Sun Mote Copse Demeter's sorrow

@Eljay 

It was another warmer day and, when Wraen emerged from her den she was greeted by an unusual sight. Clouds had parted just so to let the sun look down at the world. "Haven't seen you for a long time," she told the shining orb, squinting her eyes against it's bright light. There was no warmth, but she could easily recall the feeling of, what springtime sunbeams felt like against her skin, and she smiled as she did so. 

There were remnants of a hare that she and Maia had shared yesterday, dug beneath the snow next to their residence and surprisingly they were still there, when Wraen checked. Some bony feet and ear and flaps of bloody fur were her meal for the morning and eager to find more, went off to do some hunting. With the sun smiling down at her, she was confident that so would Fortuna be generous to her today.

The territory was still new to Eljay. He imagined it must look pretty in the spring time, filled with flowers, and when green and blossom would fill the trees. It was better than the Plateau so far, but then again, he'd always disliked that place. It had always been the place that had taken away his home -- Redhawk Caldera -- when they'd moved there first. The Copse wasn't as good as the Caldera so far, but it was a lot better than the Plateau's mud.

As he crunch-crunched through the snow in a giddy trot, looking around the place as the fun fell on his face -- causing a smile on his face -- Eljay suddenly noticed someone else who was headed straight his way. He halted in his tracks and looked at her, though he didn't realise that he had met her before, except for seeing her briefly at the pack meeting Wiffle organised earlier. Hiya, Eljay called out, the soft smile the sun had caused still on his face, as he approached his pack mate.

Wraen stopped in her tracks and turned to face the person, who had greeted her, and was reminded of her friend Liffey at the hollow. While you could not say that the two wolves were strikingly similar, there was a distinct likeness in their features that only rarely gets handed out at random. Maybe this was the reason, why he looked familiar to her, and not because of a chance meeting nearly two years ago that neither of them remembered.

"Hi," she smiled at him and wagged her tail. "Want to join me for breakfast? I don't have any yet as you see," she said, "but two of us could definitely take a Jabberwocky. Assuming that we find him first. What do you say?"

Eljay's tail wagged a few gentle beats as she invited him for breakfast. Hiya, he said with a soft smile, and some of his anxiety over whether or not she'd be nice to him melted away. Phew. Yeah! Eljay only then realised he had no clue what on earth a 'Jabberwocky' was. Was this some sort of animal that he should know about that tasted really good? He frowned, feeling like a total idiot, but figured it was easier to just pretend along rather than be the only four-year-old that didn't know what a Jabberwocky was.

Let's find a, uh, a Jabberwocky -- have you seen any? he said, his voice hesitating just a bit too much for a good round of play-pretend. I'm Eljay, by the way.

Disclaimer: Jabberwocky belongs to Lewis Carrol, so does the poem. A wikipedia article to find out more - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky

"Wraen," she smiled at the guy, feeling even more convinced that she had heard his name before, because it was more unusual than the previously mentioned "Jack"s and "Jane"s. But it did not really matter and Wraen left to rest it at that, never to bother the deja vu sense regarding this topic again.

"It's a nonesense monster," she replied to his inquiry. "My mom told that she had once heard a whole poem about this beast, but it had not made any sense to her. And she remembered only one verse of it, which - according to her - was the most sane," she paused here, looking up and her lips moved soundlessly, as she tried to recall the exact words. 

"Here it goes - 
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”," she recited in a serious and ominous tone, while the playful glint in her eyes gave away the fact that she was enjoying herself immensely. 

"In my opinion, the author was simply messing with people and having fun, when he came up with it," she shared her views. "And, though Jabberwockies sound tasty, I think that it is more likely we will find a regular jackrabbit instead," now she fell silent and looked at Eljay, as if wanting to make sure that he had not drowned in the stream of words she had poured over his head.

Like the bird? he wondered aloud, then said: That's a pretty name. Anything nature-inspired was pretty, really. Anyway, imagine Eljay's embarrassment when he found out that the Jabberwocky he pretended along with didn't exist at all. It was just from a poem. Oops! Eljay looked away in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks heat up in a familiar way while he worked himself through the embarrassment. Oh, I -- sorry, he mumbled, but luckily it wasn't long before Wraen started to tell him the poem. He listened with interest, having not often heard poems like this. He wondered if Wraen knew any more.

