The Sunspire Do you see these eyes, when have you known me to cry?

@Maia 

With morning business that had involved some patrolling, some cache-digging and eating breakfast, consisting of mice and one unlucky, fluffy squirrel, Wraen returned to the sleeping quarters she shared with Maia. The sun had found it's way through the clouds and was basking their hollow with rays of warm light. The sight was very welcoming, as if telling the tired hunter that all she had to do now was to lie down and have some rest.

And rest she did, indeed. Two turns around and Wraen settled down, taking some time to wash her dusty feet, scare some fleas on her hip and scratch behind her ear. Finally a hefty yawn followed, two or three sleepy blinks and she lied down on her side and fell asleep.

Maia had had a decidedly less productive morning than her sister, but she'd at least had a good one! In fact, she'd spent the morning harassing a super gorgeous bird she spotted near the base of the mountain.  It wasn't long before the bird sent her running, though, it's diving attacks too quick for her.  Apparently it didn't appreciate her jumping attempts to snap at it.  Rude.

In the altercation, though, she had managed to nab a feather or two! Which was enough of a score to make her content.  The bright blue and black striped feather poked from her lips as she traipsed back to she and Wraen's sleeping spot, intent on stashing it somewhere to add some color.

Wraen was back... she'd been up by the time Maia rose.  And seeing her sister there sleeping peacefully, Maia grinned, feeling a stroke of inspired mischief.  Softly she crept up and, with the feather, set to attempting to tickle her older sister's nose.

Wraen, who usually kept one ear and eye half-open (figuratively speaking) in case of danger, missed Maia's approach entirely and was still sleeping soundly and having nice dreams, when her younger sibling decided to play a trick with a feather on her. Her nose twitched once, twice and on the third time a mighty "ACHOOOO!" echoed in the trees.

She got up to lie on her chest and cast a confused look around, then her eyes locked on Maia and the feather she had in her jaws. She leaned towards the object to sniff at it and then made an attempt to snatch it away from her sister.

Maia giggled when Wraen woke with a sneeze, stepping back to avoid any repercussions that might happen.  When Wraen was fully awake, she stood, and Maia naively let her sniff at the feather.

When she snapped at it, Maia's eyes lit up with the challenge, and she pulled back to dodge the grab.  Instead, she felt the feather slide from the tenuous hold between her teeth, leaving only parts of the feathered strands behind.  She spit those, then eyed Wraen balefully.  "Hey!!!"  With a playful growl, she hunkered down, prepared to wrestle over the now semi-ruined treasure.

Wraen had not expected to be succesful in her attempt to get the feather, but here it was, secured safely between her jaws. She shot Maia a victorious grin (because she did not dare to speak for the fear of losing the precious thing) and then cast contemplative glance around, to see, where she could go with it, but her sister offered a better solution - being in a mood of a sparring game and infecting Wraen with it as well. Her tail began to sway excitedly, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, and with the feather still in her mouth, she lowered her head to the ground, while eyeing her sister in a sly manner. All of a sudden she sprang up to her feet and danced away several steps, inviting her sibling to join in a chase.

While she was still a little sore from the botched hunt, when Wraen galloped off, she followed suit, intent on making her sister regret taking her hard earned treasure!!! And, Y'know, the whole playing with one of her favorite people of all time was a bonus too.

While she would never match her sister's agility, she lunged after, attempting to sling a foreleg over in order to maybe wrestle her to a stop. All the while she was beaming as well, a 'bring it' sorta look that challenged Wraen back.  She might be younger, but she had a thing or two she could do too!

Maia really had some tricks up her sleeve and, where she lacked in agility, there she had more in mass and strength and cunning too. Wraen realized that she was about to fall a second too late - she tripped over her sister's outstretched paw and tumbled on the ground. The fall was not heavy though and she was up on her feet again in a moment. The only thing that was missing was the feather, which was lying on the ground at an equal distance from both wolves. Wraen lunged for it.

Maia noticed a second or two behind Wraen that the feather had fallen behind, and by the time she lunged for it also, Wraen was ahead of the game.  Her sister made it there first, but presumably needed to lean down to grab it.  Maia took that opportunity instead, contenting herself to try and sling both forepaws over her sister's shoulders and rest on them, going for a gentle tug on an ear.

Wraen's whole focus had been on the feather, when she should have been more alert from the dangers of a younger sibling that towered over her. She got the toy, but was unable to raise, because someone big and heavy pressed on her shoulders and pinned her to the ground. "You are awful, you know that?" she said, giving an awkward side glance (because, if someone is nomming your ear, it's not easy to turn) to Maia. "And weigh like a Lauren... have mercy for older people," she wailed.

"Mmmfh, tho u gib?" She mumbled out unintelligibly through the ear, then grinned, snuggling a moment by shoving her face into Wraen's ruff before letting her up.  "Victoryyy." She said, laughing.  She hadn't gotten the feather but she'd gotten her sis to say uncle and that definitely counted.

