I saw the streets of gold

Christmas RE - Your Gift is: while out exploring you see a herd of reindeer running so fast you could swear that they were flying above the snow! Broken clouds, 39F/4C, late morning, for Vayko only please! <3 Hope you don't mind the minor pp, I can change it if needed :)

She had waited for Vayko at the borders, happy to go out scouting with him for a potential nearby herd they could hunt sometime soon. The caches could do with a good restocking before winter truly descended and snow covered the landscape for good, and she could also use the occasion to forage for any herbs that might still be growing even in the colder weather. It was worth a shot, at least.

It had not taken him long to arrive, and together they set out to the north where the landscape was more open in the hopes that there would be a herd of elk or other hooved prey passing through. Clover had brought up some idle small talk as they travelled, but for the most part she was quiet, her gaze sweeping back and forth for anything she could gather on the way back.

Before long they finally reached the open snowy fields, and Clover had only a few minutes to get situated when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, her mouth fell agape as she watched in the distance where a herd of reindeer looked as if they were sprinting as if they had been spooked by a large predator. They were moving so fast, that at that distance it seemed as if they were flying, their hooves not even touching the snow on the ground. "Wow, look at that!" She said excitedly to Vayko, just in case he had not noticed them yet.

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

It was nice to get out. He had long since recovered physically, but mentally he was still slower to act than he might have once been. For all he knew, a small twig could put him out of commission for about just as long as the damned turtle had. He shuddered to think about what it would mean to bring another plague upon the land given the fact that winter had settled in for the long haul. They would not be as fortunate as they had with recovery and ease in the summer months. He was meeting Clover to get out of pack territory for a little bit, scouting. He was good at that, and he could handle that which caused him relief. It was something that could easily fill the backburners of his mind while he let idly contemplation rule the front.

He met her not long after she had arrived, setting off the north as they engaged in idly chit chat. He did not mind it, not like he once had. He saw the value in it now where he might not have a year ago, and in that moment he considered the fact that perhaps he had changed, matured even since arriving in the Lore for the first time. It had been almost a year, and still his heart panged missing the Estuary, but those demons were far behind him now. He had a home, and a kingdom. Soon, he would need to speak to @Viorel about taking up his crown once more.

He caught her voice moments before he caught the herd of reindeer, his eyes widening as his jaw dropped. “Are they flying?” He asked in a hushed and clearly shocked voice. “Their hooves aren’t touching the ground or leaving a mark in the snow!”

She giggled softly at Vayko's words, feeling like a small child again at the wonder before her eyes. "It sure looks that way!" Her words were a little less hushed than his as she spoke, too excited about what she was looking at to think of being quiet to not scare any potential herds away. Although by the looks of it, this herd of prey was already on the run from something, so being quiet likely didn't matter too much. The whole herd moving so fast in unison was probably scaring away all the other wildlife in the area anyways.

"I've never seen a herd move so fast before," she said with a quick glance at him. "You think they're being chased by something?" From what she could tell, there was nothing lumbering after them intent on catching a meal, but it could just be lagging behind due to the reindeer travelling at such an incredulously fast speed. "Or maybe they're magical reindeer," Clover added with a grin, tail swishing exuberantly behind her idea at that thought.

(This post was last modified: Dec 12, 2021, 05:49 AM by Clover.)

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko had not felt this young and inquisitive in awhile. Ever since they arrived in these strange lands that had somehow turned into a home, he had felt as if he had to be serious and demure all the time. It was really nice to just observe and wonder, truly. It reminded him of his home, the one he had been born in. He still missed the Estuary, though it lingered further in the back of his mind every day. He quite enjoyed the fact that she seemed relaxed too. He knew he had caused her much grief in her time here, especially having brought an entire epidemic to the pack because he had decided to fight a turtle… so it was good to see it had not worn down on her inherently good nature.

“I’ve never seen it either… and I don’t see anything chasing them, but then I don’t understand why they are running if nothing is chasing them.” It seemed like that was the only time he really saw herds move fast, was when something was threatening their survivor. The suggestion came and he hummed, his head tilting to the side. He had believed in stranger things. “Maybe they are… maybe a witch has put a spell on them to make them fly.” He hummed back, a hint of amusement in his voice to show he didn’t truly believe such a thing had happened.

She shrugged her shoulders, also not knowing why they would be running at such a speed with nothing chasing them, but then again she hadn't come across many reindeer during her travels, so maybe they just liked running, as strange as that sounded. "Well, maybe they're migrating somewhere, and... they like to do it fast?" Clover couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her as she spoke, finding even her own words a little ridiculous. There certainly were a lot of reindeer, and some smaller ones that she could only assume were older calves. Altogether she couldn't even count how manty there with with how fast they were moving, almost at a blur.

Clover pretended to think thoughtfully at Vayko's suggestion, taking note of his amused tone and running with it. She didn't believe in witches and magic, but the apparently flying reindeer were toeing the line between reality and fiction, and she wasn't sure how to justify it without simply just calling it magic. "Maybe we should go find a witch to make us fly around." She stuck her tongue out at him then, feeling a little mischievous and playful after her childlike wonder had been awoken by the sight of the reindeer.

