[o] barefoot contessa

To the divine, mischievous spark in you

In summer, she discards her shoes.

Barefoot as a newborn babe, wanders through the Barrows. Transient and ethereal as a ghost herself, the naturalist floats from mound to mound, stopping at each to briefly sketch out the arching doorways, the chips and stones and plant life and creatures that make them all unique. Someone must document the dead, after all, and in the warm months Poppy has taken it upon herself to be the Barrow's keeper.

She perches, now, on a wind-smoothed stone, soaking in what summer sun can permeate the mist. The white linen shirt she's chosen to wear is already stained by grass and dirt; her blue shorts hitch around her knees, revealing bare legs as slender as a bird's. Her notebook lies open on her lap: a half-finished sketch of the nearest barrow has been briefly abandoned in favor of lunch, apple and cheese and honey and bread out on a napkin beside her.

Humming contentedly to herself, Poppy begins to slice the fruit. She may be a heathen in many ways, but that doesn't stop her from wanting her food to be appropriately assembled, thank you very much.

persephone

code by sky

Sah

Sah would finally be going back to Halo after this, but he's detoured after meeting with Talyson to visit the Barrows. He hasn't been in a while, and Lilly requested that they stop by. The rolling hills are fun to run across, apparently. And who is the Wild Thunder to deny his oldest companion such a simple pleasure? She knows better than to disturb any of the tombs, so there isn't any harm in it.

As the Abandoned walks along a path in the grass, the silver wolf darts ahead. Weaving through the space vegetation, her joy echoes through the bond. Pad stays in step with their bonded, observing their surroundings cautiously. It's the dark wolf who spots the woman first.

With a mental nudge, Sah turns and sees her too. She's an unfamiliar face, but he calls out as the path turns more towards her direction, "Good afternoon."

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

To the divine, mischievous spark in you

She is taking her first bite of bread and cheese when a streak of silver catches her eye. Immediately the morsel is forgotten; all of Poppy's attention shifts swiftly to the sterling wolf. It is not unheard of to see such creatures down in the Barrows, but certainly uncommon enough to warrant notice. Is she hunting?, Poppy wonders, pulling her legs beneath her and rising up onto her knees, a hand pressed to her freckled forehead as she peers into the mist. There's no sign of a pack in pursuit, which means perhaps this is--

"Oh!" The sound of a distinctly human voice catches Poppy by surprise. "Hello!" Turning around, she's quick to take in the man and his companion, ochre eyes easily enchanted by the darker, male wolf. Puzzle pieces click in place; her pale face breaks into a smile. "She must be with you, then," the young woman observes brightly, shifting her gaze back up to the man. "I'd thought she might be a daemon, but companion makes more sense."

persephone

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Sah

Sah nodded grimly, "A daemon probably would have attacked you immediately. "I'm glad it was just Lilly." The silver she-wolf's ears twitched at her name, and she circled back toward the small group to greet the woman. Stopping just a few feet in front of Persephone, she leaned forward and offered her head for a scratch. Stranger danger hardly ever seemed to exist for her, but thankfully, she was often a good judge of character.

Snorting a laugh, Sah sat down on a rock and gestured to the dark wolf that leaped up to sit beside him, "This one's Pad." Said wolf observed the stranger silently, the only indication of his curiosity being his twitching nose. Running a hand down the black wolf's spine, Sah smiled, eyes taking in the notebook and picnic, "I'm Sah. I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

To the divine, mischievous spark in you

Similarly lacking in stranger danger, Poppy reacts without hesitation, her slender fingers sinking into gloriously soft silver fur. "Hello, Lilly," she greets with warmth, her voice resonant, woodsmoke purr as she adds another hand to the mix, scratching behind pointed ears with an expression of peaceful delight. "What a lovely specimen you are." Glancing up as the stranger settles onto the rock, she tilts her head toward the shier male, unbothered by the way he stays close to his human half. "And you as well, Pad."  Already her fingers itch to sketch them: man and nature, perfectly at peace.

The apology has her back from the wolves, a smile blooming through the freckles on her face. "Don't apologize!" Poppy laughs, the sound like windchimes in the mist. "I think life would be terribly boring without disturbances. Don't you?" she asks of Sah, tilting her head in a birdlike fashion, as though genuinely curious in his response.

persephone

code by sky

Sah

Lilly's tail wagged and she tilted her head up to give the woman a lick on the cheek. She eagerly accepted the extra ear scratches, her enjoyment echoing down the bond with the rest of her pack.

