Broken Antler Fen Minuet of forest

Hoping for @Eljay, @Maia, or @Hymnal!

In the past month, Sylvie had grown like a weed. She had transformed from a bean-like blob and into something that resembled a tiny wolf. She could see, hear, and had even begun to babble—as excitedly as enthusiastically as Maia spoke whenever she told a story. 


It was a windy and bleary afternoon. The sky was dark and ominous; a thunderstorm was imminent. Yet, despite the warning signs, Sylvie laid outside of the den. She laid on her belly, looking at the clouds overhead as her little tail wagged from side to side.

They were growing so fast. She met each milestone with absolute joy; eyes opening, first fumbling steps, every garbled word. One of her favorite things to do was to play word games with them, and sometimes she could get them to play rhymes. It was a highly simplified version that was more similar sounds than anything else, but every time she could get Hymnal or Sylvie even close to the sound she made, she felt immensely proud of them.

Today there was a chill to the summer air, one brought on the overcast nature of the day. Maia lay nearby and watched Sylvie at the entrance, smiling without really even realizing as she observed her little girl taking in the world. She was so cute.

What do you see up there? she asked, shifting to be a little closer and so that she could look up too. There were a million things she herself could say, but she wanted to hear what Sylvie gave.

"Bah!" Sylvie replied after a beat. She wanted to take a moment longer to look and see if anything else was interesting enough to report. But, unfortunately, there was nothing, and so she scooted 'round to face Maia.

"Buh-wooooo!" she said next, her eyes growing wide. "Buh, buh .... BAH!" If Maia had a translation of her daughter's gibberish, it'd read along the lines: "The clouds are DARK! I've never seen them like this! It's exciting!"

Maia didn't understand a word of it, but she smiled and nodded as if she had. You know, today is the perfect day for wisps. They are little lights that love to come out on rainy days and lead any friends they make on adventures. Maia tickled Sylvia's flank playfully with her nose. Without speaking, she wasn't sure how well either of her daughters understood, but she filled them with nonsense nonetheless. It was her job! She took it extremely seriously.

There were definitely some not-so-nice stories about the lights, too, but Maia wasn't in a rush to tell those. They could learn about the scarier side of the world after they'd learned more than enough about the good in it.

Want to go wisp hunting? She asked, glancing back. Everything seemed to be fine here and she would make sure they didn't go too far.

Wisps—the word caught Sylvie's attention, and she looked up at Maia with a wide-eyed stare. Then, as her mother nudged her, her tail began to wag, and excitement began to stir in her chest as Maia described the mythical creatures. "Weeeeeesssp" she tested, the word feeling odd on her tongue. There were some aspects of the word that she had barely tested, and she was uncertain of how she had done. She sat in the discomfort for a moment with a frown; it had been a tricky word.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Maia spoke to her, and she brightened immediately. Sylvie knew what a hunt was—she just wasn't sure what they were hunting. "Yeh!" she replied with excitement as she bounced after her mother.

Maia practically glowed with pride when her daughter tried to say the name of the little creatures. Sometimes the stories had sprites as tricksters, lights that would lead wolves to become lost or endangered. Those variations she could tell them later - right now, all Hymnal and Sylvie needed to know about was the friends they could make.

The best time to find a wisp is when the sun starts to set. They sleep during the day because the sun shines for them. But the clouds can hide them too. Maia led Sylvie to the edge of the clearing where the trees they'd named in honor of her siblings stood, then stopped abruptly.

Here! Is perfect. Maia crouched, then turned to look at Sylvie. She would never get tired of looking at any of them. No matter what they were doing, they were absolutely perfect, and it seemed like she was constantly hit with that absolute love every time.

Maia loved this clearing because of the mist that sometimes tended to linger on the water. It typically was there in the morning but, like she'd hoped, the cool rain had brought a bit of the fog with it as well. The ghostly shapes could certainly be something magic! Do you see them playing? She asked in a hushed voice.

Sorry for the wait!

” The best time to find a wisp is when the sun starts to set. They sleep during the day because the sun shines for them. But the clouds can hide them too.” Maia said. Sylvie looked around as they walked, her eyes full of wonder, as if she were expecting to find a wisp.

When they stopped, Sylvie looked at Maia expectantly and listened. The mention of the wisps caused her heart the leap, and she looked towards the dancing mist. ”Oh!” she exclaimed in a whisper. ”Yes!!” She watched as the fog rolled with the wind. She turned to her mother then and asked, ”Can we go play with them??”

Im going to wrap this!! We can have another when/if you have time to bring her back <3

I've been slow as well, so obviously no worries ^^. She is so adorable, I love her so much omg

Maia couldn't think of anything much better than seeing the light of adventure illuminate within her daughter's wide, beautiful gaze. With strangers it was fun, but with her children it was something else entirely. When she told them things like this, and played with them, it was like the magic was actually real.

Of course. But we won't catch them. Even if we could, it's no fun for them. Maia answered quietly, then took a few bounding steps forward. When Sylvie followed, she laughed, and together they'd chase the tendrils of mist.

After a while she'd grab her up in a hug. Maybe the wisps didn't enjoy a good cuddle but Maia had set no such rules for her and Sylvie.