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Username;; Blumoonwolf
Name;; Hwaryun Gender;; Nonbinary (he/him or they/them) Is the spirit of the mountains- the duty was given to them as a mortal child. Unsurprisingly, they are bored most of the time. Doesn't usually appear to hikers or travelers moving through his mountains unless they need help. |
THE END (the beginning)
He heard the low trill of the red-backed thrush long before he ever saw the source of the sound ascend over the rise. The sound was indistinguishable from the rest of the bird songs of the forest, save for its meaning:
"Ora," He breathed out, rushing towards his long-time friend. The forest seemed to part as he moved towards her, encouraging the reunion. Ferns, tree branches, they all danced out of the way before closing back in behind him. The kalon before him looked weathered. Where his fur was still as fresh and soft as the new pine, hers was dull, even patched in some places. Her eyes, however, were just as bright. She looked around the forest clearing, as if checking for the presence of those who could be listening in. He laughed as he embraced her. "Hwaryun!" She chastised, "the least you could do is prepare the picnic." His movements were crisp, clean, and efficient when compared to hers. The work was finished in a fraction of the time: blanket spread across the forest floor, plates and silverware and jams organized. He took out of the basket a manner of egg dishes, pickled fish, and- his favorite- tarts. He reached for the tarts first. "I've decided," Ora started suddenly, making him jump. She hadn't laughed as his childish choice to start with dessert. She hadn't acknowledged his motion at all- perhaps her milky eyes had missed it? Or perhaps.. this was much more serious than he had assumed. He settled down, nodded for her to continue. "I've decided I'm dedicating the rest of my time to you." She nodded once, firm. Hwaryun sat, confused. Then he frowned. "I love your company, but it's not that lonely, Ora. You have a family-" "You misunderstand." She stated, interrupting him with a lighthearted punch. "I've decided to dedicate the rest of my life to you. I know you're not gonna like it but you've gotta listen. It's something I've been working on for awhile-" with this, she dug out a bundle of papers tied tightly together out of the bottom of the picnic basket. "I want you to be remembered, Hwaryun. And I don't wan't you to be lonely. I've been writing fables, telling your story to the children. The village is much further now than it used to be-" at this, Hwaryun looked at her face, reading his own guilt as malicious intent, though her face showed nothing but the soft saddness of years past- "but I've entrusted care of the shrines to my family. The people adore you." Hwaryun shook his head fiercely, pulling away. "No. No. They should not." "Shh, Hwaryun. I understand why you think that. But I'm not letting my best friend disappear from this world." She wrapped him up in a big hug, and squeezed tight. "Let me do this. Let people come here again. With your permission, let me reinvite the world to your home." He hesitated. But nodded. "Okay." It came out much quieter than he had intended. She smiles, big and genuine. "This isn't a goodbye," she says, raising a tart towards him, "this is a promise." He knocks his own tart against hers. "A promise," he echoes. He's glad to see her smile. |
MEMORIES (..memories)
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Today, when he slowly roused himself from slumber, two things- very gradually- made themselves known. The first: he felt weak. His bones ached, his muscles throbbed. Every movement hurt and made him want to hurl. Was he sick?