Sah noted that the woman didn't give her name in return and filed the information away for later. She didn't seem like a threat, so he assumed that she just wanted her privacy. Watching her with Lilly, his lips twitched. Or maybe she was just too busy greeting his enthusiastic companion.

Her question pulled a hum of thought from the Wild Thunder. Tilting his head, his eyes furrowed. Flashes of surprise encounters and drastic life turns, such as his pups arriving in Cado, and the wonderment of new adventures filled his mind. Smiling softly, Sah nodded. "You're right. I've met most of my closest friends through disturbances."

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

To the divine, mischievous spark in you

She watches with studious curiosity as Sah processes her claim, brightening at the hum of agreement which eventually leaves his lips. "That's marvelous." Poppy cannot say the same, being rather markedly friendless, but if she's saddened by that fact she doesn't let it show. Her fingers are still burrowed in Lilly's warm fur, and she continues to scratch idly at the canine, perfectly comfortable lapsing into silence. Her ochre gaze has resumed its perusal of the misty fields, curiously seeking any disturbance--

--There.

"Oh, look!" Suddenly alive with excitement, Poppy leans toward Sah, her fingers extended out to point at a far-off figure in the mist. At first it seems like little more than the result of an errant breeze, but as they watch the pair will see it steadily taking form. A recognizable body stretches outward, crowned by spiky horns; wings that stretch out from its shoulders take the place of arms. The long tail cuts upon the grass, upsetting more moisture from the air. It's a wyvern, or the facsimilie of it, but also not, its movements fluid and unnatural.

"A daemon," Persephone exhales breathlessly, openly enthusiastic and wildly unafraid.

persephone

code by sky

Sah

Sah leaned to follow her finger, his brow furrowing as he spotted the aberration. A wyvern daemon seemed especially dangerous.

The Wild Thunder’s voice dropped into a whisper as he eyed his new acquaintance. “Let it be. If we get too close it’ll attack us. It hasn’t noticed us yet.” Although it was possibly more responsible to kill it, Sah’s soft spot for his own companions stayed his hand.

Still, the hybrid could feel the lightning in his veins sparking, ready to surge forward at any moment should the creature turn hostile.

The woman’s in concerned air and clear curiosity raised Sah’s wariness. His fingers twitched, wondering if he’d need to stop her from seeking the grieving daemon out.

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare

To the divine, mischievous spark in you

Already having opened her sketchbook and begun to draw the misty form, Persephone barely glances up at Sah's words of warning. "Mm? Oh, yes, it shouldn't mind us from here. As long as we leave its barrow alone." Fleet fingers dance across the page as she speaks; the image of a wyvern beginning to take form, etched in charcoal by precise hands.

"I've been studying them for a while," the girl continues on, her sharp eyes glancing from creature to page as she manifests her sketch. "I have a theory that their anger is tied to the state of their bonded's barrows. I've been maintaining this one, and the daemon does seem to be more docile than others - though perhaps it's simply used to me?"

Finally turning her attention fully to Sah, she raises her brows in question. "Actually, perhaps you can help? I've been able to get within around thirty feet before it shows signs of aggression - a great improvement. But I don't have a control. If you were to approach it, we could test the theory of whether docility is related to familiarity or maintenance!"

persephone

code by sky

Sah

Sah's brow furrowed as the woman presented her dangerous experiment. Lilly side-eyed her while Pad let out a displeased rumble. Yet, the Wild Thunder couldn't deny that there was merit in proving her hypothesis. If tending to the graves of the fallen companions of daemons made them less aggressive, it had the potential to make the entire region more secure for travelers.

Running a hand through his hair, Sah sighed, "Alright. I'll see if I can get within 30 feet of it." With narrowed eyes and a final nod, he carefully started walking toward the creature.

He kept his pace even and his body language loose, trying not to startle or alarm the grieving companion. The wyvern's head shot up when Sah got within 60 feet. Stopping, Sah dipped his head respectfully, continuing his walk as if to follow the path adjacent to where the creature stood.

When he got within 45 feet, however, the wyvern snarled. With its boundary clearly established, Sah started walking backward until he was a safe enough distance away to turn and make his way back to the waiting observer.  Lilly and Pad both let out mental sighs of relief as Sah addressed the woman, "That was about 45 feet. What do you think?"

After a few more tests, it seemed that despite its dangerous nature, the daemon did have a higher tolerance for Persephone than it did for Sah. The Wild Thunder didn't want to push his luck, and they concluded the experiments soon after, parting after a short conversation. 

-[FIN]

My soul is in the sky
-William Shakespeare