Firefly Glen reptile boy

For @Fennec!

When she had returned to Moonspear with anaa, the crow had greeted her. She could not be certain that it was the same crow that had said farewell to her when they had left, but why would any other crow continue to talk to her? Sialuk had all but forgotten about the bird until, after her morning howl, it called to her yet again, this time coming closer to her and carrying something in its small, pointy black beak. The girl's yellow eyes peered at it as it perched on a branch not far away from where she had given her morning song.

When the qanglaagix saw that she paid him (her?) attention, it dropped the thing from its mouth, which fell until it landed at Sialuk's feet. It was a small, delicate bone, likely from a rodent of some sort. What a curious thing for a bird to do, and it looked expectantly at her with its black beady eyes. The raindrop's eyes looked from bird to bone several times over before she gently picked up the bone and began to walk it to the ulaq. The bird hopped and flew along, cawing incessantly, but it did not try and take back its treasure when Sialuk offered.

Then, it clicked.

The bone was given, but it was a debt to be repaid.

Once Sialuk stashed the bone safely in her own little corner of the ulaq, she sprung for one of the nearby caches, where she'd recently deposited her first kill: a young muskrat. She ripped flesh from bone, noticing the crow that had now grown silent, but still waited nearby. For you, qanglaagix, she said, dropping the chunk of meat and stepping back from it.

Now satisfied, the crow swept in quickly, carrying off a piece of her first kill. A fair trade, she thought, and it dawned on her that this must have been what the witch meant. She simply must go tell her of this. Excitement thrumming in her chest, Sialuk set off for the border between her home and the witch's, having learned that the cloudy-eyed wolf that was her mother's apprentice now lived there. When she arrived, Sialuk's voice hung in the air, calling for The Witch of the Glen.

Fennec was feeling out the areas near her forming abode for a proper garden when a howl came faintly to her.  She turned towards it and slowly grinned when she caught who it was summoning.

The Witch of the Glen indeed.

This place she was in wasn't suited.  She knew that Eljay's garden had been softer earth and damper, richer tasting.  (Yeah, she'd tasted it).  This was too dry and rocky.

Fennec sensed that it was time for a break anyway, so she slowly began to jog towards the caller best she could.

When she arrived at the border, if no one was in the immediate vicinity and called out to her, she'd howl as well.  Yes?

WC: 117

I love her new av!

Her limp was nearly gone, though Sialuk flexed her wrist out of habit. The cloudy-eyed witch arrived not too much later, and Sialuk's tail thumped the ground, giving away her location. It happened! she exclaimed. The excitement and disbelief in her voice was almost equal. The qanglaagix, it spoke to me! It brought me a bone!

She was over the moon about this new development, even if she wasn't quite sure what it meant. That, of course, was why she had come here in the first place. What does it mean, Witch? she asked.

ahhh ty! Jb is amazing ;.;

Sialuk greeted her almost immediately, which was unsurprising since the younger girl seemed to have the same endless enthusiasm as meerkat.  Unfortunately, Fennec had only the faintest idea of what she was talking about.  Tell me what a 'qanglaagix' is and I'll tell you.  She responded, pronouncing the word with the exact manner that Sialuk did.  Mimicry of sounds and intonation came fairly easily to her.

It had to be animal related, as that was the task she'd handed her.  But the type of animal was important, and Fennec had never heard of such a thing.  That second part, giving her a bone, was pretty damn cool.  If that was true she could have some real fun with the interpretation.

WC: 120

Sialuk was impressed by the witch's pronunciation of the word. It wasn't often that somebody outside of her brother or mother was able to say the words without stumbling a few times or asking for clarification. It's my mother's word for crow, she explained, wishing she had used that word first so she could get the answer she was seeking. Sialuk was practically vibrating with excitement now, eager to hear what the witch might say about this recent development.

A crow.  So a crow had apparently gifted her a bone, which was WAY more than Fennec had expected her to obtain out of this little exercise.  She'd thought maybe Sialuk would give up and call her on her bluff but instead she'd just added even more enthusiasm to her drive.  Fennec loved it and one hundred percent was not about to disappoint her.

