[ E ] Changeling Curse

A little of the winter snow still clung to the ground, shielded by the auburn trees that adorned this land. It brought a smile to her face as she considered a ring of snow. Within its center was an old stump, partially rotten and studded with little red mushroom caps. Although she did not know how to spot her fungi by sight, she did enjoy looking at them and all of their odd little shapes. This one had white little dots studding its surface. How quaint. A soft smile warmed her lips and she leaned down to give a curious sniff.

All she could smell was water and soil. Oh well.

She shrugged her delicate shoulders and circled the faerie ring. Pixies? Other fae she had not know yet? Did they live within the stump or had they simply marked it? Had she the dexterity, she might have tried to draw this occurence. Instead she recited the details softly to herself so that she might remember later. "Eleanor's Day, early afternoon, faerie ring, white spotted red mushrooms on stump..."

Glancing over her shoulder, her colorless eyes warmed with affection for her sweet child changeling as he frolicked nearby. "Find anything fun?" Ara asked curiously.

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ARA SNOW

spring — year 1708

@Colburn

T

he most stubborn mounds of snow still clung to the ground, refusing to melt even when spring arrived. Having sampled the white powder and suffered the mind numbing pain of brain freeze Colburn wasn't too enthusiastic about snow. He dug at it furiously and tried to smush it under his paws into tiny pieces. The changeling was distracted from his arctic destruction when the fairy expert spoke. Black ears wiggled at the nonsense words. Elanose Day? Faerie ring? Dark eyes peered at her, head tilting from left to right like a curious puppy.

Find anything fun? she asked, finally giving him her undivided attention. He dropped into a play bow, butt wiggling before pouncing on her. "Yep! he barked excitedly. Snow covered and slightly muddy black paws touched her feathery soft white fur. So much like snow, but warm and soft. She was good snow, he decided and the new name stuck. "Found ya, Snowy," he added so she knew that she was 'the fun'.

He didn't touch her for long, retreating like a shy feral creature after a minute or so, but his touches had become more frequent over time. A nudge with a nose, a tap with a paw, Colburn was becoming more and more comfortable around her.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

"Eep!" Her voice was a soft squeal as the mess of black fur and twigs and stray leaves launched himself at her. She had seen it in the play bow, her domestic little life flashing before her eyes. It seemed that until she had met him—her little faerie—she had lived in a boring little circle. Wake up. Explore and recite mental notes. Fall asleep. Repeat. Now, every day was an adventure. She kept a place for Colburn to sleep in when he wished, but that didn't mean he was always there. When he wasn't curled up like a stray cat, she'd go about trying to find him, sometimes luring him with food and treats freshly bought at the market.

Today they were on a shared adventure, and as he pounced, she couldn't help but laugh (bemused as she was). Granted, she'd be dirty and wet after this, but she didn't wholly mind. If anything, she had to marvel at the fact that he still managed to be dirty in a world as pristine as this one all covered in snow.

"Oh dear, am I snowy anymore?" She teased from her little spot on her back. "I'm spotted like a cow from this mud!" And she opened her maw to try and snag his ear if only to give a playful little tug.

It was this strangeship—Ara being not quite a mother figure, not even family, but something of an older sister—that filled her days with these little memories. Each one was small and yet so valuable.

He soon retreated and she rolled onto her paws, shaking out the snow. "Have you ever celebrated Eleanor's day, little night sky?" Ara asked curiously. Her nickname for him was precariously long but she liked it. He was like a shard of evening that had been cut from that endless, black cloth up above.

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ARA SNOW

spring — year 1708

@Colburn

T

he squeak stirred mischievous excitement within him, enticing him to playfully growl. Snowy was much more fun when she was paying attention to him and she wasn't counting mushrooms. Her odd behaviours were fun to watch when she didn't know he was there, especially when she sang to herself. He'd fallen asleep a few times in his hiding spot listening to her fairy songs and lullabies. Colburn didn't quite understand attachment yet, but he knew that Snowy was important. He liked to be around her and more importantly he was growing to trust her.

"Snowy n'nuff," he assured her, quite pleased with how muddy he had gotten her. Maybe she would come to appreciate a bit of dirt in time. "Oi," he protested when her teeth chewed on his ear. "I'm not food," he grumbled, albeit half heartedly.

She got back up and shook the snow out of her fur. Colburn sidestepped away from the sudden mini avalanche. He didn't want an impromptu snow shower as he had only just managed to get his fur dirty how he liked it again. The subject of Elanose day came up and he cocked his head at her. "Never 'eard of it. What's an Elanose? Why's it 'ave day?" he asked, tail wagging at the term of endearment she had given him. It was much better than Shadow. Nobody had given him a name before. His parents had refused to name a fae and the name Colburn was one that he had stolen from someone else.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Colburn was like a cat, a brother, and a son all in one. He did not live with her permanently. Of course, he was welcome and she had put together a little nest for him, but he rarely used it. He liked to claim odd little nooks and crannies, sometimes wedging himself in between her accumulated knick knacks. It occured to her at the end of winter that if she laid out a cloth—rare and precious as they were—Colburn would curl up on those. Only, when she expected him in the mornings, he wasn't there. And when she thought she'd never see him again, he'd be there in the wee hours, sleeping quietly with twigs and leaves in his fur.

