Skill: Ranger[1/5]

---

Hours to day. Days to weeks. Weeks to months. Time continued moving, and no sign of home. Steadily, Lugh grew weary of the foreign lands, vast and white, pristine snow like the ivory surface of a porcelain doll. It was cold. No more was there fire to sit by, to warm his little hands—at least Ma was still around for a cuddle, and the heaps of silken fur she donned made it all the more comfortable.

Life had changed, time and time again. Da was still gone. He'd finally met Beibhinn, Shiloh, reunited with Fleta, got introduced to a heap of nieces... nieces! Ma was a grandmother! He was an uncle!! Evens were flipping back and forth between fortune and tragedy... too fast for the young boy to process.

He wanted to see Da again. Sometimes, in a melancholy voice, he would softly question to himself if he would ever see him again.

Yet, Lugh remained with the one staple he never parted from: nature. The wild, untouched forest, crawling with little critters and large monsters alike. And, as snow thawed into a muddy slush, he could catch sight of greenery sprouting here and there along the ground and upon the branches of trees. Rodents crawled out of hibernation—the sky's golden rays grew stronger, warming the air into a comfortable climate.

He could hardly contain his excitement for the season to come, as all that lay dormant began to rouse beneath the sun's tender return. He rolled about against the vibrant plants—shades of ochre and blush that he'd never seen before. Giggling at the insects that flew away from his rambunctious frolicking, half-heartedly chasing as they flew up higher than his colorful eyes could follow.

An excited few yips escaped his lips. The pup raced down a hill, for once carefree about where he was, how he got there... all he cared about was the vivacious colors, sweet scents, and pleasant warmth around him.

The world was different now.

Her sisters were off. Her mother was upset. She hadn’t seen her father, and couldn’t decide if she wanted to or not. Nausicaa had said many things, but her bitterness prevented much of an apology. The sparring hadn’t gone well, and she now held a healing wound on the side of her neck that most likely wouldn’t scar, but she’d forever remember it. And it had been her uncle who had checked on her. Had trained her. It was an inspiring incident, despite the wound, and it drove the wedge in deeper between Nausicaa and the two sisters she was on the rocks with. Did either of them notice? The scab, the wound, the sword? She hadn’t approached them. She didn’t know if she wanted to after their last encounter. Even though she had spoken in anger, they had interrupted her first. In her mind, for just a blindingly angry moment, the words had been more than justified.

Determined, she stuck by her mother religiously, only venturing when she needed a moment to vent, alone. She beat the hell out of a few trees, shredded bark from their trunks. And she ignored everything that didn’t have to do with her new duty. The rank she had her eye on within the new Avon. And she knew she’d have to train for it, so that is what she went out to do today.

The stick sword she had gotten from her uncle was trapped between her incisors, her figure hulking along towards the border. Nausicaa didn’t have much of an idea of where to go, or what to do today, but she just knew she needed to go. To be somewhere. Out of sight of any of her sisters, so she could quietly and quickly rage against this situation as much as she could. She slung her head low, dragging her sword against the ground and relishing how it dug into the soul. This was hers now, her soil, her place in this world. She hadn’t shed blood here, but it was truly hers. She’d licked it to make it so.

The high yips reached her ears, and Nausicaa stiffened, raising her head to listen for where they’d come from. Her ears rocked, to and fro, each one rotating like a satellite dish. Then, she burst into motion, her legs churning, her heart racing. Was something wrong? Was she going to have to fight something? Her teeth ground further into the stick in her mouth, and her pace became frenetic. What if someone was hurt? What if?

Instead, she found her uncle. The one that was her age. She blinked a few times past the curve of her stick, before letting it drop from her mouth to clatter over her feet.

Everything alright? She called, tilting her head.

Skill: Ranger [2/5]

---

The boy was lost in his own mind as he bounded over the sodden ground. He, most certainly, did not notice another presence— not until they spoke up. Surprised by the sudden appearance, Lugh yelped and skidded to a halt. H-huh? eyes widened, his tail held up high. Wha...? Everything alright? Everything was great! Why would she feel the need to ask such a question?

Shuffling his paws a little bit, Lugh's brows furrowed into a slight scowl before she looked back up at his niece with the concern dissipated, replaced by his resting expression of solemnity (at least, as solemn as a puppy could get). I was jus' out explorin'! he chirped, the pretty bugs are out again. Haven't seen 'em since last year! For in winter, all he would see were gnats and beetles, a moth if he was lucky.

Tail wagging behind him, he took a few steps closer. What're ye doin' here, then? he tilted his head. Yer Ma let's ye explore too? Though, 'explore' was a term he used quite loosely—as Lugh never strayed far enough for Epona to be unable to hear his barks and yaps lest something bad happened—like the night he'd gotten lost in the Vale.