Wraen continued on about her theory on this poem and Eljay nodded a few times. Eljay didn't think jabberwockies sounded very tasty -- they sounded dangerous to him, really. But luckily they also didn't exist... Right? Anyway, he nodded when Wraen suggested finding a jackrabbit, but didn't actually reply to the rabbit-part; instead, he zoomed in on the poem. That's a pretty nice poem. Do you know a lot of poems..?

"Sorry about what?" Wraen asked, tilting her head to the side and wondering, whether really Eljay was apologizing, because she had been messing with him (not strictly in that sense, because she had a peculiar way of addressing people, in order to find out, where they stood in the "weird" department). If that was truly the case, then he was the first and she did not know, how to respond to that.

"Unfortunately, no - no poems or songs - some random bits of this and that stick in my mind, but I am better at stories that do not rhyme or have a rhythm," she explained. "But you are named after a bird too - do you know jays? They are kind of more colourful and beautiful siblings of regular crows," she said. "And that "el" of yours makes it sound even more cool."

Wraen made it even more awkward for him by asking why he was sorry. Didn't she understand? Wasn't she upset? Regardless, Eljay explained super awkwardly: Um, because I.. Because of pretending to know what a jabberwocky was. Eljay nervously looked at his feet when he said it, because it took a lot of work for him not to burst into tears and run away. He was generally pretty honest, but in these kind of situations he sometimes talked along with others and pretended to know what they were on about when he really didn't. To be caught out like that made him feel very guilty and like a terrible person.

Anyway, he rather not dwell too long on being a terrible lying son of a dweeb, so Eljay was glad enough to change the subject to stories or his name or anything, really, so long as it was not the former subject. He clung on for dear life to this changed subject and said: The 'El' stands for Elwood, 'cause my name's Elwood Junior. But mommy shortened it to Eljay. Was it weird that he still called her 'mommy'? It probably was, but he had realised it too late.

"Oh," now was Wraen's turn to feel confused and caught off rails, because Eljay's explanation made even less sense than his apology and she had no idea, what to say to make him feel better. Was there really any better solution to her than to shut up about it, because she got the feeling that no matter, what she would come up with, he would feel even more embarrassed. 

"That's nice," she heartily grasped on the subject that the fellow felt more confident about. "I have met Elwood, by the way. He is such a nice person," she told him. "And - I may be wrong - but your sister Liffey was my friend back at Sunspire." A moment later she realized that this last part had sounded odd and quickly added: "I mean... she is my friend - I know that for sure, but... never mind. She is your sister, right?"

Luckily Wraen glossed over the moment of weirdness too instead of further lingering on it. Eljay was used to being weird all the time, but somehow he never got used to it. Anyway, luckily Wraen stopped talking about it after one confused 'oh' and Eljay could breathe easily again as they shifted onto names, a much easier-going subject.

Eljay smiled softly when Wraen said that Elwood was a nice person. He was pretty happy and felt blessed to have the nicest parents in the world. In that sense, Eljay was a bit like a proud mother at times, except the other way around. His parents were decidedly some of the very best people in the world. Yeah, daddy's super nice, he agreed with a proud smile. He only realised his childlike phrasing moments later (Eljay was still trying to get rid of talking like he was half a year old instead of almost 4) but decided to just gloss over it and hopefully she wouldn't notice it as much.

At the mention of Liffey, Eljay's tail waved gently. He missed Liffey; it'd been forever since he had seen her, and he was sad that she had chosen to leave. But he had left the pack too when he was 2 years old, so he also understood her need to be somewhere else for a while. Eljay always sorta hoped that she'd return some day. Yeah, Liffey's my sister. She's pretty nice, too, he said with a smile. Maybe not as nice as mommy and daddy, but quite nice. Especially compared to Tegan. Eljay found himself feeling guilty about thinking of Tegan as less-nice and using him as a comparison like that, but he was glad he at least hadn't said it out loud.

For the record - Wraen found Eljay's manner of referring to his parents very endearing. It was clear that they meant a lot for him and she kind of envied him too, because they were still around and he could go to them and talk to them any time. Had she not left home, when she had, maybe it would be the same for her. 

"She is pretty awesome and a little crazy too," she added with an amused smile, having many memories about her, but the incident with the cougar standing out the most. That - in fact - had been the beginning of their friendship. "And this year she and her mate Rannoch had four little Liffnochs. Remi, Deshyr, Breccan and Wisteria," wondering briefly, how were they doing and whether younger siblings were underway. Both had seemed very family-oriented, she would not be surprised then. 

