Willow Ridge Children of the Gods

For @Rashina ! Backdated to March 1st

The absence of his sister and aunt from the ridge, however brief, had not gone unnoticed by Iseldir. Winter still had a harsh grip on the land, the snows seeming to come as often as they ever had, and their family were only a few souls. His worry was compounded by the rather new knowledge that the wilds around their home might hold very dark and dangerous things.

And so their return was met with joy. After he'd greeted his sister, the youth had sought out his aunt. Though he was not as close to her as Nin seemed to have grown, she was family and one of the few that remained. And that meant something.

As was his habit he had brought a gift, one he hoped would do her some good after her time away. The hare hung from his jaws, one he was rather proud of having hunted by himself from the meadow's edge to the south. Half-muffled by the mouthful, he let out a amicable bark as he walked toward the area most frequented, searching for signs of the mysterious woman who had eyes like the moon.

And these eyes sought him out, shining of color in blue, green and silvers, but they saw nothing. Not in this world. It was the sound of his approach and smell of the kill which captured her attention and the little dove of a woman smiled ever sweet to her little cousin.  

"What is it you've brought me today, sweet boy?" It smelt of hare but wanted him to tell her. She knew that the children were beginning to hunt on their own now, putting less of a strain on the two parents where Ra could not provide. She had been more of a burden then she had hoped for and here her services as a seer were unuseful. This was not a spiritual land.

(This post was last modified: Mar 16, 2023, 01:33 AM by Rashina.)

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors." 

Iz found his way over, greeting Ra with a soft whine and wagging tail as he nosed the hare toward her. She was frail, he could see, but he had not ever known her to be much different than this and so only hoped that he might bring a gift to the woman who had come from so far away, to ease her day.

Why she had come to stay with them he did not quite know, but he was curious about the idea that there were more Archers, more than just the Ridge and the surrounding wilds. Not just to the world, but their own family stretched beyond what he knew. Where did they live, what did they do, who were they? Besides his uncle Scully who was gone, the boy had never known any of them.

"Hare," Iz answered and smiled as he settled, hoping to share some time with her. "For you."

The Archer lad was one of few words, even with those closest to him, relying on many other factors to speak for him as well. As such it was not easy to express the myriad of curiosities he had, but quite possible to indicate that he'd like to spend some time and listen to her, if she wished to share. He made him self comfortable and lay his head on his paws, tail thumping gently, content to simply share company if welcome.

The rabbit hit the ground and he was nosing it close to her, the scent wafting into her nostrils and she breathed deep with a curiosity of the food which had been brought to her. In Torbine, Ra had plenty. Many hunted for her and brought her food daily. But she did her best to store it properly and even still scavenged, ate berries, herbs, nuts and bugs with high protein. She would take the kills given to her to the elderly and injured if she felt they were of better use elsewhere.

During winter, her other ways of eating was harder to come by, forcing her to need food from hunts more frequently. Here at the Ridge, this was hard on the little family, Ra knew. They might not ever say, but she was no fool.

"Share it with me then. I do not think I could eat it all and you'll need your energy to hunt for us again later!" She teases the boy, laughing lightly. In truth, she was beyond hungry and so ever tired because of it. She could eat the whole thing but would not and so, made this little lie. He did though, need his energy, whether it was to further hunt or not. It would give him reason to eat half if he firstly wanted to refuse.

And as he settles to spend time with her, her plush white tail thumps on the ground behind her. "It is a very quiet place here. I admit, I'm not quite used to it. We were busy as bees in Torbine." She spoke to the youth. The quiet brought a boredom. She often lay here alone with her thoughts or with the vision of the gods in her mind.

(This post was last modified: Apr 19, 2023, 03:54 PM by Rashina.)

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors." 

Tipping his ears toward her, Izzy nodded after a moment and took her at her word. The boy began to tear fur and skin from the hind end of the hare, working bites of it away slowly. He did not want to take too much, just enough to encourage her to partake as well, for he had hunted this gift for her. After nosing it back toward her, he lifted his head and smiled, listening.

She seemed happy to speak of this home of hers. "Torbine?" he repeated the word, so foreign and at the same time familiar. His mother had spoken of Torbine to them, but it seemed a world away from them here in the Ridge. Iseldir wondered if it was very different there, if there were a lot of wolves and that was what kept them so busy.

"Where's it?" He'd inquire after a moment, for if Ra had come here then it must not be a whole world away.  Instead it seemed it was close enough to reach, and to reach them. He wondered what that might mean for them.

Ra yanked at the ears of the hair as the youth pealed skin from the back end. She devoured its front legs and shoulders and when the boy was done and he nosed what still remained closer to her, she grabbed it and set it aside close to pick the bones clean later.

She nods then when he repeats the name of 'The Mother Land' back to her, picking up the conversation again. "It is a number of weeks from here, on a great land surrounded by ocean on all sides but one, which high mountains rise, stretching from coast to coast. It is where our bloodline was born." She explains to the boy, the knowledge of the word 'peninsula' unknown to her.

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors."