Zephyr Rill we're all battling fear

@Lilliana | overcast, afternoon

She still did not enjoy leaving the safety of the river, but she was stretching her legs more frequently. The little cloud made sure she did not stray too far from the Kingswood, for what lay beyond the line of trees still remained a mystery to the nervous Stark. One day, maybe, she would venture beyond the trees. It was not an appealing thought to the green-eyed girl, for she found comfort in the company of the redwoods. Seeking what else was out there did not interest her, but she knew her parents would encourage her to explore further once she grew into her adult body. The thought alone left a sour taste in her mouth as she continued through the trees, following the soft bubble of the creek to her left.

As long as she followed the river Lavender knew where she was going. She had forced herself to learn the woods that surrounded the communal dens at the river after she had gotten lost in the fog. If Lilliana had found her instead of their mother Lavender would never hear the end of it. At least her mother had been forgiving and helped her navigate her way back to river’s edge. Her twin would have laughed in her face and mocked her endlessly before guiding her (helpless) sister back. It was embarrassing! She should know the territory better but the woods, while comforting, were also tremendously frightening. There were all sorts of monsters and strangers beyond the borders of Hearthwood…

suckin too hard on your lollipop, oh loves gonna get you down

Lilliana Stark

Lilliana held none of her sisters reluctance for adventure, in fact, so far this morning she had already bounded across the borders chasing a butterfly, realised her error and followed a fish in the shallows of the river back, and then out again via a smaller creek. As she chased the fish she muttered under her breath, as though someone could hear the rhymes she was weaving "To feed my family, stalk these cold rivers and forbidden trails, Yeah wuz happenin girl? I'm just tryna get my teeth in some scales..." It almost seemed as though the fish was aware of her smack talk as it retreated to deeper water and she watched it leave with a click of her tongue behind her teeth and a sigh. It was probably too big for her to drag home anyway.

A movement to her right quickly caught her attention as a rather impressive toad croaked at her intimidatingly. He spread his front legs and puffed up his chest, jumping towards the pup as she swatted at him but when it finally grew tired of her antics it retreated into the water. She almost considered going after it when a flash of pale fur caught her eye. Half expecting it to be their father, her tail merrily waved to note it was her sister instead... Although she would probably fuss and worry even more than the old man if she knew just what her sister had been up to. She pranced towards her sister, more words tumbling from her mouth with a wide smile as she approached. "Same location, astrologically and mentally, Nothin is impossible, I have the ability, Deep rooted like the trees, we rap forever and rip. You have made this a possibility..."

<3

Like her parents, Lavender was quiet as she meandered through the Kingswood, attempting to memorize the array of trees and the paths cut into the forest floor. On the outside they were so calm and composed; she wanted to be just like them. Her anxiety tended to seep through her pores, spilling into the air and often crippling her. The little cloud did not know where her sister got all of her boisterous personality from. It certainly was not from either of her parents—unless they had been just as energetic in their youth (which Lav doubted). Was she supposed to be more like her sister? Perhaps the agouti twin had taken all of her outgoingness for herself while they were still in the womb, leaving her with nothing but a constant stream of worry.

One could always hear Lilliana before she came into view, for she was seldom quiet and she trotted through the Kingswood with purpose. Her loud poems filled the air as Lavender continued along the stream, causing a dull ache to form in the middle of her forehead. Ugh. She did not understand why her sister had such a weirdo way of speaking. Why did it always have to rhyme?! Did she even know what she was talking about?! Her frown deepened as she paused her movement and turned to greet her tawny twin. “What are y’talkin’ about?” She asked as she struggled to suppress a grown from accompanying her words.

Let ‘em say what they gonna say

Lilliana Stark

Lilliana barely suppressed a sigh when her sister asked what she was talking about, "Doesit matter?" She knew by now that her sister didn't exactly approve of her musical talents, "Just whatevers happenin', I was huntin'. An' now I found ya, an I didn' expect'ta..." Mismatched eyes narrowed with suspicion. She very much doubted Lavender was out here looking for her, so did that mean? "Y'aren't lost are you?"

Her sister didn't need to answer for the grin to grow wide on the darker sisters face, far from malicious with her tongue happily lolling from the side. Even if she wasn't lost she was outside, and that in itself was a cause to celebrate, but what could she possibly suggest that Lavender might appreciate without being... well terrified to leave the den for the next two weeks? Her jaws closed with a quiet click, glancing this way and that to try and figure out exactly where she had wound up today, a low hmmm in her throat as she considered.

