It wasn't too often that she got to spend one on one time with her sisters. They just had different interests, and it ended up pulling them in different directions. However, today was something else entirely. She cleared her throat to speak, all before a quick look to the sky to ensure that Eira (their father's raven) was still trailing above. As soon as she picked her out from the clouds, she continued on with her conversation starter. "You gotta see this place, Dusk!" Talyssa reiterated with enthusiasm as she cast a sideways glance to her shadowy sibling. "It's called a waterfall. I had never seen anything like it." The fawn-spotted fae described. The spectacular sight was still easily recalled as it was etched in her mind.

It wasn't long before the echo could be heard in the distance. She loved seeing it the first time when she came with their father. But now she was stricken with a new kind of excitement. She couldn't wait to see the look on her sisters face. Hopefully Dusk would think that it was as awesome as she did. When it finally came into sight, she was practically bounding with each step. As they approached the drop off, it just appeared that the river suddenly ended. But she knew exactly what was in store. "What do you think!?" Talyssa asked eagerly, waiting for her sister to offer her opinion.

When Talyssa asked her to go out and explore, it never crossed Dusks mind to say no. Tal was her favorite sibling and, after having run ins with caiman and a bear, Dusk couldn't risk letting Tal get injured. The dark child would go along to protect her fair coated sister. Aside from that, she truly did like to explore and she hadn't been to the falls yet.

Dusk followed along beside Tal, stopping to sniff this and that as they went. She found that she really liked the smell of the cedars. It was rich and earthy. Very pleasing. The girl wondered if she could bring that smell back home with her somehow. "Do you think we could plant cedar trees back at home?" The child's head tilted slightly as she looked up through the foliage of one of the tall, tall trees. Who could she ask about plants? How did you even plant a tree? Dusk could barely tell the difference between plants and weeds, so this was way beyond the girl.

The pair continued on together and she could hear the far off roar of the falls. The closer they came, the louder that roar grew. Dusk could smell the tangy scent of fishy water and she wrinkled her dark nose in distaste for a moment, tongue flicking over her front teeth. Dusk didn't like fish one bit. As they came to the drop off, the girl's fire opal eyes went wide with wonder and her jaw dropped open. A soft "Wooooooooooow..." pulled from the pup as she looked out over the misty land below the falls. Dusks gaze flashed towards Tal and she grinned. "This is so cool!"

"Dusk Carpathius"

At Dusk's inquiry about the cedar trees, Talyssa set to deep thought for a few moments. She recalled the time that Momma had taken her to the Aspen Dam, and they had talked about changing the land. She said the whole forest could look different one day, it would just take a really long time. "Yeah, you could plant a new one, but I think it would take a lifetime to grow." She eventually mused. But then she wondered, do different trees grow at different rates? Maybe Momma would know the answer to that too.

With her attention flashing back and forth between her sister's face, and the rainbows cast by the light in the mist, it was difficult for her to decide what she enjoyed most. "I know! I love it here." Talyssa answered. Of all the places she had seen so far, this was certainly one of her favorites- and this wasn't even the best part. Her pale blue gaze drifted to the steep slope that she had descended with Dad. It was a little treacherous to maneuver the last time she was, but she was bigger now, and relatively confident in her ability to retrace those original steps. "Hey, do you want to go down to the bottom of the waterfall?" Talyssa asked with enthusiasm. "It's a little dangerous, you gotta stay on your toes and be mindful of loose rocks. But it's even more pretty at the bottom." She ensured. Besides, She had never known her sister to balk at the idea of a challenge.

The dark girl's ears slicked back a moment at Tal's answer. The tree would take a lifetime to grow. As Dusk looked up the long length of one cedar tree, she tried to imagine how long a lifetime actually was. There was no way to gauge such things. Even if someone told her how long a lifetime was, she wouldn't be able to feel it or really wrap her mind around it, so she let the thought go. No point in dwelling on something that she couldn't understand, though she was disappointed that she couldn't have her own cedar tree back home.

