King Elk Forest Hurry up, we are dreaming!

@Maia 

Right before sunrise Wraen had nudged Maia awake and told her in a conspirational whisper: "Let's disappear!" Occasions to escape the Sun Mote Copse unseen and no-questions-asked were far and few between. And though as a Sovereign Wraen had no duty to explain to anyone, where she went or why, leaving in secret had a certain charm about it.

Boy, did she need an escape. The familial bliss and joy of Towhee and the rest of the united front that consisted of Blackthorns and Redhawks had begun to drive her crazy recently. The fuss around the young mother made her annoyed and - yes - jealous. It was not an easy thing to accept that you were never going to have children, but it was so muh more difficult, when others could and did. 

Wraen did not talk much along the way, it was very obvious that she was very eager to get away. And as the sounds and familiar smells faded, as the distance between the two sisters and Firebirds continued to increase, the Sovereign's frown and somewhat stressed expression gave way to one that looked younger and was no longer that careworn.

"It's good to be out, don't you think?" she asked Maia, when she had stopped to breathe in the wonderful smell of early spring. "Though you should know this beter than me."

Maia never took too much convincing, especially when it came to trips out with her favorite sister.  Ever since Wraen took over it felt like they hadn't been able to just leave like this, so doing it now felt a bit like playing hookie in the best way.  Yes!

She followed eagerly and nodded emphatically when Wraen mentioned how good it was to get away.  Her scouting was a bit of a point of pride for her, so she appreciated the mention.

Yeah!! And it's way better with company too! She said, enjoying the break and rolling over to let the sun warm her belly for a minute.  Ohmygosh, and it's SPRING too!  Finalllyyyy.  She wiggled her front paws a bit, then rolled back sideways.  Is it just me or does winter make everyone more serious?

"We did not have many reasons to be cheerful this winter," Wraen remarked, smiling at Maia's contagious enthusiasm and cheerfulness. In her company she no longer felt old, serious and weary of the life as a pack leader. Here and now she was just Wraen-Re-Nevermind, someone, who was free from the burdens of everyday life. 

"But I am glad that things are changing for the better, I really am," she sighed, hoping that the summer would remedy all evils the famine had done and that the next autumn and winter would be less harsh. "When do you plan to go out scouting again?" she asked, knowing that Maia needed freedom and fresh new take on things as some people needed air to breathe. Routine of a pack life could get boring to her.

Wraen wasn't wrong. It had been a rough cold season, but the arrival of spring promised more cheer than anything else (she hoped!!).  At least there was enough to eat now.

Eljay asked me to go check some packs around and ask about Elfie, she replied without getting up just yet.  So soon!! I like living with the Firebirds, but it's so weird staying in one spot all the time. It was still easy for Maia to forget how much harder it was for Wraen to get away from everything; especially lately, it had been easier and easier to forget she was the leader.

Wraen did not show it, but it saddened her to hear that Maia preferred to be out and away from the pack. Having her leave last year been very hard on Sovereign - she had felt very lonely and missed her sister every day. Now it seemed that having her best friend with her was not something she could take for granted. Sooner or later Maia would be on the road again and Wraen would be on her own for God knows, how long. 

"I wonder, why hasn't he volunteered to go with you," she mused. Eljay was a homebody - that was true - but he was also an adult and even if he was a self-proclaimed topographical idiot, he should have no trouble going together with a person, whose inner GPS system was working perfectly. "Would you... would you want to root up entirely and live a life of a nomad?" Wraen asked and it was not just plain curiousity. One could see that depending on, what Maia's reply was, there was more to add.

Oh, yeah. She hadn't really thought about it.  Maybe he just... didn't want to?  That was fine, he had Weejay, but she was a little bummed now that she did consider it.  Did he not like her company maybe, because she was annoying?  She could see it.

Not by myself! I'd go crazy without having anyone to talk to.  Traveling alone is the woooorst if it's a long trip.  She answered without hesitation, smiling as she looked sideways at her sister.  I loved traveling with you around! But since you are all respectable now you're stuck with me.  She stuck here tongue out.

Then she had a thought.  Do you miss it?  Like, I know we stayed here because you were tired of traveling, but... do you miss wandering around?  She had guessed the answer would be no all this time, but realized she'd never really asked.  It was especially interesting now with the weather getting nicer.  Would she maybe want to come with sometimes?

"Do you really think that we are more sane, when we are together?" Wraen replied with a joke and thought, how just recently they had played around with Towhee and how un-leader-like she had been then. It felt good to be a regular person once in a while.

"I was starving then and then a lot of stuff happened that deterred me from leaving. Famine this season included," she named all the logical reasons, why she had stayed with the pack. "But... I kind of miss our outings and travels. Sometimes I am very tired of being a leader. At others... you know, it feels kind of great to have all this trust and respectability and whatnot," she shrugged.

"We could have a debate - you name all the reasons, why I should disappear in the wilds with you tomorrow without a second glance over my shoulder and I will tell you all the rational reasons, why I can't do it. The last argument standing - wins," she suggested, half-joking, half-serious.

