Secret Falls We Danced with Monsters Through the Night

Set in the woods just north of Secret Falls during the night. For little miss @Hawthorne <3

He wasn't an old man.

It was something Cottongrass knew for a fact and was more than ready to put up a fight over it. Because he was an adult! One that was still very young and had a tendency to act like an overgrown puppy with serious temper tantrums when the mood suited him but that wasn't the point. The point was that he knew he wasn't old. He was young and spry! Maybe even more than a little naive or gullible when it came down to it.

But there was something really hard about staying up late. His eyes just wouldn't stay open! Not even when he did his best to open them as wide as he could and hold them there out of sheer force of will. His eyelids were too heavy. That was the problem. And everything about the night was too quiet. He couldn't focus on staying awake when there was the only the sound of wind and rustling branches to distract him. So really, it wasn't his fault he always went to bed so early like some kind of old man.

The whole entire world was against him.

He couldn't be blamed.

That's what he kept telling himself as he shuffled forward through the woods. Leaves crunched beneath his paws and his fur snagged on branches and bushes alike. He just wanted to find some owls. Maybe climb a tree if that wasn't asking too much. But nothing was happening. There wasn't even some creepy noises happening or dancing shadows. He found himself growing more bored and tired with each passing second. Until, finally, with a shake of his head and a dramatic puff of breath, Cottongrass stopped walking. Moonlight shined down and he craned his head backwards until he could catch sight of the mysterious glowing orb from in between the skeletal canopy above.

He fell backwards onto his rear end with a dull thump. If nothing was happening he would just have to make his own fun. Thankfully he knew just what to do since he was very smart and prepared like that, sometimes but not really. His tail dragged along the ground and he shook out his coat for good measure. And without another moment of hesitation — Cottongrass drew in a deep breath and let out his very best owl impression.

It was going to be a long night.

Hawthorne decided she was going to explore tonight. Alone.

It wasn't that she had never explored alone before, it was more the fact that she was going alone at night. But she would have to plan just right! The young girl pretended she was fast asleep for a while just to cover her bases. When things fell silent is when she slipped away.

Lucky for Hawthorne her dark top helped shadow her in the darkness. Slinking about this place had become easier with the time she spent here. Of course, things looked different in the nighttime. Her paws knocked into stones and roots that would have been easily avoided in the day. She didn't let a few stumbles stop her from adventuring! There was so much to do and so -

What was that sound?

She halted her movements as ears stood tall on her masked head. It sounded like an owl but also...not? Hawthorne's brows furrowed together with concentration. Slowly she moved onwards through the land with the intent of finding the culprit. She wasn't mad or planning an attack but she wanted to know who it was making such sounds.

A few stumbling steps later Hawthorne spotted the pale figure. She had seen him a few times but they had never actually talked or spent much time together. Her features relaxed into something more friendly. "Did ya make that sound?"

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Silence hung in the air like static. He considered doing another owl call because maybe that one wasn't good enough. The idea struck him as laughable because he considered himself the best at doing owl impressions but who knew. Stranger things had happened before. His tail wagged and he drew in a deep breath.

And immediately released it.

There was something rustling in the nearby brush. It was out of instinct that he turned his head towards the source of the noise. Was it Reyes? He hoped it was Reyes. They could find Party Owl and spend the night talking or something. But from the bush appeared a figure. One too small and too feminine to be his friend. His tail thumped against the ground in friendly greeting anyway.

"Yup." He chirped. His head cocked to the side and his yellow eyes gave an owlish blink. Dark fur and bright eyes. She looked young. Maybe she was the puppy Reyes talked about finding earlier. He didn't know. One of his ears twitched. "Why?" Did he scare her? Did she think he was actually an owl? He sure hoped it was the latter of the two or else the whole entire night would be ruined.

Her head tilted to the side. Huh. Part of her didn't actually expect him to have made that sound. "It was pretty impressive." She admitted not wanting to say that it may have startled her some. Okay. A lot. Hawthorne was pretty on edge about sounds that happened when it was dark after her fiasco with the loud scream in the middle of the night. Regardless she had been impressed that it came from a wolf and not a real monster.

"I also didn't think anyone was still up." The young girl smiled softly. She moved slowly towards him before planting herself on the ground next to him. "Ya ain't gonna tell on me, are you?" A dark brow shot up above orange eyes with a bit of worry. He seemed cool - being up late and all. But he was an adult and that meant that maybe - just maybe! - he'd tell the other adults like Askan and Reyes.

There on the ground, she stared up at him waiting for him to prove if he was really cool or not.

