Sun Mote Copse The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Btw - if anyone wants to read the book that I owe the thread title to, I recommend it. Lovely and makes you wish to visit the Guernsey Island.

@Eljay , @Maia , @Epic

After hearing the sad news Maia had brought from Lost Creek Hollow, Wraen had spent some days in mourning, but eventually she had come to terms with her parents' passing. There was nothing really she could do about it now and she thought that the best way to make Dante and Osprey, who were now looking at their children from the stars, happy was to keep on going. Living to the fullest and enjoying everything that life had to offer.

It happened that, as she tried to figure out, how to cheer up Maia, she recalled her promise to Eljay about teaching him the art of story-telling. How convenient would it be to invite those too to a session, in order to keep her sister's mind off the sadness for a bit. Add an Epic to the mix and she was pretty sure that they could have a great evening.

During the day she spoke to all three at various times and as the sun was about to set, she waited for their arrival at the hollow she and her sister called their home. It was chilly and it was snowing, but nothing four grown up wolves could not bear. She had found an old skull of a deer somewhere and had placed in the middle of the stage and in it's company she was finishing off her dinner. Story-telling with empty stomach was not possible. Brain demanded food!

Maia tried to pick it up after her trip, getting back into the groove of life in the Copse, but she wasn't handling things particularly well.  She could play chipper ok, but spent the rest of the time in a kind of fog, dampened by grief and the unknown status of so much of their family.  

Wraen was a big motivator for working through this, though, and it was good her sister was there.  Without her Maia would have likely isolated, but with her there, she had reason to not want to be such a huge downer.  It hurt, a lot, but eventually maybe it wouldn't so much.

When Wraen suggested a story time, Maia wasn't sure, but she agreed anyway because she knew she needed it.  And she figured Wraen probably needed it too.  She showed up at the right time, and thankfully only her sister was there so far.  Here we go Maia.  You got this.  She smiled and sat down next to her.  Hey!  Got my story juices all loaded up, so I think we've got a good chance of making the best story ever.

Over the days that followed after Maia's return, Wraen found out that there was a truth in the old saying that the burden of sadness was easier to carry, when there were two. She had cried once, but the rest of the time her parents and missing family were constantly on her mind. She had opened a door to the past and was going through every single memory - big and small - where the people she loved and who had given their share in creating her in, who she was today, were featured. It did not make the pain any easier to bear, but it was a consoling thought, that they still lived on with her.

Maia was the first to come and she greeted her with a sincere smile and searching look. Her inner sun was eclipsed for now, but Wraen was glad that she was trying to keep on going. "I figured that it is the best way we could keep their memory alive," she told her. "We will be teaching the craft to Eljay and mom always said that stories had to be shared and had to be created together. I think she would have been happy to see us here now," she added. "How are you holding up?"

Maia was reminded of her conversation with the boy on the beach (because I know my next response there already oops) as Wraen spoke about keeping their parents' memory alive.  Round robin stories had definitely been a thing for their family, with mom often asking for input and contributions while telling them.  Even dad had joined in sometimes.

Yeah. She did really like the sound of it, and knew she was going to have fun.  She just kinda wished Epic wasn't going to be here.  First off, because she felt way less than super awesome, and second off, she really didn't want to cry in front of him.  Just like with the boy on the beach, she was going to need to keep it positive.  I'm okay.  I only cried like five times today, which is better than yesterday.  She smiled, and there was a little bit of a laugh behind it.  She could make fun of herself for being sad a little bit, it made it easier somehow.

Did not sound too okay to Wraen, but she did not comment on it, just nodded and watched her Maia with a soft gaze. She realized at that moment (either for the first time or again) that no matter, how many years passed, she would always see her younger sibling as someone to take care of, someone to protect and love, and encourage. Even, when they were both hundred years old, stiff and cranky. Especially then...

"Pain has to be felt," she replied. "And my shoulder is always available, if you need one to cry on. In fact, I have two!" she said, looking from one to the other and then wagging her tail excitedly. "So, Eljay was interested for kid stories mostly - with him becoming a father and everything - and I recall that kids have an attention span of a fly. Or - do correct me, because I believe that out of us two now, you were the last one to step out of kid paws. And then we could ask Epic's opinion on this, because he must be the most expert at this," she added with a laugh. She had never asked for his age, but he seemed very young. 

"The last time I tried to tell a story to a kid - I think it was Ibis - I did not even get past the introduction. The kid fell asleep," she mused. "Which is good in a way... all things considered..."

