Chimney

For some reason, this thread makes me write stupid-long replies. :P

Tytonidae actually couldn't think of any creatures that could bring down trees (besides giants, of course). Maybe a bear could, but it would depend on how big the tree was... and the size of the bear. Actually, Tytonidae figured that anybody could knock down a tree, so long as the tree was small enough. Now that was a concept that really boggled her mind, and she tried to figure out if that meant that anything was possible. If she could knock down a tree (however small) did that mean that she was a giant? Or did that only apply to the "real" trees that could be knocked down? Ty blinked, returning her attention to Aunt Osprey and listening to the next part of the story.

It seemed that this particular giant went on a tree-felling spree, which made Tytonidae wonder how many tiny trees she could knock down. Just one? Five? A dozen? Maybe she would have to give it a go once she was done listening to the story. But it seemed this particular giant was not so happy with his work. Mainly because he wasn't very good at it (or so Ty gathered). She had a feeling that if he'd just tried harder he would have been able to get to the sun for that... gem, or whatever it was. Ty's listening comprehension wasn't always so great when she got caught up in her own thoughts.

The giant had now gone and cried so many tears that he'd made a lake, something that made Tytonidae's jaw fall open. Was that how lakes came to be? Considering all the trees she'd seen knocked down, it kinda made sense that giants were probably lurking around. The fact that they could make them invisible explained why Ty had never seen one, too. The salty lake reminded her of the neverending lake, which was, in fact, the ocean. Not that Ty had ever really understood what was different about it (sans the taste). Osprey Jr. had lived near there for a little while, but it hadn't worked out in the end.

Another character entered the tale, and Ty immediately thought of her sister. Osprey Jr. had left Blacktail Deer Plateau when she was quite young, and it seemed like she was always out adventuring, seeking thrills, and so on. Tytonidae, on the other hand, had always been a bit of a homebody, never straying far from the plateau and often playing it safe. When her aunt explained that this wolf was Hawkeye, it all made sense. That must have been where her sister got all that enthusiasm for what she did, while Ty took after her father more.

Her aunt went on to explain how she'd lost some of her ability to see and hear, something that Ty was more or less unaware of about her mother. Although she did not know it, Ty really didn't know much of anything about Hawkeye. Sure, she was her mother, had lived in the plateau for the first part of her life, but beyond that, Ty knew only that she moved away and hadn't come back. Few personal details were ever revealed to her, and there was definitely some idolization on Ty's part for no reason in particular. She just always thought the best of those she knew (or perhaps, those she didn't know much at all).

It seemed Hawkeye had gone straight to the giant (the lake must not have been very deep, yet) and said something inaudible to whoever had witnessed such an event. Ty thought long and hard, trying to think of what her mother might have said to somebody who was a) much larger than her and b) crying. She liked to think that it would have been something cautious, but comforting, and she finally landed on this: “Momma told him that as long as he didn’t stomp on her, she would help him get the sun!”