"And you are the oldest in the family, right?" she asked, not really knowing the exact nummber of Finwoods that were running around the area. "Are you married and with children or still on the lookout for that significant other?" she added, knowing well that this was not an entirely tactful question to ask to person, who you have just met. But Eljay seemed like a person, who wanted to please others. The worst that she could expect be another moment of awkward embarrassement on one side and confusion on the other.

Eljay smiled as Wraen told him about Liffey. It was such a weird thought that nowadays, maybe Wraen knew his little sister Liff better than he did, after she had left home. He listened as Wraen said that Rannoch and Liffey had had four children. Mommy and daddy had told him all about Liffey's kids but Eljay didn't mind listening to their names being listed again. He loved Liff and he loved pups so it was a win-win all around. I hope I get to meet them some day. But they must be all sorta almost grown up by now. It was strange how fast pups could get big; Owen, Kite, Vasa and Phoebe were also all sorta grown up now, when he remembered so vividly cuddling close to them and keeping them warm and comforting them as wee little baby blobs.

At Wraen's question, Eljay bobbed his head. Yeah, I'm the oldest. He felt a little ashamed to be sometimes, because he didn't feel like the oldest and he probably didn't look it, well, when it came to behaviour anyway. He looked distrauht when Wraen asked about whether he was married and had pups. Oh, uh, no, I mean, I -- No, I'm just me, I.. But I like pupsitting and help mothers to get the pups out safely so it... I get to help others, and stuff. Eljay tried to work through the awkwardness without babbling on and making a fool of himself too much.

And here we go again... Wraen thought to herself, when Eljay got nervous again and stumbled through his words, telling that he was on his own. For some reason she also got a vibe that he did not think his puppysitting skills and willingness to be a versatile helper to his packmates was something to be very proud of. And she wondered, should she reassure him that no job was of lesser value than the other, or would it make him even more shy and stressed. The next thing she wondered, why was he so easy to embarrass, when Finley and Elwood - his parents - and the one sibling she had met and got to know closer were very outgoing and friendly people?

A distraction was needed and she had one at hand. "Do you know the story of Persephone, Hades and Demeter and why the seasons change?" she asked, hoping that he had not, because this tale had been on her mind, ever since the daylight hours had become longer and the sunlight warmer. "The original is a bit blunt and superficial, in my opinion, but I have tweaked with some details and adjusted it to be more to my taste," now her gaze was alight with excitement and for a moment she was the vulnerable one, because it almost felt like her joy was dependent on Eljay's answer.

Wraen was quick to suggest a story. Eljay wasn't sure why she offered a story rather than go further into the subject at hand, but he bobbed his head at first, then quickly shook it and said: No, I don't know it. Eljay decided not to question the 'why's of it all and simply blissfully accept the fact that Wraen was extending a paw and helping him out of the hole that he had dug for himself. He waited for this story to begin, grateful for the distraction.

Wraen felt that she might have hit a jackpot, when she had offered a story instead of keeping the conversation about, why one or the other did not have kids or mates, when most people their age did. Eljay seemed to retreat from his embarrassed and stressed state of mind to one that was more relaxed. Therefore she had discovered a handy tool for the future use, in case she unknowingly managed to confuse the fellow in bashfulness again.

"The story features Hades - he is the supreme ruler of the Underground world and deals with the spirits that go there after death. He judges everyone before him equally, no matter the status or birth in the mortal world. The deeds of the person are the ones that matter. While he is a powerful god, he is rarely invited to join the other Olympian gods," Wraen introduced Eljay to the important character No.1. 

After letting this information sink in, she went to the character No.2: "Demeter is a goddess of nature, all things that grow and bring fruit. Some say that she is also responsible for the cycle of life and death. And beautiful Persephone is her daughter, who being a child of two strong gods, possesses the ability to make plants grow. Where she puts her paw, there shoots of grass and flowers and even trees sprout."

"The original story tells that Hades saw the beautiful Persephone playing in a meadow with nymphs and satyrs, kidnapped her and brought her to the Underground, where he made her his wife. Demeter, who loved her daughter dearly, mourned her loss so much that she stopped taking care of the earth and plants, and animals. Soon the warm days grew very cold, the vegetation died and people suffered from famine," she explained.

