Neverwinter Forest the pixie queen

Set after the thread between @Eshe and @Lucy!

“Lewcee,” the silver prince said to himself as he sat in the family den, practicing the name of the forest’s newest resident. Rannoch was blissfully unaware of the circumstances that had lead to her arrival but he was intrigued. He had not been expecting his mother to bring home another cub-- dinner perhaps, but not a cub. He also wasn’t quite sure of what to think about her. She had only just settled into the den and this had not given the two enough time to really get to know anything about her.

The most curious thing that evening was how similar she looked to Cypress. It was almost as if the two dark-furred cubs were the real siblings and he was the odd man out. He turned from his seat, looking at the other blankly as he watched on. “Lew,” he called, offering a wag of his tail. “Wassa doin?” His curiosity for the other knew no bounds and he had to learn more about their newest denmate.

The world had changed so quickly for the young girl. Something had clicked inside of her and she had become fearful of the world around her, until the sweet voice of Eshe had whisked her away. Their family den smelled different from the one she remembered belonging to, but there were two boys inside who had welcomed her warmly enough. Still, the child was injured from her trek through the wilds at the fangs of the monster’s mouth, and her body ached every time she attempted to move. Her days of fighting had been cut short, and the soot child knew that she would require great rest before she could feel her own strength again.
 
The voice of the young boy struck her ears and she turned her head slowly to face him. She had been curled into a tight inky ball on their den floor – nose tucked to tail. When he called curiously for her, she lifted her head upward and peered at him with bright blue eyes. A tentative wag of her tail followed. “I… I rest,” she answered him with a small nod. But his eyes were so curiously beautiful that she could not help but to stare into them.

She pulled herself from her coil to look over at him and to this he offered a smile. But, to her next statement, his grin weakened. Rest? It wasn’t time to rest! It was time to play! Pushing himself onto his paws, Rannoch carefully teetered towards her. His neck craned as he walked so that he could get a better look at her. He paused at a comfortable distance, making sure that she was comfortable with it all, before he spoke again. “Lew wanna play?” She did seem rather tired but he was naively sure he could change that.

As his offered faded between the two, this allowed Rannoch to examine her. She was rather beautiful, a beauty he had only seen in his mother, and this intrigued him to stare. She also smelled of faraway lands-- ones that he had never smelled before. With a sense of patience about him he waited for whatever she had to say next.

He closed the distance on them and she peered up at his features. There was something so unfamiliar and warm about his face and his actions that she did not truly fear anything about the boy. The dark brother – Cypress – was also a pleasant creature. Perhaps their home was where she had been meant to be. A sudden washing of anxiety struck her at the thought of her old home and the sweet apple color of Eljay’s eyes. The inky child wondered if she would see him again, or if she had been taken to another world to live with her new family. They were nice enough, and she did not find anything wrong with the kindness they had shown her after the monster had dropped her to the earth.
 
The boy wanted to play, and for a fraction of a second the young Blackthorn thought that it sounded like a marvelous idea. She had not had the chance to play since she had been home with Jay, Lagan, and Liffey. With another wag of her tail, the blue-eyed girl tried to rise quickly to her feet and found that pain erupted in her side. She could still feel every prick of the wicked fangs that had sunk into her tender flesh. Stumbling, the soot pup whimpered and flattened her ears to her skull, peering at the boy with wide eyes. “I… I sorry Ranno,” she whispered to him sadly. If she could not play, perhaps he wanted nothing to do with her.

He watched on hopefully as the dark sprite as she attempted to rise to her feet. He bobbed his head as she did this, encouraging her to do so. But, as quickly as she had begun, the plan backfired. A pang struck in his chest as she winced and a frown formed upon his dark lips. He whined in turn to her whine as his eyes traveled about her from, attempting to find the root of her issues. He knew that kisses often helped, his mother’s always solved his boo boos, and he hoped that he could help her out.

Taking another step forward he looked down to her with concern. “Lew, its okee.” he offered softly. “Where it hurt?”

