Broken Antler Fen [BWP] Why is Jim treating the magician poorly?

BWP Icewind -- Prologue

She'd noticed it throughout the day. Dark, foreboding clouds rolling into the land. Even now, when they blended into the darkness of night, she still knew they were there—she could not see the moon or stars. It was impossibly black, hard to see farther than in front of her nose, and she sat outside the dens her family had created here, looking upward.

What was coming? In summer, those clouds brought rain. Lilitu had endured the wet season; it grew tiresome after some time, but the puddles were fun, she supposed.

Was it to rain once more? She missed the sun. And unlike the summertime, nothing was vibrant and everything had gone quiet. The birds had fled. Even the bugs were silent. The world was a tapestry of browns and grays and the occasional dirtied alabaster of snow disturbed by curious feet.

Something was coming. Lilitu felt it in her bones. And she crossed her paws in front of her now, as if she were waiting for its arrival. She lifted her chin, staring ahead. Bring it on, she thought, heedless of the karmic chaos her challenge could create.

For one reason or the other Wraen had not found a moment to spend time with Ibis's family after the official welcome to the lands. She had been glad to see them come and with two younger wolves running around, the place already felt more alive and more like a home. So - when the winds changed and there was foreboding of a storm, she left, what she had been occupied with all day long, and headed towards the area, where her niece and her husband had made themselves home. It felt reasonable to band together rather than stay apart.

She found her mini-me Lilitu hanging around the dens already, observing patiently, what was to come their way. "Afternoon," Wraen greeted the girl, closing the distance between them. "Mind if I join you?"

Hi! Lilitu chirped, immediately heartened by the sight of Wraen. Sure! (She hadn't really grasped the semantics of "mind if"; she sure did not mind. Hopefully the woman would catch her meaning by the bright welcome in her tone. Probably.)

She shifted a bit out of reflex, making more room for the other wolf to sit. Before Wraen even had a chance to settle, Lilitu was directing her nose to the sky, pointing it toward the clouds. Whatcha think that is? she asked, lips puckering in worried contemplation.

The girl hoped Wraen had better answers than the many running around her head. Right now, it looked simply ominous—and the thought of something sinister coming to disturb their peace was simply too much to bear.

"That's a huge storm cloud building up," Wraen explained to the best of her meteorologist knowledge, which was neither much, nor impressive. "It may bring a lot of snow - easy to get lost in it, so it's better to keep together with your family during this," she told. "Or... sometimes pieces of ice the size of an egg rain down too - though that's something I have seen only in spring and summer," had it ever occurred in winter? She furrowed her brow in concentration, but did not know for sure. 

"Though some would argue that this is the doing of Ice Giants, who have released their loyal minions the stormhounds to plough through the Earth and wreck chaos. They keep them locked up all through spring, summer and autumn months and then unleash them and watch them act," she said. "I personally find the second theory more interesting, though the first seems more realistic at the first glance."

Oh, so it was like the summer—except not. Lilitu was dubious at the prospect of more snow. Sure, it was fun to play in. . .but if it was just going to kill the plants and bury the flowers, she wanted no part of it. Still, it seemed inevitable. Wraen knew was she was talking about, after all.

She, too, liked the second theory much better. The first was just. . .boring. The latter at least had some excitement. Where do the Ice Giants live? Can we meet them if we don't mind the snow so much? she asked, thinking of Maia's stories about trolls. Perhaps they hid from wolves, too.

It would give her something to do, anyway. Although she doubted that Ibis would want to embark on a journey if it was meant to be poor weather. Though Wraen could take her—

Lilitu shuffled her forelegs, trying to contain her restlessness while waiting for her aunt's response.

"Well, they do not so much live as they take form, when the weather gets bad. You can think of them as snow and ice coming together and having a personality," Wraen chuckled, hoping that her choice of words was not too complex for the girl to understand. It was difficult really to determine, how bright kids were. "And after the summer solstice, when the days are getting longer and warmer, the giants melt and disappear," she finished. 

"But - did you know that you can make a comfy and warm den in the snow?" she asked. "It is an age-old secret that the ground beneath the snow is warmer than the open air above it. Plus, it protects you from cold wind too," she told. "We can make one now, if you want to?"

