Bramblepoint Keep a bluebird in my heart

aw but perhaps a @Toad Amelia?

While Wraen explored the depths of their new claim, Maia took some time to explore the surrounding area as well.  The Bramblepoint was a bit close to Moonspear for Wraen to travel perhaps, but Maia resolved to keep an eye out and regard any stranger with distrust.  It wasn't going to be particularly easy, but after what had happened, she intended to take chance meetings with a lot more caution.

This forest was lovely, though.  It was too bad it was too close to too many places to really make a claim.  Maia gazed about as she walked, but stopped abruptly when something caught her eye.  She moved in closer, sniffing at the earth.  Was this a garden?

Someone had turned the earth and planted a few plants here.  The earth was disturbed in a (fairly haphazard) rectangular shape, a few shoots of something sticking out on one end.  Whoever it was clearly intended to put more here, but already, a few weeds were poking through their efforts.  Maia cocked her head.  Or were those just more plants?  She couldn't tell, she was no herbalist.

It was always neat to see what someone else created, though.  Maia sat down and sniffed at the sprouts.  She should tell Eljay this was here, soon as she went back to the Caldera.

WC: 219

Beeeeep - I have a thread with Wraen currently too so everything is super vague yay

The last time that Toad had been to Bramblepoint, she had found a new understanding of its name. She recalled Lyra being forced to help her out after a hunt had lodged her into a pile of thorny blackberry vines. Thankfully, these had since died back almost completely, although what now remained was even sharper without the moisture. As she moved through the trees, she was more careful than usual to look at her feet. She'd stepped on one of these dry thorns earlier and despite her practiced and calloused paw pads, it had been quite painful to remove.

The forest really was a lovely place when she stopped every so often to actually look up toward the canopy. The snows hadn't quite come, so the ground was cool and moist with the calm rains a day earlier. Birds were still about, though some had already left to the south. Squirrels were busy at work organizing their acorns and other reserves they would need to stick it through the cold weather. She smiled as they chased one another into and out of trees, apparently oblivious to the wolf who walked beneath them.

Looking ahead of her, she spotted a stranger sitting in front of a funny spot of earth. The earth looked freshly dug up and had nothing but dirt and a handful of shoots poking out. Toad waved her tail in greeting, offering a blink and a soft smile to the fellow woman. What's this? She asked it thinking the stranger had created it.

As seemed to be wont to happen whenever Maia thought about Eljay nowadays, she was lost in a daydream when Toad approached and asked her a question.  The words startled her out of it, though at least she didn't jump.  Instead she blinked and looked at her for a second.

Oh!  This?  She gestured the garden.  Duh Maia, what else would she be referring to?  Someone's garden, I guess!  I don't know much about them honestly, just... a friend of mine has one.  A friend, right.  Why was it so weird to put a label on it?  Probably because they hadn't actually really talked labels.  Kind of awkward.

It doesn't really look done, though.  At least, his has a lot more in it.  It was at that moment that Maia remembered she was supposed to be more wary of strangers, and she took a rapid step back before smiling apologetically.  Um, I'm Maia.  Who are you?  She seemed nice, but so had that other guy.... minus the creep vibes.  This girl didn't have any of those but no way was Maia taking any chances right now.  Not so close to Moonspear and all that.

WC: 194

A garden, eh? Toad had seen one attempt, maybe once, to do such a thing. However, she was quite unfamiliar with how plant-growing of any sort worked. Really, any kind of manipulation of nature felt completely foreign to her, so she nodded. Yeah, me neither, she agreed, wondering who this plant-loving "friend" was the woman spoke of. I don't even know what done would look like, she answered, slightly abashed.

Rather abruptly, the woman introduced herself, and Toad smiled, laughing breathily almost bashfully. Ohh yes, I'm Toad Amelia, she introduced. I'm just over from Firefly Glen. I hadn't really been out in a while so here I am! Looking for husbands, she thought. It would have been a weird thing to say to a stranger, and she snorted at her own thought with no explanation. She pretended it was a sneeze, rubbing her nose on her wrist for a moment.

Done just has more green I think.  But yeah, same.  She laughed, then shook her head.  I'll have to show him it, since, y'know, this is kinda pack central and all.  She recognized the name of the Glen and it helped her to relax some.  That was where Bronco and Meerkat and Fenn were, and it wasn't one hundred percent Moonspear, so it felt more okay!

I'm Maia!  From... well, currently staying in the Caldera.  My sister and I used to be packmates, but we are looking to maybe settle nearby.  She figured it couldn't hurt to say it, though a moment later wondered if she'd spoken too soon.  Did Wraen want the Glen knowing?  Oh shoot.  It was probably fine.

WC: 121

Just gonna assume that the ToadxWraen thread happened before this one

More green? That made sense. Toad nodded. The coffee-coated woman tilted her head slightly at the mention of "pack central," since these were lands that were right smack beside Moonspear and Firefly Glen. To her knowledge, none were trying to claim anything so close by. Neverwinter tolerated the presence of them but only just. But Maia went on, and Toad became very distracted by a very fun little fact.

Oh wow! Her excitement was obvious. She loved any excuse to be able to talk about the Caldera. For the moment, the mention of pack central was forgotten entirely. Phox is my nephew! And uh, once upon a time actually my sister Fox had her pack there, she explained, and then finally addressed what Maia had said. Where are you and your sister thinking? She was purely curious, wondering if the wonderful woman she had met in the Broken Antler Fan might be related to this most pleasant lady.

Oh, nice!!!  It was!  That would make her a Redhawk yeah?  Wow they had a big family.  Maia couldn't imagine running into her own relatives like that!  But... wait...

Hey, that makes us family too!  I always forget that.  Maia laughed.  Fox was Peregrine's wife?  He was my uncle!  Osprey had told them a few stories about her times with Uncle Peregrine.  She hadn't had as much to say about Fox, as far as she could remember, but they hadn't exactly lived close to one another.

We were thinking the Fen, south of here! We want to stay close to the Caldera but we aren't....  she paused for a second to ponder the wording.  As friendly with the Moonspear?  Though I'm sure they are great!  We just don't want to cause any issues, yknow?  Better safe than sorry, and assuming they could move in any closer up here might be more insult and waving Wraen in their face than anything else.

That's right! Toad confirmed that Fox was Peregrine's wife. She didn't know a whole lot about their end, only that it had been rather tragic, and the puppies had grown up largely without parents at all. Phox seemed to have turned out okay. Though Toad had yet to meet Towhee, she had a feeling she was closer to Fennec in nature based on descriptions from Meerkat.

Toad listened, bouncing a bit on her toes, confirming inwardly that indeed, it had been Wraen who was her sister. Toad thought Maia's name had sounded familiar. However, she was curious about Moonspear. Why would Hydra or Dirge have a problem with another pack full of friendly wolves? Wraen had seemed almost like a sister to Toad. They shared many interests, and Hydra seemed like a reasonable woman, though fierce.

Yeah, I get that — I actually met your sister Wraen down at the Fen! We talked about dragons and stuff, she explained. Maybe I should talk to Hydra or Dirge. I don't get why there'd be a problem, she opened her mouth a bit in a weird, puzzled frown, shaking her head. She knew that all of the Moonspear wolves were generally on high alert of strangers, but these two were hardly that if they were Caldera wolves.

Ohhh nooo that would not be good.  Not be good at all!

No, it's totally fine!  Maia replied quickly and sheepishly.  It's not really a huge deal!  Moonspear is just, kinda intense, yeah?  And my sister is totally not.  So she left and I guess they didn't really like it at the time.  But by now I'm sure it's totally blown over.  That was one hundred percent a lie and she didn't like saying it, but she definitely didn't want Toad Amelia poking that bear.  Besides, who's to say it hadn't blown over?  To be replaced by the whole Arcturus thing.  Yikes.

Looking for a change of subject wasn't hard, though, when she'd dropped that amazing tidbit.  You're into dragons?  Maia asked, her smile growing and her tail waving eagerly.  She was always down to talk to another dragon lover, though stories of all sorts would work for her if she and Wraen had dragon'd themselves out.  She was not picky!

Toad's version of Hydra was not everybody's version of Hydra. But! She saw only potential in the whole sitch, and thought she might be a great person to bring about great relations between Moonspear and the up-and-coming pack. After all, there was never any harm in more allies, was there?

Toad understood Maia's sentiments though, or so she thought. She'd left on not great terms, but that seemed like a minor thing, especially if it had happened a while ago. Yeah I guess Hydra and Dirge can both get kinda intense, she echoed, still thinking it might be good to talk to them about it. There was really no sense in holding onto such unimportant things when there were allieships to be had!

And then the dragons. Uhem, yes I'm into dragons!! She said it as though it were common knowledge that Toad Amelia was very much definitely all about the dragons always. She found her own tail mirroring Maia's, waving about faster and faster as she thought about her pervious conversation with the sister. Apparently you two are building a dragon nursery of sorts, although I think personally that you may wish to diversify with a few unicorns or griffins, just to keep it interesting, she grinned, winking.

Her thoughts about Moonspear seemed to vanish as soon as Maia pressed the right button. Her mind was suddenly committed elsewhere.

