[ AW ] Dreams

H

ad there ever been a more exciting time in all of Willow’s young life? The child, still too young to fully comprehend her world’s politics and thus ignorant to it all, knew only that tonight, she was going to a grand party -- a ball, though her mothers had to explain just what that meant before their journey to the Mainlands. Willow’s eyes were wide with delight and intrigue at every sight in this brand new place, and she took all the novelty in with eagerness. The smells were different, the wolves were different, everything was just… well, different! And while the almost-yearling loved her humble home in the Lowlands, she was entranced, even before her grand entrance.


After learning what exactly a masquerade is, Willow had excitedly prepared her own costume, of sorts: a mask constructed of bright colored pieces of barks and dried yellow flowers she could find near her cottage and in the garden. It had been a painstaking process, but she had crafted a mask that hid the upper part of her features, encircling her eyes. Willow had attempted to make her mask look like a bright sun, even though it was the middle of winter, because as she liked to remember, the sun would return to bring new life in the spring.


She walked through the opened gates, eyes alight. Willow had never felt more grown up as she sauntered into that party, nevermind that she was smaller than most of the guests who had arrived. Vivid green eyes took in the scenery as she entered the king’s castle, the glamor and luxury of it all, compared with her own humble abode… well, it was all so much to take in. It was so beautiful, so romantic! A dreamy sigh parted the girl’s lips as she looked around. She was a social girl by nature, but this was a whole lot more than anything she had ever seen before!


@Arythmetik

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A R Y T H M E T I K

As a piece of the evening’s entertainment, Arythmetik spent the better part of the first hour on stage. The scholar recited his poem between idle breaks, during which he’d wet his throat and eye the King and Queen curiously. But once it was time to perform, he was lost in the chant. His fireside voice poured forth like smooth, autumn honey, and he was content. But there came a time after his recitals that the nobles were imbibing fermented berries, and songs rose up from the crowd, and it was time to dance—not listen to poetry. This was when Aryth meandered through the banquet, trying his best to determine whether the party came from a place of earnest goodwill or callous frivolity.


After a few conversations, a familiar wolf snared his attention. She was an actual spot of sunshine in a swath of winter regalia. The scholar’s emerald eyes sparkled with amusement and admiration as he approached his friend’s young daughter. “Willow!” he hummed, hoping to catch the girl’s attention. With a keen and playful smile, the Junior Professor teased, “Does your mother know you’re here?” It was a comfort, actually, to see one of College’s residents among the city wolves. Willow wasn’t one of his students, per se, but her sister had attended one of his first real lessons, and he was friends with her mother Kylar. Willow’s friendly presence was welcome. “What a great mask,” Aryth added. His own was a series of thin birchwood and willow bark strips, unfurling from the frames of faded, round, golden glasses. A sprig of holly leaves with red berries was tucked into one side, while above his forehead, the fragrant willow twigs formed antlers. “You look like summer incarnate.”

code by claerie

@Willow

A

mongst the throngs of strangers masquerading, she spotted someone who was familiar making his way over to where she stood, alone. “Willow! “Does your mother know you’re here?” The girl gasp aloud. He was not exactly a friend, so to speak, as much as someone she had seen around the College and admired -- err, noticed from afar. He was one of the professors, those distinguished types that Willow hoped to be like someday.


Without hesitation, she smiled brightly as he came closer, bouncing on the tips of her paws with excitement to find someone who reminded her of home. ”Oh! I’m sure my mothers are right around here, too, you’re sure to see ‘em around! Hi Mr. Arth -- Arythme--” Her brain and her tongue were not aligning, and the girl’s face fell, embarrassed. He was so smart, and here she was, not even able to properly pronounce his name. Her gaze fell. ”Uh, hello.”


She was grateful when the attention turned to her mask, and her cheerful demeanor resurfaced in an instant with a smile that seemed impossibly large on her tiny muzzle, tail swaying. She had not yet been complimented, or… really talked to much at all, and beneath her sunshine-y mask, Willow felt her cheeks grow warmer. ”Thank you! That’s what I was trying to do,” she responded, chest puffed out with pride. She took a moment to inspect the brute’s handiwork, and she nodded approvingly. ”You know, from far away, I’ll bet someone really would think you’re a big old buck!”


The strips of bark complimented the male's fiery pelt, Willow noted silently. After a few seconds, Willow also noted that she was staring. A nervous giggle erupted but she was not sure why. Why was she acting so silly?!


@Arythmetik

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A R Y T H M E T I K

The yearling’s excitement was endearing, and Aryth smiled softly as she stumbled over her words. Quickly, he brushed off her strangled pronunciation so she wouldn’t be embarrassed. “Please,” he assured her warmly, “just call me Aryth.” Then he laughed gently. “Until you join the College, that is. Then you can call me Professor.” It was a joke, of course; the russet male had no idea if Willow was interested in going to school. It would have been easy to assume she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps—wait, what did her other mother do? This is why Aryth tried his best never to make assumptions.


