Sleepy Fox Hollow star of the county down

@Althaia!

 

Autumn light had turned greens to reds and sweet grasses to brown wheat, and Antigone felt a peculiar love for all the colors the swamps could never hold. Marshes wallowed in healthy greens and deep browns, colors of the earth that gave open canvas for the moonlight to turn them grey and white and cut deep, black shadows. But the open air gave green and red, orange and blue, and where she was no daytime girl she almost found herself enjoying her time spent in the midday sun moreso than she did the night. It was certainly warmer during the day, at least.

She'd since moved inland from the coast, fearing the open sea and the moon's shine would give too much power that she, as an oracle and nothing less, had no business in wielding (though a part of her bargained that, as great as she was, she wouldn't mind handling a bit more of that immortal light). But her legs were tired, and that pretty coat she prided herself over so greatly had lost a sweep of its shine. It was better to settle in the afternoon as she did now, standing breathless in the cradle of the open plain all circled by mountainside, and take the time to groom herself and rest a little before the moon was up and she had to keep moving. She wouldn't settle until she found at least a peat bog, or some sort of mud or something. As used to being waited on hand and foot as she was, it went without saying that Antigone was a little impatient — but it was harmless, really. She was having fun on her adventure, and that's what mattered.

The had made it. The silver woman gathered her three close, silver and brown and black, as she rested below an oak. The journey must have taken a toll, and she ought to get the something to eat. But first,  they needed to rest. She lay on her side, watching the three and making sure they kept close- the perfect example of an overprotective mother. But who could she not be? She feared potential pursuers, though hoped this little vale would be a refuge.

That was when she cught sight of another. She drew her pups close, watching yet not making her presence known. She prayed that should this one had I'll intentions,  the dark form would pass them by. She watched @Witchhazel,  @Nikai and Keoni with concern and mild fear, though as the scent drifted toward her she relaxed her guard in the slightest.

Each time he would try to go away he'd be called back to his mother's side, so after a while the good mannered child decided to stay close. He lay down by her side and placed his head on his paws, eyes rolling up to observe all around him.

Yet it wasn't something he saw that caught his attention; it was the scent of a stranger. "Agibbie," he informed his mother with a tilted head, wondering if she had already noticed the foreign scent too.

Witch was but a few steps away when her mother brought her - brought all three of them - closer. At first, the little cream babe opened her mouth to cry out, but it was then that the scent of another touched her tongue. Keeping her silence, Witchhazel's downy fur rose and she settled on top of her mothers forepaw. Her little cardinal tail lashed irritably, and pale blue eyes glared out to the blur of color she assumed was what she smelled. The russet crowned baby didn't like the idea of someone she didn't know - or anyone that wasn't her sister, brother, or mother, really.

The pale blob, should she have been feeling as well as she normally did, would have been quite a handful,  to say the least. Yet a ill-fated dunk in the river a few hours prior had left her cold and shivering, and though her mother had attended her carefully she was lethargic, with a runny nose and the odd sneeze. She stayed close to the warmth that was her mother, but suddenly, feeling uncomfortable and upset and squished, she let out a wail.

She wasn't too good on scents, not yet - a life with a nose dunked in the perpetual musk and stink of the moors had given her nothing less than the worst survival instincts this side of the Panhandle. But she was a good listener, she liked to think, and that - those tiny voices and that little beep of a cry - were undoubtedly the sounds of children. At first, a good sense of confusion swept through her; children, here? Well, they were everywhere, she supposed with a hum, turning quietly as the sound sprang up from some direction in the sunwashed grass. 

Children, she knew, were communal efforts. The idea that, when she finally lifted her head to sniff at the air, there was only one woman who smelled of milk still, was a little odd. She'd been raised by her parents, her grandparents, her uncles and aunts, her neighbors, her priestesses, the Moonsister. They could all be named mother and father if she liked. This didn't seem to be one of those situations in the least. "Uh — xαίρετε?" and though she stood quite still, her head angled for any glimpse of her new company that she could spot. You only used the water's tongue when you wanted to be extra polite, she'd remembered that at least. "I don't... um, are you okay?" 

Who was she asking? Beats her, but she let her ears flatten with mild concern. The sound of a kid yowling was never a good sound, not even to the least maternal of women.

She was proud of her son, immensely so, for he was so well mannered and sweet. She had already decided some time ago that he was perhaps the best son she could have hoped to have, anyone could have. At his cooing babble, perhaps noticing the scent that drifted toward him,  she nudged him gently, a smile on her features. Her Hazel seemed much more upset with proceedings, seeming agitated, while her second born was unusually lethargic,  and with a sinking heart she noticed the signs of sickness. Then she cried out, and she was quick to pull her near protectively, though set her apart from her seemingly healthy brother and sister. 

A voice called out, trepidation and polite. After a moment, she called out in response, knowing that she needed help. She could not continue this journey alone, and who knew when she would come across an accepting pack. Suddenly, this seemed all too hopeless. "I am not. If you can help us...please,  come near." She said, blunt and straight to the point, words tinged with tiredness. She sat up, revealing them. Her daughter she pulled close, allowing Hazel and Nikai to do as the wished.

There was little response to his 'word' and he nosed his mama's face when she reached down to him. Then he turned his head as the stranger appeared. "Aggle," he said to Witchhazel and nosed her cheek as though to comfort his sibling, sensing that something was amiss within her.

He lifted his head to look as a stranger approached, shrinking back, closer to mama for a moment in bashfulness as the adults spoke.

Hazel didn't care much that Keoni was pulled away - mama had her reasons to do everything - but when her brother nuzzled her face, she pressed into his side for comfort and indeed settled. Her eyes were steeled against the newcomer, though, and she made no noise as the adults did.