A Quiet Life 
Ash 1st, 125th Year, A.o.S.
I've been struggling with unusual thoughts lately...
A gentle yet chilling breeze blanketed the hillside where the branches of a birch tree shook vibrantly, causing the patter of leaves to fill his ears as the young villager stirred into motion. Tailen had gone out today to do a bit of foraging for the village, since firewood was going to be essential for everyone in town. After he'd spent a few hours at the border of the Crystal Forest for a bit, he'd returned to the current place he'd rested at and taken a bit of an unplanned nap there.
As the boy rose from his brief slumber, he held his upper body up from the ground, drowsy eyes observing the cottage buildings nestled just beyond the other hills. That dream... It was so... Surreal. He remembered with hazy thoughts trying to scour the details, but much of what he experienced in the Land of Nod had already faded from his memory. Still, Tai could only let out a yawn as he slowly eased himself back down, allowing his head to rest on the knapsack that contained the timber he collected.
Little did he anticipate the arrival of another at the tree; however, given that the crinkling of wood beneath his ears masked the footsteps that approached. With the blink of an eye, though, he soon found that a face loomed over him before the canopy of leaves overhead. "Whoa!!" The village boy exclaimed with a jump from his spot, his eyes cast upon the figure of a woman with raven hair and evergreen eyes. The breeze caused her lavender dress to careen gently past her shins, which revealed the warm woolly socks she wore with her loafers, as she could only cover her lips before laughing at his expense.
"Give me a break, Millie!" He greeted with a courtesy laugh in turn, a warm smile given to his older sister as she slightly knelt to rest her hands over her knees.
"Tai! You zany sloth!" The lady straightened up to rest her hands at the sides of her hips. "How did I know I'd find you snoozing around up here?"
"Honestly, I didn't mean to stay up here for as long as I did! I was only..." For what it was worth, he still couldn't recall the dream, just the underlying dread that overshadowed it. There came a flash of concern in Millie's eyes when she laced out a hand, gently brushing an unexplained tear off his cheek.
"You feeling okay?" She checked with Tai as he self-introspected for a moment, still unsure what sparked the feeling in the first place.
"I'm fine..." He assured her gently without hesitation, admittedly a bit embarrassed that she noticed the reaction before he did. "Just a dream I can't recall is all." With that logic, he moved to reach for the rucksack, shifting to his knees so that he could slip a strap over his shoulder. Millie pondered the significance for a moment, but didn't linger on it; instead, she opted to offer him a hand to help him to his feet as he gained his bearings.
"Alright then," she remarked with a soft smile cast at him, "what say we go unload that haul of yours? Cilla's been waiting for you all day." Tailen's eyebrows rose after he finished shifting his tunic, brushing off some of the early orange leaves that were turning brown. Priscilla always waited for him to come home from his forage trips, he was the youngest sibling before she came along.
"Yeah! Sorry to keep her waiting. All I have to do is drop this load off at the storage shed, Barneby said he'd stash it where it was needed for me." He shared with a steady foot forward to begin the walk, as both he and his sister hiked down the hill's slope together along the beaten path.
"Sounds like a deal then, let's not keep Barneby waiting then." Millie gently urged with a bit of enthusiasm while walking alongside him, the winding dirt path before them zigzagging into a continuous curve down the hillside. "So how long do you plan to shadow us, By?" The sister then called out over her shoulder as they passed through a meadow, the pace of their stroll slowed to a near stop as her eyes had shifted toward the evergreens nearby.
Tailen noticed the alteration in her eyes, the remarkably subtle transition in which her pupils altered with the engagement of her rune. It was a power that she had grown experienced in, much like her brothers, but Tailen still struggled to assert control over it completely. Regardless, Millie undoubtedly noticed the other brother's presence from the moment she arrived, which led Tai's older brother to step out from the undergrowth and into the clearing.
"Well, not too long. Only enough to test your senses." He responded with a turn of his cloak to reveal the fur-padded armor he wore, with several squirrels and hares dangling on a rope from his belt. "Besides, I hear you're just as zany as he is!"
Camilla's eyes widened as her pupils dilated back to their original shape, a feigned look of offended innocence to mock her other younger brother. "So close enough for you to eavesdrop, too? For shame." She waved a finger at Byron with a few clicks of her tongue.
Byron rewarded her with but a simple shrug and a small grin before his eyes diverted to Tai. "You have a safe forage in the forest?" The youngest brother could only present a hearty smile in response to that, knowing full well the capabilities his brother possessed as a hunter.
"Only because of you, I'm sure!" He enthused with a bit of admiration in his tone, warranting a tilt of the head from Byron as he hid the amusement.
"No real threats out there today," he assured, "but a generous amount of small game for dinner the next few days."
"Goodness, ever the sharpshooter." Millie teased playfully before resting a hand on Tai's shoulder. "Of course, we all knew he'd be looking out for you out there. Best we return home to wrap up loose ends?"
"Sure!" The youngest brother agreed with a look from sister to brother. "Shall we?" The invitation earned a gestured hand from Byron to start walking, indicating for Tai to carry on as both brother and sister would walk beside him on the way back down.
