Willow Ridge ways to go

@Enoki <3 || Late morning, Cloudy, 53 ° F, 12 ° C

The young Archer had wasted away most of the morning by sleeping in late and having a few wrestling matches with his sisters. There was no sun out for him to be sunbathing and it seemed no one was around at the moment to entertain him. Unsurprisingly this left him bored and with an unlimited amount of free time until someone rescued him from his boredom. He could have very well found @Ravenna to trail after or even his own father @Nicolò. They were usually doing something that his attention span could grab onto. Yet he had chosen to sprawl out underneath one of the many willow trees that were spread throughout his home.

He rolled onto his back and reached his left front leg out towards the willow tree's long limbs. His own legs weren't nearly as long as the tree's but Roman had faith he would be able to reach the top of them one day just like a giant might. Perhaps one of his parent's were able to reach the tops of the willows. Were they big enough to do that? His one ivory paw was brought back towards his ebony chest. What kind of creature could reach the tree tops? He knew the birds could but Roman didn't wish to be a bird. He wanted to be something big and strong.

(This post was last modified: Aug 03, 2017, 12:33 AM by Romanov.)

It's Only Dark.

Ebony limbs carried the lithe frame of the Ridge's matriarch leisurely across the expanse of the Archer kingdom, a soft sway to her tail after spending most of the early morning tending to the borders with her mate at her side. A rare sliver of alone time for the couple since the birth of their children. Ravenna always tried her best to provide the pair with ample personal time and had no qualms with babysitting her cousins, often times insisting that she get some bonding time in with them. Regardless, the first time parents were appreciative of the help both the silver woman and Eskil provided when they could spare time away from task demanded by pack society. 


Gradually the sun scaled higher behind the cloudy sky to signal late morning and with it, the duo tapered off from one another with a parting kiss to attend another task like ensuring caches were still well stocked and their children minded their current babysitter. Luckily they seemed to have chosen to be on their better behavior today, a small stroll along one of the well-worn trails amongst the veil of slumped boughs that made up their home allowing the piebald female to come across her son's belly up position and gazing skyward at the umbrella shaped canopy above. Neither of his sisters in sight.

Chuffing softly to announce herself, she approached and gave his cheek a small nudge with her snout, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips while her ivory painted haunches lowered themselves to take a seat beside her son. Eventually coming to a lay and rolling onto her own back to mirror the posture he was in, both ebony paws cradled against her chest while smoldering amber irises watched the gentle sway of the leaves in the morning breeze. "Whatcha doing, Roman?" She asked casually, head tilting to the side to now look at her son's face and the patchwork of white that was gradually growing in brighter around his eye.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

The Archer boy let out a soft whine as a greeting to his mother's loving touch. His tail thumped against the earth below the piebald duo. It was nice to just be alone with his mother. She wasn't as energetic and rambunctious as his sisters but she still kept things interesting and exciting. His own head turned to meet her amber gaze, a lopsided smile adorning his face at her question.

"Thinkin'." Roman admitted softly before looking back up to the tree top. His left paw stretched out towards the willow tree's top again. "Can ya reach it, Mama?" The young boy asked curiously. Maybe if his mother could reach it then he would be able to reach it once he was her size. Would he grow to be her size? He hadn't even really thought about that part. Roman was well aware that he was growing as the days dragged on. His paws were oversized just like his ears. He was bigger than the day he had been allowed to exit the den and he had learned more about the world outside since then too.

His head turned away from the tree to look over at his mother. If she was going to be able to touch the tree tops then he didn't want to miss a thing. Roman would need to learn just exactly how it was done.

It's Only Dark.

Thinking. That was his response as the dappled mother watched his gaze return their focus to the cloudy sky above and oversized paws stretch themselves skyward too, soon pondering a question of his own whether or not his mother could reach it. "Reach what, the sky?" She answered back, amusement lingering at the idea before returning her own gaze toward the gray painted sky above and hoisting her paws away from her chest to begin stretching them out. An exaggerated grunt leaving her lips while her reach extended well beyond that of Roman's yet still falling short of reaching the clouds above their heads. "Hmm, I guess not."


Turning her head, her gaze once more settled on the developing features of her son, a small shrug of her shoulders following. "Do you want to reach the sky one day?" In her mind, Enoki knew the idea of touching the sky was entirely unachievable, but that was something he would come to learn for himself one day when he was older. For now, the magpie mother had no qualms entertaining the fictitious ideas of becoming as huge as a mountain or being able to jump as high as the moon. When she was younger the same thoughts ran through her young and curious mind so who was she to crush any dreams he was beginning to form? As any parent would she would support any wild and crazy thought her children had no matter how unrealistic it was.

Romanov Archer

He watched his mother's leg extend beyond his own by a fair reach. Mama was big. Not as big as Ravenna but certainly bigger than him and his siblings. He liked it, though. Their larger forms were comforting when he wanted someone to curl up against and relax.

His own legs tucked back in against his chest and stomach. A rather puzzled look grabbing onto the boy's developing features. "Nah." Romanov said with a bit of a dull tone. "Maybe the tree tops but not the sky." He explained looking from the willow trees to the ivory and ebony form of his mother. "Can Ravenna?" A paling brow raised above transition baby eyes. Mom always had the answers so he didn't exactly feel bad about asking her so many questions. If she didn't have the answers she usually still had the right thing to say. So did Dad. Both of his parents were pretty good about his hounding questions.