Maia had been split from the start on Wraen leading.  On one hand, her big sister was the smartest and best wolf she knew. She deserved this position more than anyone else and did an amazing job at it.  On the other, she was always busy and always stressed, and her role made Maia accountable to her in a way that felt wrong.  She'd managed to shake a lot of that feeling recently, but the idea of Wraen being free to simply rush off with her at any given moment was too tempting.  Especially because it was Wraen herself asking to play.

You are on.  Hmmm.  She thought about it, an opening argument.  Wraen said she liked the responsibility sometimes, but to Maia, that seemed like a huge headache.  You'd be able to go on trips with me whenever you wanted, she started, without needing to worry about anything!  She'd begin with the most selfish one.

"That's a good one," Wraen admitted. Selfish it may be, but life of a nomad had it's good sides. Being able to leave, whenever she wanted or how long she wanted, was tempting, she could see it before her eyes, she could feel it in her bones, in fact, she still remembered, what freedom felt like. Sure, it had it's rough edge, but it was nice in a way, when the only person you had to take care of was your sister. And, when you did not, you could use her as a soft and comfy pillow.

"We have one small child at the moment and there are more to come this season. I gave my word that I will ensure their protection and care," Wraen said levelly. "If I break this promise, doesn't say much good about me, does it?"

So's that, Maia countered, thinking about it.  With kids in the pack, leaving for any extended period would be hard and leave the adults short-handed on hunting and protecting.  Maia wasn't super useful in either of those, but Wraen definitely was.  Just because someone else was in charge didn't mean you have to be gone always.  But then you could scout herds further out, and check in with surrounding packs, and recruit new members to join!  Ooooh, it had been a while since she'd talked to a loner!  Usually she just met pack wolves, but she made a point to go to more pack-heavy places when she didn't have anyone to go with.

"I have you and other youngsters to do that for me," Wraen countered and gave Maia an annoyingly smug smile. That was the bonus that came with the leadership. You had to take a responsibility for everything, but at the same time you had people to boss around. All the time. 

"But - frankly speaking - come autumn, if all is well, it would be nice to travel for few weeks, don't you think? See, what little corner of the world we have here, perhaps, find out, how many puppies has the proud daddy Terance created this year..." she mused. "I don't want to give any promises, but - it would be nice to have this to look forward to."

"While you are off on task Eljay gave you, you could check out all the Must-See places," she suggested.

Eljay kinda blew up timelines by asking to go with just recently.  SO I'm going to handwave and say she conveniently forgot or had a momentary lapse during this convo haha!

You might not be promising, but you know I'm going to get my hopes up! Maia responded, cheered considerably by the prospect.  The game was in fun and all, she'd never ask Wraen to totally ditch on everyone here.  But the fact that she could take a break and leave maybe was exciting!  Just like this morning when they'd run off by themselves to play hookie.

I saw Ibis, not too long ago!!  It's really weird, having family we don't know.  She said in response to the comment on Terance, but nodded.  It'd be awesome to see them!  I wanted to have, like, a story get-together or something.  Since you know Terance isn't any good at telling stories, so those poor kids aren't gonna have anything.  Maybe we could do that then.  At least stay a day or two and catch up.

I am too lazy to scroll back and read, what she told just recently. So, let's assume that Wraen has a leaky memory too. :D

"It is weird. And as we get older, it will get weirder. Our siblings can have babies too. One day we could run into a nephew or niece of ours and not even realize it," Wraen mused, not for the first time wondering, where had the time gone and why did it change things so quickly and irrevocably. 

"On that note," she continued, "how is your story-telling going recently? The last we did were riddles, but I have not heard you spinning tales for a while now."

What a weird thought.  Maia considered it for a minute, then smiled.  At least we'll always know. She said.  They might not be able to keep track of their other siblings, but so long as they stuck together, they'd never have to worry about each other.  And Maia had no plans on splitting off from Wraen at any point.

It's been going alright.  With everything going on, I didn't really want to travel, but I've shared a few here.  She missed the chance at getting new ones outside the pack, but the reception here had been pretty great.  What about you?  With everything else, have you had much time for stories?

"Well, I recently told a very long and a very winding story to a friend of mine. I am lucky that this guy is the quiet sort and listens patiently, while I am busy showing off, how talented I am," Wraen remarked laughing. Arcturus was not the fastest ostrich in savannah (I came up with it myself!!!), but that made him a good audience. He made his remarks only, when she had finished one part of the tail and paused to take a breath. 

"Do you want to impress me with a story of yours?" she asked.

Haha, it was the same with my last one! She said, thinking of Bronco and the story she'd told him.  I left the openings like, yknow, we used to do.  But I think sometimes they just want to listen.  She wouldn't knock someone for not having creativity.  If they did, no one would need her around, would they?!

Umm, yes, please!!!  But I want to practice with a new one, so I need a subject!  She said, deciding then and there that she was going to improv it out.  That was, by far, her favorite method.  Wraen knew most of her practiced stories; they'd grown up in the same spot.  But a brand new one, featuring perhaps a beloved character of hers?  Ten times better!

