Log Intro: This log was submitted by Trollkiller's player; for context, these events take place after the Willowholt and Strongbow and Brightfire have rescued Talek from the Preserver valley, and also after Dawn, Zalen, Silversong, and Woodhawk have gone to Blue Mountain looking to rescue Joy and Pwyll from the Gliders. Rillwhisper is just awakening from having had a couple of late-season dreamberries; as she succumbed to the berries, Strongbow in his usual sentry sort of way let her fall asleep in his lap, and didn't even move when it started to snow.... ---------- From rayek Tue Apr 25 16:17:58 1995 Return-Path: Received: by netcom12.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id QAA19879; Tue, 25 Apr 1995 16:17:44 -0700 From: rayek (R'ykandar Korra'ti) Message-Id: <199504252317.QAA19879@netcom12.netcom.com> Subject: Log of Dusk's play, April 24 1995 To: jannet@ifi.uio.no Date: Tue, 25 Apr 1995 16:17:44 -0700 (PDT) Cc: dewshine (Sh'k'anna Korra'ti) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 16378 Status: RO Log of play between Trollkiller, Rillwhisper, Dusk, and Strongbow RL date: April 24, 1995 Dusk being played by Trollkiller's player. ----- log begins ----- Between the Willows More green-veiled and shade-shrouded than the larger clearing on the other side of the Old Willow, this nook between the three den-trees of the Willowholt is fringed on all sides by the ever-present drooping willow fronds, and roofed above by the three trees' intertwining branches. Small mushrooms of a number of colors provide intermittent spots of brightness among the willows' roots. It is an icy Whitecold night. The snow-covered Holt seems to glow in the light from the moons. Rillwhisper and Strongbow are here. Trollkiller walks around the Old Willow, carrying Dusk. Dusk wiggles, wanting down. Trollkiller puts Dusk down, as gently as he can with all her squirming. ** Heyla, you two... ** Dusk squeal!s and laughs and starts fuzzling in the snow. Strongbow sits with Rill in one arm, leaning against the trunk of one of the smaller willows. He sends soft greeting. Rusty-red fur that darkens towards the back and lightens towards the belly cover this girl-cub from head to toe. Small ears, delicately pointed, poke out from the longer headfur, and her small fingers are tipped with miniature claws. Enormous cubling eyes blink out of the rusty down, lupine yellow surrounding the springgreen iris. Rillwhisper mrmmms sleepily, her head pillowed on Strongbow's shoulder. Dusk bounces around in the snow, rolling her outer coat in it, then shaking bits - still unmelted - off to fly everywhere. Trollkiller sends openly ** Dusk! ** Rillwhisper slowly realizes she seems to be in something of an odd position, and wonders why her furs smell like Strongbow's tunic...? Mrmm. Oh. She opens her eyes, and blinks glassily. ** Mmmm... Fuzzy? ** Strongbow's lips pull into a smile, eyes sparkling at the child. He suppresses a chuckle and looks up at Trollkiller. ** She's a strong little wolfling, it seems. ** Dusk bounces over to Rillwhisper and Strongbow and looks at her nose. ** Hi! ** Dusk sends, ** Whurf! ** She yaps with her voice, too, as though to emphasise it. Trollkiller giggles, and beams broadly. (Proud sire. :-) ) ** Very. She's gotten that from both of us, it seems. ** Rillwhisper wrinkles her nose. Senses all awakening slowly, she realizes a cold snap must have hit the Holt while she slept, because she's chilly on the side that isn't resting against Strongbow. She lifts her head slightly, and then lifts a hand to rub at her stiff neck. Rillwhisper peers at Strongbow and sends around a yawn, ** Did I sleep long? ** Rillwhisper blinkblinkblinks, and then smiles benignly at her younger mate and the active cub. Strongbow shakes his head at Rillwhisper. ** You had all the rest you needed, I hope. ** His eyes glimmer wryly. Dusk sends ** Sleepy? ** Dusk pats Rillwhisper on the head. ** Nap! ** Rillwhisper sits up slowly, loathe to curl away from that warm shoulder. She shivers a little, but glances around at the little clearing, judging the passage of time by the fall of light through the leaves. She grins at the cub. ** Mmm-hmmm. I