The Archer boy rolled onto his side and shuffled against the ground to get closer to Enoki's side. Once he was close enough he would attempt to climb on top of her. She might prove to bring him closer to the tree tops above.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.

An ebony ear gave a small flick to rid a nuisance insect that decided to buzz too close while the magpie mother waiting for her son to provide an answer that equaled the curiosity of the question itself she had posed, a smile tugging back the corner of her lips watching his facial features reflect the deep thought he found himself swimming in before finally coming with up with an answer to give. While the sky seemed too far a stretch to reach even for his imagination, the canopy of their droopy on the other paw seemed a more logical goal. One he wondered if their silver babysitter could reach as well. 


An amused hum sounded in the depths of Enoki's chest as the young boy shifted closer to her frame and then eventually clambered on top of her, warranting a soft chuckle to fall from her inky lips. "Ravenna is pretty big and can reach lots of things. She might even have a plant to help you grow big and strong too." It was a possibility, wasn't it? As she spoke her forelimbs wrapped around his smaller frame to embrace the child, her head lifting to give his cheek a couple cleaning licks to remove the dirt only a mother's eye could spot. "Maybe we should go find her and see for ourselves, hmm?" 

The question slash invitation to seek our the silver woman was left to hang in the air as Enoki settled back comfortably against the dirt, her smoldering amber gaze shifting from the face of her son to the tree tops once more when one of the various species of birds that called their forest home year round fluttered from branch to branch that warranted memories of when she was a cub and wished she could fly like the birds of her home. Soar right off the peak of the mountain she lived on and never touch the ground again. "Do you ever wish you could fly like the birds?" 

Romanov Archer

His face scrunched up as she licked away the dirt. Roman should have seen this coming, it wasn't awful really, though. He adored his mother and loved when she doted on him but it was still embarrassing sometimes. What if Addy or Elle saw? Would they tease him? He sure hoped not but he knew.

Those words had not been lost on him. He had never given much thought that a plant might help him grow. He knew that eating his meals and sleeping was important but a plant? Roman trusted the adults, though. His head gave a small nod. "Mm yeah." His tail then followed suit as it gave a few quick thumps against his mother. If he could grow as big as Ravenna then he was all for this magical plant. Hopefully, it would taste good. The boy had chewed on grass a few times and it never tasted as good as the meat the adults caught.

"Fly?" He mimicked the word as a puzzled expression crossed his face. Did he wanna fly? The birds always looked like they were having fun up there... "Yeah!" He piped out loud finally. Why couldn't he have fun like the birds did?

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.

Almost like tricking a child into taking their unwanted vitamins Roman was agreeing to the idea of seeking out the silvered medic in hopes of finding some magical plant that would help him to reach these fanatical sized goals of his after some minor thinking on his behalf. The dappled mother could feel the plum of his tail thump against her body in the wake of excitement made anew by this presented possibility and she chuckled softly before their mother-son bonding time drifted further down the fanciful road and entertained the idea of flying like birds.


The look of puzzlement that crossed his growing, handsome features had not gone amiss by his mother as Enoki gave her head a curious tilt in anticipation for his answer. Pondering all the while if her son mirrored such vibrant, overimaginative and unrealistic thoughts in his youth as she had all those years ago. A zealously yipped yeah tugged back the corner of her inky lips and slowly she shifted her weight to lay on her side, sending the young boy tumbling lightly onto the ground beside her as a result. There was a stiffness that was beginning to settle in her spine from remaining upside down and stagnant for so long and it was becoming rather uncomfortable, but she wouldn't let the onset of her aging show and ruin the splendor of her son's curiosity.

"So did I when I was your age. I use to live on a mountain almost like the one we can see from here." Her story began, now shifting to rest fully on her stomach in order to weave her childhood tale in the most comfortable position possible for herself. "Every morning I would hear the calls of these birds my mama called Purple Martins. They had feathers as bright as the purple flowers that bloomed every spring and I would watch them for hours flutter from tree to tree wishing I could fly with them. I even tried to fly a couple times with your Uncle Arion's help." Another soft chuckle passed over her lips as the memory of her younger self, leaping fearlessly from the largest boulder she could find in order to try and fly crossed the forefront of her mind. 

Romanov Archer

He slid off of his mother with ease but made sure to still stick close to her side. His ears eagerly popping up as she began a story. What a treat! He didn't even have to ask for one this time.

The mountain. It was a big thing in the distance, one Roman never fathomed getting closer to or being able to cross. Just thinking about the height and what might be waiting up there gave him a small shiver. Yet Mama used to live on one which made him wonder just how bad they really could be. His thoughts shifted ever so slightly as she began to speak about birds. He soaked in all the details but he had one very very important question. "Did ya ever do it, Ma? Fly?" A pale brow raised above amber eyes. Uncle Arion was a name he carefully stored away to ask about later. Maybe this evening before bed he could wrangle another story out of his mother.

Amber gaze settled on her warm features as a silly grin pulling on his boyish face. If his mom could fly then maybe he could too. Mentioning that she was his mom and all. But then that likely meant that Adeltra and Elle could too. Suddenly this sounded like more trouble than he wanted.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.