Ara would readily admit that she loved him. It was her greatest joy to see him, to try and wrestle the debris from his tangles (although such a thing was a losing battle). When he let her, she relished in teaching him to read. And, on outings like these, she was eager to show him the world that had thus far neglected him.

She just hoped that once he knew more about society—and once society knew more about him—he could be happier.

Granted, he seemed pretty happy now.

"And I'm not a bunny," Ara retorted as he stepped off, grumbling about his ear as if he hadn't just pounced on her.

As she found her paws, she tsk'd with her tongue as multicolored eyes surveyed her ruined fur. How was she to enter the celebration now? Then again, perhaps this was her answer. Part of her had worried over dragging Colburn into the festivities so quickly. Perhaps just spying from the bushes would be a good way to ease their toes in?

"Do you know what the Mainland is?" Ara asked then as she swiped her tongue over the stains on her chest. "Eleanor was from there, a queen of their people." Her head cocked to the side. "Have you met a queen before?" She couldn't help but feel curiosity burn within her chest. Did Colburn ever meet the Seelie Queen? Had he been inducted in some way?

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ARA SNOW

spring — year 1708

@Colburn

O

nly a year ago Colburn shunned society for it had already rejected him. Snowy had opened the door a crack and he'd let himself in. Company could be nice, sometimes even something he wanted if the right person was around. He grinned at Snowy, that familiar warmth filling his chest that came when she was nearby. For all that she reminded him of snow she was much warmer and softer. Like a bunny as she so helpfully added. Fluffy like a bunny, he snickered, trying to poke at her again with a grubby paw.

He was tempted to pounce on her again, a fiendish gleam lighting up his gaze. A distraction was her salvation. She asked if he knew what the mainland was. He'd heard thieves speak of it in passing and had a vague understanding that it was the ground around them. This, he said and stomped his foot on the ground. Elanose was apparently the queen of the mainland people. He knew that a queen was a type of boss like the ones who told him what to do in the guild. He didn't like bosses. Had he met a queen before? He frowned and cocked his head. What's a queen look like? he asked, unable to recall if any of the bosses had been queens.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

"Fluffy like a bunny," he quipped, dark eyes sparkling with mischief. It caused her cheeks to warm with faint annoyance, her eyes narrowing in turn with a gentle threat lingering in the blue-red depths. She would cuff him over the ear or not let him read her special book—but even such small punishments were hardly maintained for long. No matter if he pinned her or tackled her or tracked mud through her den, she always would rather be with him than without him. Her little changeling could not be ostracized for long.

One night she had even contemplated not letting him sleep in the little corner of her den that she had made for him because he had been dripping with mud and grime.

Even then she had relented.

At least she could learn from him—and perhaps teach a little too. A laugh lifted from her lips when he stomped on the ground to assert his knowledge of the mainland. "Haha, yes, you're right." Most children might try to say the mainland's borders, but such was not her little Night Sky's way.

His next question was perfectly reasonable... if one suspended all knowledge of wolves' inivisible titles. For a second, Ara couldn't help snort softly. Then, lifting a paw to conceal her lips, she gathered herself. "They can look like many things, which is why royalty sometimes sneak out of their castles and masquerade as us common folk," she mused. "But often they have many knights around them and they'll command the respect of others".

Hmm... but that wasn't a very good answer, now was it?

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ARA SNOW

spring — year 1708

@Colburn

H

e saw the flicker of annoyance in her multi-hued gaze and grinned back at her, knowing that he would be punished for it later. Snowy never stayed mad at him for long and whatever privileges she revoked from him were soon given back. It didn’t stop him from making mischief. Colburn was too wild and stubborn to make any big changes, but he did bend to Snowy’s whims at times if she gave him a treat in exchange and he liked it when he made her happy. She was one of the first people he’d come to trust, who showed him kindness and appreciated him for what he was. Loyalty wasn’t something the stray changeling had ever given, but Snowy had his whether she knew that or not.

Colburn nodded knowingly when she confirmed he was right, pleasure making his tail wag in triumph. His ears perked when she explained more about queens and what they did. Pretending to be common folk and masker-ading. They sounded like changelings, but he didn’t think that was likely. At the mention of knights Colburn’s features twisted and he let out a sulky huff. ”Well the queen can’t ‘ave the redwoods. It’s mine,” he declared, rubbing himself against a tree possessively as if to ward away any roaming queen’s who might stake a claim on his woods. ”And no imps allowed either.”

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck