Mountain Play

Ricin follows his brother closely, a small bounce event in every step he takes. There is a huge smile on his face that hasn’t disappeared since the brothers left the island. When was the last time they had explored together? Was it before they joined Manea’s band? After? No matter, this day is for the brothers blue and Ricin is going to enjoy every moment. The path to the mountain is easy and the distance isn’t great so the boys lope to the towering mountain, excitement hanging in the air as they go. He remembers this giant, from when they were pups. Ny and he had explored a crypt attached to the other side of this very range. Their pace slows as the yawning expanse of rocky peaks draws closer and moves Chade leads Ricin to the start of a path where they stop.

Looking to his brother, Ry listens with great interest to everything his brother says, his chest puffing out a little when Ny acknowledges he is a real explorer. And then Chade teases him about falling off and he rolls his eyes while saying, “Just watch where you’re stepping. Would hate to have carry you all the way back to the pack.” He sticks his tongue out at Ny as he passes his brother, adding in a wink for good measure. Now in the lead, Ricin scans the pathway and begins to ascend the mountain side, carefully picking out points to jump too and alerting Chade to their positions. Ry finds a spot that has obviously been used by many mountain goats and he casts a glance back to his brother while calling out, “Hey Ny! Watch this!”

He grins to his brother before turning back to the tiny jut of stone that the goats use. Swiftly and nimbly, the lighter boy leaps to the spot that is barely big enough for two paws to land on but he doesn’t stop there. One, two, three; Ricin jumps from small ledge to small ledge, following in the hoofprints of the goats before him. On his fourth leap, Ry lands on a large shelf and pauses to turn and look back down at Ny. Tail wags carefully as he calls out, “There is a cave up over there. Want to go check it out?” He points his paw at the opening that is two more jumps away and he waits to hear what Chade thinks. If his brother is uncertain of his climbing skills, the lighter boy will make his way back down and find an easier path for them.



"Ricin Dauner"

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