She agreed and appeared to drop it, which Maia appreciated and met with a smile of relief.  The last thing she needed was her big mouth to get Wraen into even more trouble!  She still felt like, if they dropped it for long enough, eventually the bad feelings would subside and everyone could just get along and be fine.  Probably naive, but there ya go!

Oh, yeah, yknow we talked about it!  Maia answered enthusiastically.  But dragons just make such good guardians!  Unicorns are definitely welcome, but I doubt they'd want to make themselves too seen.  And if that whole thing about not being able to lie around griffons was true, it would make story time really interesting!  She laughed at the thought of it.  Though there's a few I'd love to get in front of a griffon, just to see what they had to say.  Penn came to mind immediately.  It'd be hilarious to see him unable to fib!

And just like with Wraen, Maia seemed to speak the fantastical language easily. She jumped right into it, and Toad was hooked. She grinned as she imagined Maia at such a story time, surrounded by friends, family, and a pile of mythical creatures. It was a grand and impossible dream. The coffee-coated lore-lover was invested. Griffons are definitely good for honest peeps like us, she agreed, wondering who she might like to throw in front of one. Maybe Fennec. Definitely Fennec.

I mean personally, chimeras are kinda close to my heart. But they get such a bad rap, you know? With the.. three heads and all that, she said, making a face.

Toad felt a bit odd, just then, if only for a brief moment. For so long, she had felt quite out of place in the Glen. Everyone was young, and beautiful, and talented. Then there was her. She certainly had the experience to be able to teach and help, but so far it didn't much feel like she was being used that effectively. There were no men who might be interested in her, not that that was something she really ever expected to have happen. She remembered talking to Meerkat, thinking of how painful it would be in spring to once again be helping to raise children when she really would have liked to have her own. The youngsters didn't really get that. She had great friends in the Glen, but Meerkat was distracted with Atlas. Bronco had his own drama going on between Fennec and some girl he was chasing. Osiris was.. wonderful, really, but their friendship had only just touched the surface.

She felt like she'd known Wraen and even Maia her whole life. Things just...clicked. Toad smiled, feeling both guilty and joyous simultaneously, like she was involved in some kind of adultery.

Oh yeah?  Well, if there's a true soft heart to the terrifying beast, I'd love to hear about it!  Maia replied eagerly, sensing a story here.  And if there wasn't a story here, there should be, so she intended to help her newfound friend make one!

Likewise, Maia was immediately at ease with Toad Amelia.  This wasn't anything too new for her, but it was rare to find someone as eager to engage in childlike fantasy as she and Wraen, especially at their age too!  It was nice.

In exchange, I could tell you my favorite tale about a griffon!  She offered, just in case further convincing was necessary.

Oh a trade! I love that, said Toad excitedly, quickly racking her brain for the story of the chimera she was thinking of. Her tail flopped on the ground as she shifted to sit with Maia. Of course, she loved hearing about griffons, so it was only natural that she was more than willing to divulge what she knew.

Well, see, there was this chimera my great grandmother knew. She was out walking at night, and came across it in her path, angry. Its lioness head was talking to the snake tail, who was declaring that it was right and the lion was wrong. It was very heated, so much that fire was spilling from its nostrils, Toad explained, making a frowning face as she explained the scenario. My great grandmother was a bold woman, and she went up to the chimera and asked 'what's the problem here?' The chimera's lion head explained.

'The snake says it is the most important because it delivers the venom! But I say, I am the one who delivers the bite!'
This didn't make much sense to Great Grandmother, who couldn't believe a creature that fought with itself.
'WELL,' said the snake head on the tail of the chimera, 'your bite would be nothing without my venom!'
It went on like this for a while, my great grandmother looking between the snake and the lion, wondering who was more correct. But then, she realized that the goat in the middle was silent. So, she asked what it thought of this mess.

Toad paused for effect here.

'What do I think? I don't want to butt in,' said the goat's head. 'I am only here to balance the dizzying,' explained the goat. And it was only this that made the chimera realize its internal battle, and that the goat, indeed, was the most important of all for this function of keeping balance.

Toad nodded to signify the tale was complete. It was not one of her favourites, and she knew she hadn't told it perfectly, forgetting the funny joke that the snake had said to the lion. The gist was there, and she grinned.

Maia settled in eagerly to listen.  She loved not only hearing the story, but also the manner the other wolf told it in!!! Stories from family were especially delightful to her; if Toad's story was really from her grandmother, that meant she was opening up a piece of her past to Maia.  There was nothing more special.

The way she told it was very matter-of-fact, but she added expression and tone, and Maia could almost picture Toad's grandmother telling this story as it had happened to herself.  She was mesmerized.