The toad might be too gross, and the big fish too scary... but there were still some butterflies around here somewhere she was sure. Without much mind to sticking to the creek, she picked a direction and started bounding towards a small rise for a better vantage point, "C'mon I wanna show you somethin'," she just had to figure out exactly what that somethin' was.

No, it did not matter. She never understood the slew of words that tumbled off her sister’s tongue. Her silly little rhymes and poems that made no sense. Lavender just hoped that her twin would grow out of this bizarre-o phase for she worried that others would bully her and poke fun… and she was the only one allowed to do that. The rhymes, although silly, were sometimes impressive but the pale Stark would never confess that to her sister. No way!

At the question Lavender immediately responded by sticking her tongue out of her mouth and narrowing her brows as a disgruntled frown made itself home on her dark lips. “Pffff,” she started, making sure to emphasis the fffff sound in order to send a few droplets of spit in her sister’s direction, “I ain’t lost. Who d’ya think I am?” It wasn’t unusual for the pale twin to be lost in her home but she wasn’t about to share that with her sister. Lilliana did not need to know that she got lost almost every time she strayed away from the river. That was her secret to keep.

Her head fell to the side as the agouti Stark spoke once more and bounded away, claiming that there was something she wanted to show her. “Hmmm,” she pondered aloud, a single brow arched as she took a hesitant step toward her twin. The frown was still present but her tail wagged gently behind her as her curiosity began to increase. “Whassit?” Better not be something gross or stupid. Otherwise Lil Lil was going to get a face full of mud.

suckin too hard on your lollipop, oh loves gonna get you down

Lilliana Stark

Who do you think I am? Well, she could have called her sister a lost dummy, but she wasn't so mean and very much believed that if she couldn't say anything nice then she shouldn't say anything at all. Instead, she simply smiled. It might have been a tight and slightly unnatural gesture but she wasn't gonna be mean to her sister for being lost and too afraid to admit it.

As to what she wanted to show her, well... "I dunno yet but I'll bet there's somethin' cool over this way, there's always cool stuff over here. Once I saw a tiny red wolf chasing a rabbit and it jumped so high! and it was so fluffy!" Of course what she had seen hadn't been a wolf at all, but that didn't stop Lil hoping she could meet it again. Maybe next time they could be friends and she could bring the tiny fox wolf home.

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Her green eyes narrowed into slits when her sister didn’t respond, her lips falling into a thin line. She didn’t have to say what was on her mind—they were twins; Lavender already knew what she was thinking. But the pale Stark didn’t respond. Instead she rolled her eyes, her tail flicking behind her in annoyance as she waited for the agouti to answer her question.

I dunno yet… Great. Her frown deepened as she cocked a brow at her twin, her nose canted to the side. A tiny red wolf? How odd. But it did not curb her curiosity. The girl motioned for her sister to take the lead with a flick of her nose. “Alright, alright, lead the way,” she muttered with another dramatic roll of her eyes. “Betcha I could jump higher than the little red wolf,” she added, a crooked grin working its way onto his dark lips as she snapped at the air above her sister’s tail. 

let ‘em say what they gonna say

Lilliana Stark

Lilliana's tail beat happily at her back as she bounded forward, racing up the small rise and pausing as her line of sight finally broke the crest, a wide smile cracking her facade as she turned back to her sister, with a probably unnecessary shh since she was the noisy one.

Just head was an old doe, all on her own, the rest of her herd milling somewhere in the distance. She dropped to her belly and crawled forward on her elbows, pushing with her back toes to wiggle closer. See I told ya we'd find somethin' cool this way!" She whispered to her sister.

The girl followed her sister reluctantly, tossing another aggressive roll of her eyes at Lilliana when she turned around to shh her. Yeah, ooookay, she wanted to retort, her tongue perched neatly between her teeth, but she remained quiet and followed her twin’s lead. Finding anything was better than nothing, as the pale Stark did not want to come out of this adventure empty-pawed. However, what the trouble twins found had exceeded the girl’s expectations and was a much better find than some silly little red fox.

Huddling at her sister’s side Lavender stared, slack-jawed, at the old doe. She refused to admit that her sister was right so she kept her thoughts to herself. Her nose twitched with excitement. Y’think we could hunt it? She whispered to her sister, her chartreuse gaze never wavering from the deer’s frail figure. They were small, but they had youth and speed on their side…