Like, is everything I'm seeing real, or not?...
A gentle yet chilling breeze blanketed the hillside where the branches of a birch tree shook vibrantly, causing the patter of leaves to fill his ears as the young villager stirred into motion. Tailen had gone out today to do a bit of foraging for the village, since firewood was going to be essential for everyone in town. After he'd spent a few hours at the border of the Crystal Forest for a bit, he'd returned to the current place he'd rested at and taken a bit of an unplanned nap there.
As the boy rose from his brief slumber, he held his upper body up from the ground, drowsy eyes observing the cottage buildings nestled just beyond the other hills. That dream... It was so... Surreal. He remembered with hazy thoughts trying to scour the details, but much of what he experienced in the Land of Nod had already faded from his memory. Still, Tai could only let out a yawn as he slowly eased himself back down, allowing his head to rest on the knapsack that contained the timber he collected.
Little did he anticipate the arrival of another at the tree; however, given that the crinkling of wood beneath his ears masked the footsteps that approached. With the blink of an eye, though, he soon found that a face loomed over him before the canopy of leaves overhead. "Whoa!!" The village boy exclaimed with a jump from his spot, his eyes cast upon the figure of a woman with raven hair and evergreen eyes. The breeze caused her lavender dress to careen gently past her shins, which revealed the warm woolly socks she wore with her loafers, as she could only cover her lips before laughing at his expense.
"Give me a break, Millie!" He greeted with a courtesy laugh in turn, a warm smile given to his older sister as she slightly knelt to rest her hands over her knees.
"Tai! You zany sloth!" The lady straightened up to rest her hands at the sides of her hips. "How did I know I'd find you snoozing around up here?"
"Honestly, I didn't mean to stay up here for as long as I did! I was only..." For what it was worth, he still couldn't recall the dream, just the underlying dread that overshadowed it. There came a flash of concern in Millie's eyes when she laced out a hand, gently brushing an unexplained tear off his cheek.
"You feeling okay?" She checked with Tai as he self-introspected for a moment, still unsure what sparked the feeling in the first place.
"I'm fine..." He assured her gently without hesitation, admittedly a bit embarrassed that she noticed the reaction before he did. "Just a dream I can't recall is all." With that logic, he moved to reach for the rucksack, shifting to his knees so that he could slip a strap over his shoulder. Millie pondered the significance for a moment, but didn't linger on it; instead, she opted to offer him a hand to help him to his feet as he gained his bearings.
"Alright then," she remarked with a soft smile cast at him, "what say we go unload that haul of yours? Cilla's been waiting for you all day." Tailen's eyebrows rose after he finished shifting his tunic, brushing off some of the early orange leaves that were turning brown. Priscilla always waited for him to come home from his forage trips, he was the youngest sibling before she came along.
"Yeah! Sorry to keep her waiting. All I have to do is drop this load off at the storage shed, Barneby said he'd stash it where it was needed for me." He shared with a steady foot forward to begin the walk, as both he and his sister hiked down the hill's slope together along the beaten path.
"Sounds like a deal then, let's not keep Barneby waiting then." Millie gently urged with a bit of enthusiasm while walking alongside him, the winding dirt path before them zigzagging into a continuous curve down the hillside. "So how long do you plan to shadow us, By?" The sister then called out over her shoulder as they passed through a meadow, the pace of their stroll slowed to a near stop as her eyes had shifted toward the evergreens nearby.
Tailen noticed the alteration in her eyes, the remarkably subtle transition in which her pupils altered with the engagement of her rune. It was a power that she had grown experienced in, much like her brothers, but Tailen still struggled to assert control over it completely. Regardless, Millie undoubtedly noticed the other brother's presence from the moment she arrived, which led Tai's older brother to step out from the undergrowth and into the clearing.
"Well, not too long. Only enough to test your senses." He responded with a turn of his cloak to reveal the fur-padded armor he wore, with several squirrels and hares dangling on a rope from his belt. "Besides, I hear you're just as zany as he is!"
Camilla's eyes widened as her pupils dilated back to their original shape, a feigned look of offended innocence to mock her other younger brother. "So close enough for you to eavesdrop, too? For shame." She waved a finger at Byron with a few clicks of her tongue.
Byron rewarded her with but a simple shrug and a small grin before his eyes diverted to Tai. "You have a safe forage in the forest?" The youngest brother could only present a hearty smile in response to that, knowing full well the capabilities his brother possessed as a hunter.
"Only because of you, I'm sure!" He enthused with a bit of admiration in his tone, warranting a tilt of the head from Byron as he hid the amusement.
"No real threats out there today," he assured, "but a generous amount of small game for dinner the next few days."
"Goodness, ever the sharpshooter." Millie teased playfully before resting a hand on Tai's shoulder. "Of course, we all knew he'd be looking out for you out there. Best we return home to wrap up loose ends?"
"Sure!" The youngest brother agreed with a look from sister to brother. "Shall we?" The invitation earned a gestured hand from Byron to start walking, indicating for Tai to carry on as both brother and sister would walk beside him on the way back down.
"We'll go together."