"That was the first winter as we know it that people encountered. Eventually one god tipped off, where Persephone could be found and Demeter demanded Hades to return her daughter. Unwillingly he let her do so, however, before leaving he offered her tasty morsels of food. And she ate them, without realizing that, once you eat or drink something that has it's origins in the Underground, you are never permitted to leave," she said and paused a little. The ending was not too far off. 

"So now Persephone was tied forever with the Underground and it would have remained so had not Hades's brother Zeus - the king of the Heaven and Olympus - intervened and offered a deal. Each year Persephone would spend six months with her mother Demeter and then she would return for six months to her husband Underground," she told. 

"Therefore each spring Persephone joins her mother and together they take care of the earth, all plants and animals that dwell there and each autumn she returns to Hades. That's, when the winter begins and Demeter mourns and waits for her daughter's return," Wraen finished and looked expectantly at Eljay to see, if he had enjoyed the story as much as she had. And if the response was favourable, there was more she wanted to add to the favourite tale of hers.

Eljay listened patiently to the story. He loved stories, and he always thought highly of others, so really there wasn't any way he would not have enjoyed it. The story started with mention of Hades and Demeter, and Eljay bobbed his head as he was told about these gods. Then Wraen went on to tell of Persephone, Demeter's daughter. When there was mention of Hades kidnapping Persephone Eljay gasped, feeling sorry for the poor girl. And then made her his wife? That just seemed unethical. Eljay listened with bated breath to the rest of the story.

Luckily the ending was semi-good. But not really good. Eljay looked a little confused and sorrowful as the ending came, a frown on his face. That's... Is that really what happens? That's so sad! He wasn't too sure he believed in the all-powerful gods some spoke of 'cause he'd never seen any of them, but the thought that everything died in winter because of Demeter's wailing really put a damper on the whole winter affair.

"You think that the story was not entirely fair too?" Wraen half-asked/half-stated the obvious, her tone in agreement with, how Eljay felt about the whole ordeal. She loved her ancestor stories for their logic, their complexity and creativity and the divine explanation for everything in this world, but she had hard time digesting their utter disregard for women's rights (very funny, like those existed 2000 years ago) and the utter focus on physical beauty alone.

"I do, because it does not sit well with me, if someone is forced to do something. The other thing being that I am a hopeless romantic in my heart and therefore I came up with my take of this tale," she said with a cheerful smile. She truly had thought a lot about it and come up with her version that fulfilled both her romantic views on true love and sacrifices and made the story somewhat less cruel to Persephone. 

"When the new gods - the Olympians - took the power from the Titans or the Old ones, they divided the realms they were going to rule. Hades was the only one, who willingly took the realm no one wanted to take - the Underworld. With all the monsters that were hiding in Tartarus, the Elysian fields, the rivers that lead there, the barren lands, where nothing grows, a grayscale desert. He became the king there and his main task was to determine the fates of souls that came before him. I always thought that with him having come from Earth and Sky, he probably was not as impassive and cold as he became, when he faced the crimes only people can do, saw their sins on daily basis," she told, her eyes wearing a far-off expression. Her body was here, but her mind was there, in the kingdom of Underground.

"I like to think that once Hades saw the beauty of Earth, but had forgotten and grown immune to it's charms, because he saw no value in the inhabitants, whatsoever," she went on. "Though his power was equal to Zeus, who ruled in the Heaven, and Poseidon, who ruled over seas and Oceans, he was hardly ever invited to join his brothers and sisters at the Olympus. Probably, because his mantle and armour were wrought of darkness, sadness and icy coldness, maybe because he himself had long forgotten, how to smile, and therefore he had no place in the cheerful celebrations they undertook there in the Heaven."

"Pretty grim type, huh?" she decided to give Eljay a bit of break to digest everything she was going to tell him. There was so much more. "Mom told me that my ancestors avoided talking about Hades, because there is no dignity in dying and they fear that he might reap them early, if he heard his name spoken," she herself disagreed, finding this god the most compelling of them all.

Eljay bobbed his head in agreement that it was rather a sad story. He frowned as he tried to make the best of it in his head, but it was difficult. When Wraen offered she had an alternative, he therefore immediately found his interest piqued.

However, the more he heard, the sadder the story became. So not only did Hades kidnap someone's daughter into the underworld, but he also was not just a villain, but simply someone who was exposed to the bad living circumstances of the underworld? Like a wolf who'd lived in a slough his whole life and merely got to look at the wolves living happily in, well, the copse, for example?

It made Eljay feel like crying, but he obviously didn't want to break down in front of Wraen, whom he'd just met. He'd look like a total idiot. So instead he murmured, That's... That makes it even sadder. Beautiful in a distorted kind of way, but Eljay wasn't really one for appreciating sad but beautiful situations. So it left him mostly sad. Anyway, he decided not to linger on it and said, a little bit of a white lie, That was good. Well, it was good, but the white lie was in the way that he made it sound like he wasn't saddened by it. Or tried to, anyway. You're quite the story teller. I bet the pups all love you, right? If he was a great storyteller like Wraen surely they'd love him too, Eljay thought to himself. But while caring he was hardly a storyteller pro.

Whether Wraen sensed the "quivering lip" in Eljay or simply realized, that she had had a very grim introduction to an otherwise very complex, but somewhat happy AU take of the original myth, but she smiled at him encouragingly. But - had enough dignity not to tell him "do not cry yet, this is not over" - having learned in a course of one conversation, how very easily embarrassed her packmate could get. 

"That's not all. There is Demeter, who loves her only daughter very, very much and is probably a bit overprotective and restrictive of her. And then there is Persephone, who - instead of being just beautiful, spoiled, selfish and silly - is a brave, curious and headstrong little goddess. I will tell you a little secret here - when I was small, I imagined, I was her," she lowered her voice to conspirational whisper and, when she finished, she winked at Eljay, thus asking him to keep a secret.

"Persephone, though not as powerful as her dear mum, had one very particular power - she could make things alive. Be it a touch to the ground," here she tapped the snowy surface with her forefoot, "and green grass and flowers sprouted out. Be it a caress to a weakling or a runt and it would gain strength to live. And as it later turned - she could also awaken a heart that had slumbered for hundreds of years."

"Having spent all her days in company of nymphs, fauns and satyrs, and having cheeky remarks to all advances of the old nature god Pan, she was daring and shameless enough to approach Hades on one of the rare Olympian feasts that he had been invited to. For the sake of your ears and mine I won't delve in, what she said, but on the whole she was an annoying fly that keeps pestering you, but which you cannot swat or get rid off," she continued laughing. 

"However, either because of her persistence or because Hades grew tired of her annoying him, they started to converse and found out that for two gods of so opposite nature and realms, they really had a lot to talk about and discuss," she said. "At the end of the feast, Persephone bid goodbye to the god and touched him on his forehead, unbeknownst to her causing a change in him. You see, Hades's heart had grown cold and weary in the grim world he had to rule. To a point that it was easier for it to be shut away. It took just a little of Persephone's special magic to wake it up, to begin beating again and for him to realize that he was still capable of feeling something."

"Fast forward many months and secret meetings later - I imagine Demeter was not thrilled by her daughter's suitor, but she would not have liked anyone else either, Hades asked Persephone to join him in ruling the Underworld. And with her being at odds with her mom at that point, she agreed, loving her spouse-to-be and feeling sorry for him and also being tempted by the throne and the honours that came with it, and not realizing, what she was getting herself into," Wraen went on and hoped that Eljay had not been already drowned in the barrels and barrels of words she was shoving at him. But the story needed to be told and to the end. And just like Persephone, he had agreed to listen, not realizing, what he had got himself into.

"There are many peculiar things about the Underworld that are different from the one we live in. The relevant things for this story, however, are that, whoever goes there, does not have a way back up. And that this is a place, where death dwells, therefore Persephone's power of making things alive and grow was not of any use. So, you can imagine that after the novelty of her kingdom had worn off, she began to miss her overbearing mother, her friends - the Earth and life there. Aside from her mate, who did, what was in his power to make his young wife happy there, she did not have any friends. Just endless passage of the souls from the dead," she went on, but was close to the end.

"And as we know from the original tale, Demeter was mourning her lost daughter and neglected her duties to an extent that Zeus - the king of all gods - decided to intervene. They made an exception to the main rule of the Underworld and, though unwillingly, Hades agreed to let Persephone leave him for six months every year to tread the Earth with Demeter, but welcomed her back, when her time was to return," she said. "And I think that, if one rule of the Underworld could be tweaked, then - in order to console his wife's sadness in the realm, where nothing can grow and live - he created a little pocket there, where she created a very special garden, where such plants grow that no one knows in this world or the other."

And this was it. And hopefully Eljay had was still alive and had not aged and withered to an old man, while he had listened. 

