Bearclaw Valley institutionalized

The kid looked disappointed, maybe a bit sour when Ash called out his mother’s negligence. She didn’t press the topic further, especially when he finally, albeit reluctantly, agreed to hear the story of the green man. 

”The legends of the Green Man come from long ago, from a time when flora an’ fauna lived in harmony, when all beasts could speak a common tongue, and there was peace. Before a time when killin’ was necessary to eat, when all animals grazed the green hillsides.” She said. 

”But legends had begun to grow of tyranny which had begun t’spread from the h’East. Great beasts that had begun to prey upon the meek. Rumours, they thought at first, until those rumours grew and the darkness spread. Famine crept in; the hills that were once green had begun to turn yellow.”

A brave young lad named Acer left his family and homelands to venture out and find out wot was causin’ the fear te spread. Along the way, he befriended a cheery li’l robin, named Flint, an’ together they travelled until they found a group of tired-look in’ travellers. 

An’ amongst them, was the Green Man. 

The Green Man had been mostly legend, as far as Acer knew. A creature neither flora nor fauna, covered in oak leaves, and the body shape of a mountain lion. Acer wasn’t exactly welcomed into the group- but he knew if anybeast had the answer to his question, the Green Man would.”

But the Green Man was a busy man. It was said the balance of all living things was maintained by the Green Man. And so, Acer demanded to know why nature had come to be so out of balance. 

“Who are you, te question me, when I hold the balance of all living things in my paw?” The Green Man boomed. Acer was frightened. Flint hid in the nearest tree. 
“….I do,” said Acer, nervously. The Green Man’s eyes narrows down on him. He was but a young wolf, not more’n a yearling. He laughed. 
“And a mere sapling such as yourself hard no faith in the judgements made by an immortal?” The Green Man boomed boastfully. He didn’t expect to be rebuked again so he settled back down, but no sooner had he done so than he heard the young wolf creep closer again.

[b]”We need to know why, sir, why the fields are dying. There is nothing left to eat. And why there are rumours that animals have begun….Eating each other. Surely you would not allow such a thing,”

The Green Man laughed.

“The truth, then, huh? Tell you what. If you can find my lair tomorrow and arrive exactly at two minutes past noon, I will give you a chance to uncover the truth for yourself. It lies East of the North Star, and South of the West river.”

And with that, the Green Man disappeared. With less than a day left to find the Green Man’s secret lair, Acer and Flint began to make the journey, doing their best to navigate with such vague instructions.”[/b] She said. She paused, to see if the child had settled in a bit more at all.