Fading Waterfalls

As Terra tucks herself into Lotus’s side, she feels his tail curling around her and a happy grin appears on her dark lips. After she punches the holes in the hide, he nods approvingly to her and the girl’s heart skips a beat. Not only she managed to not screw up horrible but the icy boy isn’t thinks she did okay! He speaks of not being much of a crafter and she gives him a quizzical look, arching a brow in silent question as if to say, ‘Have you seen me?’. Still, as he begins to pull long strands of grass toward himself, the earthen girl turns her emerald gaze to watch his paws, trying to memorize the way they braid together the grass.

It seems that Lotus works magic because, where dried grass was moments ago, now sits a tight, thin braid. Wonder-filled eyes watch as he pushes the newly made rope through the holes that she punched out and pulls it until the pouch is cinched shut and a short handle forms a loop above it. Her sharpened rock, which is still clutched firmly between her front teeth, nearly tumbles from her mouth as she looks on with slack-jawed amazement. Terra had been abandoned out here at a young age and, while she was scrappy enough to survive and quickly learn who and what to avoid, she had never seen anyone craft anything. The fact that Lotus had made it for her, well, it makes the pouch all the more special in her eyes.

Lotus speaks of weaving a lot more grass to be able to wear it around her shoulders and Terra can only bob her head in silent astonishment. Then he gives a soft laughing and seems… embarrassed about it before passing it off to her and moving to get up. A paw painted with black gently comes to rest on top his own white-dipped one, trying to pull his attention back down to the earthen-hued girl. Her emerald eyes glisten with unshed tears as she tries to capture his soft blue gaze, a warm, caring smile curling her lips around her rock. After a moment, she leans down to place the rock on the ground beside her pouch, eyes remaining on the objects as she says, “Thank you, Lotus. I have never… had someone make me anything.”

The gesture may seem small to the boy with nine siblings but, for Terra, it means the world. It proves to her that there are still kind wolves out there and that she is worthy of compassion. It is difficult for her to voice all of these things, the girl who spent the last eight months holed up in cave with only the bugs to talk to, now finds herself overwhelmed with wanting to express how much this small gesture means to her. Emerald eyes look back up to Lotus, a gentle warmth shining in her tear-filled eyes as a tender smile appears on her face. Her paw that rests over his own gives a short squeeze before she removes it to wrap her leg around his, leaning in to him as she whispers, “Thank you Lotus. Thank you… for everything.”


"Terra Qilaq"