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko frowned as he listened to her explanation. It made sense to him… migration, but he still thought it was a waste of energy to run where one could walk or at least prance… they moved in a blur and he licked his lips. “I wish they weren’t moving so fast… we could call a pack hunt and refill the caches.” His stomach started to grumble lightly at the thought. They were moving too fast for a pack of wolves to realistically keep up with for a hunt. It would have been the kids first full hunt too. They were starting to approach the age where they could participate.

He rolled his eyes and huffed lightly at her word. “All I’m saying is it could be real. I had strange two-legged creatures pick me up and bite me and move me here… stranger things have happened.” He had survived an alien abduction, so surely witches and magic were likely real too, right? He felt like he was pretty justified even if in the end he had actually been joking. “Think of how much easier things would be if we could fly though! We could hunt prey from above and never have to get closer to their violent legs.” And he’d never ever get bitten by a turtle again.

Clover hummed softly in agreement. They were moving far too fast for either of them to keep up, and surely by the time they managed to call others in the pack over they'd be long gone at the speed they were all travelling at. There were just so many of them, but even the stragglers were moving faster than a pace she could keep up for longer than the short sprint she was able to. "One of them would make a good meal," she said with a soft sigh, imagining just how tasty the meat would be from all the running they seemed to do.

She gave him a cheeky side-eye, resisting the urge to stick out her tongue again. Vayko made a good point with the whole two-legged tale, and while she had never seen those creatures herself, she did believe the Valle wolves as they all told her the same tale. "You're probably right, there's likely a lot we don't know about the world." And these seemingly flying reindeer were proof of that.

He then added on to her mischievous suggestion of flying with a very good point. Oh, he was right. Hunting would be so much easier, as would exploring as surely looking down from above would make finding herbs that grew in meadows a very quick process. "Getting over the mountain would be very quick too, we wouldn't have to make the slow trek all the way up." Clover continued to watch the running herd, noticing that the number of reindeer flying past was getting smaller, and it likely wouldn't be long before they had all moved past them towards wherever they were going.

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

They were far too fast to hunt. Vayko was not sure that he could run fast enough to keep up with them let alone catch up to them from a distance back. “They really would…” He could practically feel himself salivate at the idea of sinking his teeth into their flesh. He quickly shook it off and shook his head because it simply was not plausible. Even if they called the pack together right now, the reindeer would be long gone by the time they got there.

He hummed softly when she stated that he was right. He knew that. Of course he was right! “The more I try to understand it, the less I feel like I genuinely do.” He offered with a soft frown. It was one of the greater puzzles in his life that he was still trying to figure out. Perhaps some more time and patience would help him greatly.

He hadn’t even considered that getting over the mountains could be quicker as well. “It’s true but the farther up we go the colder it gets… I can’t imagine how cold it would be above the mountain.” The Valle was not the biggest fan of the cold. He vastly preferred the warmth and that was no secret to anyone in the pack.

Vayko's words struck a chord inside her. He was not wrong. The more she learned of the wide world they lived in, the less she felt sure of, which is probably why she had gotten so into learning how to help others. If the one thing she knew how to do was help others when they needed it, then all the other knowledge that she had little idea of would seem more insignificant. At least that's how she justified it. "I know what you mean," she said a little more softly, giving him a warm smile. It was nice to see that they saw eye-to-eye on some things, even if their friendship had gotten off to a rocky start. But deep down under all the layers he put up, se could see a glimmer of someone who was kind and fair, maybe even fun.

Clover briefly looked over her shoulder towards the mountains in the distance, humming thoughtfully. He brought up a very good point. After her brief excursion to the mountain she had felt the biting cold sting of the wind, and that had only been leading up to winter, so to be above the mountain would likely be so cold she wouldn't have the words to describe it. "I bet it's colder than falling through the ice layer into water during the height of winter," she said, looking back at him.

It seemed the herd was finally starting to thin out as the last few slower reindeer made their way past, until finally the only clue that they had gone by was the musky scent that lingered in the air. As fun as that had been, they still needed to actually scout out a herd for the pack to hunt, and so the day was not yet over for them. "Guess we should keep looking for a suitable herd," Clover said, looking around to pick a good direction to start walking in, hoping he would have a good idea of where to go.

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

Vayko had spent so long pretending like he needed to be this cold and sarcastic exterior… he supposed it was from a mix of influences: his Aunt, father… not his mother, who was as sweet as could be… perhaps it had been just his way to deal with the world but the longer he led, the less he felt the need to put up those layers filled with taunts and insults hurled at others to defend his own pride… maybe it was the turtle. No, it was definitely the turtle. It had exposed him enough that it really didn’t matter how he exposed himself. He smiled softly back at her. Had someone told him a year ago that he was going to find Clover to be a friend, he likely would have taken one of their ears for it.

He shuddered softly as she described it. He did not need to manifest that kind of luck for himself. “Knowing my luck, I’ll probably end up doing that too this winter. You know how to treat hypothermia, right?” It was a joke, with a hint of serious concern because seriously… knowing his luck, he would be in a situation where he was in actual danger of freezing his paws off. He hummed softly at her suggestion as he watched the herd start to fade away. “I suppose… if there are any left. That one might have spooked the others off. Once they see one running, they all run.” He offered with a frown, pangs in his belly hinting at his desire for another meal.

A devious, perhaps traitorous part of his brain considered the suggestion of simply finding shelter for them both to warm up a bit before heading back to the Backwater… but he didn’t let it escape his lips. He hadn’t the time for those kinds of follies, much less with the mother of his cousin’s children.