Thank you for you patience with me! As it is for Wraen, this is also one of my favourite Greek Myths, and therefore my take of, how it would have happened, if I had been in charge of story-making those thousand years ago.

aww, that's nice! thank you for sharing it! <3

There's more? Eljay said, almost incredulously. Though very feeling, he was not the most creative tool in the shed so Eljay had a lot of respect for wolves who did. He listened as Wraen pulled the rest of the story out of her sleeve without any problems. He liked her description of Persephone and smiled at some parts of the story, frowned sadly at others when things went downhill again. It seemed love was a very risky affair, at least where the gods were considered, where wrong choices were right behind the corner.

After the story was finished, Eljay was silent for a bunch of seconds, just sitting there mentally and emotionally processing it all. That's.. It's still pretty sad, he admitted, But also really beautiful.

"I think that sad and beautiful can go hand in hand," Wraen replied, glad to see that Eljay was back to himself and that the lengthy story had helped him to forget his earlier embarrassement. She decided to use this tactic, whenever she managed to accidentally step on his toes again. 

"I also see that you are an avid listener of stories too," she said it with an air of approval. In her opinion, it was a good trait in person, if they enjoyed a good tale. "Do you have any that are your favourites? 'cause if you do, I would love to hear it - I collect stories just as gladly as I tell them," she explained.

Eljay nodded, even though he was still left with a bit of a sad knot in his stomach. He wasn't entirely sure if he liked sad and beautiful, or if preferred beautiful. He'd completely forgotten about the earlier embarrassment, though Eljay being Eljay, he was also totally used to being embarrassed all the time -- and getting over it -- anyway.

A frown appeared on his face as she asked if he had any favourite stories. Admittedly, Eljay wasn't very creative himself and he certainly didn't really remember the stories that mommy and daddy had told him as a child. After a few seconds of disappointed -- with himself -- frown, he admitted: Uh.. I don't really know any stories, sorry. If only he did -- the pups would love to hear them, he bet. Maybe he ought to ask mommy and daddy what stories they told him as a child? Or maybe... Maybe you could teach me some..?

When Eljay declared that he did not remember any of the stories from his childhood (in fact, she misunderstood him - she assumed that he had not been told any fairy tales at all), it took all her self-restraint and good manner to mask the utter astonishment at this piece of information. Having been surrounded by the colourful blanket of myths and legends all through her first year and a half of her life, it was hard for her to imagine (surprisingly really with her imaginative faculties) that there were people, who were brought up entirely different. 

"Uh-oh... well, that's not a task for one day," she said after a contemplative silence. "I could rummage around and come up with some ideas of, how to make your own stories. Uh... and... what interests you in particular?" she decided to ask for more details and hoped that Eljay would be more helpful in this aspect rather than replying "oh, everything".

If only Eljay knew that most of the stories that Finley had told him were all made up on the spot. Maybe then he would try to master the art of improvisational stories too, so that he'd always have a story to pull out of his sleeve for the pups he pupsat. Wraen seemed to think for some time and then said that it wasn't a task for one day. He nodded quickly and agreed: Oh yes, absolutely, that's okay. I guess I'll ask mommy too, she might remember some from when I was little. Eljay enjoyed listening to stories but he always found it difficult to remember their precise words. He envied those that were better at remembering all the details.

Wraen posed the idea of how to make one's own stories, which was a totally new concept for Eljay. He thought all stories were told to and from wolves, and had never considered where they might originate. Oh, yeah, of course. It would be really cool because of being a puppysitter if I would know some more simple stories that would be nice to tell the pups. So really, what interested the pups was more important but in Eljay's experience, pups liked simple things when they were very little.

For the sake of my trade thread progress, I will have Wraen teach Eljay story-telling in a new thread and will fade this one.

"Sounds like a good trade," Wraen agreed. "We could invite Epic to the process or Maia, if you do not mind. Their imaginations burst with concepts and characters and whatnot. They could help with the yarn spinning. Would make a fun evening, don't you think?" she mused further, thinking about the two of her favourite people in Firebirds and thinking that it would be an amazing way to bond. 

"I have a childhood anti-hero - Benny The Mountain - to utilize and I promise I will think about the simple stories for the kids to toy with too. We will make this work and I know already that you will be great," she added with a smile. "Alright, I would love to chat with you more, but there was this errand I have to run for my sister," she prepared to leave. "I will give you a call, when I assemble the people for a story-telling session."