The second, more dire thing: he smelt smoke. More than smelt- it was invasive. It clung to him, invaded his senses, hurt and stung. His eyes wept, his nose stung. And this is what forced him to his feet. "Hwaryun? Hwaryun!" His friend did not bother with pleasantries today. Not that there was any birdsong in the forest anyways- it was deathly still. Her frantic footsteps, every tumble, every snap of the branches beneath her feet, rang out in the silence. But, much more faintly, behind her, he could hear the crackling of wood beneath flames. "We need your help!" He was walking towards her- was he? He couldn't remember moving. The world was spinning. No, he hadn't moved. His body was too weak to obey him. "Hwaryun!" Ora reached him. She was covered head to toe in ash. It looked like she had been wading through the stuff. She wiped at her face, leaving behind soot. "Come on, come on! Everything is burning- if you can just put out the fires in the forest- that'll help us enough we can save the village. Come on!" She reached to tug him forward, but her hands slid through him. "What? Hwaryun. Stop. This isn't the time-" "I can't." "This isn't the time for jokes! It's not funny. Let's go-" "I can't." He repeated, deadpan. "You know I'm a spirit. I can't leave the woods to help. I couldn't hold a bucket in this state. The forest- the mountain- its dying." His voice started out strong- carefully devoid of emotion. But by the end, he had cracked. It was little more than a whisper. Both of their homes were burning. It was getting noticeably hotter. Ora looked frantic. "You need to do something, Hwaryun. Come on. Please, let's just go-" "Go help your village. They mean more to you anyways, right?" She stares back, mouth agape. "Why are you being like this? There are hundreds of lives at stake- mothers, children, families-" "And there are THOUSANDS of lives here, Ora! I can't do anything for anyone! I need to-" His head was swimming, he had already lost his train of thought. He had said something else, but for the life of him he couldn't remember it? "... and gone." Gone? He looked around, who had he said that? Who was gone? He stumbled down to the river. Deer fled past him, heading to the thickest parts of the wood. The flames were still consuming everything in their path as they grew bigger. He took a step towards them, and felt his knees buckle. He didn't even recognize when his face had hit the ground, instead opting to close his heavy eyes. A nap. That's what he needed- a nap and he and the forest would both be feeling better... |
It had been a long, long time since he heard the red-backed thrush trill. Not the real one, but the game he played with his friend. Their own greeting.
He missed her. 'It's gone extinct,' is all he had ever heard from hikers, from birdwatchers. He wasn't sure why this forest was designated as the haven for an extinct species, and why they'd come looking for something gone, but he appreciated them nonetheless. He'd trail groups, unseen, and watch with them. He'd memorized a lot of different birds, it was something he could offer Ora, since not many interesting things happened in the forest. So, obviously, they made a game of it. Who could mimic the bird calls well enough that the birds themselves would quiet down to listen? Who could tell the difference? Who could recognize the most hidden critters before the sun set? Reminiscing felt sweet, but it was distracting him as he hopped from stone to stone across one of the larger rivers. He had to keep an ear out: at any moment her could hear that familiar sound he longed for the most. Their greeting trill. He didn't expect it, not in the least. Loathe as he was to admit it, he didn't blame her for leaving. He could hardly expect her to want to talk to him. But, he reasoned, were she to return, he could miss that precious red-backed thrush call if he wasn't paying attention, or wasn't on the right part of the mountain, or- any horrible, but equally likely scenario. And then,, she might think he was ignoring her. His one chance to apologize: gone like the morning mist. His mountain had been suspiciously devoid of people for months. No one visited, not even lost travelers. The boredom which tugged at his limbs, forced him to keep wandering. soon turned to anxiety again. Would she want to talk? He had been awful. And what's worse is he had tried to reason away his actions. He had just wanted her to return home, where she was needed. It wasn't like he could do anything. But she had needed him regardless. And in a moment of selfish ego, he hadn't wanted to seem weak and useless. So he reached out where it hurt. Chased her away when she didn't want to leave. Pathetic. Suddenly more tired than he had been in many, many moons, he collapsed against the hard trunk of a cottonwood tree. He hadn't made it very far from the river he had crossed. Yet even here, he could see the blackened remains of tree trunks. Could the fires have crept even further than they did? Exhaustion and despair had swept in too suddenly and he was left reeling. He missed her. Idly, he warbled bird songs. Many different kinds, maybe all the ones he knew, maybe not. He was tired. Tired of thinking, tired of searching. Tired. He wished he could sleep, but he doubted he'd be able to if he could. He closed his eyes anyways- easier to focus on his whistling. It took him longer than it should have to realized his calls were being echoed back to him. Ora. She looked different. She was about half a head taller than before, and much more lithe too. She moved with the grace and power of a jungle cat, ready to hunt. Yet, she was tired. He could see it whenever her pace slowed, he could see it in the dark half moons hanging under her eyes. She stopped a dozen yards away from him. "Hwaryun." He lauched forward at the sound of his name, overjoyed and sick to his stomach at the same time. "I'm sorry- I'm so sorry Ora." She stopped him with her hand. "I want to be angry," she confessed. "I am. I can't forgive you yet. But I want you here with me anyways. I've missed our time spent together. I know it's been years since the-" "Years?" Hwaryun echoed. "Oh. Yes. The entire village- we had to watch until there was nothing left. And then, we were forced to relocate. We're many miles away from you now. It's taken a week and a half to trek up here." "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm sorry for what I said. For what I didn't do. I'm sorry you had to leave your home. I'm sorry it's so far away now." She nodded. And then, she wrapped him up into a hug. "It was horrible," she whispered. "It stung, I couldn't breathe. And my best friend had abandoned me. So I spent the next six years punishing him for it by abandoning him." His breath hitched at her words, and they both sobbed. |
THE BEGINNING (.. the end)
Grass tickled the back of his neck. He lay sprawled upon the ground.
