[SE] lavender haze

Lena

Her eyes went to the slithering snake, tongue still poking out from the underbrush as it clearly was trying to decipher what they had nearby. No – nothing healthy for it anyways. Snakes are carnivores. And likely didn’t have anything in their digestive system that allowed them to partake in fruits and desserts. Frowning briefly, she studied and watched the little thing, cute and earnest, and she didn’t really want anything to happen to it. The birds skulking and lurking nearby would certainly think it an easy meal. I might have some treats buried in my bag. She’d done that for multitudes; including Mittens, and began pawing through the vessel, usually neatly organized.

Of course, her mind considered other things. I would hate to chase it off, but some predators nearby will likely snatch it up soon.

sunlight on mist; summer lightning
your choices outweigh your substance

Sohalia

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?

If Soh was honest, the little snake was rather cute, and she sent a command to her birds of prey to leave it alone. Obedient, they took flight, returning to some other section of the forest to continue their hunt without Soh's supervision. Without the birds, the snake came a little further out of the bush, flicking its forked tongue to test the air. Soh watched it with her head tilted to one side. Lena was probably right - they hadn't brought anything that it could eat, save the treats in Lena's pocket. It was a shame, really, that they couldn't spend time with it. It seemed like a friendly little thing.

Trusting in Lena's judgment, for she'd probably seen far more of Caido's wildlife than Soh - or at the very least, cared for more of them, nursing them back to health - the Luminary waited and watched. What should we do, then, if we don't want to feed it and make it an easy target, but we don't want to chase it off?

Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Lena

Lena smiled, triumphantly, as she unearthed several treats from the bag’s many pockets. Tossing one to Mittens, ensuring it was distracted from flinging itself towards the one intended for the Greatwood wildlife, the Caretaker then gingerly laid a portion of the meaty portions near the snake. Unbothered by their presence, it began to eat hungrily, and she grinned, content with the arrangement for now. We can give it some space, let it enjoy itself. It will probably leave on its own. Once it had its fill, of course.

The snowball, busy muddling around and searching for another piece of the jerky, suddenly screeching something awful. Lena leaned over, striving to see what was causing the ruckus. Oh – I think there is a river star over there too. Quite far from any water though. It wasn’t an unlikely thing, but strange – and those were far more dangerous and hazardous in the wake of the world. That one we could chase off. She understood the cycle of life – but she also didn’t want Sohalia or Mittens in the way of the carnivorous creature.

sunlight on mist; summer lightning
your choices outweigh your substance

Sohalia

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?

The snake was adorable, especially as it munched on the jerky pieces that Lena had provided for its enjoyment. Soh watched it happily for a few moments, all thoughts of the world’s problems momentarily forgotten in favor of enjoying an encounter with the Greatwood’s wildlife. She made a mental note to add hanging snakes to her latest map of the area, with perhaps a note that they liked meaty treats, should the explorer be so inclined.

Mittens screeched and Soh jumped; looking around, she couldn’t help tensing, momentarily alarmed. Lena spotted the culprit first: a river star, wandering ever closer. Alright, she said of the plan to chase off the river star. I can compel some fish to chase it once we get it back in the water. A simple enough request, but they had to get it there, first.

Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Lena

Lena considered her own repertoire of potentials, mulling over possibilities and probabilities. I can fly and lead it towards the water? She’d be putting herself only mildly at risk; river stars weren’t notoriously fast, and they were much more apt to slowly and methodically finding the appropriate places for their prey. Or simply scare it off? The Caretaker wasn’t known for anything remotely horrifying; but she could compel while in her shift, and maybe the combination of efforts would be enough to insist the predator find elsewhere to venture and stray.

But she’d wait, delicately parsing through meat treats while they decided on how to best handle the current situation.

sunlight on mist; summer lightning
your choices outweigh your substance

Sohalia

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?

By contrast, Soh’s shifts, for the most part, had the potential to be frightening: a snowy owl, which could no doubt eviscerate the river star; a tide jaguar, which was an impressive figure regardless of its actions; and a starknight swordfish, capable of slicing through water an an impressive speed. But if the goal was to simply scare the creature away, Soh had to admit that Lena might have the upper hand, being much more experienced in the handling of wild creatures than she.

