With her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her butt - almost literally - dragging, Ferrous crested the hill and abruptly flopped down. A dramatic sigh left her lips as she rolled over and kicked her hind legs out so that she was laying spread eagle. Whew. The hill was too big. It took literally forever to climb. It was worth it, though.

From head to toe Ferrous was dotted with dirt and grass stains. Her fur was mussed up and cow-licked all over. She smelled, in her opinion, like the color green, but she couldn't have been happier. Not really with the smell - she didn't have an opinion one way or the other about smelling green, although if any of her siblings gave her grief over it she would be happy to point out that she could smell way worse - but with the game that had led her to smelling so grassy. Okay, so it wasn't quite a game because she was playing by herself, but it was still fun! She'd been rolling down the hill for the better part of an hour and it had yet to get old.

After a few more moments of catching her breath, the girl flipped over and stood up. She shook out her coat - sending dirt and leaf litter flying - and then wandered over to the "edge" of the hill. She eyed it critically, trying to suss out whether or not it was good enough place to jump off, and then, deciding she could do better, Ferrous sidestepped twice. Now there, she decided as she eyed the grassy knoll, was a good place to roll.

Without ceremony she flopped down on her belly again and stretched her legs out. With a little nudge from a hind foot she was off and rolling down the hill. The trip down was a lot faster than the trip up and in no time at all she lay at the bottom of the hill in a grassy, dirty heap. Ferrous chortled to herself and then bounced to her feet. Again! She had to go again!

It was still hard to talk for prolonged periods, and that put a damper on his duties of spreading the gospel. While he was mostly healed, through the help of his friend Spider, he felt sore constantly. His family had vanished from his senses at this point, somewhere beyond his reach. Now, he was stretching his legs and refamiliarizing himself with the world. Michael had not taken his eye, not that it mattered much. Sometimes it hurt to swallow, which worried him. He hadn't wandered far, but he hadn't seen Spider of late. The male had practically disappeared, and he wondered if caring for him had been too much to bear. Perhaps it was time to move on, and find Raphael. Uriel was likely somewhere nearby as well. Surely they were hunting for him, perhaps at the aide of Michael. For once, he was afraid of his brother. What would he do, if he saw the man again? He was cleansed of sin, but perhaps that wasn't enough anymore? A sigh left him, forced from his chest heavily. It was too much to think about right now. He needed something to distract him. The raucous glee of a child captured his attention. Who was this? Alabaster paws drew him closer, nostrils flaring to capture the child's scent. A jaunty trot, prompted by the sudden excitement of interacting with others. They were close, he could hear the thump of careless tiny paws on the ground. It reeked of torn up grass, and nearly clouded his nose of any other scents. "It sounds like someone is having fun." He announced, lips curving in an easy smile. He wasn't aware of how horrific he likely looked, with scarred flesh across his cheek and climbing over his muzzle and down to the space at the midpoint of his neck. He could imagine, though. The blank, pupilless gaze was enough for most already. "Gabriel" Thoughts "Others" IF YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES WE'LL DANCE ON THE BED

The girl was on the verge of bolting up the hill again when she became aware of a scary-looking stranger standing nearby. She jumped sideways away from him, her fur frizzing up like a dandelion, and her back arching. She looked for all the world like a frightened house cat.

Ferrous eyed him for a moment after he spoke. Her gaze kept getting hung up on his scars so she didn't see that something was funny about his eyes right away, but once she saw them she couldn't unsee them. She simply stared. Yup. He was scary. She'd never seen someone like him before. Not those kind of scars and certainly not those kind of eyes.

He was smiling though, and she didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't the kind of smile that accompanied smarmy, you-don't-understand-because-you're-a-child talk, and it wasn't a mean, I'm-thinking-about-eating-you smile either. It was just a smile as far as she could tell. So maybe he was just scary-looking. "Um...yeah." Maybe he would want to play too. She was having a lot of fun; she'd understand if he was jealous. And could she really fault him for looking scary? If she couldn't control how she looked than neither could he. "Do...you want to play too?"

The sounds of thumping pawsteps, and the grass rustled to his side a ways. Oh. Pale brows would draw together in concern. Alabaster auds tipped back against his skull in shock. Did he do something wrong? She had fled him as though he had tried to take a chunk out of her. He dared not step closer, in case she became more afraid. He could smell the delicate stink of her anxiety, watered down by youthful puppy smell. "Um...yeah." The child finally said. There was hesitation, and he wondered if perhaps he should go. One paw lifted slowly, pulling itself beneath his frame. "Do...you want to play too?" She asked quietly. His paw returned to its original place in the soft grass. "Only if you wouldn't mind me joining you. I would hate to ruin the fun you were having, it sounded like you were enjoying yourself." He replied softly, trying to maintain his friendly smile. He was a little hurt, knowing that whatever Michael had done to his face had made him so hideous. That he frightened children now was a horrific thought. He only ever wanted to help others, but now he feared that no one would ever trust him. A bubble of resentment burst in his chest, very suddenly, against Michael. "Gabriel" Thoughts "Others" IF YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES WE'LL DANCE ON THE BED

She had been having fun. Lots of fun. Ferrous nodded emphatically. "Yeah, you can play too! I'll show you how; it's lots of fun, but you gotta do it just right, okay?" She frisked closer. "Okay, so this is what you do." She dropped into a play bow. "When we get to the top of the hill you do this. Just like this, okay? And then you rooooll to the side like this," she flopped over onto her side, "Only when you're on top of the hill you'll start rolling okay? Not just lay here like this."

