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Description

[♫]

    I don’t know what I was thinking when I went up to Ilse and just said, “Let’s talk. Let’s go to the beach.” Somewhere I thought had to be private.
    I still didn’t want to see her, much less talk to her. But there we were, and when we stared at each other I just breathed it in and thought, fine, maybe this is what I ought to be doing. As much as I’d wanted to leave my past behind, maybe I could take some solace in hearing from her.
    She’d started to recoil when I approached her, but then she just stopped and looked at me. Her eyes were all wide and had this gleam I didn’t understand. After a while she said, “Can I take you there?” And after a pause when I didn’t reply, “Can we walk together?”
    Heather’s words echoed through my mind, so I just nodded. “Sure.” I didn’t know the way, anyways; I’d been avoiding the “big puddle” all my stay in Mhor. It was muggy enough as it is, and I didn’t need fine gravel clinging to my paws. But, fine, I thought. Might as well get this over with, then we can go about our merry ways, on our own.
So she led the way, gingerly winding her way through the territory with me not far behind. She tried to make small talk, and -- hating to hold out a silence, as much as I would have preferred it, I obliged her.
“How long have you been in Riverfell?”
“Jus’ about two years.”
“Do you like it there?”
“Not much of a ‘there’ right now, huh?”
She turned to look at me. “What?” I’d expected some kind of scorn but the look across her face was simply that of confusion.
“Nevermind. Uh, yeah. I like it. I like it a lot, being in a pack. I’m training to be a Gold Feather.”
“We’re not far now,” she said, stopping to peer through a gap in the branches. “Gold Feathers are like … the guards, right?”
“What? No, not at all. You’re thinking of Guardians. We’re more like warriors. I train— trained every day to be prepared for any scenario and then have Riverfell come out on top.”
    “Any scenario?” She paused, and started to smile. “What about … this one!” She dropped into a bow, her crooked tail raised high, then leaped up to grab my ear.
    I drew away just as quickly, flashing my teeth. “Can you stop treating me like a pup for one minute? I can’t stand it.” She held her gaze on the ground and muttered an apology, and I sighed, turned to go. We were not getting anywhere; this had been a waste of time, I thought. I shouldn’t have bothered.
    “No— no, wait. Don’t go.” I looked back, Ilse wiping a tear from her face with the back of her paw. “We’re so close to the water. You won’t want to miss it. I know you don’t like swimming, but… Orsu, just trust me, it’s worth it.”
    The sincerity in her voice swayed me and I nodded. “Okay.”
    The water lapped onto the shore, foam clinging to the earth and fading again. The cycle continued again and again, never ceasing, but there was a form of comfort in that. The air tasted of salt, and the sand was soft and cool beneath my paws. Warm sunlight hit us from above, and all and all it filled me with a sense of peace. This was beautiful, and … perhaps I had been too hard on the Ocean after all.
    She told me of our family, everything she knew. How she led Pallas and Buck to a nearby pack, and how Ma took Da back to her birth pack. “You know how time has its way of changing things,” she said. “The lives we live are uncertain ones. Things can change, of course… but I like to remember it the way I left, everyone on their own path. One that was … right for them, I hope.”
    “I hope Ma didn’t take my, uh, disappearance too hard. I just wanted it to be easier on everyone. We were all so hungry…”
    “I know. You made a hard decision, and I don’t blame you for it. Sometimes you need to find your own place; disregard what was given to you for something that feels right.” She paused, taking in the ebb and flow of the tide. I stopped at her side. “It took me a long time to gather the courage to find the place I belong. Home. I didn’t know how powerful that was until I came to Mhor. And it sounds like you found your place in Riverfell.”
    I nodded, and we were walking again. “It’s a community unlike any other. My home. My friends have become my family.” I thought of Keezheekoni, my closest friend. An initial feeling of pride was washed away by shame. She likely felt the same way as I did, and I had pushed her away. I vowed to reach out to her once more.
    “So, what is it? Girls, boys? No one?” She leaned in close to me, and in a very serious tone, “Everyone?”
    That was all it took for me to burst out laughing, and she did too. I started to explain, but found myself hesitating. I first thought of Yulian and could do nothing to stop the fur along my neck from prickling. The idea that Yulian and Ilse could have spoken was enough for his skin to crawl, but her very presence was bad enough. But now I've moved on, and let a smirk cross my lips. “Well there is— might be— someone.”
    “Ohh?” And when I didn’t elaborate, “care to share?”
    I stuck my tongue out. “Do you?” I raised my eyebrow. “Do I have a new auntie I should know about?” And looked around theatrically. “Wee cousins, maybe?”
    She smiled. “No, no. But maybe… you could come around and meet them when you do?”
I smiled back. “Yeah, maybe.”

WC: 1013
Previously:

AND FINALLY, the conclusion to Orsu's stint in Mhor! Took me long enough to finish LOL. And with that, he's accepted Ilse as a part of his life again! Took you long enough, ya jerk. She's glad to know he's alive, and that he's-- well-- thriving.

Orsu, much like Ilse , had never seen a beach before. Where they come from, it's only grassland. So that's pretty spectacular.