Everywhere, she had wanted to tell him, but she could not. Instead, she craned her neck around to where she could look on her ribs. If her flesh could be seen through her fur, it would have shown puncture marks and small gashes. The sides of her body were bruised and tender, and she felt as though this was the worst of the pain. Every breath from her little lungs was like claws scoring along her sides. She turned back to look at Rannoch with tears pricking in her eyes and she tucked her tail swiftly to her undersides. Maybe he could make her feel better. His voice was laced with genuine concern, and she made a move toward him so that she might bury her nose underneath his chin and in his throat.

His concern was met with action. Freezing as she drew herself into his neck, the pale Frostfur felt at a loss of what he could do to make her feel better. But, as a moment or so rolled by, he grew more comfortable in her embrace. Carefully he poked his nose to her crow and kissed gently at her dark fur hoping that it would help. “It okaee, Lew,” he offered quietly. “You gonna be okaee.” He would make sure of it.

She could feel his body tighten, and the little inky child worried that she might have overstepped her boundaries with him. Soon, though, he began to relax and she felt the warmth of his tongue against her. Lagan had never treated her in such a manner. He had always been a good brother, but he was prone to acts that drove nails under Lucy’s skin. She missed the way that he would say her name, and the small adventures that they had shared together, but the time she was spending with Rannoch and Cypress was different – it was new somehow. “I d-don’t wanna be scared,” she breathed into his fur quietly. She had been filled with such hope and ideas of grand treks. Lucy did not want her hopes to be dashed by the monster who had swept her away from her home.  

Her concerns were more than justified. But, due to his unawareness of the situation as a whole he remained in the dark. “Whisa scawed?” he asked, resting his chin upon her crown. After a moment he added, “You don hafta be scawed-- I’ll protewct ya.”

“Th-the m-monster took me, Ranno,” she told him in a voice that suggested the revelation was of the utmost importance. But he had taken her there – to him and his brother, and the woman Eshe. Did that mean that he had truly been a monster? What if he had saved her from a fate that would have been far worse than the one she faced. The young child was so full of conflicting thoughts that she didn’t know what to do with herself. Rannoch said that he would protect her, though, and she found a strange sense of comfort within that statement. He was young, just like she was, and yet she felt as though their shared age made them stronger for each other. They could take on whatever might come their way without issue.
 
Pulling back a little bit and glancing up at him with her wide eyes, the young girl wondered what it would mean if she would stay with him forever. Could she find the same love and affection that she had with her old family? Or would there be something far greater in store. “Can I say with you… Ranno? Can I stay forever?” she asked him curiously.

As the truth behind her arrival dropped Rannoch lifted his head and craned it back in an attempt to get a better look at Lucy. A frown was placed heavily upon his lips as he looked to her and concern filled his being. Where was this monster? Had his parents taken care of it? His gaze hardened as his attention shifted from the dark-furred girl to the opening in the den. What if it was still out there? He felt a pang in his heart at that time and turned his attention back to Lucy, offering another kiss upon her crown as she spoke again.

He smiled as her next question and nodded. “Yes, Lew,” he said, quite liking that idea already. Taking Eshe’s words all too seriously, he realized that he would have to protect her from the monster. The concept of forever was still rather forigen to him and yet it sounded like the perfect amount of time for her to stay. "Pwease stay fowreva.”

There was a mixture of emotion that flooded through the child. She felt fearful that the great monster would return and scoop her away again – taking her to another far away land full of strangers. Lucy wondered if the next family she was given to would be as kind as Rannoch’s. The terror that had been implanted in her was enough to cause an immediate latching to the Frostfur family. They had only shown her kindness, and the soot child did not imagine that she would have found that elsewhere. Dark images floated through her mind of wicked creatures with dagger-like fangs that would sink into her and pull her away. She was young still, and the thirst for adventure was alive inside of her. The young Blackthorn needed to find a way to overcome her fear.
 
The boy offered his say in the matter, and Lucy sighed at the thought of staying with him and his family ‘forever.’ It wasn’t that the concept was difficult for children to grasp. The idea of forever was too much for most beings. It was the idea that each day would be spent in the company of Rannoch and his kin. No matter how long she had left to her life, she wished never to be ripped away again. If she were to achieve such a dream, she would need to grow stronger.
 