The tiny girl bounced to her paws so she could beam up at the stranger. "And you'll roll, roll, roll down the hill!" She shrugged nonchalantly and added, "Sometimes I get a little dizzy at the bottom but I never barfed or nothing so you should be okay."

"Follow me, I'll show you my favorite roll spot!" Already her fear of him was fading. Naivety had a way of soothing fears quickly. She turned and began to bound up the hill. A few bounds in a thought suddenly occurred to her. She didn't know his name! Ferrous skidded to a halt and whipped around. "I forgot! My name is Fff-Kestrel!"Whew! That was close! She'd almost said her real name. Hopefully he wouldn't catch that. "What's yours?"

The little one didn't seem at all against his joining in her play, blessedly. His smile only grew as she began to speak, sounding overjoyed. "Yeah, you can play too! I'll show you how; it's lots of fun, but you gotta do it just right, okay?" She said, in the very serious way that children always did when it came to these things. The grass stirred beneath her paws as she scooted nearer. "Okay, so this is what you do." Auds would push forward, keen on her diatribe. He hadn't properly played in what felt to be aeons. The grass rustled once more, her voice shifted positions. From slightly lower to the ground, she said "When we get to the top of the hill you do this. Just like this, okay? And then you rooooll to the side like this," Warmed thoroughly by the child already, he could feel his mood lifting. Bless this child, she was completely oblivious to his disability. Children often were, and it made him feel quite good, for some reason. They didn't see him as a blind wolf, just a wolf. A solid thump upon the ground. Ah, this must have been the rolling. "Only when you're on top of the hill you'll start rolling okay? Not just lay here like this." He nodded vigorously, engrossed in the thought of rolling down a hill. It sounded fun, even exhilarating. He had never rolled down a hill, had he? The herald couldn't recall. Once more the soft swish of grass moving drew his attention in a different direction. "And you'll roll, roll, roll down the hill!" It sounded like fun, and the golden male was ready for it. "Sometimes I get a little dizzy at the bottom but I never barfed or nothing so you should be okay." His ears pulled nearer to his skull at that. Oh Father, he hoped he wouldn't become sick in front of a child. He would look like a fool. "Well, let's hope that it stays that way. I don't much care for the smell of bile." He chuckled, eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile. The movement hurt his healing wounds a little, pulled at the fresh tissue. "Follow me, I'll show you my favorite roll spot!" The child announced, and began to bound away. Pale paws slipped through the tall tresses of the grass, head low as he followed slowly behind the pup. A thought occurred to him. Where were this child's parents? He had yet to scent any adults nearby, but the faint aroma of children, still sweetened by milk, was plentiful. Perhaps he should ask, when they were finished with their game. The child thundered to a halt, and he stopped in suit. "I forgot! My name is Fff-Kestrel!" She said, quite suddenly. Ah, so someone had been teaching her manners. That was good. "What's yours?" She questioned not long after. "Gabriel Morningstar, but my siblings call me Gabe." He replied softly, offering another warm smile to accompany his speech. "Are you named for the bird, Kestrel? I hear they are fierce predators." He would wait for her to move before he made to follow her again. "Gabriel" Thoughts "Others" IF YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES WE'LL DANCE ON THE BED

If he caught on to her slip up, the grownup didn't say anything. That was good, she decided. Even if he had heard her mistake Ferrous was pretty sure she could make him forget it. They were gonna roll down a hill. He was gonna have so much fun he'd forget all about it.

Gabriel Morningstar. That was a cool name. Maybe she'd use it sometime in one of her schemes. Kestrel Morningstar. Sounded awesome to her, anyway.

Ferrous resumed walking up the hill. If they just stood there and talked they'd never reach the top. "Are you named for the bird, Kestrel? I hear they are fierce predators." The girl nodded her head proudly. "Yep!" That's why she'd picked it. Zahir had helped her. All her siblings had already picked their names, but she couldn't come up with anything that sounded strong, so the snow leopard had listed the names of several fierce birds and helped her pick one. "Zahir, my friend, says kestrels are tiny and fiery, just like me," she said proudly.

"How about you," she asked curiously, "Are you named after something?"

I WAS JUST AN ONLY CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE Light, delicate steps told him that the child was moving again. Head low, he kept pace and followed her. To his question about her name, she giddily announced that, "Yep!" she was named for the bird. He hummed thoughtfully in response. That was quite interesting, indeed. He hadn't encountered many who were named for aspects of nature. "Zahir, my friend, says kestrels are tiny and fiery, just like me," she said, and he could practically taste the pride that emanated from her. "Your friend, Zahir, sounds like quite the smart fellow." He rumbled kindly, a small smile playing upon his features. The hill was beginning to grow steeper, and he was faced with the realisation that he would need to ask for help from the child. After all, her demonstration had gone mostly over his head. Well, all good things must come to an end eventually. "How about you," the girl asked him, and he lifted his head some to catch her words. "Are you named after something?" He frowned somewhat, thinking to himself. Father had never offered explanations for much. He was wise, and unquestionable. "I don't believe so," he replied after a moment. "I'm just Gabriel. Father wanted us- my siblings and I, to have holy names, thus our names sound rather similar." he added by way of explanation. A tiny shrug of his lean shoulders was offered, and he fell silent once more. "Are we close to the top?" He asked quietly, beginning to feel the burn of his muscles. He had been partially bedridden for a while, and he wasn't as strong as he would like to be. "I think I'm becoming soft." He joked, smiling a little wider than he had previously. The Lord would be ashamed, but he didn't think of that now. Walk "Talk" Think