It was such a happy coincidence that he had found out that he was going to become a father, Eljay thought to himself as he wandered through the copse, that Wraen had offered to teach him story telling too. Eljay didn't think he'd ever become as great a storyteller as Wraen herself was, or as mommy was. Can you imagine she had made up most of those stories on the spot when he was little??? Eljay possessed no such creativity and so he would need the help of some expert story tellers to teach him some good basic stories he would work off.

When he arrived at Maia and Wraen's home, he greeted Maia first with a soft smile. His approach was a little awkward, as he always was when meeting new wolves, as he said: Um, heya. You must be Wraen's sister..? I'm Eljay. He smiled at her and waited for her to confirm whether or not he was right, and then he looked at Wraen and greeted her with a fond smile.

She could feel Wraen's concern but didn't comment on it, just nodded with agreement when she said she could give support if needed.  Maia didn't understand how she could sound so calm... she felt like she could explode into a billion shards in a minute.  She was grateful for it, but it made her feel like right now, she needed to be stronger too.  The other two didn't need to know.  She filled the conversation like Maia tended to do normally, but she didn't have much of a response.  Right, Epic was going to be here, and he was gonna know something was off and think she was a huge buzzkill and not want to be friends anymore.  We'll have to show them how it's done, She finally came up with, giving Wraen her best encouraging smile.

If it had been anyone else, Maia might have tried to use this to garner attention, but this was too big a hurt for that.  So when Eljay showed up and introduced himself, she managed a small smile and returned it.  That's me.  I'm Maia.  Nice to meet you.  Now they just needed one more for the story circle to be complete.

When it came down to storytelling he was a n00b, having only half-completed level one. His mind was a sponge when it came to story times and even better, when it came to listening he was probably one of the bestest wolves out there for as long as the story lasted. Wraen's idea of having a story time reminded his writer of "Are you afraid of the dark?", a setting where teenagers had set up the Midnight Society and around a camfire in the woods they told each other scary stories. It wouldn't came as a suprise to imagine that his own preference of stories was about scary stories. He liked goosebumps, strangely enough.

When the sun began to settle a distinct pattern of scent reached his nostrils and the young boy felt his heart skip a beat as he began to move towards his friends consisting of Rennie, SuperJay and Maia. He had to think up a cool name for the latter. Wanting to join in on the fun, Epic realized he was the one who was the farthest away from them all so he began to canter. In chaotic zig-zagging patterns he made his way towards the trio as the sun slowly began to settle behind the mountain range and the world lit up with all sorts of colors.

"Ohh, I'm not late am I?" Epic suddenly bursted into the conversation, a voice that contained both enthousiasm about his arrival and the fun that would take place but at the same time disappointment, as if it had already started. Like opening up a book half-way. Well, no matter what timeframe he joined, he was about to find out. And, in all his excitement he forgot friendly introductions and good-natured greetings. His manners, where were they?

"Hey, Eljay! Congratulations on you and Wildfire!" Wraen greeted the shyest of Blackthorn-gang cordially and hoped that he would not get embarrassed right before the meeting had even started. Feeling that way never helped with creativity and this was... in a way a one of a kind learning opportunity for him. 

Soon after Epic appeared and she reassured: "Oh, no - you have not missed anything. With you here we can begin. On that note - make yourselves comfortable." She lied down and crossed her forepaws in front of her, looking a bit like a professor. "We have gathered here today to lead Eljay into the wonderful world of story-telling. After all - he is the one, who wil soon have to entertain a bunch of little mini-elfies," she added smiling.

"We have a whole evening ahead of us and there are many things we could do. For instance - share our favourite stories from childhood. Or, we can play a story-making game - Round Robin is my personal favourite, but there are variations of it as well. Say... "How did this come into the world?"" she listed all she had in mind and looked expectantly from one person to the other. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

As Wraen congratulated him, Eljay smiled broadly. Thanks Wraen! he said with uncharacteristic excitement, as this was news that he himself still found hard to believe, too. He figured it'd dawn on him at some point that it was really real. At some point.

Eljay smiled at Maia as she introduced herself; she seemed nice, and at the very least excited, which was a quality Eljay appreciated. Excited wolves usually didn't require much in the sense of entertaining and so there was less time for awkward silences.

Speaking of exciting wolves, Epic arrived shortly after. Wraen explained that he hadn't missed anything and they could start. Eljay listened to her explanations while he sat down, then lay down on the ground as well, hoping to make a bit of a circle between the four of them so they could all see each other well enough.

