Noctisardor Bypass spirits haunt these magic hours, dwelling in the sylvan bowers

Druid woke to find Rivenwood limned in frost. She gasped, her breath unfurling from her muzzle like dragon’s smoke. This wasn’t a particularly new phenomenon but she had never seen anything like the sparkling white dust on every surface. She spent an hour or more marveling, until the sun crept up in the sky and burned it all away, restoring the forest to its usual state.

Only then did she realize she had woken alone. Druid retraced her steps to the log, yet she did not see the snake. She took a step, prepared to go looking for her, when she paused thoughtfully. Bracelet had hardly spent any time wrapped around her ankle lately, always basking or hunting instead. She had led her canine companion to a rocky outcropping nearby on several occasions, which Druid thought of now. She drifted in that direction.

She didn’t see the snake, though she pressed her nose against the chilled stone and detected her scent. Druid sniffed her way toward a small crevice in the rocks and intuited that Bracelet was tucked somewhere out of sight. She sensed a change of some kind, though she couldn’t possibly understand what was happening. Perhaps Mahler might know.

Slowly, Druid turned from Bracelet’s hiding spot and went in search of the Graf or perhaps @Heda or @Witch. She had told her sisters about the upcoming trip to the seaside and felt a lick of excitement in her belly at the thought. There were still several days left between now and the new moon but Druid would love nothing more than to chat excitedly about their plans.

heda wasn't sure what to make of this upcoming trip. she too shared druid's delight, but inside her, the girl was not sure if she wanted to leave rivenwood. 
her mother had gone and never come back.
worripa had gone and never come back.
heda's heart began to sink. whatever forces outside the bypass might be, they were strong. they rattled the good bones of her pragmatism.
when she came awake it was to the same vision. the air was colder than it had ever been and diamond-dust frost scintillated on branches and leaves and stones. rivenwood had somehow been changed.
druid found her stiff-legged, staring up at a nest where a pair of sparrows had raised their young. she softened to see her sister, however, and bumped their heads softly together, nipping playfully at the other's ruff. "what's on your mind?"

She found her younger sister first, her snout directed skyward. Druid walked up beside Heda, tucked her haunches into a sit and followed the upward tilt of her gaze. It took a moment to spot the nest tucked in the boughs overhead.

Heda spoke then and Druid’s eyes drifted earthward to find the familiar weight of her aureate eyes. I was thinking about Mireille and the seaside, she replied readily, her tail stirring the carpet of leaves behind her. Did I tell you, she continued, mismatched eyes trailing over the streak of resplendent red down her sister’s back, that her fur matches your markings?

She leaned toward her sibling, reaching out to fondly ruffle the auburn furs with her teeth. Mireille was fetching, like both of her sisters, albeit in a different way. Druid felt quite drab compared to all of them, though she didn’t speak of it. Her nose skimmed to touch Heda’s cheekbone before she withdrew with a hum, eyes glistering.

What about you? she questioned, head canting slightly to the left.

mireille and the seaside. how odd and timely that her sister's thoughts should mirror her own. but it wasn't in the same way. druid was excited to go. heda was not sure she wanted to go. and yet she knew she would, and felt she would at least enjoy the trip to this unknown seaside.
that mireille and she had a resemblance sparked an irrational jealousy in heda. but druid's loving touch muted that response, and after lapping at her sister's jawline, she sighed and chose to be honest.
"i'm sorta — afraid? of going," heda ventured. "like ... what if i can't handle being away from here? or what if — she doesn't like me?"

Don’t be, Druid replied, not at all dismissively. Indeed, her eyes were tender as they regarded Heda. We’ll be together. Witch is coming too. I’m sure Mireille will like you, she continued, but if she doesn’t, we can always throw her into the sea. She wrinkled her nose and snickered conspiratorially. It was ridiculous because of course Mireille would like her. Heda was wonderful, as was the ginger girl.

I can’t wait for you to see it, she went on a moment later, expression shifting to one of wonder. Druid gazed off into the distance for a beat, picturing that incomprehensible stretch of seawater before blinking back to a focus, eyes seeking and finding her sister’s again. It will be an adventure for our… She paused, wondering if she had a word that fit? Sisterhood.

She wondered if the Sapphique native would bring along any of the siblings she had named (or the ones she hadn’t). Druid thought she could empathize with Heda’s uncertainties there. It was exciting, the idea of making more new friends outside of Rivenwood, but it was daunting too.

