¤ 88th day of Summer, 513 AV ¤
It was a good day in Avanthal. Nice, quiet, and even sunny! Yes, an absolutely perfect day for a stroll through the snow, which is exactly what Rysmarin found himself doing with a grin that told the world he relished the simple action. He'd considered staying near home and practicing upon his mother's ocarina, but that would require him to shift back into his human form and thus waste the chance to stretch his currently-canine legs under the sun.
Not to mention it gave him the chance to show off his lustrous golden fur, thoroughly and painstakingly groomed. No, with all things considered, there was absolutely no way this modestly vain kelvic could have stayed at home! He grinned to himself as he wandered, keeping his head high and his tail fanning the air behind him as he wandered down the snow path, prancing about like a pup with a bone.
Some of the local Vantha found it endearing, though there were also those few that inevitably ignored the childish display with a passion. The jackal hardly payed any of them any real mind, though, for something else had caught his attention. Something important.
He could smell frostfawn hold... or, more specifically, its animals.
Normally, the kelvic lad tried to avoid the hold for reasons of his own, but on occasion, he might find his way over there to tease the locale. He often got in a spot of trouble there, and wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the hold's branch of the icewatch. But today...? His grin turned impish. He was in the mood for a little...
That thought was interrupted as a new smell wafted to him on a breeze from beyond the icewall. The smell of pine trees, unfamiliar places... and fur? Curiosity got the better of him, and, with his original plan for mischief forgotten, he turned all of his thoughts upon the impending arrival of... whomever these travelers were. With his mind caught between curiosity and mischief, he altered his path to head towards the icegate.
As he walked, the scent grew stronger, and his mind found new questions about the travelers. Who were they? Why was their scent so... different from the usual travelers? How many of them were there? More just kept piling up, but one in particular had his mind in a vice. "How can I.. eheheh... "Greet" them?" As the words slipped from his lips, he quickly realized that speaking his intentions aloud was hardly the way to go, especially so close to the home of the Frost Fawn branch.
He stopped and quickly cast about to make sure no one had heard, and was relieved to find that none had. There were very few people on Rysmarin's chosen avenue, and he was glad for that fact as he trotted on, a spring in his step once more.
He arrived at the ice gate not minutes later, and caught his first glimpse of the strange creatures that had only just arrived. At a glance, there appeared to be three of them... each at least head and shoulders over the guards that stood watch over the gate. Their fur was dark and thick, and what little skin they showed through it appeared even thicker. One thing stood out about them more than anything, however... Rysmarin's wide, golden eyes and slack jaw nearly said it all, and his next, whispered statement wrapped it up nicely.
"Merciful Morwen, they are huge!" The jackal quickly regained his composure, however, and a smirk quickly cracked across his canine face. "N' the vantha think I'm tall..." He chuckled and shook his head, once more mulling over ideas in his head for pranks. Obviously, a few... might not work, considering his current lack of hands and tools, as well as his target's stature and unknown temperament...
But he quickly settled on an idea. An old, fairly simple, and relatively easy idea that, best of all, incorporated an absolutely terrible play on words. He grinned from ear to ear as he slung his cloak off from about his neck and set it out flat. Next, he basically frolicked about in the snow for a few minutes, having an absolute blast kicking snow onto it. Finally, he picked up his improvised sling full of snow and, well, slung it over his back. His preparations complete, he sprinted off towards the gate, howling like the fiercest of storms, punctuated by brief wines.
The completion of the vaguely musical cacaphony was only reached once his mad sprint came to an end before the visitors. He noticed they appeared to have added another member to their group, but he completely ignored this woman for the moment. Instead, he greeted his now rapt audience of tall, dark creatures gleefully. "Hiya and welcome to Avanthal from Snowsong's own laughing jackal!" He jumped about playfully as he spoke, his tail wagging so fast it was practically spinning. "Hope ya liked my song! And here..." He grabbed the massive sling of snow from his back, then spun once around and flung it at the visitors, catching the innocent woman they'd been speaking to in the resultant spray of loosely packed powder. That done, he dropped his cloak and grinned ear to ear. "... Is your snow!"
For a moment, it looked as if the young jackal had taken his joke just a smidge too far, as the visitors simply stood there in mute silence. However, slowly, the largest of their number started to crack a small smile. A low rumble that might have been a chuckle escaped the massive creature, though the noise itself forced Rysmarin's ears back. "Hah. Yes..." He wiped the snow from his face and shoulders with slow, sure movements, then smiled serenely down at the jackal. The creature's voice was deeper than the ocean and very masculine, and he spoke in a slow, contemplative manner. "It has been a good while since I have seen the tail end of a good joke, kelvic. Well done."
Rysmarin smiled at the praise, his ears slowly perking back up. "Any time! I got plenty more where that came from!" Truthfully, the kelvic was relieved that the big guy had a decent sense of humor... Standing right next to his massive frame in his tiny canine one made it seem like he was right next to a living mountain. "My name's Rysmarin Snowsong, by the way! Good to meet ya, sir...! Ohhh!" He chuckled after a brief pause. "Nice pun, by the way. Tail, hah!" The man's smile was as slow to spread further than a polite grin, but meaningful. "Well met to you, too, Rysmarin. I am Drosh." He waved to the two behind him. "These are my children, Shor and Renia. We thank you for the... "warm" welcome."
The larger of the two simply nodded silently, but the smaller, presumably Menia, chuckled at her father's joke before nodding to the kelvic, as well. "Charmed." She said. Her voice was no where near as deep as her fathers, but Rysmarin could still feel it in his bones. He nodded in turn, then glanced at their friend, whom he 'accidently' hit with his giant, impromptu snowball/flurry. "N'... um... who's our somewhat-unlucky friend?" He smiled appologetically at the woman, though the gesture was somewhat undermined by the mirth in his eye and the slow wag of his tail.
Not to mention it gave him the chance to show off his lustrous golden fur, thoroughly and painstakingly groomed. No, with all things considered, there was absolutely no way this modestly vain kelvic could have stayed at home! He grinned to himself as he wandered, keeping his head high and his tail fanning the air behind him as he wandered down the snow path, prancing about like a pup with a bone.
Some of the local Vantha found it endearing, though there were also those few that inevitably ignored the childish display with a passion. The jackal hardly payed any of them any real mind, though, for something else had caught his attention. Something important.
He could smell frostfawn hold... or, more specifically, its animals.
Normally, the kelvic lad tried to avoid the hold for reasons of his own, but on occasion, he might find his way over there to tease the locale. He often got in a spot of trouble there, and wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the hold's branch of the icewatch. But today...? His grin turned impish. He was in the mood for a little...
That thought was interrupted as a new smell wafted to him on a breeze from beyond the icewall. The smell of pine trees, unfamiliar places... and fur? Curiosity got the better of him, and, with his original plan for mischief forgotten, he turned all of his thoughts upon the impending arrival of... whomever these travelers were. With his mind caught between curiosity and mischief, he altered his path to head towards the icegate.
As he walked, the scent grew stronger, and his mind found new questions about the travelers. Who were they? Why was their scent so... different from the usual travelers? How many of them were there? More just kept piling up, but one in particular had his mind in a vice. "How can I.. eheheh... "Greet" them?" As the words slipped from his lips, he quickly realized that speaking his intentions aloud was hardly the way to go, especially so close to the home of the Frost Fawn branch.
He stopped and quickly cast about to make sure no one had heard, and was relieved to find that none had. There were very few people on Rysmarin's chosen avenue, and he was glad for that fact as he trotted on, a spring in his step once more.
He arrived at the ice gate not minutes later, and caught his first glimpse of the strange creatures that had only just arrived. At a glance, there appeared to be three of them... each at least head and shoulders over the guards that stood watch over the gate. Their fur was dark and thick, and what little skin they showed through it appeared even thicker. One thing stood out about them more than anything, however... Rysmarin's wide, golden eyes and slack jaw nearly said it all, and his next, whispered statement wrapped it up nicely.
"Merciful Morwen, they are huge!" The jackal quickly regained his composure, however, and a smirk quickly cracked across his canine face. "N' the vantha think I'm tall..." He chuckled and shook his head, once more mulling over ideas in his head for pranks. Obviously, a few... might not work, considering his current lack of hands and tools, as well as his target's stature and unknown temperament...
But he quickly settled on an idea. An old, fairly simple, and relatively easy idea that, best of all, incorporated an absolutely terrible play on words. He grinned from ear to ear as he slung his cloak off from about his neck and set it out flat. Next, he basically frolicked about in the snow for a few minutes, having an absolute blast kicking snow onto it. Finally, he picked up his improvised sling full of snow and, well, slung it over his back. His preparations complete, he sprinted off towards the gate, howling like the fiercest of storms, punctuated by brief wines.
The completion of the vaguely musical cacaphony was only reached once his mad sprint came to an end before the visitors. He noticed they appeared to have added another member to their group, but he completely ignored this woman for the moment. Instead, he greeted his now rapt audience of tall, dark creatures gleefully. "Hiya and welcome to Avanthal from Snowsong's own laughing jackal!" He jumped about playfully as he spoke, his tail wagging so fast it was practically spinning. "Hope ya liked my song! And here..." He grabbed the massive sling of snow from his back, then spun once around and flung it at the visitors, catching the innocent woman they'd been speaking to in the resultant spray of loosely packed powder. That done, he dropped his cloak and grinned ear to ear. "... Is your snow!"
For a moment, it looked as if the young jackal had taken his joke just a smidge too far, as the visitors simply stood there in mute silence. However, slowly, the largest of their number started to crack a small smile. A low rumble that might have been a chuckle escaped the massive creature, though the noise itself forced Rysmarin's ears back. "Hah. Yes..." He wiped the snow from his face and shoulders with slow, sure movements, then smiled serenely down at the jackal. The creature's voice was deeper than the ocean and very masculine, and he spoke in a slow, contemplative manner. "It has been a good while since I have seen the tail end of a good joke, kelvic. Well done."
Rysmarin smiled at the praise, his ears slowly perking back up. "Any time! I got plenty more where that came from!" Truthfully, the kelvic was relieved that the big guy had a decent sense of humor... Standing right next to his massive frame in his tiny canine one made it seem like he was right next to a living mountain. "My name's Rysmarin Snowsong, by the way! Good to meet ya, sir...! Ohhh!" He chuckled after a brief pause. "Nice pun, by the way. Tail, hah!" The man's smile was as slow to spread further than a polite grin, but meaningful. "Well met to you, too, Rysmarin. I am Drosh." He waved to the two behind him. "These are my children, Shor and Renia. We thank you for the... "warm" welcome."
The larger of the two simply nodded silently, but the smaller, presumably Menia, chuckled at her father's joke before nodding to the kelvic, as well. "Charmed." She said. Her voice was no where near as deep as her fathers, but Rysmarin could still feel it in his bones. He nodded in turn, then glanced at their friend, whom he 'accidently' hit with his giant, impromptu snowball/flurry. "N'... um... who's our somewhat-unlucky friend?" He smiled appologetically at the woman, though the gesture was somewhat undermined by the mirth in his eye and the slow wag of his tail.
