[Flashback]Little Cousin (Syara)

[Syllke Skyglow]

Winter 45, 510 A.V. Syllke knocked the snow from his boots as he slipped through the entrance. It was dry and grainy, like sand, indicative of the extreme cold outside. Removing the moose hide boots lined with rabbit skin and then stuffed with dry grass for insulation, he set them carefully in their place and proceeded to take off the layers of clothing that he had donned for his little excursion. At almost twenty below, the mid-winter weather was extreme. But if he dressed properly, he could be out in it and stay comfortable, especially with Morwen’s protection that all Vantha shared, giving them a type of spiritual anti-freeze against the cold. Syllke was never bothered by the weather – not as much as he was by being confined indoors all winter long. From an early age, he’d slip out whenever he could, and he had come to know the environs around the city like the back of his hand. So today had been no different. After his studies, he had gone out for a couple of hours, and now was back in time to eat. Making his way into his family’s allotted living spaces, he kissed his grandmother and mother, who were busy preparing dinner, and went on out into one of the common areas of the hold. He meant to look for his cousin, Deriva, to tell him of the seals he had spotted out on the ice. Syllke wasn’t much of a hunter himself – at least, he didn’t really enjoy the killing part, though the tracking was entertaining. But Deriva and some of his mates were much more into the sport of it all – and of course they helped to feed everyone in the hold – so Syllke’s intent was to share his discovery with his cousin. But he didn’t find that cousin – he found another one, Deriva’s younger sister, Syara. In this part of the hold there was a large room, big enough for many of the Skyglows to gather at one time. At this time of day, though, many of the huge, extended family were in their own living spaces, readying for their evening meal. So Syllke paused when he saw the back of his little cousin’s head, her body slumped forward as she sat before the huge fireplace. Thinking to say hello to her, and to see if she knew where her brother was, Syllke went to her side, and sat companionably next to the girl. In her hands was a half finished carving, but the end had obviously been broken off, the splintered wood white and fresh looking. As he sat down, Syara scooted over a bit, but whether to make room for him or to show that she didn’t appreciate his company at the moment was hard to say. “Hey, Silly Syara,” he teased, using the nickname he had saddled her with. “What’s up?”

[Syara Skyglow]

Syara hunched over the small piece of wood that had been entrusted to her by her mother, a carving knife clutched in her right hand. She had pictured the creature she wished to capture in the wood; a fluffy cat she had seen roaming through Avanthal earlier that day. As she visualized the cat's poses, the way its fur had stuck up in various directions, the curious look on its face as it scampered through the streets, her knife drew closer to the wood, and she began to carve. She concentrated fully on the wood, trying to transform it into the cat. Minutes passed, and eventually she had some sort of rough body formed. Syara smiled to herself, glad that she had come this far and secretly slightly proud of herself. She continued on, until she heard a worrying snapping sound. She turned the cat over, finding that part of the poor creature's tail had been separated from its body. She must have accidentally snapped it off. Her eyes widened, turning a concerned shade of green. She made an anxious attempt to mend the unfortunate animal, but it was clear that the tail could not be reattached from just holding it to the stump. Perhaps I could use glue? she thought. As she thought, she felt someone sit next to her. She looked up to see that it was Syllke, her older cousin. She moved over for him. She ignored the fact that he had called her by the annoying nickname he had created for her and replied, "I was just trying to carve something... but it broke. I'm sure it can be fixed, though."

[Syllke Skyglow]

Syllke listened and looked. He held his hand out and Syara let the half finished carving fall into his palm. Turning it over, he examined it closely, then returned it gently to her hand. “Well . . . yes, you could probably glue it, but it will break again.” At her questioning look, he pointed at the wood. “You’re carving so that the grain goes across the tail, see?” Indeed, the tail had snapped off right along a fairly clean line at the base. “You’ll probably end up snapping the legs off as well, sooner or later.” Tilting his head to the side a bit as he looked at his cousin, he added, “My advice? Start over, with a new piece of wood. But . . . it’s your piece – your call.” He shrugged. “Let the wood talk to you – but listen carefully. Sometimes it likes to play jokes.” Grinning he nudged her with his elbow. “You made a good start though. But you forgot the antlers