Oh, Lilitu replied, looking a little put out. Any excuse for an adventure. The concept Wraen floated out was even more difficult to grasp. Perhaps it would have been easier when she was younger. Or heck, maybe she was just sullen lately. It seemed as if she was only happy in perpetual motion, chattering away, exploring new things.

And the fen was becoming old news—and Arielle was scarce, lately. Ugh.

She shook her head at Wraen's question, then brightened up as she realized the woman offered a project. Sure! Lilitu told her aunt with enthusiasm abound, rising to her paws. How do we do it? Digging? She'd seen her mother digging sometimes, whether to expand an existing den or create a new one.

She didn't mind getting her paws dirty, especially not when there was a purpose.

"That's right," Wraen nodded in agreement, raising to her feet and scanning the landscape to find the best possible place for them to do the digging. "The trick is not to dig too deep, but just enough for you to lie in there comfortably and curl up. The snow that falls on you, will eventually create a sort of roof. And your breath and body warmth will melt the snow a little and once it solidifies, you'll have a safe cocoon," she explained, hoping that the kid had not already lost herself in all the details that she was being showered in.

"Another important thing is to leave a little peephole so that the air can come in and you are able to break out of your snow den," she finished. "We can go and dig there, so that we are not in the way or get trampled by your family members."

Her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to keep track of each and every one of Wraen's instructions. Not too deep, snow falls, cocoon, she muttered under her breath, following the path of her aunt's gaze. Peephole. Okay! Her voice rose once more, accompanied by an enthusiastic nod.

It was probably better to be away from the den, anyway. She knew her mother would find something dangerous about a snow den—like it would collapse and crush her or something. And then she'd stop them, and the fun would be over. . .

Trying not to think of that, Lilitu began to dig in the spot that Wraen had selected, taking care not to be too fervent about it. Not too deep, not too deep, she chanted to herself, then broke out into a little tune— Not too deep, not too deep, just enough for us to sleep, just enough for us to keep. . .

She glanced up at Wraen, slightly giddy, a giggle in her voice. . . .warm, she finished lamely. She'd barely made a dent in the thick snow; hopefully she was getting plenty of help from the more skilled wolf on the scene.

Wraen hadn't had much progress either - being a small wolf herself, it was not that easy to dig a den, when you yourself were standing almost chest deep in the snow. Half-digging, half-diving, half-submerged in a heap of snow, the older wolf had no way of telling, how much progress she had made so far. Eventually she was no longer in the way of winds and was circling to stomp the snow in a more solid conformation for her to comfortably lie in. Did not look much of an example-worthy den now, but she knew from experience that this was only the first part. 

She looked to see, how Lilitu had been doing. The den she had created was appropriate to her size at this point: "Good job, kid!" She praised her, then lied down and rested her chin on the rim of her den. "Try lying down. If the wind goes past and over your head, not at you - the depth is ideal," she gave last instructions. "Then it's just waiting for it to snow some more, until we are completely submerged."

Oh, she understood now. They were not digging a single den but separate sleeping spots, so unlike the shared space of her family. Lilitu bit back a sudden, desperate longing for her sister and smiled at Wraen's praise, hunkering down just as she was instructed. It was still a little shallow, so she rose once more and dug, trying to make everything even.

Isn't it going to be cold underneath the snow? Lilitu asked. Her pads were a little numb, as was her nose where it had brushed against the frozen ground. Still, she circled and curled up again, and this time, it seemed satisfactory.

But she lifted her nose regardless, peering over at Wraen's indentation. Do the snow giants make dens like these, too? she asked, still not quite grasping the concept that these beings were composed of the snow and ice, rather than things that lived among it. I bet they probably like sleeping in them. 

A lot better than she did, so far—but whether it was the impending storm or her muscles tired from digging, Lilitu was beginning to get sleepy, nonetheless. Her eyelids drooped; mere slivers of yellow cut through the gathering flakes in her aunt's direction.

"Oh, that they do. They hunker down in them, hide well and then sprang up to scare unsuspecting people, who happen to wander nearby," Wraen told and watched the girl gradually doze off. Thinking that, perhaps, snow-denning might be too cold experience for the girl on the first go, she carefully raised from her den and hopped over to the hollow Lilitu had made. There she lied down carefully right next to her, side by side to keep her warm, while watching the snowstorm unravel before her eyes and guarding the girl's sleep. 

We can leave it here, if you wish. Or we can continue. I am fine either way.