent lack of imagination surprised Osprey, because as it happens with creative people, she had half-expected for him to have just as wild and impossible dream. Fly, for example, catch a dragon, kiss a frog-princess etc. But then again - she knew nothing of his background and probably shouldn't be so harsh on him. If settling down and having a family was something he thought was impossible to achieve, then she had no right to judge it.

"That's a bit personal," she told him, but he had been honest with her too. "Maybe. I enjoy the idea of having children and a mate someday. Not right now though," that was true. Her top priority now was to stick with Peregrine and be a good sister and friend to him. "What makes you a wanderer and not the so-called "permanent settler"?"

His ears flattened against his head. He thought it was just a simple question (one that he wouldn't mind being asked), but he didn't consider that someone else would feel differently. "Sorry. I just figured it was kind of a 'yes' or 'no' thing. I don't want one right now, either." He hoped that his words would comfort the female into realizing he meant no harm, and that he felt the same way.

He chuckled at her next question. "Well," he started. "I guess I never really found a place to call 'home'. It's not that interesting. I suppose telling you I have an adventurer's heart and want to see the world" (he said this part in an overly confident, bold voice) "would be more interesting. It's usually what I tell people when they ask. Maybe I just want to sound cool." He side-glanced at the 50 shades of grey female, then jumped into the next question. "What was it like growing up with your littermates?" He craved the answer, wanting to know what it was actually like to grow up with siblings, since he hadn't had the chance. Would he and his brothers defend each other to the end? Or would they have bickered and hated each other with a passion? Rob would have taken either option, or anything in between, as long as he had his brothers.

"Oh, come one - I am not that socially awkward," Osprey nudged Rob in a good natured manner to ease up the bit of tension between them. She had stated a fact and it didn't mean that the question itself had insulted her. "Ask as personal as you want - the answer, however, will depend, whether I am willing to tell," she smiled at him and winked mischievously.

"I don't know any person, who is a wanderer, because they wanted to impress others," she stated thoughtfully. Some of her family members had been more keen to see, what the world had to offer, than others. "It's simply a choice. Besides - there was this saying about vagabonds - the world is their home."

"Stressing, annoying, dangerous, competitive, but hell lot of fun," she wouldn't change anything in the world for the experience of being in the middle of a noisy, quarreling, but tight knit family. "The problem is that there is only one mom and dad, but that's the only drawback," she had sometimes felt the lack of attention from her parents, but then again it had taught her to be independent from very early on.

"My turn. If you could be any creature besides a wolf in the world, what would you choose to be? Unicorns and pink fairies are permitted," she grinned.

Osprey took what he had said the wrong way. Though he did try to impress others, Rob did not live to do so. He shrugged it off.

The brown wolf listened to her words about having siblings intently. I would have gladly shared my parents, he thought quietly. He would have shared them even if they had had more litters. As long as he had them. Rob frowned. His father was only a short journey away; but, Rob was still angry with him.

At her questioned, Rob "hmm"ed. After a moment, he said: "I would want to be a fierce dragon. Maybe an ice dragon, spitting out frozen fire, and everyone would be at my mercy!" He gave his best maniacal laugh.

After Osprey's response, he waited a while, trying to think of a good question. "If you happened upon a dragon, would you try to slay it, follow it to its home to steal its treasure, or try to capture it as a pet?" He himself would probably try to find treasure or keep the beast as a pet. That way, he could have a travel companion that would defend him.

Osprey hadn't meant to insult Rob, by stating that he was a loner because he wanted to impress others. Rather that everyone had their reasons not to settle anywhere permanently - being a lone wolf and a wanderer was a choice of living.

"Wow," she was stunned by his sudden burst of imagination. By far she had put him in the list of "realistic people", who didn't care much for the fictional stuff. "That was quite a performance," there was a bit of admiration in her voice, when she said that.

"Slaying sounds fun and heroic in the stories, but I have always thought about dragons as very wise and intelligent creatures," except the brainless beasts, of course, who couldn't tell a difference between a tree and it's own leg. "Therefore it would be a pity to slay. I wouldn't want to rob it either - what would I do with his treasures? I would rather make friends or swap some stories. They live a great deal longer than we do after all... it would be exciting to hear, how life was before even my great-grandparents existed."

Since it was such a good question, she decided to ask the same one to him: "What about you?"

Rob bowed and gave a quick "thank you, thank you" when Osprey's voice and words suggested she loved his short performance. He could be imaginative, too, he just had to be provoked to do so.

He admired that she believed that things which weren't of this world were real. "Well," he started. "first, I would follow the great beast to see what he did on a daily basis. This includes finding out what kind of treasure he hides in his fortress hiiiiigh upon the mountains. Then, I would ask for him to be my companion. His name would be 'Fury', because he's so furious all of the time. He'd spit fire and ice at me, but I'd dodge it. He would be impressed, and agree to accompany me on my travels. Everyone would be in awe of the fearsome duo: Robur Aqua and Fury." He grinned at the grey female, hoping she liked his story, and forgetting that they were even playing the question game.