It seems you've found your guide.  Every good witch needs a familiar who will walk with them in the shadow realm and help them to interpret the future.  They ensure you aren't lost in time, and birds are the best because they are not anchored to the ground like we are.  Fennec replied, impressing herself with the way she pulled that little note straight out of her ass.  Well, who was to say it wasn't true, anyway?  It made about as much sense as anything else.

I can't tell you specifically the message, or what you should do with the bone.  That's between you and your guide.  I'd try to find out their name, though, so you can call on them.  She was smiling a very full, very honest smile at this point because this was probably about the best mentoring opportunity she could have dreamed of.  Better than anything she'd hoped for, in fact.  I'll need to find a guide now, I suppose, she thought silently to herself.  Doubtless Sialuk would ask to see them sometime and while she had an answer for that now, it would really bring the story forward.  Plus, ever since Fig had brought it up all those years ago, a part of her had wanted to try out a bird companion.  Mom always spoke so highly of her time with X, and it would be rad as hell to have a companion who might help her in a hunt.

WC: 309

A guide? A familiar? Sialuk listened intently, soaking up whatever the witch said. It sounded as though she would need to communicate with her guide to find out how to use the bone, something she was now quite eager to do. Not only that, but she would need to learn the name of the quanglaagix. Her familiar, her guide. The thought was exhilarating, as if she had somehow been chosen by this bird. Had it somehow known she was looking to speak to animals? She had attempted it with a few more, but those had not amounted to anything... but maybe they had managed to alert the crow to her quest. Whatever the case, this was an exciting development.

Naturally, Sialuk asked an obvious question. Since the witch was familiar with guides... Who is your guide? she asked. And how did you learn their name? Knowing that might give Sialuk some hints on how to learn the name of her own guide. Perhaps her mother would know of this as well. Sialuk wondered what word would be used in anaa's language, too.

She needed a name.  Unless...  I can't share yet, until you find yours.  But I learned it by listening and feeling.  You have to go with the name that they confirm.  That made sense, right?  Even on a base level, if you couldn't understand what a crow or a whatever other animal was saying, might as well make it up.

She would need to start looking for an animal, preferably one with a sense of humor.

WC: 76

That revelation earned a small frown from Sialuk. She had expected this to be hard work, and she was determined to learn the name of her guide, but she had not expected it to be this hard. The girl set her jaw, straightened her posture, and nodded. Then I will do just that, she said, dedication in her voice. If she wished to be a witch (something Sialuk most certainly wished for), then she would have to follow her mentor's advice.

What else should I be doing? Sialuk asked, And when do I get to call myself a witch, like you? She was eager to please, and even more eager to prove that she had what it took to become a worker of magic and curses.

So many questions!  I can't tell you that.  Otherwise what would your guide even be good for? She asked, as though the answer should have been obvious.  This whole 'ask the crow' thing was actually sort of genius because it meant Fennec was off the hook for any questions she did not want to answer (or have an answer for).  

Let me know when you get their name, then we can talk!  She finished, with a subconscious wave of her tail emphasizing.  Hopefully she'd get something worthwhile out of the bird, but either way, whatever she had to report should be interesting.  Any bird that delivered bones had some sort of intrigue behind it, and Fennec could only hope the two struck up a friendship.  She'd like to see what other sorts of interesting finds were out there.

WC: 138

Oh, she said, turning her gaze downward. But that was at least enough to go on. The witch had told her it would be hard, but Sialuk was beginning to realize that maybe she had never actually done something this hard. Determination set in her brow, she nodded.

I will, she said. And since the witch didn't seem to be willing to tell her anything else, nor did she have any further specific challenges set forth, Sialuk waved her tail back and forth. She wasn't sure how long it was going to be before the crow told her its name, but the witch would be one of the first to know.

Sialuk headed back to Moonspear, elated to go back and peek at the bone the bird had gifted her.