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Description

[♫]

    I don’t know what I was thinking when I went up to Ilse and just said, “Let’s talk. Let’s go to the beach.” Somewhere I thought had to be private.
    I still didn’t want to see her, much less talk to her. But there we were, and when we stared at each other I just breathed it in and thought, fine, maybe this is what I ought to be doing. As much as I’d wanted to leave my past behind, maybe I could take some solace in hearing from her.
    She’d started to recoil when I approached her, but then she just stopped and looked at me. Her eyes were all wide and had this gleam I didn’t understand. After a while she said, “Can I take you there?” And after a pause when I didn’t reply, “Can we walk together?”
    Heather’s words echoed through my mind, so I just nodded. “Sure.” I didn’t know the way, anyways; I’d been avoiding the “big puddle” all my stay in Mhor. It was muggy enough as it is, and I didn’t need fine gravel clinging to my paws. But, fine, I thought. Might as well get this over with, then we can go about our merry ways, on our own.
So she led the way, gingerly winding her way through the territory with me not far behind. She tried to make small talk, and -- hating to hold out a silence, as much as I would have preferred it, I obliged her.
“How long have you been in Riverfell?”
“Jus’ about two years.”
“Do you like it there?”
“Not much of a ‘there’ right now, huh?”
She turned to look at me. “What?” I’d expected some kind of scorn but the look across her face was simply that of confusion.
“Nevermind. Uh, yeah. I like it. I like it a lot, being in a pack. I’m training to be a Gold Feather.”
“We’re not far now,” she said, stopping to peer through a gap in the branches. “Gold Feathers are like … the guards, right?”
“What? No, not at all. You’re thinking of Guardians. We’re more like warriors. I train— trained every day to be prepared for any scenario and then have Riverfell come out on top.”
    “Any scenario?” She paused, and started to smile. “What about … this one!” She dropped into a bow, her crooked tail raised high, then leaped up to grab my ear.
    I drew away just as quickly, flashing my teeth. “Can you stop treating me like a pup for one minute? I can’t stand it.” She held her gaze on the ground and muttered an apology, and I sighed, turned to go. We were not getting anywhere; this had been a waste of time, I thought. I shouldn’t have bothered.
    “No— no, wait. Don’t go.” I looked back, Ilse wiping a tear from her face with the back of her paw. “We’re so close to the water. You won’t want to miss it. I know you don’t like swimming, but… Orsu, just trust me, it’s worth it.”
    The sincerity in her voice swayed me and I nodded. “Okay.”
    The water lapped onto the shore, foam clinging to the earth and fading again. The cycle continued again and again, never ceasing, but there was a form of comfort in that. The air tasted of salt, and the sand was soft and cool beneath my paws. Warm sunlight hit us from above, and all and all it filled me with a sense of peace. This was beautiful, and … perhaps I had been too hard on the Ocean after all.
    She told me of our family, everything she knew. How she led Pallas and Buck to a nearby pack, and how Ma took Da back to her birth pack. “You know how time has its way of changing things,” she said. “The lives we live are uncertain ones. Things can change, of course… but I like to remember it the way I left, everyone on their own path. One that was … right for them, I hope.”
    “I hope Ma didn’t take my, uh, disappearance too hard. I just wanted it to be easier on everyone. We were all so hungry…”
    “I know. You made a hard decision, and I don’t blame you for it. Sometimes you need to find your own place; disregard what was given to you for something that feels right.” She paused, taking in the ebb and flow of the tide. I stopped at her side. “It took me a long time to gather the courage to find the place I belong. Home. I didn’t know how powerful that was until I came to Mhor. And it sounds like you found your place in Riverfell.”
    I nodded, and we were walking again. “It’s a community unlike any other. My home. My friends have become my family.” I thought of Keezheekoni, my closest friend. An initial feeling of pride was washed away by shame. She likely felt the same way as I did, and I had pushed her away. I vowed to reach out to her once more.
    “So, what is it? Girls, boys? No one?” She leaned in close to me, and in a very serious tone, “Everyone?”
    That was all it took for me to burst out laughing, and she did too. I started to explain, but found myself hesitating. I first thought of Yulian and could do nothing to stop the fur along my neck from prickling. The idea that Yulian and Ilse could have spoken was enough for his skin to crawl, but her very presence was bad enough. But now I've moved on, and let a smirk cross my lips. “Well there is— might be— someone.”
    “Ohh?” And when I didn’t elaborate, “care to share?”
    I stuck my tongue out. “Do you?” I raised my eyebrow. “Do I have a new auntie I should know about?” And looked around theatrically. “Wee cousins, maybe?”
    She smiled. “No, no. But maybe… you could come around and meet them when you do?”
I smiled back. “Yeah, maybe.”

WC: 1013
Previously:

AND FINALLY, the conclusion to Orsu's stint in Mhor! Took me long enough to finish LOL. And with that, he's accepted Ilse as a part of his life again! Took you long enough, ya jerk. She's glad to know he's alive, and that he's-- well-- thriving.

Orsu, much like Ilse , had never seen a beach before. Where they come from, it's only grassland. So that's pretty spectacular.

Twitter | Youtube | Commission Info |