Every story had hidden notions and clues about the main theme and of course about the story-teller itself. As she listened carefully to Rob's tale, the sudden burst of imagination, she wondered, if his preference for big, fearsome and angry creatures had something to do with his personality. You could not forget the fact that he was a man, obviously, because they tended to like strong and a bit nasty creatures in the stories. She decided to remember this observation. Maybe in the course of the game she would find out more about him.

"All right, mighty Rob and furious Fury - next question!" she reminded him with a smile.

Rob was slightly startled that he'd forgotten to ask a question. "Oh — that's right. Sorry." He hmm'd for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"Okaayyy, Osprey, my dear. If you could be any real animal, except a wolf, what would you be?" He jumped to the side in a playful manner, examining the female's face before him. Rob wanted to see what her answer would be. He himself would probably choose a bear of some sort, something that no other animal would want to take on. He could explore the world in peace and scratch his back against trees, even catch salmon more easily. The brown wolf's stomach growled in response to the last thought.

It was a tricky question and not one easy to answer. Osprey was gifted with a vivid imagination and in her time she tried to see herself as anything around her. It was fun to try and understand, what it meant to be something as seemingly boring and insignificant as rock (not when she had been one - but that is a story for another time) or as impossible as a falling star. She had been the snake princess cursed by an evil witch, she had pretended to be a deer running for it's life. She had hovered above treetops as a gust of wind and become one with the grass and flowers. There were so many things she had tried to impersonate, each experience had been outstanding, therefore it was hard to choose, which one she had liked the best.

"A bird, maybe? I have always wanted to fly," she admitted. "My turn!" she chimed, "If you happened to see a falling star - what would you wish for?"

Rob thought about flying for a moment, then nodded, accepting Osprey's answer. "Flying would be nice. You could see everything." He pictured this for a few more moments, wondering what it'd be like to look down upon the world from the sky.

"What if I said... that I would wish for a kiss from you?" Rob winked at Osprey, and in the same beat: "I'd wish for my mother and brothers to be alive again. I miss them."

After a few seconds of silence, Rob asked, "What's your favorite place in the whole world? Describe it to me." The male was interested in what sort of picture would form in his head with her description.

It seemed that no matter, what Osprey asked Rob, everything would lead back to his past, which - she had learned so much - wasn't as happy and great as hers had been. She felt sorry for him, but being pretty inexperienced, when it came to death and condolences, she didn't know exactly, what to say. What would he want to hear?

Therefore she stopped and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I can't make them come back, but I hope that this will make you feel a tiny bit better," she said and smiled at him sincerely.

"I don't know - I haven't been anywhere much," Osprey really didn't know. Flightless falcons had lost it's magic the moment mom had died and Blacktail deer plateu? It was home, but was it her favorite place on earth? She doubted it. "You better tell me - you have seen a lot more than I have?" she urged him to give a glimpse at his adventures in the big world. Osprey always loved to hear a good story.

Rob sported a toothy grin. "That makes me feel a lot better." A hint of a smile stained his face as they continued walking, the brown male giving the grey female side-long glances.

"Hmm. Well." He thought about his favorite place, and a small "ah!" came from his mouth when he thought of it. "Far from here, there is a place with a giant waterfall that's hidden deep in the forest." Rob made his voice quieter for intensity. "It's full of fruits and more rabbits than you can imagine. The water temperature is perfect, almost like you are walking into the air. The mist from the waterfall created a rainbow. Even better — behind the waterfall was a small cave. It was magical." Rob looked at Osprey for a reaction to his words.

"The magic of kisses should work like that," Osprey told him with a mischievous spark in her eyes, as if she was an expert in this thing and just didn't want to tell him all of the details. But she was very glad to see Rob smiling again, even if the pain hadn't really gone away and probably was hovering above his head as a dark cloud.

"Wow," she said after listening to his description and closing her eyes all the while to imagine better the magical place. "It does sound awesome. Was there a treasure hidden in that small cave?" she asked, because all this description sounded very much like a beginning of an Indiana Jones story. Not that she knew any of them, of course.

Rob looked at Osprey. "I wish I could tell you a tale about treasure inside the cove, but there wasn't any. I think that the waterfall on that day was treasure enough." The male had subconsciously moved closer to the grey female.

ooc: shall we fade this out and have an updated one? I really enjoyed this thread and I want to see, how their relationship will develop in the future.

"I understand, what you mean," Osprey said. There had been so many times, when she had been amazed by the beauty of the nature. It was the greatest artist, composer and story teller, who was never out of ideas and could do the grandest things in the simplest ways.

"Tell me more of what you have seen in the world," she had no doubt that Rob had seen more magical places and she was very eager to find out about them as much as possible.

They continued to walk and talk for a very long time and, when it was time to part ways, Osprey felt glad and happy for having found a new friend.