[Syara Skyglow]

Syara listened intently, her face dropping when she found that all of her hard work had turned out to be nothing but a lost cause. "I think I understand now." Now that she looked at the small figure in her hands, it seemed much more fragile than before. She felt a small twinge of disappointment, but she cheered up as quickly as the emotion had appeared. She could make another one from scratch at any time, after all. She was lucky to have someone to give her helpful tips. At Syllke's final remark, Syara's eyes flashed indignantly and she turned to him. "But cats aren't supposed to have antlers! Can't you tell what it is?" She was annoyed, but the feeling disappeared quickly, just like the feeling of disappointment had. She couldn't stay angry or upset for too long. "By the way, what're you up to? You just appeared out of the blue."

[Syllke Skyglow]

Syllke grinned and poked her with his finger. “I’m only teasing. I could see it was a . . . what did you say it was supposed to be?” He pulled a face at her annoyed expression. Being an only child himself, Syllke never missed out on opportunities to tease his younger cousins like this. “I’ve been out, roaming around.” He said, in reply to her question. “I’ve found a new seal hole – I came to tell your brother. Is he about, do you know?” “And speaking of being up to something – what’s this I hear about you and that little puppet you made? Something about it walking with no strings?” He narrowed his eyes and looked at Syara with mock suspiciousness. “Are you keeping secrets from us, little cousin?” Syllke laughed and pulled a strand of her long, dark hair.

[Syara Skyglow]

Syara traced her index finger along the figure's pointy ears. "It's a cat, of course! What else could it be?" She poked Syllke affectionately. "Well, I think that Deriva is out with his friends, hanging out at the Sculpture Yard or something, and Pvani is probably shopping at the market. He said that he wanted a new shortbow for hunting." Her older cousin caught her attention as he mentioned one of her attempts in animation. Syara was quite proud of the fact that she had succeeded in animating the puppet properly, even though it could only perform simple tasks, such as walking and such. "Not at all!" She tried to hide the small smile that threatened to appear, and failed. She pretended to wince as Syllke tugged at her hair, smiling. "How did you find out about that?" "So, where is this seal hole? Is it nearby? I'd love to see some seals, they're so cute!" She looked at Syllke with eager eyes.

[Syllke Skyglow]

“The seals are way out on the pack ice.” Syllke replied readily. “I’ll take you if you like – tomorrow – it’s already dark out now. The days were short indeed in the deep of winter – only a few precious hours of light. The vantha were accustomed to doing everything that needed doing in the dark, but Sylle would not risk getting into some sort of trouble out on the ice with Syara tagging along. “Oh, well, I guess I’ll catch them after dinner, maybe. Tell them I was looking for them, OK?” He was considering her evasive answer about the puppet, and, as always, he was curious. “Tell you what. How about you show me your puppet tricks in exchange for me taking you to see the seals?” He leaned in close and said in a stage whisper. “Don’t worry – I won’t tell anyone!” as he gave her a wink.

[Syara Skyglow]

"Alright, then," replied Syara with a grin. She carefully placed her knife and carving on her seat and she stood. She looked to Syllke. "I'll be right back." She took off towards her room, which she had acquired just recently, on her thirteenth birthday. She had been looking forward to getting her own room, and the time had finally come in Summer. She tugged on one of the drawers in the desk and it snapped open. Out popped the head of her little wooden puppet. She scooped the small thing into her hand. It had a rough, rectangular head that sloped to one side, and a wobbly face had been etched into it. Two circular eyes and a smiling mouth made it up, but no nose. It was attached to its body with a thin wooden cylinder that acted as a neck. The body was wide, with bulky limbs. The joints were a bit stiff, but the puppet could move around well enough. She closed the door behind her and returned to Syllke, the tiny puppet wriggling to escape her hands. She stood above him. "Do you think we should go somewhere else? Or should we stay here?"