Wraen explained the idea of the night, and Eljay bobbed his head thoughtfully as she explained. Then she asked for suggestions, and Eljay didn't really have any. He did, however, have a question: What's uhm, Round Robin, or 'How did this come into the world'? I've never played that. The thought of games made Eljay a little anxious, but he hid the feeling well enough (perhaps because he often looked anxious) as he knew Wraen had put a lot of effort organising this, and for him.

Epic showed up last, and Maia only gave him a quick glance before looking back at Wraen.  Eljay had seemed like a nice guy the entire time, and she got the feeling this would be a good group.  Fun fun fun.  

Wraen gave a pretty good intro and mentioned a few of the best story games they'd played as kids.  Maia was reminded, in that instant, so much of Osprey as she looked at Wraen that she had to glance down for a second.... just moment.  Then it passed, and she was able to answer Eljay's question with a semi quiet voice.

Round robin is where someone starts a story and then we go around and everyone adds some.  That's my vote.  This was her personal favorite and absolutely what she wanted to do, because it was the one that involved making the most up and the craziest outcomes.  

'How it came to be' is where someone picks something and someone else has to make up how it got there or was made.  She thought for a minute.  There's also 'best origin story', where you try to make up the best story for what you did before you were here.  And five word challenge, which is like round robin but you gotta use five random words someone chooses.  The first one wasn't as much of a group one though, and the second one was a little harder for beginners.  She glanced at Wraen to make sure she covered all of them.  Osprey had had so many story games for them, and then she and Cori and Cass and Wraen had all added some too.  Those were her and Wraen's favorites, but doubtless there were some others she could pull out too.

Epic was late ...again -- and as he tried to catch his breath -- Wraen began to explain what they were here for. Storytime, his favorite! This was definitely going to be fun and already on his face floated the brightest of smiles. Usually when it came down to storytime he was the one who listened to all the great stories and asked all the questions, however for once he wouldn't mind it being the other way around. That he let his imagination run wild and free and tell some insane superhero stories of his own.

When Wraen was done with her explanation, Eljay asked what Round Robin was and this time Epic just nodded. Actually, he had no idea either and felt embarrassed for a moment; he tried to hide his gushy feelings underneath a layer of looking-epic-smart while he nodded when Maia explained to Eljay (and secretly to Epic) what it was.

So this Round Robin had his vote too and the boy thought he had been quiet for all too long. So, he randomly started out, not sure where his words were heading but even still. "Oh? So like once upon a time there was a wolf named a fantastic Lennie, who had a super-duper friend named Pig and a sister called Be-Mazing Bee and the coolest J.J. Cool..they were kind of like the fantastic four..and and ..there was a villain..very dangerous. Oh so dangerous.." Yup, it wasn't hard to guess who everyone was. A super-duper story made up with his favorite toons. How would it continue...

Epic jumped in the Round-robin right away and Wraen listened to the names of the heroes with a broad smile and surprisingly it took her a little while to realize, who was who behind the awesome codenames. Lennie was her, why would Epic call himself Pig was beyond her, Be-Mazing Bee was the new name she would call Maia after this session and onwards and J.J.Cool was probably the best super-hero name for Eljay, who needed every boost of confidence there was. 

"The monster's name was Scarelicus Terriblus Boredomus," she picked up the thread and announced the villain of the story in a very appropriate serious and spooky voice. "In fact he was a three headed dragon - three in one monster - who, wherever he went, whatever he touched, whoever he spoke to, drew out all of the happiness and essence of life, leaving grayness, sadness and lifelessness behind," she went on. "He was a run-wild creation of a great wizard, who had attempted to..." here she paused and looked encouragingly at Eljay.

Don't be afraid, you cannot lose in this game. Her gaze seemed to say.

Eljay nodded along as Maia explained to him all the different storytelling games, but admittedly he wasn't able to keep up quite as well. He'd forgotten most of them by the time Epic started telling the story.

In Epic's story things immediately started off difficultly, as a bunch of characters were introduced. Four of them! Eljay only remembered that one was named Pig and one was called J.J. Cool, so he decided he'd have to do something with those characters if he did anything with a character in his story. Or deftly move around them. Anyway, a villain was introduced next by Wraen, called.. .. .. Something.. very.. difficult. Eljay had no clue how he would ever remember this but he nodded awkwardly at Wraen, deciding that faking it would be the easiest way to go. He didn't want to hold up the story too much, after all.

