As the whispers of the summer Bonfire Festival spread throughout the castle, it was very easy to feel the shift in energy. The need for organized preparation was certainly in demand, and while this would be her first time taking part in her family's tradition, Talyssa was very eager to contribute in as many ways as she could think. One of those being, the collection of kindling. Of course, she had no idea or way of knowing how much was actually needed. But when she envisioned the event for herself, she saw a massive pyre blazing late in the night beneath the canopy of endless stars, and it was about all she could manage to contain the excitement.
When she began to sort out the best places to collect kindling, the Aspen Dam immediately came behind. With all the construction mess that the beavers made- she could only imagine how many stray twigs were left behind. And in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that far of a walk- and if she borrowed a bag, it would be that much more she could bring back ... and if she could coerce one of her siblings to come along- then the amount collected would be doubled. But who to ask? Ciaran was the first one she encountered, tossing him an empty bag with an invitation to tag along and very little explanation.
Once the aspen trees grew thicker, and the ambiance of trickling water could be heard in the background- she was satisfied to start gathering. The regular amount of sticks and small lambs could be found scattered here and there, but it was also quite obvious that the beavers had done their fair share of demolition as well. "I don't really know how much we need," Talyssa admitted to her brother. "But I bet two bags worth will be a good start!" If they ended up having to make multiple trips, then so be it.
Kea huffed a laugh as he was pressed into bag-holding duty. But he didn’t really complain. Taking his sister in stride, and following after her. He did like spending time with Tally. She took an interest in everything, even sparring. And he found her to be a good partner. Not entirely sure what the plan was, he let her lead him towards the dam. Crossing over the other Hallow territories to get there. His little Polar bear, Spud, ambled after them.
As they entered the dam, he started getting a little more wide-eyed. Looking around himself at the clusters of aspen trees. The scent of bark and water dominant after a few sniffs. “Need, for what?” He asked, snorting at his sister as he leaned over and grabbed a stick in his maw/ it looked a little gnawed on, and breathing in he caught a scent of something unfamiliar. What kind of rodent chewed on sticks?
As they traversed the outer territories, she occasionally checked in on her brother in brief glances. Judging by his expression, she had wondered how often he had been off castle grounds- and if he had seen the Aspen forest yet at all. Judging by his face, she doubted it. And it gave her all the more reason to want to watch him as he got to experience a new place for the first time. However, when he asked what they needed and why, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Haven't you been paying attention?" She responded accusingly but didn't give him the opportunity to answer. "Is it too much to ask for you to pay attention?" Talyssa interjected, deciding it was probably a better question, since she was sure that he had in fact not been paying attention.
After a few moments of silence, she answered him. "The Bonfire Festival." The girl responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. However as she watched him lean over and grab a stick to investigate, she thought she might need to be a little clearer. "To have a bonfire, we need kindling. That's our job." Or at least, that was going to be their contribution to the event. "So, let's get to collecting so we can get back home." She instructed, grabbing her bag and heading off to a place a little ways off that seemed more undisturbed. Then, she thought of something. "Hey, be careful though. By the water there are beavers. They may want to fight you if you get too close to the dam they're building." Talyssa warned. She was a lot of things- a student, an adventurer, the best sister in the world ... but a beaver fighter wasn't one of them.
Satisfied that he could take care of himself, she continued on. Stopping to pick up a stick and put it in her bag whenever she saw one. It was filling up pretty quickly, so she knew it wouldn't take hardly anytime at all.
He stuck his tongue out at his sister as she showed him attitude. “Are you making a doll?” He asked her, waving a stick around. “A teeny tiny training dummy for a teeny tiny pup?” He asked, a note of teasing creeping into his voice. When she finally pointed him in the right direction, his expression broke into a grin. He used his maw to toss a stick her way. “Ohhh… that festival.” He said, enjoying needling her.
He chuckled a couple sticks in the bag before he got distracted again. “A beaver, what's that?” He asked, raising his head and looking in the general direction where the scent of water originated. He snuck a glance at his sister, wondering if he would get away with taking a look. Or if she would lecture him again.
When he began to tease her about making a doll, she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying something unkind. In the end, she knew it wasn't even worth gratifying it with a response. So, instead, she huffed a breath in irritation as she picked up a few more twigs that fit in her bag. He seemed to offer some sort of recognition as to what she was talking about, but any credit she was going to give him was lost when a stick clattered to the ground between them. She shot him a look of annoyed disapproval, before continuing on with her task.
However, when he asked her just exactly what a beaver even was, she couldn't help the itch to unload all the information she could on the subject. Lucky for Ciaran, she was able to refrain to a basic description. "They're like ... a really huge squirrel, but instead of a fuzzy tail, they have a thick, broad, flat tail that they slap things with." Talyssa began to explain. Though, she knew hearing about them wasn't much compared to seeing them for himself. "They live on the water in a den made of sticks." She informed her brother, gesturing towards the trickling noise of the nearby stream. "If you go look, make sure you collect kindling on your way. But I mean it, don't get too close. I don't want to have to fight a beaver today." She insisted, returning her attention to the search for more twigs.
Kea teased Tally, but the only response he got was a glare of annoyance. He sighed, and got to work picking up more sticks. Why couldn’t his sister be more playful? He was just teasing. He gathered a fair few supplies when Tally spoke of the beavers. Describing them as a creature like a squirrel, but with a broad tail. “A den made of sticks?” Perhaps that was why there were so many stripped down and chewed here. They must have been picking up the beavers discarded off cuts.
“You got it, Tal!” He said, offering her a wide grin. “I’ll be careful” not that he was scared of a squirrel that lived in a stick house, anyway. He pulled the bag tighter around his shoulders so it didn’t rattle, and crept off in the direction of the stream.
There was no stopping the genuine amusement she felt at her brother's inquiry. She remembered when their mother brought her here to observe the beavers as they worked. She liked learning, but was beginning to discover that she liked teaching as well. "Yeah, but it's far more elaborate than a den of sticks. They waterproof it, and use it to adjust the flow of the river." She elaborated, if he wanted to hear it or not. Though, even as she spoke, she remained steady in her objective. Her determination was ever prevalent as she went along.
It seemed the desire to go look at what she had described was too great. And it was no surprise to her that he wanted to go see for himself. As Ciaran departed to go check out the dam, she acknowledged the broad grin he offered her with the assurance that he would be careful as he went to investigate. In return, she offered him a soft grin of her own, only to be accompanied by the playful narrowing of her eyes. "You better." She insisted, before returning to her task once more. It hadn't taken much longer before it started to get difficult to cram more sticks into her bundle.
Professor
Fleet-footed
