Skill: Warrior 1/5

Mommy's off hunting, and Ma's around somewhere, but Darragh doesn't need either of them right now. She stares up at the sky, defiant, despite Mommy always telling her to not taunt the birds because they could always come down and take away her skull. Well, Darragh doesn't need a skull! She'll bite those stupid birds! She's just like Ma, scared of nothing! Mommy's scared of everything, and that's why Darragh has to be extra tough. If the world is full of such danger, she's going to conquer it!

Of course, she did touch the rock three times before coming out, just like Mommy always taught her. She's not quite old enough to be that defiant. But she stands on her tiny legs and screams into the sky, shouting at nearby birds as if her voice alone could chase them off.

"Yeah! You're STUUUUUUPID!" she taunted, hopping up on her hind paws. "I'll whoop you all!" She's determined to win the tournaments Ma's been setting up. If she can beat up her sisters, she can beat up some stupid birds.

SKILL : - - - ( 1 / 5 )

If she had not seen her, Aisling certainly would have heard her.

A voice that should have been small was quite loud and carried across the Meadows. Aisling's ears pricked at the sound and she immediately forgot all about the flowers she was arranging. It was amazing how flowers came in so many shapes, sizes, and color - some even had different petal densities - but the child's voice was far more interesting.

Was it possible the day had arrived - the day she got to play with them?

Aisling almost tripped over her own paws in her haste to reach Darragh, who was in the middle of screaming at the local avian population. She seemed intent upon beating them all up, which the tenderheart thought would be quite difficult given there were so many of them.

She reminded her of her own sister, Nausicaa.

Aisling dropped down to her belly before the child to bring herself down to her level, her tail patting the ground rapidly in an unabated wag as she rested her muzzle on her paws.

Why are ye beatin' up th' birds? Aisling asked, silver-lilac eyes curious as she observed the fluffy youth. They were the color of a distant flame and nearly blended in with the blushed grasses of the Meadows - if not for their golden underbelly, that very well might have gone unseen.

Skill: Warrior 2/5

Oh, is this a new face? Something about her scent is familiar-- she smells a little like Mommy does after coming home from a long day of doing whatever Mommy does. That must mean she's not a bad person to talk to, and Mommy's always telling her to not talk to bad people. And Ma's not far away, anyway, so if Ma's not coming to scoop her up, there's no problem.

Darragh doesn't feel shy in the slightest, and she looks the bigger girl straight in the eye and puffs out her chest. "Mommy says they're gonna eat my eyes. So I'm gonna kick their butts!" She hopped from foot to foot, gnashing her tiny teeth. "They don't look big and scary at all!"

SKILL : - - - ( 1 / 5 )

Aisling hummed with thought as she listened to the young girl's reasoning.

Were the birds going to eat the pup's eyes? She didn't remember her own mathair talking about eye-stealing birds and Sneachta herself was a bird and hadn't consumed any eyes in Aisling's presence.

Maybe that was just a Sneachta-specific thing... perhaps the songbirds hid in plain sight, round and dressed with soft and unassuming feathers, eagerly awaiting an opportunity to besiege wolves for the prize of their eyes.

The existence of a woodpecker suddenly suggested an eyepecker might exist, based upon this development.

Or maybe the child had been fed a cautionary tale meant to keep them from wandering too far from the den, where a hawk might pluck them away.

They're not big, but there are many o' them, Aisling offered, watching the flock grow as more members returned from their food-finding. Maybe they won't eat your eyes if you're nice t'them an' give them food instead.

Skill: Warrior 3/5

Darragh laughed, shaking her head. "Naw, my auntie says if I'm ever a coward, she'll tan my hide." She glares up at the birds, the grind crossing her face. "I'm not scared of some stupid fucking birds. If I feed them, they'll think I'm weak."

She'll make Steller proud. And she'll also shove it in Siobhan's face when she becomes the strongest! Darragh lets out a mighty roar and leaps from foot-to-foot again.