was taking a nap. ** Strongbow releases the chuckle, low in his throat, and watches the cub. Dusk pounces backwards a bit into the snow again. ** Swim! ** Strongbow blinks. ** Swim? In the snow? ** Trollkiller sends, ** When she wants up and out, she wants up and _out_. ** He nods at Strongbow as snow begins to fly everywhere again. ** Swim. She wants to try to swim in the snow. Dusk, love, it won't _work_... ** Rillwhisper glances at the archer, inwardly wondering if he's sat here all this time holding her, and still rubbing at her neck. She then peers down at her snow-dampened leathers, and wrinkles her nose again. "Puckernuts, I must have been out of it if I slept through it starting to snow... !" Strongbow is quiet, mouth quirked in a wry half-smile. He continues to watch the cub romp, slightly distant, as if thinking on other cubs. He shrugs slightly. ** I guess the berries were better than you thought...? ** Dusk flails through the deepening snow, sending snow through the air as she tries to paddle through it, kicks sending flakes - and clumps - places. She makes loud, happy noises, even while it doesn't seem to be doing very much other than make a mess. Strongbow wipes some errant snow off of his leathers. A lot of it looks like it accumulated there before the cub's play. Trollkiller looks over at Dusk, nodding. ** I was always too hot, particularly when I was her age... maybe she's trying to cool off... ** Rillwhisper giggles a little, and murmurs, "Sweetleaf always knows what he's doing, when he grows the things... " She shakes her own dampened hair, sending a few flakes scattering that had lodged there. Then, stiffly, she clambers to her feet, but not before favoring Strongbow with a searching half-smile. Trollkiller nods at Rillwhisper, raising an eyebrow. Strongbow returns the look with an intentionally dry, blank face, only his eyes glittering with a smile's shadow. He gets to his own feet, stretching long muscles and rolling his head a little to loosen his neck. Trollkiller sends, ** I know how to fix those... ** Rillwhisper stretches, shivering a little - she hadn't come out with a cloak. She grins at Strongbow, then at Trollkiller, and tells the latter cheerfully, "I had just two berries. But next thing I knew, Strongbow looked like a nice place to cuddle up on." Trollkiller snorts. ** I don't need berries to think _that_... ** Trollkiller gets paffed in the flank with a snowball, exploding against his fur. ** Hey! ** Rillwhisper laughs huskily, and grabs at one of Trollkiller's big hands, inviting him, "You want to work some knots out of me?" She giggles again, and dodges behind him. Trollkiller is tackled from the side by ** Hunt father! ** Dusk. Strongbow just watches, chuckling softly. Trollkiller lets himself be dragged down by Dusk, who pounces atop him. Trollkiller paff!s Dusk back, tossing fluffy snow at her face. She squeals! Trollkiller sends openly ** Sure, just as soon as little wolfling here gets done... ** Rillwhisper grabs a handful of snow, though she's less equipped to deal with it than her mate and his cub, without fur and padded palms. She then poffs Trollkiller, too! Strongbow quietly slips away from the snowball fight, picking up his discarded bow from the snow, smiling inwardly. You locksend ** Awwwwwwwwwwww... ** to Strongbow. Trollkiller glances at Strongbow's retreating form. ** Sigh... ** Trollkiller gets snow in his face, courtesy Rillwhisper. ** Oh, helping out... ** Strongbow circles the Old Willow and heads into the clearing. Dusk, looks up from shaking snow out of her nose and sends, ** Yahh! Hunt father! ** Rillwhisper cheers Dusk on, ** Hunt father! ** And merrily ploofs her mate in the chest. You sense in a locksend, Strongbow's tone is vagely amused. ** After a season's turned, I expect she's as hungry as I am... ** With that, he heads off into the snowy night, hunt-ready Trollkiller ack!s and rolls over, causing Dusk to slide off into the snow. She's panting. ** Hot! ** and rolls more in the snow. Trollkiller tosses snow up at Rillwhisper, towards her head. Rillwhisper eeks, and ducks, but just barely, getting a fair amount of snow in the