A determined sigh passed through her lips and she glanced upward at the young boy. “Play now?” she asked him. Lucy wanted to be strong and she wanted to know that she could fight if the monster should return. One day, perhaps, she would be able to find her way back to Eljay and her parents.  

He watched on silently as his own replied faded into nothingness as he attempted to decipher just how she felt about staying forever. Did she have a family back home? A brother or a sister? Parents? All of these facts were unknown to the silver-coated child but he decided that this was not the moment to press about such matters. This was the time to lift her spirits.

Her response, despite her determined sigh, caused his spirits to lift-- she wanted to play! Craning back his head so that he could get a better look at her he asked, “Reawwy?! What do you wanna play?” The decision was hers alone and he would do whatever she pleased.

The girl could not help but to feel her own happiness at the sight of him. It seemed that her willingness to play was akin to a light on his features. A smile struck her and she curled her dark lips upward at him. There were so many possible games that they could explore together, but the girl wasn't sure which would leave her less sore. With a tentative glance toward him and then the entrance of their den, Lucy furrowed her brows thoughtfully over bright blue eyes. 

"Can you... can you show me a game?" she asked him with a curious glance. She knew enough from playing with Lagan and Liffey, but she wasn't sure if play fighting would be best for her injuries, or if she would have the strength to endure a play hunt. The inky child would be pleased when she could do those things again without restraint. 

He waited quietly as she quietly contemplated what they could do. Watching on, he waited for whatever she had to offer. But she did not offer any suggestions and instead she asked Rannoch to introduce her to a game. Pausing, Rannoch thought it over before offering an option for them. If she was hurting then they probably would not want the spar, or even hunt but perhaps she could hide and he could seek? It had been a while since he had played, but he was always up for a game of it!

“Hide ‘n seek?” he asked, assuming she knew how to play.

Hide and seek! The very thought of the game brought a light to the dark child's face, and she peered at Rannoch with sparkling blue eyes. It seemed as though he had thought through everything, because the conclusion that had been drawn would allow for the girl to actually play without risk of further injury. Her small tail flagged behind her and leathery lips curled in a small smile of sorts for the boy. He was good; Rannoch was not like the monster who had carried her away from her previous home. Still, Lucy frequently wondered if she would ever return to the happy den of her family - if she would see the smiling faces of Lagan and Liffey again. 

Fighting the thoughts that had suddenly stormed her mind, the soot child made a sudden movement and then paused, glancing over her shoulder. "You count," she told him with a firm nod of her head. Of course, the dark girl did not know the forest the same way that Rannoch did, but she would aim to remedy that situation. If Lucy was destined to be in the wood with Cypress and Ranno, she would learn their home and know it better than anyone else. The Blackthorn girl nodded gently to him before she darted into the trees. Her eyes sought any hiding hole they could find. 

The sudden light that was drawn upon her features caused Rannoch to smile and for a flutter to happen within. He wasn’t quite sure just what this feeling was and quickly ushered it away, not wishing to re-visit them anytime soon. There would be a time later in life that he would be given the birds and the bees talk, and perhaps this very feeling would be apart of that conversation, but that talk was still many months off.

Watching with interest as she gathered herself onto, Rannoch nodded to her suggestion as if to approve that, yes, he would be the counter in this game. Squeezing his eyes shut he began his counting, pushing his voice out far enough in an attempt to keep Lucy in the know of just how little time she had left. “One…. two…. three!”  

Once his voice struck the air, she darted into the wood and immediately began to seek an appropriate place to conceal herself. She knew that her scent would have been difficult to hide, but she was hoping for a flash of genius ingenuity to save her from being caught. Sky blue eyes flashed from potential hiding spot to potential hiding spot. All the while, she could hear him counting her fate. 

As Lucy scrambled for a place to tuck herself away, there was a fleeting moment that she forgot about the caldera and the lives she had left behind. The ache of her heart was not quite as poignant as it had been before. 

Rannoch had hoped that he could ease her worries-- at least for a little bit. With the prospect of a game still fresh, Rannoch tore out of the den in an attempt to find the the raven-haired child.

The two spent quite some time playing, though they both never went too far from the family den. Instead, they stuck close, enjoying a moment of jubilance under Eshe’s careful watch.