That was amazing!!! She said at the end, beating her tail against the ground in applause.  I woulda been terrified to meet a creature like that, ohmygosh.  Your grandmother must have been a cool wolf!  Courageous as heck at least.

Okay, now a griffon story.  Hmmmm....  She wished she had one to offer from her own past, but she did not.  So instead she'd make one up and hope it served okay!  

There was once a griffon named Kieran.  She began, choosing the name at random.  If she had to pick one that sounded fit for an eagle, that was it!  He was young and powerful, and he loved to soar over the mountains and valleys of his home!!  But he was also very lonely.  Even as a child, he had never made many friends.  Griffons are hard to get along with because eventually, truths that aren't meant to be said get out.  And those truths tended to hurt the ones he tried to get close to.  As she laid it out, Maia thought of how sad it would be to never find your 'place' or a family to surround yourself with.  Her tone was appropriately sad, but this was definitely not a tradgedy!

He'd resigned himself to a life alone, deciding it wasn't that bad after all.  He had the sky, and the wind, and the view of the beautiful land below!  And that was enough, because in a way, they were friends to him.  They made him feel free.  She paused.  Now might have been when she would have asked for a contribution of what sort of creature might enter next, but she'd offered a telling.  So this one she'd do herself.

That all changed one day, however!  A beautiful storm spirit crash landed in one of his valleys.  She'd been injured and the mountains were too tall for her storms to rise over.  Her wings were the color of darkened clouds split with lightning, and her voice cracked and rolled like thunder.

At first, Kieran was afraid! He had never had a friend before, after all, and storms were dangerous to creatures of the sky.  Maia raised a paw, bringing it across and above in an arc.  Imagine being a bird and caught in the air, with all that wind and rain!  But he couldn't just leave her.  He was the guardian of the skies and she needed his help.  Suddenly, Kieran took on a different image in Maia's mind... eyes of bright green.  As she thought of @Eljay, the story took on a new quality, as did her voice.

He swooped down and at first, the spirit crackled lightning at him.  She was afraid and vulnerable on the ground, though in the sky she was a force to be feared.  But his kindness and honest quality won out, and after a while, he learned her name.  It was Tempestas.  The name, at least, was from her father's stories.  He hadn't often told them, but when pressed he'd occasionally given them glimpses of the gods and goddesses of his home.

Kieran hunted for her and helped to heal her, and before long, the two became close friends.  He found that storms can never lie, and that their power and honesty also frightened others.  But he wasn't afraid because he was the same.... a perfect match.  When she was able to fly once more, the two would dance through the skies together, and she gave him powerful gales to ride and rise upon, faster than ever before!  Maia grinned, and her telling grew with intensity as she reached this thrilling end to the tale... before returning to normal for the conclusion.

Eventually, Tempestas would need to leave, to roam and bring her storms to the reaches of the world.  Sometimes Kieran would go with her, and she would show him the beautiful places and wonders that lay beyond his mountains.  Sometimes he would remain as guardian, waiting and knowing that when she had finished, she would return.  And never again did either of them feel alone.

She let out a soft sigh, then smiled.  I... really like happy endings the best.  It was cheesy maybe, but now that she'd felt it, the stories hit differently.  She hoped that Toad was similarly a fan and not too bored of her sappy romance.

Fading T_T I hope it's okay that I archived here - it's very difficult for me to write her now.

She was so cool, Toad confirmed, her own tail thumping appropriately. Then, it was Maia's turn. At the shift of events, Toad settled in further, eyes glassy with anticipation and vigour. It had been a very long time since anyone had told her a story. Generally, she had always been on the opposite side of the fence because everyone she knew was quite young or had no interest in telling the tall tales.

Maia, though, was different. For her story was beautiful. It had all the twists and turns, the godly nature of mythical beasts, and, best of all, love. Toad was enthralled, staring ahead of her as she imagined Tempestas and Kieran flying over the world together, discovering adventures, finding new ways to love and be loved. It was what she hoped for, only she was starting to think that she was simply not deserving of such a thing. People like Maia found such beauty. Toad, though, she was far from it.

That was so beautiful, said Toad, hearing the love for happy endings but too distracted with the story to acknowledge it fully. Finally, she sighed dreamily as though she was lost. She longed for such an ending. I hope we both find happy endings, too, she answered, smiling smoothly. She wondered what the future held for them both. Perhaps she should simply leave the Glen and go with her cousins to their storybook world they were creating. Perhaps it would be more fitting for her to live there.

Or maybe her Kieran was waiting just around the corner for her, should she stay. Time would tell.