Admittedly, Eljay didn't actually realise that the heroes were named after all of them. If he did, then he probably would not have used J.J. Cool so much in his story. Oh, it was his turn now! A wizard. Who had created a giant dragon. Who was trying to... to... Eljay was silent for about a minute, looking contemplative as he tried to think of the right words to use, for something, well, original. Unfortunately for Eljay, he wasn't the best at being original. He loved stories, but he wasn't a very good storycrafter from scratch.

Who had attempted to... to... who wanted to kill the four heroes with the use of the dragon. It was a lot easier using elements that were already in the story than coming up with something new. Eljay felt as if he was cheating a bit by reciting other peoples' bits rather than coming up with original content but that stuff was hard. So he continued: But the heroes were determined, so they... So... Then Pig uhm, Pig did a... thing... where he and J.J. Cool made a plan on how they could kill the dragon. You see, they uhm... Even though Eljay still looked contemplative and was desperately buying time so that he could come up with better story elements, this would perhaps be a good moment for the next wolf to chime in.

As Epic started the story, Maia began to feel less and less comfortable, and more and more tempted to come up with some excuse to leave.  She wasn't feeling this for some reason, and at this moment wanted nothing more than to go somewhere alone and wallow.

But fortunately for Maia, she had reason to force herself to be there and to stay.  Wraen had planned this and seemed super excited about it, and only a real jerk of a sister would leave without at least spending some time.  She was no jerk! Most of the time.

She tried to pay attention, and smiled faintly at the nicknames.  Be-mazing Bee?  For a second, a spark of her old self came back as she glanced at Wraen, a shared secret throwback to when she'd been sure she killed her with a honeycomb.  What was scary then could almost be a joke now.  Almost.

Eljay seemed to struggle, but Maia let him get a ways before he let the pause linger.  Then she jumped in, trying to get a feel for the story.  It wasn't really her day.

They had this base, under a beautiful rainbow waterfall. It made sense to add some color for a monster who destroyed it.  They gathered there to make a plan.  Lennie and Be-Mazing were already out trying to find him, and would be back later.  It was Pig and JJ Cool's job to find the weapon they could use to defeat the dragon.... Here she left it, an opening for Epic to pick the weapon that would best destroy a boredom monster.

She made sure to repeat the names, just in case, though even she wasn't sure she could repeat the monster.  Luckily dragon was a much simpler way to call them out!

Oh yes, the fantastic-fabulous-4 -- F.F. 4 -- as Epic made it up, would go on to many adventures. And unlike Endgame, there was no Thanos to cut the F.F. 4 into half. Instead they had to fight off boredom dragons and make sure they would save the world, from being no-brain bored to death. While Rennie had made up the name of the monster -- which his cheese brain had already forgotten and shortened to S.T.B. -- Eljay had made a dragon out of it.

Then Maia added her own hide-out to the mix and said that Pig and J.J. Cool had to go find the weapon. Would this be the story where the chicks, for once, fought off the boredom dragon? Epic decided he liked that idea and added his own idea. "That weapon consited of three parts. Butterflies. Birds and Hurricanes. On this adventure J.J. Cool and Pig-let collected all shards so that Lennie and Be-Mazing could face this dragon of sheer boredom."

How would this story end?

"And they did with the sheer colourfulness and awesomeness of the said weapon," Wraen picked up the thread of the story once again. She knew that she could have been more elaborate, could have done a lot better than this, but seeing Eljay as worked up as he already was, Maia being somewhat not her usual spunky self and only her and Epic having fun, she decided to finish it early.

There was a thing that she had not realized earlier, but understood better now. If you were very good at something and the said thing came very easy to you, then it was hard to teach it to someone, who encountered difficulties with it. She had assumed that story-telling was no big deal and it was true for her. But Eljay - though he tried his best - did not seem to have much pleasure in the way they had done it this time. Too much for the first time.

So after a pause she concluded: "This is an example of, how it can go, but this is by no means the only right way to do it. Also... we came up with a rough draft of it. Think of it as a seed - it was planted in the Earth, small and tiny, but it takes time and changes for it to become a full-fledged plant. That's the story idea for you. It begins small and simple and you grow details around it."

"I think that we did a good job this evening and need it to settle down a little. In the meanwhile, I will tell you a story about..." here we leave our characters, settled around the imaginary campfire and entertaining each other with stories of their own choice and preference.

I am narrowing down the number of threads I have, so I am wrapping this up as well. We can give it another go in the future. Thank you for joining and contributing! You are the best!