Flashback [Outside of Mithryn] Chasing Happiness

[Isolde Seibold]

{Early Spring, circa 392 AV}

The sun was bright in my eyes. The wind snarled my hair, whipping it around my face. Wynry's bubbling laughter warmed me with a taste of her delight.

We were running through the sparse woods, ducking in and out between the thin trees, searching. Vaughn had vanished in that way that he could, without a trace or sound, just gone. Wynry and I, gripping at each other and tugging each other this way and that, stumbling around and whispering and shushing and sometimes collapsing into helpless, breathless giggles that we tried to contain behind our hands, we were searching for him. This time Wynry was certain we were going to catch him by surprise.

This was one of Wynry's favorite games, this chasing and hiding game, and by now we knew how to play it well. We had already spotted Caity hovering in the sky above, dipping her wings into the white clouds, sometimes diving back to earth to go after a mouse or cricket. There was a reason we called her Vaughn's "shadow." She was a giveaway. If she was here, then Vaughn would be nearby. We only had to find him.

"This way, this way! I thought I heard something!" Wynry whispered excitedly, tugging my hand, eager to find Vaughn, and so we swept in that direction. Now that we were close we were picking our way, our feet avoiding sticks that could snap and leaves that might rustle and give us away. We both kept our eyes peeled, the wriggling tension of the chase building up in our bellies, chilling our laughter for the moment, causing the search to become more subdued and serious. Though his kestrel flew above there was no other hint of the big man. Not a snicker of his hearty laughter, not a flash of movement as he tried to move away, not a glimmer of his merry eyes peeking from behind a tree.

There was the snap of a twig behind us, and we both whirled. Nothing there. Could have been an animal, but now we didn't know which way to go. Forward, or back? Wynry and I looked at each other and broke out into nervous giggles, me pulling on her hand to go back the way we had come, towards the new sound, and Wynry protesting in a hushed voice, going, "No, no, no! This way, this way! I know where he is, I figured it out! I saw him, I saw him, really!"

"Okay, okay!" I whispered, and she eagerly pulled me along, eyes set on a particularly large tree. We crept towards it, clutching each other, and the closer we got the slower Wynry walked, until I had to push her along to get her to go. "Maybe it's not that tree--" she said uncertainly a few moments later, looking up at me with a shimmer of grey-brown eyes, "Maybe we should go back like you said--"

"Wyn, it won't hurt to look."

"It could," she muttered back, turning her face towards the tree as we closed on it, her mouth barely moving, her words coming out with barely a sound, "It could ruin the whole game." I didn't have anything to say to that. She was right. We had to be perfect if we wanted to win. If Vaughn had any inkling of where we were, any idea at all, he would use it to his advantage. If he knew where we were before we saw him, we had already lost.

[Isolde Seibold]

We paused by the tree, listening. Nature sounds were everywhere, but there was no sound of breath besides our own, no small wrinkle of clothing as someone hidden eased away. Then, right when we had fully begun to doubt, a noise drifted around us, a deep, wicked chuckle. Wynry jumped back into me at the sound, knocking me back half a step, scrambling behind me, peering out around at the tree. "Go ahead, Momma," she breathed, wrapping her arms around my waist, hugging close to me, holding on tight. "Check and see."

We both edged forward, reluctant now to look. If Vaughn wasn't back there, then we were in for it. Finally, finally, I came to the tree. I placed my hands on the rough bark, then quickly and quietly stole a glance around, Wynry whining nervously behind me, going, "Is he there? Well? Is he there?"

"Nothing," I said, turning back to look at her. There was a blur behind her as I turned. Vaughn leapt from the tree above, whumping to the ground, catching the impact lightly on the balls of his feet. He gave me a devil's grin and lunged.

I leapt away on a scream, towing Wynry with me, who shrieked and bolted into the woods. "Momma!" she wailed, looking over her shoulder as she bounded away, nearly tripping herself over an exposed root, probably twisting her ankle and scraping her hands. She didn't seem to notice. "Momma, run!" Vaughn made a long-armed snatch for me but I wormed out of his grip. He swore, and we were both laughing, with Wynry still shrieking and shrieking and running terrified through the trees. I took off and he nearly got my foot, diving at my legs, scrambling along the ground on his hands and feet for a tick to right himself, face stretched into that grin. I screamed again, causing Wynry's screeching to take on a hysterical note, "Momma-Momma-Momma!"

"I'm coming--oof!" I yelled at her, the breath leaving my lungs as big arms grabbed my waist. We both fell to the ground, Vaughn landing on top of me and nearly squashing me, me still trying to fight and squirm away, pushing at his hands.

"You're down," he said, smiling, the expression now mostly in his eyes, crinkling in the corners like a long-hidden secret.

"I know," I said on a laugh, dragging him in close by his collar. I hung my arms around his neck and kissed him, rolling out from under him to lay beside him, feeling the warmth of him, the closeness from the tips of my ears to the ends of my toes. He broke the embrace gently, tucking my hair behind my ears before chuckling, and rising up to stand.

"You wait here, Sol'a," he said, "And hush for a chime. Listen." We both went quiet, shaking with laughter because of Wynry, who was running around somewhere nearby. She was out of sight but no doubt making a fool of herself; we could hear her stampeding around and yelling for me to save her, panicked that she was alone and about to lose the game. Vaughn set off after her, putting a finger to his lips. I shook my head, biting my lip to keep from laughing out loud, and laid back with my hands under my head to listen.

[Isolde Seibold]

"Momma? Momma, this isn't funny! Momma--" I heard Wynry's words break off, followed closely by another high-pitched scream. Birds scattered, taking wing. She had spotted Vaughn. Then there was the sound of running, the sticks cracking under her small feet, and her yelling, "Fawny, no-no-no, Fawny, no!" She came into view, rushing towards me, eyes wild, hair wild, arms and legs pumping as she ran. She saw me, screamed, "Momma!" one last time.

And then Vaughn flew out of the woods behind her, catching her and lifting her up in the air, spinning her in circles. She quit fighting him the moment he grabbed her and they both started laughing, Wynry clutching at him with small, strong fingers. I thought the sound of them might fill me up, lighting me like the glow of a crackling, cackling campfire. They spun for a moment before they both got dizzy, and then they'd stumbled over to me, falling to the ground, heads whirling, breathless with laughter. Wynry rolled on top of us and Vaughn lifted her into the air, and Caity came swooping down from the sky to land on his chest, wiping her beak in affection at his shirt collar.

"Caity says game over," Vaughn breathed, lowering Wynry back down, hugging her close with Caity picking at the girl's long, tangled hair.

"You cheated! You were in the tree! That's no fair!" Wynry cried out, and Vaughn gave a booming laugh that caused Caity to jump from his chest to the ground, trilling out her squeaking calls in indignation, fluttering her wings before coming over to settle next to me. "So the only way for me to forgive you," Wynry continued sternly, "is that you'll have to teach me to climb up trees like that." She gave Vaughn a hard look that only made him laugh again and ruffle her hair.

----

Eventually everything settled down, and then went quiet. We all laid there for a while, gazing up at the sky, side-by-side, arms linked. We started up the new game of peering out of the upper branches of the trees, calling out the shapes of clouds, shivering when the day began to grow chill, as the last afternoon light began to fade and the sky grew dusky at the corners with brilliant red and midnight blue.

"Looks like it's time to head back," Vaughn said, dragging us to our feet. We each grabbed one of Wynry's hands and tugged her along, Caity soaring ahead of us, scouting our way back to the field where we'd had our picnic lunch.

[Isolde Seibold]

"Can we do this again?" Wynry asked after we'd gathered up our things and had started the short walk back to Mithryn. She had a long stick and was poking the ground with it as she went, drawing lazy pictures in the dirt. She looked up. "After Fawny and Dad get back from their trip?"

"Of course, Wyn," I said, grabbing her and placing a kiss on her forehead. "We'll come back out here all the time, when the season's right. Like we always do."

"And you promise you'll come back, Fawn? And everything will be okay? And Daddy can come out with us, too?" she asked Vaughn, suddenly unsmiling, leaning tiredly against me as we walked.

Vaughn and I exchanged a glance, and then he scooped the girl up in his arms and she wrapped hers around his neck and leaned in, burying her face in his shoulder. I reached over with my hand held out, drifting closer to Vaughn's side, and he twined his hand in mine, squeezing tight. "I'll always come back, Doe," he said, "And everything will be fine. I promise."

"You promise?" she mumbled out.

"I promise." He whistled a light tune and tickled Wynry under her arms, and she bucked in his grip, laughing again.

[Paragon]

Isolde Seibold

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Running	1
Socialisation	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	A Promise for the Future
•	Chasing and Hiding Games

Legend Becomes Reality

Very beautiful solo! If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.