"Okay, let me think about it," Wraen was beaming as she said this, looking younger and less tired than she had been earlier. "Five word stories" was an old and well-proven improvisation game. Come up with five (less or more, your call) words or sentences and let the other person come up with a story. Or... throwing in impossible wrenches and cliff-hangers to challenge the stroy-teller constantly. But she had not yet come up with a name for this game. Or the Round Robin - collaborative story-telling. 

"So, Maia, how do you want to be challenged?" Wraen asked. "I could - for instance - ask you to come with a story, but make it sound like a poem?" That would be something new.

Wraen's avatar is GORGEOUS OMG I LOVE IT!!!!  Yesss sister!!! <3

A poem?!  Oh boy, Maia said, thinking about it and immediately hesitating.  She had never tried that one before!  Okay, but only if it doesn't have to rhyme! She settled, declaring the rule with a smile while she thought about it.  Poems... what did she know about poems?

How about I call this one 'The Ballad of Old Willy Womples', she mused, kicking it off with a title and pausing to ensure that this was actually the game that Wraen wanted to offer.  Now that she had the name, she felt like she might be able to get into the groove of it... or she'd crash and burn and they'd get a good laugh out of it!  Either way, this was going to be a good one!

"Oh, darn, I should have thought of that earlier!" Wraen laughed in response, but nodded her head in agreement. The task was difficult as it was already and she stuck to the rule that she should never ask someone to do something that she herself was unable to do. With few exceptions, of course.

"Sounds interesting," she tilted her head to the side, appeared to think for a bit and then began. "Old Willy Womples got heartily trampled by Bison the Wise One, who was blind as hen," you could hear the mental struggle in her voice as she recited this concoction of words. It was Wraen's first take in poetry too.

She'd thought at first that this was the kind of test she'd have to do alone, and she'd been prepared to rip into it.  But instead, it was going to be collaborative!  Which was even better in Maia's books because then she didn't have to worry about making a fool of herself alone.

She tried to get the feel of the words by repeating them in her head.  She hadn't done a lot of poetry, but she knew the trick was in the rhythm of the words.  She had to immediately adjust a little because Wraen threw her a curve... if this was a tale, she'd started at the end.  Or wait, had she?

The wise one felt awful for poor Willy's state, and took him right home to his magic... al den.  The last word took her a moment and she didn't expect it to rhyme, but den just kinda was perfect.  Well, rules didn't say it couldn't rhyme!

"Poor Willy was..." Wraen paused and with her brow furrowed she tried to come up with a good solution to the poem, which did not come easy, even with all her experience in story-telling. "... swimming through realm of dreams, while Wise one put her together seam after seam," whatever the last word meant, it rhymed at least. 

"And once he had finished and said the spell, Old Willy from Womples awoke feeling well," she finished victoriously. "But there is more to the story that we need to tell..." she left it for Maia to finish.

work hit me like a freight train but here we go!  back in!

Seemed like they were making it rhyme after all!  And despite her rule, Maia picked up on the challenge and sort of wanted to continue it.  Not only did she need to find a word, but she then needed to backfit and adjust to make a coherent thought.  Wraen's verse was perfect, and now she had to deliver!

Involving a magical wishing well!  But that story we may keep quiet for a time... because perhaps it is not well suited to rhyme!  She finished, then burst out laughing.  Wow, ohmygosh, that was hard!  But fun!!  I think we might have invented a new level of game!  Not even mom had done anything that challenging, she thought!

Summer is the most difficult time for me to have inspiration for writing. The weather is so good outside that I want to be outdoors as long as possible. Work, of course, helps very little with that! :D

"I am surprised myself. Never thought myself to be a bard, but look at us now!" Wraen laughed together with Maia, feeling positively impressed by the level of their success. Naturally, there was room for more improvement, but there has been no poet in the history of poetry, who had got the thing right on the first take. 

"Want to have another go?" she asked, thought and then said. "On the day the great dragon broke it's golden horn, a little, fluffy wolf-pup was born! And prophets from all around know this well that an event like this means..." Wraen furrowed her brow, thinking hard, because there were few words in her vocabulary that would rhyme with this. "...bloody hell!" she grinned.

She'd never turn down a game, especially not when it came as a friendly challenge from her sister! Besides, this one had a dragon in it, which already made it twenty times better.

One day that wolf puppy would grow big and strong, and... gobble up the world, every tree, creek, and song!

Villain (sorta) acquired!  Prophecies always tended to mark our heroes, but it was cool when sometimes the villains got one too.

"Gobbling up every song is a nice twist," Wraen praised Maia for her creativity and then fell silent, trying to come up with something just as extraordinary. You just could not let your little sister win just that easily, could you?

"But that's not the end to the prophetic verse, 'cause every villain needs an opposing force," she said, paused again thinking about her next move. "And one such came lightly and quickly along, with four feet, short tail and a single prong," here she giggled at the very image of the creature she was building up from scratch. 

"Can you guess, what it was, from the knowledge you have?" she asked.