Saraphina Skyglow
26th Day of Fall 512 AV
P outing moodily and swinging her legs back and forth under the chair she sat on, Saraphina looked down at the book her Mother, Callimus Skyglow had placed in front of her. It was a history of the ice wonderland of Avanthal. Of how the Goddess Morwen had come to the Vantha, granted the people her mark and helped them to live comfortably in the eternal winter landscape. And nothing could be more boring to the young Kelvic right now. “Mama…..I don’t want to study…I want to go out hunting! You said you’d ask the Hunter's Lodge to take me out with them!” The high pitched, almost squeaky voice of the red haired child moaning in complaint in only the way an impatient and energetic kid could, drawing out the syllables to make the statement sound as needy and pathetic as possible. Standing only 4’2’’ and looking no older than 9 years as a human child, Saraphina Skyglow was almost 5 months old by Kelvic years. Practically an adult, as far as the headstrong young red head was considered. She crossed her arms stubbornly and glared with childlike frustration at her Mother, seeming well on her way to throwing a tantrum. The elder Vantha women looked over her petulant child with an exasperated sigh and a small smile. Such fire her daughter had, so much life and passion. It made the memory of her former lover’s lackluster and absent worth the pain. Walking over to her lively child, Callimus placed a soothing hand on the bouncing ginger’s head, “And so I shall Sara…but only after you’ve finished your lessons for the day. This is our history, our birthright and blood. It’s important for you to know what makes you Avanthalian Sara. I’ve spoken with Nanami….she’s going to take you out hunting later today. Alright.” Saraphina’s small, chubby face wrinkled in an adorable expression of distaste, but she said nothing. The Tiger Kelvic didn’t necessary dislike Nanami, but the elder Kelvic reeked of dog, which clashed with Saraphina’s feline instincts.L eaning forward again, a 9 year old Saraphina flipped the page of her book, studying her Mother out of the corner of her eye. Callimus smiled, pleased that her stubborn little angel was listening for a change. Pouring out a bit of warm water into a cup, she set a cup of tea sweetened with a bit of honey by Saraphina. Giving her daughter a kiss on the top of her head, the seamstress walked into the back room of their small lodge. The Arvinta of their small hold was empty today, save for the two of them. The other members had left for a musical showing in SnowSong Hold. Callimus still had some mending to do, but she needed some of her supplies from her personal chambers. Perhaps it was foolish to leave her impulsive, Kelvic daughter alone, but Mother’s often times couldn’t see mischief when it brewed in their offspring. Saraphina, however, was paying very close attention to her parent’s actions. As soon as her Mother vanished from view, the young Kelvic grinned happily. As silently as she could, the ginger child slipped off her chair and ducked under the table. Tip toeing across the common room of their house, Saraphina grabbed her small boots from the alcove. Pulling them onto her feet, she reached up and grabbed her winter coat before carefully opening the door and stepping outside.G rinning in triumph, Saraphina spun and immediately bolted down the icy street. Ducking between a pair of holds, she thought she briefly heard her Mother’s voice yelling on the wind, but she didn’t stop running. Her breath panted out from her sprinting, frosting in the air as white, humid clouds. Sprinting along the IceWall, Saraphina felt a stitch form in her side, but kept running. The wind whistled in her ears, turned her baby cheeks red and rosy and chilled her lungs, but she kept going. The feeling of freedom and the wildness in her chest had grown and needed a release. Her Mother was wonderful, and Saraphina loved her with every bit of her heart. But she was sadly still human. Callimus tried hard to understand her wild daughter. But really, only Kelvic’s could hope to understand other Kelvic’s. Slowing to a jog and feeling a bit bad that she’d worried her Mother with her skillful departure, the ginger decided to make it up to her parent by catching something for her. Maybe a nice fat Talderan Hare would make her less angry. Breathing hard from her bolting run, the ginger child made her way to one of the exits of Avanthal. Pausing as she neared the opening, Saraphina braced her hands on the cold wall and pressed her back against it. Bending into a crouch, she slowly walked up to the exit. Two Icewatch guards were standing near the opening, talking with a group of Vantha hunters that were either leaving the city or just returning. Saraphina couldn’t tell and if she wanted to sneak past them and get out into the ice fields, she’d need to move fast. Biting her lip in excitement and feeling her heart pound a bit harder, the young Kelvic crept closer to the exit.S tep by step, inch by inch, the sneaky, defiant child made her way closer to the freedom her instincts craved. The snow crunched softly under her feet and fearful the guards would hear it, she carefully place one foot down and ever so slowly added weight to that step to minimize the noise as much as possible. Her Tiger form would be quieter, but that would take time to strip out of her clothes and shift. And she was already afraid her Mother would be calling out the whole Hold to track her down. Now close enough to the guards to see their breath cloud up in front of their faces, Saraphina paused. Not really sure how to get past them without being seen, she tried hard not to snarl in frustration. But Morwen seemed to favor her as the hunters moved past the guards, temporarily blocking their view of her. Smirking cheekily, Saraphina quickly ducked around the corner of the opening and scrambled up the snowbank on the other side, sliding down the cold hill and crouching at the bottom. Pausing, she tilted her head to listen to the Icewatch, wondering if they’d seen or heard her scampering about.T hey carried on with their conversations. Saraphina grinned happily and quickly moved along the wall again. After sneaking for about 400 meters, she broke into a run again, angling out from the Icewall and heading for the fields. The snow and ice had melted a bit during the summer season, but with the cooler fall weather, the top of the white powder had hardened to a thick crust. One that a lightweight 9 year old child could easily run across. Far enough away from the city, Saraphina let out a whoop of joy, spinning happily in the wilds and laughing loudly. Falling to the ground, she rolled around a bit, still giggling and rejoicing in the freedom she’d gained. After a few chimes of celebration, she climbed back to her feet and looked around. Sparse brushes and hills lined the area, but she could see any tracks of prey. But the day was still young. Skipping along, she headed deeper into the wildlands, filled with innocence and wonder at the world, 100% convinced nothing bad could possible happen to her.
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