In the Meadow

As she became more comfortable getting around the castle, she often found herself situated in front of the windows in the great hall. While the ocean had a certain beauty about it, she felt drawn to the enchanting magic of the autumn colors that painted the castle gardens. She had gotten to wander around outside to play in the leaves, and while it was fun to interact, it was just as pretty to watch. However, something else caught her eye in the distance that she had never noticed before. Beyond the castle gardens where it smoothed out into plains in the distance, she noticed a slow gradient from dried grass to powdery white. Had it always been like that, and she was just noticing for the first time? Or did it just happen overnight?

In the back of her mind, she knew she should have sought out Momma or Daddy to take her. Or even Auntie Bowen or one of the other adults. But her curiosity was just calling too loudly to listen to reason. Without another moment’s hesitation, the fawn-spotted fae made a move toward the foyer.

The front doors were very heavy. She braced herself against one and pushed as hard as she could, and only after what felt like an eternity, was she able to give herself enough room to slip out. Once outside, the chilly temperatures of the cooler weather bit to the bone with each gust of wind. However, she was on a mission, and wouldn’t be dissuaded that easily. Her primary objective; go see what the blanket of white was covering the ground. Lyssie gleefully made her way out of the courtyard and in the direction she had seen the snow closer to the edge of the territory and castle grounds. It took her a good while to get to it, she could feel the drop in temperature as the distance between her and home grew. But once she got to her destination, she was mesmerized. It was surprising to her just how cold it actually was. How it glittered and sparkled in the sunlight. Or the crunching sound it made when she placed a paw down on its surface. Pale blue gaze full of wonder, she quickly searched the landscape for anything of interest. But after only seconds of looking, something odd did catch her eye. A ways up the path that she had taken, a weird shape stood out against the otherwise natural staging of the plains. However its stone foundation remained exposed, but it looked like a small wolf made of snow. The longer she looked at it though, the more familiar it seemed to get until recognition finally dawned on her. It was simply a stone statue that was similar to the ones found around the actual castle, but this one was blanketed in the snow too! But seeing it in this state gave her an idea. Could she make her own snow wolf? And with that thought, she began devising a plan.

Like an artist at a blank canvas, she began imagining vague shapes, and how she could manipulate them to her purpose. After a few moments of deliberation, she felt the easiest portrayal was if her snow wolf was sitting instead of standing. And with her vision firmly set, she begin packing the snow in a rounded pear shape. Wider at the base, and narrower at the top.  She would scoop up clumps of loose snow with her paws, and add it to the top of her sculpture. Smooth it out, and then continue. After she had spent quite a while tweaking her project, she finally got a shape she was happy with. But now, her snow wolf needed a head. After a couple of failed attempts of trying to pack it on a piece by piece as she did the rest of the body, the tawny and white fae came to the conclusion that it was going to be easier to make the head and attach it when she was done. Once that part was complete, she gingerly grabbed the almond-shaped configuration and hoisted it up on the snow wolf’s shoulders. Propping it up, she quickly grabbed some additional loose snow to shove in the crease where the two pieces met to conjoin them into one. Once satisfied, she released her hold and stood back to admire her work. Taking it in, she was very pleased with what she had accomplished! However, the longer she looked, the more she noticed something was missing. The snow wolf needed a face! Talyssa lingered just a moment longer, before turning on her heels to search the sparse territory.

What could make a snow wolf’s face? Her pale gaze roved in and out of the landscaping searching for a solution. Then she remembered, on her way out to the winterscape, she had passed a couple of evergreen trees that had likely been planted along the path as saplings for decoration. Lyssie quickly retraced her steps to the landmark she had envisioned and was thrilled with what she found. Beneath the evergreen trees, she found some small, rounded, spikey pods that she just knew would make the perfect nose. That, and the triangle-shaped pine cones, she could definitely see them working as ears. With excitement in every single movement, Lys scooped out her findings and headed back to her creation.

The nose and ears she found fit perfectly. Now, all she needed were something for the snow wolf’s eyes. However, she didn’t have to look too far. In some of the places where she had taken snow from, she found some scattered rocks beneath. They were grey- a little darker than her own eyes, but she knew they would work out well. Picking up two similarly sized stones. She pressed one into each side of the snow wolf’s face. Once satisfied, she stood back one last time to appreciate all her hard work. The snow wolf was complete! But as she stood there looking it over, she became acutely aware of the burning sensation in her paws. That was all the convincing she needed to head back inside. And with that, she made an about-turn and bounded back to the castle to see if she could see her snow wolf from the windows in the great hall.


-End Thread-

1055 / 800 words