Meanwhile, she said a moment later, drawing out the word a little, what are you doing today? Her eyes flicked upward to the nest briefly before dropping once more to Heda’s face.

heda could not help the startled snort of laughter that escaped her mouth. she didn't even know mireille! her eyes danced and told druid that she was always deeply amusing. 
"an adventure for sisterhood," she declared in a repeat. "i like that. it will be good." she was still fearful of leaving rivenwood. but this must be mollified by other means. "i hope i don't faint when i see it!" she laughed, pretending to dramatically swoon for a minute.
"well," heda went on, turning her eyes toward the nest. "a mom and a dad bird made their nest here. they had some babies. i wonder if they will come back. and when."

Druid favored Heda with a fond smile when she joked about fainting. She didn’t even need to say it: were that to truly happen, her sisters would be there to catch her.

Soon their attentions were redirected to the birds’ nest. Druid’s lips pursed as she processed Heda’s observations. How do you know it’s a mom and dad? she wondered. She thought of Mireille’s two mothers and of their own single mother. It wasn’t really a conscious thought, so to speak, but fathers seemed rather unnecessary to her.

"their colors," she chuffed. "the mom birds are kinda ugly-looking. the dad birds are really bright. but the mom bird sits on them. the eggs, i mean."
fathers had always been superfluous in her life. it was a difference between she and other creatures that the girl simply had not ever cared about before.
"i really like watching them. birds. they teach me stuff."

For the first time in her life, Druid’s hackles prickled. Her ire wasn’t directed at her sister, rather the words she purveyed. Why had nature made the mothers ugly and the fathers beautiful? That seemed awfully out of sorts to the young ecologist. It also seemed like such a waste.

And then there was the fact that the mothers were left to rear the children, though Druid was already aware of this fact of life. She lived it. She noted the lack of equity there, though she viewed it through a very particular lens. Men weren’t suited for or deserving of rearing children. Birthing and raising children was a blessing and honor of which only women were worthy.

Heda’s voice brought her back to a focus. What else have they taught you? she wondered, her demeanor softening as she regarded her sister with fond interest.

druid's reaction caught the curious glint of heda's eye. she could not think what she had said to possibly cause this. and it was uncommon for her sister.
possibly to assure or to redirect, she reached forward to nose her sister's face. "birds go where there is lots of food. or bugs. sometimes when their voices are loud, it's because they saw a hawk or eagle."
"and those birds fish. and they grab little animals." her eyes widened. "i wonder if they could get a baby wolf?" heda shivered, distracted from the train of her own thoughts.

Heda possessed a wealth of knowledge about birds and their habits, which captured Druid’s fascination. She was particularly intrigued by the mention of birds fishing. She tried to picture it, when her sister raised a sinister question.

How could they carry it? she rejoined. She knew firsthand how small wolf pups were when they were very young, yet surely no bird could hoist them away? But Heda had just spoken of eagles and hawks, which did look rather large from afar…

She shuddered a little too, then decided to change the subject. Tell me more about the birds that fish, Druid requested before guessing suddenly, Do ducks and geese eat fish? They spent so much time near the water, it made sense.

"with those wicked big claws. like tall-ons. or something. but they're sharp. and they can draw blood real fast."
heda nodded. "birds eat fish. geese have — well, it's like teeth kinda. in their beaks. but weird-looking. and they will bite you," heda nodded. "geese try to bite anything."
"there's big birds called osprey here. mahler told me. they almost only eat fish. sometimes they just fly down and swoop them up, he says. we won't see them back till the spring, though, so i haven't seen it yet myself."

Heda regaled her with knowledge and Druid listened raptly, picturing these teeth and claws. She even held out her own paw, turning it upside down and flexing the toes together to study her own toenails. She’d never given them much thought, though perhaps she would utilize them more the next time she attempted to fish.

Take me somewhere where we can watch some birds? the gray Sämling requested, resting her foot back on the frosty earth. I want to learn from them too, especially anything that might help me get better at fishing.

"okay! let's go to silencepine."
"don't know why it's called that. it's not quiet at all. but there's a hawk in a big tree there. sometimes he eats fish. he lets me follow him to the lagoon. as long as i keep my distance. i'll introduce you."
she laughed and nipped at druid, challenging her sister to a footrace for the prize of seeing the red hawk first.

Often the two of them spent time together in Silencepine. Druid merely nodded, smiling at Heda’s astute observation about the name as they began to walk that way. Heda told her about her camaraderie with a local hawk and Druid could only raise her brows, immediately intrigued and curious how Heda hadn’t mentioned something so fascinating until just now.

Of course she was eager to see for herself, so she poured her excited energy into tailing her sister toward the piney woods.