Touch The Sky

T

iny swift-running legs carried the child in between tree trunks, up and over gnarled roots, through small hollows she could fit through until she saw her. The dark earthen shape moving slowly and elegantly through the forest with glowing ember eyes that might have seen her if she wasn’t hidden so cleverly!

Clover stifled a giggle from where she had paused the chase, tucked at the entrance of a burrow some sort of small critter. Her little nose lifted and sniffed about to inspect it. “Prolly a rascally rabbit…” She whispered to herself matter-of-factly with a curt nod before turning her attention back to the figure beyond the den.

Her smile only grew the closer it came to her, wriggling with the buzz of excitement in her wee bones. Finally, Clover absolutely could not take it anymore and she scrabbled her way out of the den as quickly as she could, launching herself into the flank of thick umber fur with a squeal of glee. “MmmEALA! I goootchu!”

@Meala

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

THREAD TITLE MUSE

And I'll Meet You There,
Beyond the Pines

It was morning, though these days she found it difficult to focus on such things. What time of the day it was, where she was, it all pooled and congealed in the back of her mind. The world continued on without her while she stood in place, each blink contained hours and each breath days. How long had it been? Were the embers that took them from her still smoldering? Were the screams that kept her awake at night still echoing? Would her attempts even now produce nothing but silence? Or, would she find a father taking care of children not yet grown into their bodies all on his own? Would she find them happily playing in a world she didn't deserve to step into? Were they healthy? Were they growing well? Would they know her as she would know them, as she had imagined since what seemed like a lifetime ago?

Bringing her nose to test the currents of the gentle wind, Meala thought in passing of the brief time she had spent with the family whom had become like her own kin over time. From their first meeting to the most recent, she was always so charmed by their acceptance. These woods that many a highlander avoided in their superstitious ways had become like a parent's gentle embrace to her, an instinct to return she didn't quite understand whenever she didn't know what to do with herself, when the shadow would claim yet another from her side. However, what she hadn't expected was seeing a child so close in age to what her own children would have been.

With a war cry from such a young voice, the older woman's distant stare had re-centered on the bairn who would soon be in her care from the safety of the fae's realm. Though the girl hadn't any muscle to move her, Meala still conceded, rolling out onto the floor of the forest with a gentle giggle, prodding playfully at the child's side before licking the top of her head. "Ay, you got me, nearly had me jumping out of my fur. Wouldn't have that been a sight? Can you imagine," she teased, her grin widening. "Better be careful, someone might confuse you for the fair folk, though I'd think that wouldn't be so bad."

Laying upright, the woman shook out her fur before fiery sights settled back onto her charge. "How do your parents fare? Need anythin'?"

@Clover

template by bean

W

hen Meala toppled over, Clover laughed triumphantly and went to jump on top of her to further establish her victory. Instead she was pet with a paw that prodded her right where she was most ticklish and she too bowled over and rolled until she splayed out on her side. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, her tongue lolling out in a quick pant.

The mention of Meala jumping out of her fur made her perk up, eyes widening before her face screwed up, not liking the image that formed in her mind. Clover crawled closer to her, placing a paw over one of her larger ones. “I would never want that to happen to ya, Meala. You’re much prettier with all your fur!”

Being confused for one of the fae, however, brightened her expression with a mischievous grin. “But maybe I want to be the fair folk! The fairest of ‘em all!” Clover closed her eyes, lifted her chin high and crossed her forepaws out in front of her. The sound of Meala sitting up had her crack an eyelid to peek at her before glimmering pink orbs reappeared to gaze upon the elder wolfess.

“Uhhmmm…I don’t rightly know…Mama and Papa just all the time say the same thing.” And for the proper effect, Clover hopped up onto her feet and fluffed her chest out, squaring her shoulders, and deepening her voice to mimic her father. “Clover, yer not ‘ta go out beyond the forest.” The pup turned herself and presented herself in a more feminine manner, batting her eyelashes to portray her mother. “Listen to yer father, Clover, we cannot follow ya past the trees.” The little girl plopped herself on her behind and lowered her head, lip puckering in a pout. “But, Meala, I wanna see what’s out there!”

@Meala

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck