Winter had come. Winter had settled over the castle, and Meadow didn’t really know how to feel about that. If it was going to be here, then why wasn’t it more… winter-y? Why wasn’t she seeing snow settling over the landscape like it did in her books? Why was it so rainy and soggy and wet? Why wasn’t it… why wasn’t it better? Why wasn’t it picturesque? She found that it had put her in a bit of a sour mood, something unusual for the typically cheerful young girl. Instead of being her usual self, she was feeling pretty grey. She tucked herself away in the greenhouse, among the herbs and the flowers, was one way to cope. Right, coping like this couldn’t be too bad, at least in her mind. It was still warm in here, as the building had been designed for. Still warm, but as the winter winds kicked up, she could still feel the cold in some spots. That couldn’t be good for the plants. No, it couldn’t be good at all. That wouldn’t do. Meadow’s brow furrowed. She had to do something about that. Through the blustery winter day, she traipsed back inside the castle. Her shoulders hunched against the wind as she finally made it inside. She moved to the communal stores of crafting supplies, carefully walking through them. Meadow chewed on her lower lip as she thought about it. Examining each material, trying to figure out what she could take that would do the job, but also what she could take that wouldn’t be missed. Couldn’t take anything too important, right? Hm. Settling on a piece of rawhide that was too awkwardly shaped to do much with, as it had several large pieces cut out of it, Meadow decided that it would do what she needed. As she’s about to head back out to the greenhouse, though, she’s stopped by a small voice. "Speech"

320/1500

Vendrick doesn’t look for trouble. That would be a gross mischaracterization, and he’d see you in court for that. Or, well, he’d probably actually cry about it and hope that he was let off easy. But that’s beside the point. That’s out of the realm of things he’s thinking or worrying about right now. Something about idle paws being the devil’s playthings, but who was he to really dwell on that either. There had to be some kind of mischief out here for him. Vendrick was sure of it. Something in the castle, or at least… someone to entertain him. Someone to take him outside, someone to take him to do something other than what he was doing. To be clear, the only thing he’s actually doing is looking for someone to entertain him. You see where he’s getting stuck in a bit of a time loop here? He heard the front door of the castle open, then shut behind someone. Though he first thinks about bounding forward to see just who it is, instead the boy thinks about the lesson from Kea. The sneaking lessons. Vendrick could sneak! He was going to try those new skills on whatever unsuspecting wolf had just come indoors. Carefully, he steps as quietly as he can. One step, then the next, putting pressure on the outside of his paw pads and then rolling his weight to the center. One step after another. Nearly holding his breath. Peering at the wolf from around the door to the supply room, he tries to stay as quiet as he can. She was looking for something. What did she even want in there? It was mostly boring stuff, as far as Vendrick knew. She seemed to be rummaging, seemed to be hunting, until… well, that was decisive. The thing that Meadow had taken down was a piece of scrap rawhide. Unable to contain himself any longer, Vendrick just has to ask. “Hey! What’re you doing? Where’re you taking that skin? Can I come?” A flood of questions. He’d been sneaky for too long, what if she was doing something fun? Would she go do something fun without him? There was no way she was doing something cool without him there, Meadow couldn’t get away from him that easily.

701/1500

That was a lot of questions all at once. Meadow’s eyes went wide for a moment as the boy jumped out from what seemed like… nowhere? Well, wherever he’d been hiding, he’d done a pretty good job. Certainly it was enough to startle her. Between that and the flood of questions, she had to take a step back. Take a deep breath. Process what he’d said… okay, he wanted to know what she was doing. He wanted to come with her while she was doing what she was doing. Was he going to help, or just come and be underfoot and noisy? That was yet to be seen. Meadow wasn’t sure how she felt about the latest gaggle of children within the castle. Though she’d only observed them at a distance, they were certainly… um… lively. She had to be sorry that she didn’t handle noise very well. But how much noise could one pup make? Surely, if he came out to the greenhouse with her, then he’d have to be helpful… right? The girl thought about it for a moment before nodding. Vendrick could come with her, she was alright with that. They weren’t going very far, and were still well within the boundaries of the castle. She gestures to the boy, asking him to follow her. They would walk out to the greenhouse together. Holding the door for the boy as they made their way inside, Meadow motioned to the younger boy to follow her. She walks with a purpose toward the doors that weren’t used in the winter. They’d been overlooked when everything was sealed up for the winter. Gesturing the boy closer, Meadow ran her paw along the gap between the door and the ground, feeling the same chill that rippled through the outdoors. As Vendrick took a moment to do the same, Meadow began to measure the rawhide scraps against the space. Grateful that this had become a two person job instead of one, she marked it out and took a gardening stake to score it out. She had to be careful not to leave that where he was going to step on it or mess with it, shoot. "Speech"

1065/1500

Vendrick tries to think of what all of the cousins’ names were. There were too many of him to keep track of. Still, someone had mentioned that one of them didn’t talk. The kind of hushed conversations that adults had, and all that. He really had been practicing his sneaking, and that likely led to hearing things he wasn’t supposed to hear. The one that didn’t talk, that one was Meadow, if his memory was to be trusted. Judging by the fact that this girl didn’t answer literally any of his questions, Vendrick could only surmise that this was the right one. Why didn’t she talk? Something told him that it was probably impolite to ask Meadow… and also that she wouldn’t even be able to answer him if he did. Maybe he’d ask mom later. Or dad. Or Kea. Someone who would know these things. But she did agree to take him outside, and that was good enough for him. She would take him out on whatever errand or chore or task she was working on. It seemed like she wanted him to come, at least. That, or he’d completely misread her, but she didn’t seem upset as he trolloped after her and into the outdoors. Straight away, the wind seemed to cut through him. Vendrick shivered, fluffing his coat up, and picking up a rolling gait as they made their way to the greenhouse. Why was she bringing skin to the greenhouse? Was it good for plants? And then Meadow made her way to the opposite door, one that Vendrick hadn’t noticed a minute ago. It had been partially blocked off, but there was a gap between the door and the ground. Meadow touched it, and he touched it too. Vendrick made a face. “Is soggy,” his nose wrinkled. It was soggy and damp, and chilly against his paws, especially in contrast to the warmth around him. Vendrick took a step back to see what his cousin was doing. She’d marked out a chunk that was the same length as the door, but it was wide. His ears flickered as he thought, head tilting to one side as he watched her work. “Oh, oh, we’re going to put it under the door?” Had he gotten it right? The boy hoped he’d gotten it right. He moved to help hold down the opposite side, the one that was moving around as she was trying to cut. Helping. See, Vendrick could be helpful. Helpful and certainly not trouble at all.

1485/1500

He’d helped without being asked. Meadow was pleasantly surprised. That, and it seemed the boy was pretty bright too, figuring out just what they were going to do with the chunk of rawhide. She nodded enthusiastically as Vendrick puzzled out just what the purpose of their creation was. It was nice to have him weigh down the other side, and made cutting the large piece out much easier. Maybe having help was kinda nice sometimes. Maybe she could ask for help more often, if this was going to be how it went. Meadow gestured to the boy, indicating that he do as she did. The pair worked together to roll up the piece of hide, stuffing it in the crack between the door and the ground. It would be enough to keep the draft out, at least for the rest of the season. Maybe there would be a more permanent way to handle it, come next winter. For now, it would certainly do. Sealing off one unused door wasn’t quite enough, though. For the remainder of the afternoon, the pair worked together methodically. Vendrick was filled with questions, but he was learning to ask them as yes and no questions instead of anything else. Meadow could answer them to the best of her ability– a nod, a shake of her head, a shrug. They made several of the large doorstops to seal out the draft, and carefully protect the plants within. An imperfect solution, maybe, but one that would certainly hold until spring came. "Speech"

1739/1500