Larksong Grotto who is your savior, and who is he saving you from?

"come on, papa!" indra yipped, slowing her trot uphill to glance downwards, where the dark figure of her father pulled along the slope. she looked to him, and then back up to the ridge -- with a steeled breath she continued the ascent upwards.

she reached the flattened bluff first, her breath wild and eyes bright with cheer. @Hiram was only a little bit behind her but she had already sprung in the direction of the shed moose antler she had found. she trotted towards it and seized it proudly, brandishing the jagged antler like it was a sword. with great effort (for the moose antler was almost as heavy as she), indra triumphantly dragged/pranced over to reek to show him her prize. her head was canted so far back to bear the burden that she looked absurd, and as if choreographed she tripped and fell on her face with a whump. grinning as the dust flew about her, indra placed her head on the antler and said: "look!"

Ascending the ridge behind his daugter, Hiram found the climb to be a difficult affair. She brimmed with a positive, youthful energy -- so much so that Hiram could hardly keep up with her skittering about. Yet, with a wide smile slapped across his face, he followed gladly as his daughter led him on yet another one of her excursions. This time, knowing that she was within the safety of the pack's borders, Hiram was set completely at ease.

"I'm coming Indy," he called back, panting. Thankfully, her pace slowed and Hiram was able to catch up. By the time he reached the bluff, Indra had found her prize. Clumsily, she took the antler in her jaws and soon toppled over comically from the weight. Hiram could not keep himself from laughing, but his chuckle was quickly stifled as she roused.

Look, she commanded -- and look he did. Such a find was impressive, and for a moment Hiram was reminded of his similar find in the maplewood; the moose head he had given to Tavi so long ago. "What a find!" He exclaimed after catching his breath. "D'ya know what sort of animal this comes from?" He inquired jovially.

indra placed a paw over the large sweep of bone, a small sneeze racking her posture as the dust seeped in her nostrils. her father's laugh was met simply with a squint, but the sourness in her expression did not last long. as reek commended her find she felt her chest puff in pride - it was an extraordinary find!

she had no idea what it was, or what animal it came from. eagerly she wriggled her bum and placed a toothy mouth over one of the extended twines, her soft gaze on reek rapt with interest: "no! what is?"

Hiram returned his daughter's expression of interest with a broad smile. Her childlike sense of curiosity filled the Cardinal's heart with joy. It overflowed. "That right there," he began to explain as he inched forward toward his daughter and her prize, "is an antler from a moose." He was unsure if she had ever seen one -- or heard of one as of yet, seeing as he had been absent during most of her childhood. Oh, how he cursed himself for that. He would give his very soul for the time he had lost.

He lowered his face to his daughters level and his voice dropped into a hushed whisper. "They're really big creatures with wide, boney horn things on each side of their head." He motioned downward, placing a paw beside his daughters on the antler. "That's only one of 'em -- so you can imagine their size." Hiram shrugged.

"Now, they're mighty rewarding if you can hunt and bring one down... but it's a whole pack affair," he continued after a beat. "See, these antlers make it a dangerous game." His statement lingered for a bit and he hoped it would serve a cautionary purpose -- that she would never try and piss a moose off on her own. "But, now that the antler is detached from the moose's body, all it's good for is decoration. What do you think about taking this back to the grotto so we can decorate where you sleep?" Hiram filled the cave with bits, bobs, and trinkets, but this would be (by far) the largest thing he considered bringing back to the cave.

indra's bat-like ears strained forward as she listened. moose? it seemed like a made up word -- as her father continued she mouthed the word silently, over and over. moose. moose. "moose!" she parroted with a wide grin.

she couldn't imagine how big the moose was -- in truth, how could she possibly? as her father lowered towards her she leaned forwards and licked his muzzle with giggles, her tail thumping. she had no quantitive idea of the immensity of moose, and their imagine size was forgotten as reek mentioned bringing the antler home.

indra frowned, confused. "but that'd be wrong, papa." she said, her expression clouded with doubt. "doesnt the moose miss his antlers? shouldn't we give it back to him?"

Still smiling from his daughters excitement and affection, Hiram shook his head and sighed as his daughter expressed her misguided misgivings. "You've got such a good heart Indy," he said, marveling over how truly kind she was -- how selfless her thoughts were. He hoped she'd hold on to this spark as she aged instead of succumbing the cold, numbing grip of cynicism. "You have the Lord's warmth in you." It was clear to him that his daughter had been touched by the spirit of Raas. She was special.

He looked back down to the shed antler. "I admire your convictions, but the moose who dropped this antler won't have much use for it anymore." Her father shrugged. "I think he'd want you to have it." After all, finders keepers right?

indra examined the antler carefully, reassured by her father's words that the moose would not be missing the bony crown. after a small lull in which she battled with her conscience and her father's reasoning the child piped up brightly: "okay!" after all, papa had said it was alright -- and papa knew more about the world than anybody.

she sat up, clasping one edge of the antler in her little jaws. she gave the thing a mighty tug and lifted part of it up from the soft earth, but try as she might she could not carry it completely. "unf." she grunted with effort, fixating her entire strength into shouldering the burden.

After a brief moment of thought, the child finally accepted her prize. His rhetoric it seemed had cleared her of her guilt -- that, he could see etched across Indra's joyous expression. Hiram smiled brightly in return as she tried to claim the antler for herself by grabbing hold tightly and pulling to no avail. She struggled, much to Hiram's fatherly amusement before he stepped in to help.

The Cardinal gripped the antler carefully between his teeth along side his daugter. He pulled, and this time (and with much more grace than Indra's previous, fruitless attempt), the antler gave way to their efforts. However, the tricky part approached -- and even Hiram had no idea how he'd be able to backpedal the whole thing down the bluff.

indra's tail beat excitedly as her father flanked her, shouldering the burden she was incapable of carrying. she clutched one tine in her jaws tightly, her tail rising with self importance as they began to carry the thing down the slope.

she felt burning first in her neck, and then in her back -- unused to the fatigue she was compelled to stop almost immediatley. short breaths racked her little frame and she looked up to reek brightly. "will it break if we push it, papa?"

I am the absolute worst. I'm so sorry for how long this took.

It was hard and awkward work pulling the antler down the ridge. It's difficulty was amplified by fact that Hiram had traverse the rocky terrain blind. Thankfully, Indra voiced her concerns and propesed a better idea. Sometimes, Hiram didn't give his children enough credit for how brilliant they were. But now he stopped and released his grip on the antler to look at his daughter with admiration.

"You know, that's a good idea Indy." Hiram smiled as he stepped over the antler and he motioned for Indra to follow suit. "Maybe, if we pick it up together, we can carry it back home." He shrugged his shoulders and then took the heavy side of the antler in his mouth to lift it skyward.

absolutely no worries <3  i am going to archive though because of our new thread :]

she waited, recovering her breath slowly. hiram had stopped and considered her question; her tail beat hopefully on the ground as she awaited a verdict. she hoped he wouldn't laugh at her for not being strong enough to carry it.

and he didn't. indra's heart rallied and she stood up with a smile, her tail waving behind her in a ropy motion. "ok! i can't wait to show it to laurel. she will love it." she chimed, slinking down to the ground to mouth the edge of the antler. together they would shoulder the burden; together they would show laurel the prize -- together.

indra hoped it would last forever.