[se] thunderstorms a week ago

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Lena laughed, mostly because her own experience had been a surprising twist in the notion of companions and their capabilities. “I’m not sure if I’m the right person to answer that – I didn’t know abominable snowballs could become bonded to anyone,” and she gestured to Mittens, whose head came clean off its body in a bizarre juxtaposition, before teetering to the right and left, and then settling once again. “But maybe it’s a possibility?” Perhaps it was something to inquire about to the gods, or merely persist in her wandering, to see what other individuals had snagged.

Once the wyrms had finished their meal, Lena removed the feed pans, stacking them neatly for the next iteration, and then left out some forage for them, in case any grew hungry in the interim. “The creature bonds to you. Though, from what I understand, it must be their choice.” Why Mittens declared its intentions was beyond her – or why people were picked. “Up to the animal,” and she winked, before gesturing Sohalia out of the enclosure, and locking it behind them.

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

Sohalia Lumaris

Lena admitted to not knowing, surprising Soh, who had begun to think that her friend held all the answers. Still, she smiled, nodding in acknowledgement. Maybe she would find the answers in a book, when she visited the Collegium; or, maybe she would never really know. And wasn't that part of the fun of life, the not knowing? The everlasting thirst for knowledge? In any case, it was fascinating to think that the companions were the ones who bonded with the humans rather than the other way around. It felt right, somehow, that it was the animals' choices to make.

Would Soh ever have a companion? It was impossible to know, especially now that she knew it would never be up to her. Soh followed Lena out of the enclosure, lost in thought for a moment, and stopped to wait for further direction from her friend. She shook herself out of her musings and smiled. "How many more animals are there here?" she asked eagerly, excited to see whatever the Celestine had to offer.

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Lena, fortunately or unfortunately, didn’t have the answer to everything. Just her experiences amidst the wild world – growing wider and wider by the day. Reassured that her lock was secured, she hitched the basket higher over her shoulder, checked on Mittens’ whereabouts (still tethered), she had to give a laugh back to Sohalia. “Quite a few. But it will be worth it, I promise!” Joking manners aside, the younger Attuned certainly didn’t have to stay with the Caretaker the entire time, and once they were through with preferred rounds and ample time to become acquainted with any number of creatures, they could part ways, educated and wiser.

{FIN <3}

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm