Swiftcurrent Creek every color at once in a column of light

@Amber I hope this isn’t too far for you!
Backdating this to a few days ago :)

 
The pale sylph was far from home — but this type of behavior was a well established part of Olive’s pack-hood.  After all, a wayfarer savoir-faire was not so easily shed. It was a physical need almost as it was a mental; should she remain inert for too long [mostly likely pressed up against Dakarai, enjoying the divine laziness of side-by-side winter naps], her willowy limbs would begin to ache and bother her consistently. Just so, her mind would race and she desired the mental clarity that exploration provided. To move was to experience life and Olive would not keep from herself what she so yearned for… but it was becoming clearer that her tethers to one location, the Ravensblood Forest, were growing ever stronger. Being away from Teaghlaigh, her family and her kindred spirit gave her some distress, as she worried for their safety… But she never let those anxieties take over her entirely.

 In order to balance the two parts of her which battled within her consciousness, peregrination became her goal and movement became her daily gratification. Though it was common for Olive to lope around the forest [in the same of patrols], this was one of those times when the feathered seraph kissed her lover goodbye and departed for some time, to see what lay beyond the comfort of the known.

Olive had spent the better far of two days and night in the wild. She had rounded around the Sunspire Mountains [traversing some of the smaller, rolling hills that lay close its’ base] and cut through an expansive wetlands. The minutes and hours were consumed with unsmelled smells, unseen sights and uncharted landscapes.The fae was so fulfilled by the act of explorations that she did not feel hunger nor experienced the need to hunt. Without that pressure, the woman was able to subsisted entirely off of the berries and tender leaves that would soon be smothered by the thick blankets winter snows— her small body didn’t need much to be sustained and not hunting meant that she could channel all of her energy into the simple act of moving farther and for longer. 

As she came upon the evening that would lead to her second night away from home, Olive realized that the wet winter landscape left her downy coat of cream and grey in a poetic disarray, swirled with mud and pushed up in places that should lay flat. Though the dusky, dying sunlight did not afford the bantam clear vision, she followed the bubbling tune of a creek and when she found it, quickly stepped into its shores. There she rolled and flipped around the the shallow waters that ran past the shore, letting the dirt of places past wash away from her.

Once upon a time, Amber couldn't ever seem to sit still in her home -- not in Starlit, not in Silver Creek, and though now she suddenly had a very strong tether to the babes huddled in Easthollow, the Ciel was only slightly anxious to leave Grayday in the den with them. Not Day himself, of course, but just the thought of going too far from her children was terrifying -- the sun was setting fast, though, and tonight the stars sang to her. Tonight, yes, she would run free. 

The first mountain she approached when curving past Duck Lake had been claimed -- the ebony coated woman turned at once and gave the dragons a wide berth before cutting up towards the next. 

Unfortunatley for her, she was stopped again; not by a border this time, but splashes rising from a creek yards before her. Some part of Amber wanted to go around, to make it to a higher point to touch the stars, but the dying rays of sunlight kept some of the constellations at bay anyways -- the company would do her good. 


Chuffing softly in greeting, Amber plodded forward carefully, gracefully with even her pudgy body -- should this pale girl show any signs of agression or displeasure towards the milk-scented Ciel, she could easily divert her path and continue on to Mount Apikuni. A drink could be found elsewhere down the creek, but the prospect of sharing knowledge was just too much to pass up for the antsy woman.

The creek lay in a valley underneath one of the peaks and the land that surrounded it lay low and even, rolling uninterrupted towards in one direction the horizon. The tumultuous giants of rocks and earth lay behind her, guarding and watching over the woman as she bathed. The water was chilled at the behest of the winter’s strengthening winds and snow flurries, but her body burned hot with travel and she could feel no discomfort at the hands of the icy waters. The crystalline elixir loosened the dirt which marred her pelt and she arose freshened and cleaned. Tendrils of water tinkled and chimed as they fell from hr body, returning to the mother river below. 

Olive’s solitude was punctuated by the presence of another. Olive cantered her head as a wolf strode towards her, as dark as night with eyes a bright, effervescent blue. Her heart lept in the hopes that it were her lover, incarnate: for it wouldn’t have been the first time the swarthy Dakarai tracked her down across the Teekon Wilds. The mistake had been exposed by the feminine scent of motherhood — unless Dakarai had started lactating, this wolf was not him. 

No, it was a woman and now that she was closer, her resemblance to her Dakarai caused Olive to feel some sense of an automatic, platonic attraction towards her. Grinning, Olive splashed towards her. 

“Greetings, sister.”

Amber's pace picked up into a trot upon seeing the tan and silver girls happiness with her approach, and her ebony tail wagged in likeness behind her. A greeting rang out through the space between them as they strode to meet each other, and the Ciel couldn't help a smile. 

                       "Bonsoir. I am Amber Ciel, out to do some starwatching."

Chuffing in welcome, the raven-feathered woman pranced close, sending a playful swipe of her paw Olive's way as she careened closer.

The dark woman traipsed ever closer, just as unphased by the frigid water as she. Olive closed her eyes and tipped her head towards Amber, in what was more of a curtsy than a Olive’s customary bow.  Upon mention of stargazing Olive swung her head around, suddenly hungering for a celestial glimpse. The sun had begun to fade…and with it, all illumination. Progressively the  hot-headed star worked its way down the skyline to be replaced with the even and placid lunar body. The anticipation that dusk afforded was one of the world’s greatest drugs.

“a scholar of the stars?” Olive chimed, her voice sharp and bright in the crisp air between them. Olive had yet to come across any astronomer or astrologer who she did not want to befriend and Amber seemed to be no different. “and a mother,” she purred. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she lifted an ashen eyebrow to make joyful note of the woman’s condition. ‘Motherhood’ sat upon a very tall pedestal in Olive’s mind and she found herself unable to ignore it. To create life [to unite soul and body] was akin to magic and Olive was often left in awe of the abstractions. Oh, and how she longed to carry her lover’s children… but the creamy druid keenly remembered Ceannasach’s warning about unwelcome litters. 

“Do you map the stars?” Olive offered the question as a potential transition, incase Amber were averse to the intimate topic.