Though..... she paused.  "Not completely like a Lauren, though, right?" She asked, a hint of self-consciousness showing through her humor.  Case used to make jokes too, and while Maia knew Wraen was cool enough to not be a jerk, her boyish size was one of her teenage insecurities she hadn't quite outgrown.

The moment Maia released her grasp Wraen slid out and away from her, for the fear of getting squashed again. She looked her sister up and down, as if estimating and evaluating her, and then said: "Definitely not - they stink. More like Valkyrie." Feeling a little stiff, she stretched thoroughly and finished the routine by shaking her coat. "Remember about them - the Choosers of the slain?" she asked - battle stories being Sarah's favorites for a while, she wondered, if Maia had pried Osprey for the very same tales.

Oh man yeah, Wraen knew exactly what to say to put Maia on a complete 180.  She flushed with pleasure beneath her fur, but her smile was enough to show that she definitely knew who that was and also Wraen was the coolest for drawing that comparison.  "From mom's stories, yeah!! Those were some of my favorites, ohman.  How cool is a group of girls just kickin butt together?"  She sighed.  "I always wanted to be one."  But then she'd found out that life wasn't all epic wars and heroic deeds and really it was all just kinda dull.  Reasons stories were so cool.

"Those ones and the ones about knights," she said, smiling to remember.  A slightly different storyline, and maybe less action, but something about someone charging into battle to save someone they care about, and all that old chivalry nonsense, struck a chord in her.

"And where did that dream go?" Wraen asked, because in Maia's case childhood aspirations were actually achievable. Female fighter was not such an unattainable goal - lots of practice and training and her sister would be terror from this valley to the next. Wraen on the other hand had wanted to be a fairy queen, unicorn, a dragon or a witch at least, but was still waiting for her Hogwarts letter.

"You are still young and you have the best teacher around - Terance has been in more scuffles and battles than any one of us. Just look at his handsome scarred self!" she admired her brother for his bravery, but thought that he could have avoided many of the injuries by avoiding a fight and not jumping straight in the middle of it. 

"Plus, he has an obligation to you as an older brother - he can't say no to you," she added with a sly grin. "Which knights? I remember the one about that wayward fellow, who fought odd things and was not right in the head," funny, how memory worked. While dragon stories were her favorites, she could not recall any of the knights that had been featured in them. Probably because she was always on the side of the scaled, fire-breathing beasts and thought them wronged by most of the fairy-tales.

"Oh, you better bet I'm gonna be the best warrior ever," she said dismissively, grinning at Wraen.  "It's more the group of awesome ladies runnin around takin on epic god guys that's a little less gonna happen."  In real life it seemed warriors just kinda... protected packs.  Which was cool and she was glad to be able to, but it wasn't nearly as exciting.  

"Asking Terance is a good idea though.  So long as he doesn't go easy on me!"  He'd better not or she'd definitely pummel him.  She knew some guys could be like that about baby sisters.

Maia remembered a good deal of the stories both Osprey and Dante had told; and while she loved her dad a great deal, his had mostly been about vengeful goddesses or guys.  Mom's had been a little more fantastical, and fun, so maybe that's why they had stuck better.  "There was one about a knight and a dragon and a fox," she said, recalling it.  It had been a weird ending one, and maybe that was why it had stood out as one of her favorites.  "Do you remember? With the stuck dragon?"

gonna use a neat little fable I found!! Hope that's ok <3

"You just punch him very hard first," Wraen advised on the matter with Terance being a gentleman. Though... considering Maia's size and build that matched her brother's, it was unlikely that he would be easy on her. She could well imagine that even a light hit from Maia could sweep Wraen down easily. 

"Oh... can't seem to remember that one," she said after a pause. "Do remind me - or surprise me!" She encouraged her sister to tell and settled down herself to listen carefully.

Go ahead!

Oh! Ok!  Maia wasn't an accomplished story teller by any means, nor did she practice much.  But she didn't mind doing it, and in fact quite enjoyed spinning a yarn or two.  She just tended to talk pretty fast, especially if the story was an emotional recounting of a real event or slight.  This one at least wasn't that.

"Well, there was this knight, and he was walking in a forest when he heard a noise.  He went to investigate, and he found a dragon.  The dragon was stuck in a tree, probably because he had flown into it or something, so he obviously wasn't that smart of a dragon.  Anyway, the knight was a nice guy, and asked if he needed help."  Or maybe the dragon asked for it? Anyway...

"The dragon plays super nice and begs yes, and so the knight helps him loose.  Soon as he is, the dragon turns around and tries to burn the poor knight!  Who asks what the heck, of course, because who does that? I mean, he had just helped him out!"  

"The dragon says that's just the way the world is, that nice things don't always mean nice in return.  The knight of course thinks that's dumb, so he goes to get a second opinion."