ear. Dusk yarf!s and tosses snow in Rill's general direction, giggling. Rillwhisper growls playfully, "Like snow, do you, cub?" She gathers up a handful, and throws it, but more in a way that it just cascades down on Dusk rather than hitting her. Dusk eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEeeeEEEeEEEEeeEEEEEE! Dusk hops up and down in the snow shower. ** ! ** Rillwhisper grins, charmed, and shakes one of the low-hanging branches to make more shower down. Dusk sends ** snOW! ** Dusk eeeEEEEeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! some more, and covers her headfur with her arms. ** Lots! ** Trollkiller sends openly ** She's certainly more vocal than _I_ ever was... I wonder if that's from Dawn... ** Trollkiller's send trails off a bit as he looks towards Blue Mountain. ** I hope... ** Rillwhisper stops the shaking, realizing she's getting herself both damper and warmer, and hoping she doesn't catch a chill. Her smile fades a little, and she nods gently to her mate, coming over to snug him. Dusk looks up. ** Hey! ** You locksend ** I'm worried about her, and Woodhawk... ** to Rillwhisper. You locksend ** She's got too many cubs inside that mountain, and Woodhawk has proven suceptable before... ** to Rillwhisper. Rillwhisper locksends ** 'Hawk won't enter the Mountain... he's got too much sense for that. ** Rillwhisper glances at Dusk. ** ? ** Dusk throws snow up into the air. ** Snow? ** Dusk sends, ** Snow! ** Rillwhisper laughs lightly. ** Snow, ** she readily agrees. You locksend to Rillwhisper, Trollkiller looks worried for a moment, then forces it off his face. You locksend to Rillwhisper, Trollkiller still _sends_ like he's worried, though. ** It's been... too long for me to not worry. ** Rillwhisper locksends ** I know, beloved. I'm worried, too... ** Dusk looks at Trollkiller, then at Rillwhisper, then around at the ground. She seems less enthused. Dusk walks over to Trollkiller and wraps her arm around one of his legs. ** Want mother. ** Rillwhisper's gaze gentles, and she tenderly presses Dusk's little shoulder, trying to encourage her to come snug them both. ** We miss your mother too. ** Trollkiller leans down and snugs Dusk. ** I want Dawn back too, cub... she shouldn't be too much longer... ** Dawn sniffs. Dawn sends ** Want mother _today_. ** Rillwhisper half-smiles, aye, this little cub knows _Now_, indeed. Trollkiller sighs and skitches Dusk. ** So do we, cub... ** Dusk yawns. ** Hungry. ** Trollkiller blinks. ** Uh. Well. _That_... ** Dusk picks up some snow and eats it experimentally. Rillwhisper smiles ruefully, glancing briefly down at herself as if regretting the lack of milk in her breasts at the moment - else she'd nurse this little one. Though she suspects that Dusk's teeth would make that a tricky proposition. You locksend ** She's a little old for that, anyway. I've got dried apples, still, and plenty of cached meat - she likes the dried strips... ** to Rillwhisper. Trollkiller sends openly ** Want ? ** Rillwhisper locksends ** Missing when No-fur was that small, I guess. ** Trollkiller looks, surprised, up at Rillwhisper. ** Really? ** You locksend ** Never heard you say _that_ before... ** to Rillwhisper. Rillwhisper tilts her head, studying Dusk benignly. She nods readily to her mate, though, seeming a little surprised herself by the thought, but not unpleasantly so. Dusk sends ** Eat! ** Trollkiller picks up Dusk. ** Eat. Not me, though. ** Trollkiller looks over at Rillwhisper. ** Come with? ** Rillwhisper nods readily, muttering, "Cold out here anyway." She smiles. Trollkiller nuzzles Rillwhisper, bringing Dusk closer to her face when he does it. ** Apples and venison! C'mon. ** Between the Willows More green-veiled and shade-shrouded than the larger clearing on the other side of the Old Willow, this nook between the three den-trees of the Willowholt is fringed on all sides by the ever-present drooping willow fronds, and roofed above by the three trees' intertwining branches. Small mushrooms of a number of colors provide intermittent spots of brightness among the willows' roots. It is an icy Whitecold night. The snow-covered Holt seems to glow