Big Salmon Lake Icarus

All the delays :\

-IC- Ridir's comment about enlarging the space struck her as humorous enough that she released a breathy laugh, shaking her head slightly with eyes to the sky.  He did have a gift for making her laugh, despite herself. It was one of the things she liked best about him. But she was pleased to see that he put bravado aside and settled down for a rest as he should. Yes, maybe he was bigger and stronger, but a long trip through the unknown was enough to weary the body and mind of the best.  Not that they were the best.  Well, ok, they were pretty awesome.

Caeli was taken off guard at the mention of her grandmother, and her silver ears folded for a moment as a pang of bittersweet memory overtook her.  Her grandmother had indeed been a striking figure with her golden coat and forever youthful figure. When she was young, Caeli had thought of the Asteri wolfess as the sun, and Ridir's grandmother Evren as the stars.  Quite a pair of women to live up to. And their adventures? Oh yes, the adventures! There was no lack of stories, nor storytellers in their pack, and the youth had grown up reliving the tales of their family, asking to hear them time and again.

"She certainly did have a way with words", she mused with a wistful smile catching at the corner of her mouth.  "She said she got that talent from her own mother, who she said knew more stories than there were leaves on the trees". Yes, the legend of Artemis Asteri lived on.  

The skunks?  Oh that was a good one!  She loved the way that her grandmother would imitate the great chocolate bear that was her grandfather, during that story, including his fancy accent.  "No Ari, de UD-THER flowers!," Caeli called in a paniced tone, lowering her head and arching her back in an imitation of an imitation.  That line never got old to her, and she and her siblings and friends had used it among themselves as a joke for ages. It seemed that during their travels, Roche had been out scouting away from the group and had stumbled upon a small field of his mate's favorite blooms. Ever one to make a romantic gesture to his beloved bride, Roche had howled a message for Ariadne to meet him among the orange poppies. Let's just say that a distracted female, a wrong turn with the wrong wind, and a startled set of skunks of their two babies had not led to a pretty scene.  How (and why) they all had then managed to make friends with the skunks was still beyond her.  Still hilarious.

"How about the one with the rocks and the raindrops?"