Whatever you think, Soh said encouragingly. I’ll follow your lead. She reached for some nearby fish in the river, and they swam nearby, waiting and watching for their next cue.

Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight

Lena

Let’s try scaring off first. Trusting Mittens to hold down the modest picnic fortifications, the Caretaker nodded; instantly shifting to her bird ramparts. While not ominous by any means, the measure of her sudden flight, along with Sohalia’s trailing behind, and the sudden bombardment of compulsions and demands might have been more than enough for the river star.

She spread her grey and pink plumage across the forest air, swift and keen, dodging around trunks and boughs, granting a mighty screech, in between the rare instance of a command flooding through her. Whereas most of hers had always been careful, cautious, optimistic, and compassionate, this one simply wasn’t – merely authoritarian through animal thresholds. Leave.

we are more weather pattern than stone monument
sunlight on mist; summer lightning

Content to follow Lena's lead, Soh watched the river star as the Caretaker decided what to do. It was really a shame to have to chase it off, but she supposed it was for the best. They didn't have anything to offer it, and it really belonged back in the water.

Soh shifted alongside Lena, electing her snowy owl shift, if only to keep pace with the Caretaker as she led their efforts. They flitted through trees and between boughs (Lena perhaps more nimbly than Soh), approaching the river star at a healthy clip. When Lena paused to give a mighty screech, Soh flared her wings and gave a few hard strokes, sending gusts of wind towards the river star in an effort to send it back from whence it came.

Sohalia

there's more to living than being alive

Lena

The river star didn’t seem very impressed by their antics; and perhaps, if it was larger or far more brazen, it would’ve offered a snap of its features for their efforts. Instead, it seemed to begrudgingly maneuver, either due to Lena’s inherent demands, or the combination of both threatening its space. She flapped her wings, following after its sluggish, then somewhat listless movements along the forest areas.

I say we keep chasing the Caretaker extended back to Sohalia. At least until we get it to water. That way it was safe and secure in its own habitat, and they wouldn’t have to worry about it. Mittens was stealthily guarding the picnic area anyway (and likely taking its own fill).

we are more weather pattern than stone monument
sunlight on mist; summer lightning

With Mittens guarding their picnic, that left the two women to focus on chasing away the river star. It moved, albeit slowly, shifting its course begrudgingly away from their food and back towards the water nearby. Satisfied, Sohalia continued to flap her wings at it, periodically screeching in order to urge it along. I think it’s working, she said. Indeed, they were growing closer and closer to the riverbank.

A few large fish swam towards the shoreline, coaxed by Sohalia’s compulsion. When it’s in the water, the fish can get it away from shore. In the meantime, she swooped up into the trees, too large and heavy to be able to hover, before circling back around to gust more wind at the river star.

Sohalia

there's more to living than being alive

Lena

The riverbank loomed, and thus, so did they – with wings and feathers and compulsion – swooping and sweeping amidst the trees in pursuit of their quarry. The river star clearly wasn’t into it any longer, and eventually dipped amidst the surface of the water, entirely distracted by the fish as well, and perhaps more at home than it had been in their neck of the woods. There. We did well she echoed through the bond, quite triumphant and proud of their accomplishments. And no violence needed.

What do you say we head back and finish up? There would be more to see and do along the massive Greatwood, and their work here was seemingly done.

we are more weather pattern than stone monument
sunlight on mist; summer lightning

It was nice to know that things could still happen in the world without violence, and as the river star slipped back into the water to be chased away by the fish, Soh felt her own swell of pride. They'd done it, and there was no mark to indicate that anything had happened at all.

The two women made their way back to their little picnic, where Mittens still stood guard, and they had a lovely afternoon once they'd shifted back into their human forms. Despite all that had happened, Soh left feeling lighter than she had in days, and feeling, too, that perhaps there was hope left in the world after all.

fin

Sohalia

there's more to living than being alive