Here Maia paused for a breath, looking at Wraen for sign of recognition.  It was cool to be able to tell her a tale! Used to be the other way around when she babysat them, and Maia was enjoying the flip immensely.  It made her feel decidedly adult.

And you say that Maia is no story-teller? She is a natural! I had a good laugh over that "who does that?" :D

Whether Osprey had really told such a tale and Wraen had simply forgotten, or this was Maia's own version of events, she enjoyed it immensely. Mainly because there was so much of her sister herself in the story - the comments and opinions intertwined with the plot were hilarious. But - what was best - it reminded her that there was never just one way of telling stories and all of them were great and good.

She kept smiling all the time Maia was talking, even chuckled a bit at the right moments. Then she pause and it was Wraen's turn to say something: "I can't say I remember this particular story, but that is even better. Please, do go on! Where did the knight go for the second opinion?"

her voice is so much fun to write in, for sure <3
The story with a lot of liberties taken is this one - I do like it quite a lot! https://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story...h-folktale

Not only did Wraen definitely not remember it, but she seemed to be enjoying it too!  Caught up now in both pride in her own storytelling (obviously it was awesome) and the story itself, she didn't need much urging.  Wraen's encouragement was more than enough to send her sailing onward!

"Well, first, he went to a deer.  Somehow he got to ask a question without it running away," she shrugged, it was a story, right?  "and he asked it 'Hey, you!  Are good things paid back with more good, or not?'  Now, I guess you can say deer kinda get the short end bein lunch and all, and the dragon glaring at it didn't help.  So bein a deer, he said 'No good deed goes unpunished' or something and ran away."

"Well, the knight wasn't convinced, probably because he realized he shouldn't have asked a dumb deer about important things since deer are scaredy cats.  So he looks for another opinion, but the only one he can find is a duck."  Maia shook her head.  "Why he thought askin a duck would go any better I do not know, but he does, and of course, the duck goes with the dragon too.  'Definitely bad,' he goes, and flies away quickly before the dragon can snap him up.  He's a dragon.  Anyone but a wolf is probably gonna be scared of a dragon."

"Anyway, the poor knight is startin to think maybe he's wrong, and good deeds aren't the way to go.  But just as he's second guessin his entire code, a fox comes by.  Foxes aren't all that great I don't think, but they do have a reputation, and the knight figured it was probably at least smarter than a duck.  So he says 'Let's ask them, foxes are smart'.  The dragon doesn't care because everyone's afraid to disagree with him anyway, so he's all for it."

"So the knight levels with the fox, 'I helped this dragon out of a tree and he tried to light me on fire as thanks.  Don't you think good things should be rewarded with good?'  And the fox turns out to be pretty smart, actually, because he plays dumb."  She loved the ending of this story, and her smile widened as she neared it, in anticipation.  She tried not to rush it, but man it was hard sometimes.  "The fox says he doesn't understand, and needs it explained.  The dragon gets frustrated and tries to explain that he doesn't owe the knight anything for kindness, because that's not how things work.  But the fox still says he doesn't understand, he needs to see what happened."

Maia giggled.  "And this is where the dragon's really dumb, because he agrees, and goes back to the tree to stick himself all over again and show what they are talkin about.  Cept when he's stuck, he realizes - there's no way the knight is gonna free him again when he already showed what happened next.  So the knight thanks the fox, and they both leave, with the mean dragon crying behind them."  She finished with a flourish, though there was definitely a summary in there somewhere she was missing.  Some kinda lesson.  Maia figured the point of it was mostly bullies and rudeys would get what was comin to them, and one should be careful who they were nice to.  But also it was just a fun one.

Wraen positively loved the story and, especially, since this was an entirely new one, something Osprey might have told her younger siblings, when she had been gone already. She enjoyed not only the plot and wisdom, but the way Maia's opinions and commentaries made it lighter, more real and funnier. She let her self chuckle, when it was remarked that "deer get the short end of the stick, being a meal" or "why he thought askin a duck would go any better I do not know" and she was grinning, when it got to the encounter with the fox, who had outsmarted the nasty dragon.

And, when the tale came to an end, Wraen sighed happily: "This was absolutely amazing - we should do it more often." As she said this, she suddenly realized she missed her mom dearly and would give a lot to have a chance to be in her company again. "Care for a nap?" she asked her sister. 

Fade out in your next post and shall we have a new one? I adore Maia and I will want to hear another story with her commentary. :)

Hmm, maybe this story thing ran in the family enough that she should consider goin for it for real.  She enjoyed talking, and holding Wraen's delighted attention, and doing so with others sounded super appealing.  Maybe they'd like her stories too?

"Definitely!"  Heck she'd do it anytime they could!  Well - right now she would.  Later moods might shift but most days she was down for a story.  And all days, anyyytime she was down for a nap!  "Naps are one of my favorite things, y'know.  Very underrated."  She flopped down with a massive sigh in a spot of shade, Wraen accepting the invitation to join her.  No use wasting the excuse when even her big sister wants a lazy afternoon!