~Of Wood Sky Water And Grass~

It was the day after Lyn and Hugo had first thought about leaving. Their adventure in the woods, even with the death of Foalan, it had been the best experience of their lives, it even topped when Hugo and Lyn had first tried swimming in the pond and they were both desperate for more. After the stories of Grandfather, Hugo wanted to find him and hear more, for Mother had realized that her kits were interested so obviously that meant she shouldn’t tell them anymore. Hugo grunted with annoyance. He sighed and dreamed about what it would be like to have someone to talk to who liked going out and exploring. He thought of his grandfather and what he would look like. Hugo imagined his grandfather having red brown fur like himself, with dark brown paws, tail tip and muzzle. He thought that Grandfather would have a handsome face with a long muzzle and pointy whiskers, and he would just have to be playful and funny. And he would take Lyn, Cody and Hugo out into the forest all the time. The rain began to beat heavier down on the ground and on top of the Burrow, making a small pitter patter, pitter patter that slowly turned to a drip drop, PLONK!

Hugo looked around at his large Burrow and his family, still asleep despite how loud the rain had gotten.

Hugo got up, careful not to disturb his family and poked his head outside. White sheets of rain were falling, and a fog so thick you couldn’t see anything two inches in front of your face wound its way around the trees like a fluffy, white shawl. The rain was so hard and heavy Hugo felt its force weighing down on his head. He quickly backed up, shaking his head dry and taking his sodded ears back into the Burrow and pulling a large amount of moss and dry leaves into a kind of circle around him. He snuggled closer to the soft walls of moss.

I’m going to fall asleep any moment … Hugo thought drowsily

drip drop, PLONK!

The rain woke Hugo out of his light sleep. Oh come off it rain! He cursed under his breath and rolled over in the soft bowl of moss he had made himself.

Plink! Plop!

Hugo sighed with great annoyance and tucked his wet ears under the wall of moss he had pulled up around him. The rain became a faint pitter patter, pitter patter against Cody’s snores. Hugo slowly felt sleep overcome him. Peaceful, QUIET, rain, Hugo thought comforting snores telling me my family is right here beside me, and now I can go to sleep and -

Plop, plunk, SPLOSH!

Hugo looked up with a sour expression on his face, nose scrunched up and eyebrows furrowed. BE QUIET he almost growled in his annoyance, but of course, what good would that do? He lay down and scanned the Burrow with a grumpy expression. A paw prodded him in the side and he jumped into the air, hitting his head on the roof of the Burrow, causing some dirt to fall onto his back, he shook himself and jumped around to see what had prodded him.

“Lyn! You can't jump me like that!” He exclaimed in a whisper.

“Sorry.” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “But something's been troubling me ever since, ever since we met Tamar.”

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter!

Hugo knew what she was talking about, he wanted to tell her that Grandfather being up with the wolves in Tambora was ridiculous but he knew she wouldn’t listen.

Plonk, plop, plink, plop!

“I'm just not sure what to do!” Lyn blurted out suddenly after a few minutes of silence. “We were going out after the rain for a day but we're not happy here but we can't survive without our mother, or could we? Where would we go anyways? Is it the right thing to do? I just can’t relax knowing what's really out there, what life I could be living. We were going to go out for just the day, but, could we go find Grandfather? I really want to meet Grandfather, but where is he?”

Hugo listened patiently until Lyn was done before saying; “if you really believe Tamar, then you know where to look.”

Those questions had also been nagging at him, but he had been too scared to answer, now he knew it was time. He looked at Lyn's troubled face, she looked how he felt.

“I think we both know what we really want, Lyn,” he said, “I think it's time we face that we are not happy here, we should go the day after tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” said Lyn. “I mean, shouldn’t we plan? And make sure we know exactly where we're going? And how to hunt?” Her list went on and on, but Hugo knew it would, and quickly stopped listening.

“Right?” asked Lyn at the end of her list, “shouldn’t we?”

“I think we should just go!” Hugo said.

“But we need to know where Grandfather is and how to get him away from the wolves.” Lyn said.

“But how can we be sure Tamar was talking about Grandfather anyways?” Hugo countered.

“Well, either way, I think we should go to Tambora.” She said the name wistfully as she thought about what a mountain might look like. I need to know what's out there.

Hugo smiled as he thought about their grandfather, what a life he would have, to adventure around the world with Grandfather, he wondered what his name might be, and what he would look like.

Hugo dreamed of mountains and eagles and trees and rivers. He dreamed of the sky and the woods, and the water, and the fields. He dreamed of Grandfather, and a story he may have heard long ago.

The skies above.

the waters below. the

woods around. the grass to grow.

The eagle soars.

The salmon swims.

The Foxes trot. The deer must run.

The Kings above.

The Kings below.

The Kings around. The Kings to grow.

Of eagle. Of salmon.

Of fox. Of deer.

I am the King of the wood.