Luckily, her mood was brightened by the discussion of the masks, and Aryth’s tail wagged once in subdued enthusiasm. The girl was so spirited and tiny behind her sunshine decor, it was impossible not to smile. This time, the scholar laughed more heartily and tossed back his head. “Thanks for the compliment! I suppose I do have the color...but I’m not sure about the size.” He grinned at the she-wolf wryly. Anyone was “big” compared to her. But when he stood next to a man like Grigori, he looked like a yearling himself. When Willow laughed suddenly, Aryth simply assumed it was because of his comment, and he glanced into the crowd obliviously. “So what do you think of the Ball so far, Miss Willow?”

code by claerie

@Willow

W

illow was silently grateful that the grown-up did not press the issue of the proper way to pronounce his moniker, and she felt her smile growing on her muzzle, though she was not precisely sure of its cause. She still felt embarrassed, but there was a part of the girl that was excited to be spoken to as if she were like him, all grown up. Sage green eyes twinkled in response to his laughter, a sound that she rather enjoyed, she found, and she hurriedly replied: ”Professor, yes, of course! I’ll call you anything you would want, sir.”


On the subject of masks, the brute laughed again, and Willow caught herself laughing along as if she were terribly amusing, and she was visibly pleased that he was smiling at her now. And when he asked her thoughts of the evening's events, Willow could not help but enthuse: ”Oh, I think it is so lovely,” she enthused, blissfully unaware of the chaos yet to occur there in the castle before their very eyes. ”I’ve never been anywhere quite so grand, and -- and so romantic,” she added with a dreamy sigh as her sights swept over the crowd of merry dancers that nearly filled the room. Her focus returned to the handsome male, stars and moons in her young eyes. ”Don’t you think, Mister Aryth -- Professor?”



@Arythmetik

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A R Y T H M E T I K

It might have occurred to Arythmetik that the girl was being a little too polite. That is, if he still wasn’t riding his high of a successful performance. Reading poetry to a crowd was almost as satisfying as teaching a thrilling lesson; in a way, wasn’t he teaching the denizens of the capital to appreciate their homeland? As it was, Aryth was too distracted to realize the youth was enraptured with him, and he assumed she was twittering with excitement because of the Ball. Aryth’s own smile widened, his emerald gaze glittering behind the woven, wood strips of his mask as he, too, surveyed the crowd. “Oh, yes! I feel lucky to see the interior of the castle with my own eyes.” He paused, clearing his throat. “I don’t know about romantic...” His warm voice started to trail as an image of Grigori popped into his head. Suddenly, his face felt a bit hot. “I guess, maybe it is, a little bit…” The awkward tension was visible in the way he held his shoulders. But of course, Willow had no way of knowing that a cowboy was on his mind.

code by claerie

ooc. Sorry for the short post but I felt that awkward humor should ensue LOL @Willow

H

er dreamy expression faltered when Aryth began to question just how romantic the ball was, and Willow felt very silly for saying anything. Her gaze swiftly averted to her paws, which shifted awkwardly beneath her. It felt as if some creature had seized her heart within her jaws, giving her a sinking feeling within her rib cage.


But then the brute spoke again, and the girl’s head and her spirits were raised instantaneously: “I guess, maybe it is, a little bit…” Her eyes sought the grown-up’s hopefully when her neck craned upward again. Instead, she found his verdant gaze looking somewhere else; again, her heart sank, and her chin trembled with childish emotion, but she wasn’t exactly sure why she felt what she was feeling in that moment, or even what it was that she was feeling… only that it was not a particularly good feeling now.


Whatever it was, undefined though it remained, the emotions proved overwhelming to little Willow, who sniffled in spite of herself. She could not seem to bring herself to look at the teacher again, instead pretending that she saw someone in the crowd that she knew -- which was, of course, not true, but merely an excuse to get away now that she was embarrassed. ”Oh, um, if you’ll excuse me, I have to, uh… I see my moms over there, I think. I h-hope you have a good evening, sir.” Her head ducked low as she found her way into the crowd and away from Arythmetik.


/exit




@Arythmetik

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A R Y T H M E T I K

Willow’s voice startled Aryth out of his own silly thoughts. He jolted slightly and blinked, glancing down at the poor girl just in time to see her ducking away. “Oh,” he replied quickly, “well thank you, you too, Willow!” Strange. Hm. The scholar’s brow furrowed, and he wondered what could have made the yearling dart away so quickly. (Of course, quite soon he would see her very drunken mother and explain away the odd behavior easily.) Right now, he merely watched her disappear into the crowd. She’s going to be a great student, he thought to himself pleasantly. He only hoped he hadn’t offended her by being distracted. Aryth sighed heavily. It didn’t do him any good to daydream about unrequited and unfamiliar feelings… He should be more like Willow and simply appreciate this golden opportunity. With a keen light in his eyes, the scholar-turned-poet trapised toward the banquet table...and the soldiers who sat in its vicinity.


Exit!

code by claerie

Fin! <3