Hearthwood River obey the sounds of yesterday

RE: A sudden downburst has flattened several small trees and shrubs.
@Lachesis @Karina @Kisla @Kyrios @Bennet @Lilya @Orren @Kjors @Lekalta @Inna 
I'm so sorry, I can never get tags to work. Just open to everyone, basically.

The young Stark's eyes were wide with surprise at her current discovery. While widened, anyone who was intimately close with the mini-Lach would notice that the blues in her eyes were beginning to turn towards a greener shade. Otherwise, it was still hardly noticeable. There was no indication to her unless anyone said so, but the same sparkle of wonder lay there with everything she discovered. And today, she had discovered that all of the foliage had.. flattened? She was more familiar with her surroundings outside the den now that the Hearthwood cubs were being given more freedom, but she definitely knew that they did not normally look like this! All the leaves and usual shapes of the plants had been seemingly squashed by something or someone.. What a curious mystery..

Atropos moved forward towards the changed scenery carefully, finding it strange that she could walk on plants that had previously framed the borders of her boundaries. The landscape was so different looking! She could see so much further without the brush obstructing her short-framed views. But what could have done this?? A giant animal?? She sniffed curiously at the ground before continuing over top the grasses overcautiously, testing each uncertain step before letting her weight drop.

The sudden downburst was met with no great welcome from the swarthy male – he’d never cared for the roar of thunder overhead, much less the rush of wind that accompanied this one.  He hadn’t the time to retreat back to his den in Zephyr Rills, forced to take shelter at the base of a large redwood tree.  The roots provided a fair shelter, but his pelt was still damp and he found himself quite displeased as he broke free the moment the rain stopped.

His first order of business was to return to his own den, make sure no damage had been done.  That’s where the pups should be, if not in the pack den.  No one was crying, and so Kjors did not feel a terrible need to move quickly – if someone was hurt, surely they’d not be quiet about it.  (Especially a child.  None of these puppies were silent in any sort of suffering.)

So intent on his business, the man almost trotted right by Atropos carefully tottering over the freshly flattened foliage.  Ears rolled forward as he circled again, eying the girl carefully as he drew to a halt.  Nothing seemed immediately wrong.   “Y’alright, lass?” he rumbles all the same, glancing around.  “Th’ rain catch ya?”

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

A startling, yet familiar, low voice spoke to her unexpectedly, and the young Stark turned quickly towards its source. The one-eyed male was a common sight among the pups, and her tail wagged immediately upon his identification. Her cautious venture momentarily forgotten, Atropos bound to Kjors clumsily over the uneven foliage, jumping up to lick his chin and muzzle a number of times before returning herself back to the spindrift-affected ground. While he was not as affectionate as her salt-and-peppered mother, or even her father, he was still a welcome sight to the lone pup. A playmate, nonetheless!

The large wolf asked her something about the rain, and a giant light bulb went off in her head. That's what had woken her from her original slumber! The three month old had been sleeping earlier that day when the thunderous sound had pried her eyes open. While it was not an unfamiliar sound, she had certainly never heard it as loud as it had been at that moment. It had stopped though, and she had gotten back to sleeping before finally coming outside for investigation. How amazing that Kjors knew such things! "I-it was rrrrr-rrrr-rain??" She asked incredulously, forcing her voice through the sentence, despite her annoyance at the difficulty of words on her tongue. Her eyes sparkled up at Kjors, the keeper of amazing knowledge. Her tail wagged eagerly at learning about nature as she turned back to the flattened grasses. "When grass stop bein' ssss-so s-s-sad?" She asked him sadly. Did the grass not like the loud sound of the rain? She could understand, of course, it was really loud, and the grass didn't have a big safe den to stay inside.

“Some rain, yeah,” Kjors hummed, glancing around.  Why was Atropos here alone?  Where was her brother?  The pair was oft not separated – if anything, it was Bennet often joining them.  But then, perhaps that was where Kyrios had gotten off to, finding some trouble with his daughter. 

Deciding he was satisfied with this particular whigmaleerie, he tipped his head and his golden gaze down at the young ghost.  “It was a storm, really.  Rain, an’ wind, an’ thunder.  Tha’s th’ big ol’ noise y’hear after th’ lightnin’ flashes.  Like a dragon’s roar.”  He offered the young girl a wink – though such a gesture was difficult to discern when a man only had one eye.  Kjors continued on regardless, moving to sit next to the curious child as her questions continued.

“It ain’t sad, lass,” he replied, leaning down to nudge behind one soft ear.  “Th’ wind did tha’.  Came straight down, it did.  Grass ain’t like trees, don’t break.  Once they dry up an’ th’ sun comes back, they’ll reach back up fer th’ light.  Tha’s wha’ grass does.” He paused for a moment, wrinkling his nose as his mind wandered. “Well – tha’s how we all are, really.  Wake up an’ reach fer th’ light, huh?”

Atropos listened diligently, gazing forever upwards at her dark guardian. Rain and wind and thunder. The Stark did her best to memorize the words so she could remember them forever. She couldn't wait to tell Kyrios and Bennet about her discoveries. Kjors moved closer to the cub, and as he sat down, she situated herself next to him, mimicking his posture. She looked at the grass curiously with a new perspective now. Then her gaze shot up at the dark male with a gasp, and back at the grass, trying to superimpose what it would look like with creatures roaring like thunder at it. "Dragons?" What a wonder! Dragons could scare grass too! Wow, that would be the coolest thing to see! The wink was lost on the cub, blind to all things subliminal - though she was samely blind to the fact that he only had one eye as well. It never really occurred to her that there might be a different way for Kjors to look.

When she felt the nudge between her ears, she flicked them multiple times as wagged her tail. She was so busy focusing on the new information that affection was placed on the back burner. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute, thinking about hopes and possibilities and wonderings of nature. She didn't know the answer to his philosophical question, but she did have more questions about dragons. "Do d-dragons reach for light too? When will I s-s-s-see a dragon?" She asked, her voice alit with wonder. She had to know it all, and she would someday.

As the pup sat, Kjors bent over to run his tongue across her head, grooming the child gently as all the thoughts processed.  A very good listener, he noted; for all that he did not particularly care for Lachesis (nor the girl’s mother, but it did not bode well to think ill of the dead), he found himself rather fond of both the children.  Very different in their own rights, but smart, and clever, and good, strong friends for Bennet.

Worth protecting.  And if they were worth protecting, than they were worth teaching, too.

And ah, that question!  “Clever girl,” he crooned happily, nibbling on her scruff affectionately before relaying his answer to the child.  “All of us.  All of us reach fer th’ light.  Even dragons, too.”  His golden eye twinkled as he shifted, nudging the girl with a playful snort.  “Yer lookin’ at one, lassy.  An’ I get up erryday, same as you do.  Bennet, she gonna grow into a dragon, ‘m sure of it.  Maybe you, too.  Maybe yer brother.  Too soon t’say jes’ yet.  But yer a good girl – ye’ll grow inta somethin’ good, n’matter what it is.”

That, he knew for certain, no matter how small, no matter how open to possibilities she was just now.

First attempt at writing Atropos; sorry if there's a sudden change, @Kjors ♥!

The nibble at her scruff caused a wiggle and a giggle, as Atropos tried to twist and bat playfully at Kjors' ankle with her over-sized paws. She delighted in playtime alone, with the flowers of the forest, but even she couldn't deny that the occasional friend who could play back beyond flittering in the breeze with simply delightful. With no strength at all, a weak little giggle on her lips, she nibbled at his paw. Success!

She pouted, tilted her head ever so slightly. Perhaps certain things were lost on a pup so young. The light he spoke of may hint to something beyond the warmth of the orange sun, or the little white blip of the moon--so her childish naivety slipped out ever so easily; "Buh-but the light is sss-so far ah-away!" She wondered with awe if a dragon could pluck the sun from the sky. How big could dragons get? How high could they reach? Were they all like Kjors? Or were they all different? "Hu-hu-how are you g-gonna rrrr-rr-reach it?"

She beamed at his comments, a row of tiny white teeth flashed in a silly grin. She would be something cool ... something good! But maybe not a dragon ... no, she wasn't sure if she deserved to be something so awesome. "I duh-don't wuh-wuh-wanna be a duh-dragon. I wuh-wanna be sss-sss-smart. Like duh-daddy!" She nodded sagely for a moment, nosing the grass beneath her feet once more. The sad grass, flattened by rain and wind and thunder ... if Kjors knew about plants, would he know as much as Atropos' father? "Duh-duh-do drrr-rrragons like puh-pluh-plants?"

The nibble on his paw was rewarded with a playful growl, the adult having no issue with taking a few moments for play.  He gave Atropos a small nudge, wriggling in tangent when it seemed the thoughts had settled in, and more questions spilled over the brim.  The wolf gave a thoughtful hum as he rocked back, ears twitching at the thought. 

“Yeah, s’far away,” he agreed with a bob of his head.  “But that ain’t no reason not t’ try.  Jes’ because somethin’s hard t’ do…  Makes it more worthwhile in th’ end.  Ain’t nothin’ worthwhile that was real easy, y’ remember that, lass.”

And that was true, regardless of the task at hand.  A big hunt was always more rewarded than a single chipmunk or mouse.  Her next comment, however, came with a small tip of his head.  “Y’are whatever y’are, lass.  Regardless of th’ label y’put on it.” Now, what that was, he wasn’t sure – that was something that would become more clear as the girl got older.  “‘sides, no one said dragons ain’t smart,” he chuckled, trying to steer the conversation away from becoming too heavy.  He reached over to nose the girl’s ruff again.   “They like plants too, yeah.  Some of ‘em.  Ain’t all th’ same.  Jes’ like you an’ yer brother ain’t the same, even though yer sibs, and wolves, huh?”

Kjors offered a smile, a playful nibble as he tried to keep the girl from getting too concerned.  “Yer allowed t’like whatever y’wanna.”