If there was one thing Cottongrass learned growing up — it was that the little things mattered the most in life. Like catching a glimpse of an owl in flight during a slow night or having someone he considered a friend smile at him in greeting. Both were more than enough to make his day a whole lot more brighter. And sure his way of living had its own downsides. There were days he felt like he was spiralling out of control because someone didn't react the way he thought they would to one of his antics or he was sure everybody hated him for reasons he couldn't even start to comprehend. But it was moments like this that reminded him of the sheer goodness hidden in the world.

Because the girl thought his owl impression was impressive. And she might not have been that sincere but Cottongrass found that he didn't mind. Not when it was just the words he was looking for that late night. His coat ruffled and he did his absolute best to puff out his chest in pride.

"Thank you." He chirped. And his excitement didn't stop even when she settled down on the ground next to him. His tail thumped against the ground and his rear end wiggled gave a pleased wiggle. When she spoke he didn't think twice about answering.

"Nope." He paused. His head cocked and he twisted at the neck to face her with owlish yellow eyes. "Only if you promise you aren't going to tell on me, too." He reached out and gave her a friendly poke.

(This post was last modified: Nov 16, 2017, 01:29 AM by Cottongrass.)

The silver and ink colored girl couldn't help but giggle at his poke, getting up onto her paws again and moving to return the action. "Nah, I won't tell. Promise!" He was cool now after all. You know, since he wasn't going to rat her out to the older grown-ups. He had even made that one sound! Which was kinda strange but still impressive like she had said earlier.

Oh! Which made her wonder something.

"Could you teach me how ya did that sound?" A brow raised as her head tipped away from him, orange eyes looking with curiosity and glee. It couldn't be that hard. Right? If he could do it and those big-eyed birds could then why couldn't she? Perhaps she was being a bit too ambitious but that was Hawthorne! Eager and likely always biting off more than she could chew.

She did a small circle to work off some of those over working nerves of excitement before planting herself back down next to the pale-furred male. Her ears stood high on top of her masked head to make sure she would catch any instructions.

She wanted to know how he did his owl impressions. It was in that moment Cottongrass knew that she was truly a good kid. His tail wagged and his rear end continued to wiggle and squirm beneath him. Because the ancient art of hooting like an owl wasn't lost on her. Not when he was sure that she understood the importance of it. And he didn't have any proof to back up his belief that knowing how to sound like an owl was beneficial or useful in any way to life but he didn't need it.

"Sure." He chirped. "First you just —" The words stuttered and died in his throat while a thousand confused question marks went off inside of his head. Because how the heck did he do it? It was just something he did when the stars were out and he was alone or with friends. He never thought about it. Not when it was something he just started doing one night when he ran away from home and realized just how scary and dark the world could be when nobody was there with him to guide him along. Because life might have sucked sometimes but at least there were owls to keep him company. He cocked his head and his tail gave a few curious thumps against the ground.

It didn't take him long before he regained his confidence. Because she was going to learn how to sound like an owl even if he took all night explaining it.

"You just gotta, uh, howl like an owl." He gave his head a quick nod to show her how confident he was in his own abilities. "Yeah."

(This post was last modified: Nov 17, 2017, 01:19 AM by Cottongrass.)

"First you just —"

A brow raised above bright eyes. She wondered, very briefly, if he actually knew what to do. She wanted to doubt him but it wouldn't really make sense. He was the only one around which meant he was the only one who could have made that sound. Duh. Then she started to feel a little guilty about doubting him.

She shifted her weight at his rather vague instructions. That couldn't be too hard. Except for the fact she was not nearly as familiar with owls or making owl sounds as her pale companion was. Hawthorne was determined, though! She took in a deep breath of air before releasing her own sound.

It died off quickly when she realized just how wolfish it still sounded. Her brows pinched together with frustration. He had made it sound so easy but she hadn't done it! Was something wrong with her?

She did it.

She actually did it and Cottongrass wasted no time in launching to his feet. His tail wagged and his rear end wiggled. He wasn't the worst teacher in the whole entire world! She understood his instructions and that was a good enough to celebrate in his mind.

"Hey hey hey!" He chirped. Was he being too loud? It didn't matter. They were pretending to be owls in the middle of the night. Someone was probably going to get upset either way. He continued his little happy dance. "That was good! Really good!" And it wasn't as good as his owl calls but she was only a beginner. Under his careful tutelage she would only continue to improve.

Lucky for her they both had a long night ahead of them.

"You just gotta do it for a little longer." He chirped. His head nodded along to his words because it was true. The foundations were there. She just had to work on being more confident. "And you gotta — you gotta make it sound more like a hoot. But just a little!" He didn't want her getting discouraged so soon, after all. She was his only — and therefore greatest — student when it came down to owl impressions.

"It's gotta sound more like —" He let out a very warbled and garbled who that had all the vowels stretched out. It was pretty good if he were to say so himself. "Like that." His rear end gave a pleased wiggle and he nodded towards her. It was her turn!