Bitterroot Valley on and on and on

forward dated for like the 8th or smth

as soon as she and @Olive had left the sunspire, things had gotten easier for her.  marginally.

pyro had not told her how beautiful the trip would be.  bitterroot everywhere, white and purple dotted plains.  streams, creeks, forests.  oh, how she had missed them.  sunspire had been, well, a little lacking in her opinion (but mostly because she was a seasprite, after all).  

she carried @Ibis with @Okeanos walking nearby, and not far behind her were @Olive with her little ones.  @Kaali was with them too, offering them a break whenever they needed.  soon, they would be in their temporary home, until they were ready to start something new.

well, that was the plan anyway.  

Ibis didn't know what was going on, and no matter how many times Seabreeze had tried to explain things to her children, she was just not getting it. It was odd to be carried so far; initially Ibis thought they were going home to their old den, but they kept moving, and going further, and further, and soon enough had left the mountain behind. She wriggled and strained to get a look at @Okeanos, and would reach for him from her lifted position, or call out to her mother, Whaaa, Seebee, where go? What going — ??? only to be shushed.

It felt much too familiar; traveling with young children in tow. Had Olive known just how eerily familiar this feeling would be, she might have had more reservations about so relentlessly pursuing it — but she was here, with four young children, towing them across the wilds by mouth and by foot and by sheer force of will. It was great luck that most all of the children were in great spirits, especially the tempestuous @Eleuthera, and that the weather was mild and lovely. Had Olive not become so wracked with worry, she might have even been able to enjoy the scenery as Seabreeze was able to.

The unsettledness gnawed away at her core and at times, when she looked at her greyscale sister, she did not see Seabreeze but the hulking form of Dakarai, carrying their children as they absconded from Teaghlaigh with their lives. It was ridiculous, she knew, for their situation now was elective ( whereas that once wasn’t so), but there was something that lingered over the druid and this whole experience and she did not love it. She wished for this part to end, and for all other parts of their dream to come to fruition.

They had not encountered many others in their travels, thankfully — Seabreeze took the helm with directions, and Olive looked about incessantly for dangers or strangers — so when Seabreeze slowed somewhat, Olive deposited whichever babe was in her mouth and trotted up beside Seabreeze. “Are we close?” she inquired and placed her coal-tipped nose against her love’s velveteen, pale cheek. The sylph did not want to be a bother.       

she isn't sure about this. yet here she is, trudging along in the polar opposite direction from what she was traveling.

still, variety is the spice of life--right? Kaali tries to remind herself of this, even as she casts dubious looks at her traveling companions, hanging near the rear of the group, watching both flanks.

she had been captivated by the druid, Olive, and Seabreeze, too. and their girls were a delight. she could only hope that the male pups, growing up in such a female-centered environment, would rise above the curse of their sex. bring something good to the world, for once. they are gentle and kind--

but with time and exposure to the world and its vices comes the inevitable fall.

she would hate to have to slaughter her friends' children, even if it is to bring peace to the earth.

she lingers behind, not speaking much. if she is addressed, her maw will open

but what would come out?

what is there to say?

she is not sure of this.

I held this one up because of some continuity issues I had to work out.  This evening, Seabreeze is supposed to go and meet Alarian alone and they will come to Broken Boulder.  I'll pull Seabreeze from this thread, and then this one and that one can happen at the same time.  Feel free to finish without me!

For the most part, the children are behaving themselves.  Ibis wants her father, but the rest are content to travel.  The adults are getting a little weary, and poor little Seamus has insisted on walking instead of being carried most of the way.

Her belly gives a protest as her sister comes to her side.  We should be.  We are close enough I feel safe resting here, if everyone is comfortable with it.  I should get some food for us.

tacking on an ending here

There wasn’t much of an exchange between them. In this family — friendship — relationship? — Olive took the helm of somethings, and Seabreeze took head of the other things, and this was one of those things. Though Olive was once a branded scout, she found that the weigh of her family’s responsibility prevented her from gleaning a sense of enjoyment from it any more. It far more soothed her soul to remain back with the babes and hold each one of them close, acting very much as a shield from anything that might harm them. Was it any surprise that she had shirked her title of scout for a one less ill-fitting, midwife?

Olive glanced at @Kaali to ensure that she was filled in the the details of Seabreeze’s leaving, and then nodded wordlessly to dismiss the pale and argent women. It was amazing, the willingness with which Seabreeze fed nearly their entire family when she, herself, did not particularly enjoy the act [though olive did help, at times]. So, the shrouded sylph turned back to where the pile of puppies wriggled and moved about, striding closer and speaking sweetly. “Children, we will stay here,”  she cooed, and hooked a delicate paw around [fill in puppy’s name here] and drew the babe to rest between her front limbs. “Gather close, and let me tell you a story…”