At Tal's query, Dusk nodded her head vigorously. Of course she wanted to go to the bottom! A word of warning was given and the dark child scoffed and grinned. "You be careful. I'll be fine." She slipped with her very first step. The stones were a little slick from the constant onslaught of water and had grown a bit of gooey moss. Dusk went face first down the incline, landing on the first little plateau of ground with an audible oof. She didn't hurt herself thanks to her thick coat, but her pride sure stung. Pulling herself to her paws, the girl wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Okay, okay... I'll be careful." After that, she made her way gingerly down the treacherous rocks, glaring at each one for their betrayal. Why did nature do that to her?

"Dusk Carpathius"

When Dusk scoffed, and insisted she'd be fine without taking in extra caution, Talyssa thought she would have more time to convince her sister otherwise. But watching the shadowed girl bounce toward the drop-off, every muscle in her body went rigid. "Wai-" She tried to call out, but as her sister tumbled over the edge of the incline, in seconds she fell out of immediate sight. Lys gasped in shock, with all the worst-case scenarios immediately flashing before her eyes. The tawny-colored girl bounded towards the edge just in time to see Dusk come sliding to a stop on a natural landing of sorts about mid-way down. Before she could register if Dusk was injured or not, her sister was quick to pop up, admitting that it would probably be best to be careful. Talyssa sighed in relief, before quickly finding her voice. "When you start to slide, if you turn your paws sideways, it will help keep you upright."

In an effort to demonstrate, Lys began her own descent. She intentionally found a small patch of loose gravel and intentionally hit it a little too hard to cause a bit of a disturbance. But by dramatically making a display of turning her paws to the side- while she did slide a little ways, she remained upright throughout. "See? Like that." She instructed her sister.

Dusk was embarrassed for a moment, but it quickly subsided. As Tal made her way down the side of the rocky surface towards her, she demonstrated how to hold ones paws at an angle. A few pebbles of gravel bounced around the dark girl's paws and she nodded in understanding, though her face was a little squished up as she was trying to get dust out of her mouth by smacking her lips.

The rest of the way down was easier though their steps were annoyingly slow. By the time they reached the bottom, Dusks legs were so tense that the muscles had begun to quiver slightly. When rock leveled out into grass though, the girl heaved herself into the greenery, rolling onto her back and kicking her legs while her body curled from side to side. Walking slow was almost as bad as sitting still and that was something that the girl had a very hard time with.

When she stopped rolling, Dusk lay on her back, staring at the bottom of the waterfall upside down. "Pretty neat place, Tal." Dusks tail wagged back and forth in the grass and she gave an upside down smile. "I'll have to take you somewhere next time to be fair." Already she was thinking of places where they could go and explore.

"Dusk Carpathius"

When she and Dusk finally made her way to the bottom of the incline, she was only vaguely aware that her sister had pitted herself against the grass alongside the bank. A playfully exasperated grin tugged at her lips as Talyssa went straight to the water's edge- to a spot off to the side that wasn't much affected by the pull of the current. Taking a couple of steps out into the crystalline stream, she took a quick drink before answering Dusk's approval. Looking back over her should, she offered an enthusiastic nod. "I thought so," she agreed, before allowing her attention to return to the mist that defused from the crashing water.

At the mention of a follow-up adventure, her interest peaked. Finally turning away from the water, she moved to sink into the grass near her sister's side. "Oh yeah? I guess that would only be fair ..." she answered in a playful tone. In that particular moment, everything seemed perfect. The warmth of the summer sun was all-encompassing, the pale blue sky was only obstructed by the occasional fluffy cloud that sailed along without a care in the world. Even the birds seemed to be in awe- not a single song to be heard ...

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she quickly fell into suspicion. Sitting up, she looked around. It was easy to get lost in the roar of the falls, but it wasn't until now that she realized that the forest was uncharacteristically quiet. All except for a casually grumbling growl that she thought she might have heard from deeper in the woods ... but couldn't tell. "Hey, do you hear that?" Talyssa asked her sister, as she felt the fur rising at the back of her neck. Something definitely wasn't right.