in the light from the moons. Contents: Rillwhisper Obvious exits: Whisperwillow Climb Shadewillow Main Clearing You circle towards the northeast and then to east proper, around the massive Old Willow, and into the Holt's main clearing. Clearing by the Old Willow(#123RHJa) This clearing, last among the trees before the land changes slowly to marshes, is dominated by an impossibly massive willow tree. Much of the ancient tree is hidden by its ever-blowing fronds, which veil it and the entire clearing in quiet, green-grey shadows. The air holds a rich mix of scents: water and wood, elf-scent and wolf-scent, earth and the occasional whiff of fire. The fallen log by the tree, the quietly gurgling 'fountain' off to one side, the willow's gnarled roots, and even the soft earth underfoot encourage one to sit and sing or speak or send... or just to watch and listen. The entire area is tinged with a gentle, subtle sense of magic and age, centered upon the giant tree. To the south, the land slopes gently uphill. A path runs from Sun-Goes-Up to Sun-Goes-Down, with the nearby marshes lying off in the former direction and the more secluded parts of the Holt in the latter. Just off to the northeast, past the fountain, is a small pond. Contents: Sunruff Willowpaw Sunhowler Hollow log Squirrel Obvious exits: Branch Old Willow Hillside Path Starwillow Copse Marsh Pond Rillwhisper arrives from the side of the Old Willow. Rillwhisper smiles, and says, "I'm going to the den - I want my winter furs, and without Woodhawk here to keep us all toasty I don't want to be wet long." Rillwhisper climbs up onto the overhanging sentry branch. >From the branch above, Rillwhisper climbs back down into the willow tree's heart. You climb up onto the sentry branch. Sentry Branch(#179RJL) This wide, side branch of the Old Willow overlooks the main clearing of the Holt, as well as the pond just towards Sun-Goes-Up. Less massive than some of its immediate neighbors, this nook in the giant willow tree is well-shaded and shrouded by the ever-blowing willow fronds. But an elf here can see out into the more open portions of the Holt, and even across the pond.... Obvious exits: Top Branches Clearing No-fur(NF) Into the Tree Path You climb back down into the willow tree's heart. In the Old Willow(#220RL) In the heart of the trunk of the Old Willow, you are surrounded by smoothly shaped wood, with only the occasional ripple in the surface here and there hinting that this massive tree was shaped from more than one. Handholds spiral along the trunk both up and down, and the light here is soft and shadowed and faintly green. Round crawl-holes lead off here and there into various dens. Above are visible the upper branches of the tree, and off to one side, another hole leading out along an extending branch. Obvious exits: Down Rainfire Guest Den Rillwhisper/Woodhawk/Trollkiller Sentry Branch Up You push the door-hide aside and crawl through into the den. Chieftess's Den(#124RAJL) This oft-crowded den seems spacious enough to perhaps hold five or six elves easily. Many pillows and blankets are scattered about its floor, some on the large pile of sleepfurs beneath a small window-hole looking out towards Sun-Goes-Down. Here and there along the walls are shaped small candle-nooks, in the shapes of leafy nests; the candles within them shine brightly, in counterpoint to the night's darkness out through the window. Along one wall, a shelf-like ledge is set into the living wood of the tree. You see 0 elves asleep here, and 1 awake. Two crawl-holes are visible here: one leading back out into the heart of the great tree, and one leading off sideways to the guest den frequently used by Rillwhisper, Woodhawk, and Trollkiller. Contents: Rillwhisper Comfortable fur(#5021) Sleepfurs Obvious exits: Guest Den Out Trollkiller OOC wanted to end the scene in the den, actually, because his fingers are tired. [Post-play note: actually, it was his wrists. Typed too much that day. Bleah.] Rillwhisper nodnods. Trollkiller goes to the storebox and gets out dried venison and apples for Dusk, himself, and Rillwhisper. Dusk nummie!s on them fiercely! Trollkiller OOC, signs off...