Bored. Out. Of. His. Mind. He had explored every nook, every cranny of this mountainside. The rocks were the same. The trees were the same. In the end, he ended up throwing himself backwards, landing on his rump with a big thump that sent the squirrels near him scattering for cover. "The clouds," he mused. "perhaps I can find something interesting there." But, as he found out, its hard to see the sky when a forest canopy blocks the way. He groans and rolls over, onto his belly, and closes his eyes. Mountains were boring. Forests were boring. He had hated naps. But he was so bored, he'd willingly sleep if it meant a few minutes of something interesting happening. He awakens to a stick in his side. More accurately, a stick going in and out of his side. He swats it away. It returns. When he opens his eyes, he sees big eyes staring at him. A kalon. She's smaller than him, and doesn't look familiar in the slightest. "I'm lookin' for a bird." She declares. "You look flighty. Seen any?" "What kind?" He gets to his feet, brushes off the leaves that clung to him. "Thrusher. Red." He furrows his brows, sticks out his tongue in thought. The girl looks mighty serious as she copies his expression. He had seen a thrusher before, right? Probably. "I could help you." He nods. "It's red, how easy could it be to hide as a red bird?" As it turns out, very easy. The pair spent all day searching up and down the woods. Just as the sunlight was beginning to wane, they settled down on a log. The girl pulled out a bag of cheese, tore off a piece, and handed it to him. He took it, dug in. "Feed me like that and I'll help you look every day for that bird." He laughed. "Yeah?" The girl asked, "deal." "Why are you trying to find it?" He had to know. What was the point in finding a specific bird? Who cared about birds? They were as distinct as the rocks in the river or moss on a tree: there, obviously. But they warranted no extra attention. He didn't care about finding it. What he did care for, however, was this new adventure. And the food. "My grandmother sang me a song about it. Said they had been hunted to extinction. But my dad heard it when he was a little boy. I want to hear it too." "What does it sound like?" She frowned. Pursed her lips. "Kind of like,,, brrbbb and rooough. But together?" "We'll stick to finding it by sight for now." With no idea of what it sounded like, and only a vague idea of what it looked like, they were off to a roaring start. But, he was hopeful. It was like chasing unicorns or finding bigfoot. But more real, more possible. Suddenly, the girl stood up. She reached out a hand. "My name's Ora. Wanna be friends?" |
credit to mairu-doggy on DA for the dividers!
Ideas for the two of them;
- Initially, they were supposed to find the red-backed thrush right away. They don't. It takes the two kids at least three months of solid searching - this seems like ages to them, meanwhile any avid birdwatcher is, rightfully, shocked with a bruised ego. That is, if anyone believed them. - when they find the bird, Hwaryun gifts her a handmade, hand-painted whistle in the shape of a red bird. He never sees it after gifting it to her, he at first assumes she lost it and then forgets about it himself. - she didn't lose it. she keeps it in her sock drawer. - Yes, food is such a great motivator for him. The equivalent of Ora taking out a scooby snack and asking if this is enough to convince him to do x scheme. no? how about two~ - Talking about schemes, you're like . wow . how much trouble can two kids bound to the forest really get into? And you'd be surprised. -They like all the same foods, just prepared different ways. Ora brings pickled herring on picnics just to mess with Hwaryun. - Hwaryun still eats dessert first. The day he first convinced her that was okay to do, she never turned back. She pretended to chastise him for it as she grew older, but she'll turn around and do it in the same second - His mountain was popular before, a very spiritual place. When he met Ora, he discouraged people coming in any way he could. Mostly so they could talk and explore without interference. - she makes good on her word. gets his mountain recognized again as a landmark. People from all over come to visit and celebrate. - A few days after her last visit, he see the red-backed thrush again, with little chicks Thanks so much for reading! <3
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