[center][h1] Fall [/h1][/center] [hr] “You have that look in your eyes again.” Toffee murmured. Her brother blinked away his distant stare and looked at her with a growing annoyance. “So do you.” he finally said and looked back up the well worn path. The wind sent a shiver down her spine as it blew. Leaves drifted down from the branches in yellows, reds and browns. She looked up and was able to see the sky through the trees. Something she had not been able to do a few weeks ago. She finally sighed and clung to her bundle of sticks a little harder. “We all miss them but they had to go. A great spirit cannot stay in one place for so long. It makes them restless.” “What about Jiva and Sirele then?” Tad muttered. She felt her face scrunch. Toffee knew this was what Tad was thinking about because her own thoughts often drifted to Jiva’s carefree smile. The way his eyes glittered. The perfection of his skin. How he made her fe- Ugh. She rolled her eyes and quickened her pace. “What about them?” she snapped, before sighing again and reigning in her voice. “They had to go too. You know what Saries is like. It needed them as much as they needed it.” Tad was silent for a long time before he said, “I know.” And that was that. Tad slipped back into his forlorn expression. Like the joy had been sucked from his soul. All because of Sirele. The wind whipped at her hair again, bringing with it a smell that reminded her of Jiva. She cursed mentally. Would he ever leave her mind? The great spirit and its companions had left them weeks ago, after continually expanding their initial request. Spring had turned to summer and then into fall, novel concepts that Saries and the twins had taught them. The world had changed in so little time. Now the world grew cooler and things stopped growing. They had warned them about the fourth season. Something that none had really seen. A bitter cold, far worse than the current nip. Life, for all intents and purposes, was dormant or dead and it would not rebound until spring came again. The twins taught them what they knew but sadly it wasn’t much. The great spirit, in the meantime, had grown more and more antsy. That led them to now. Gathering wood for fire. Mother and Teefee were busy knapping stone axes for them to use, so that left Tad and herself on the monotonous task of just picking up dead wood. They had a considerable stock pile saved up by now at least and as they entered the clearing, they could see it amidst the gathering leaves. They had set up the wood in long rows, stalked up to her waist as a sort of wind block. It helped at night. Their tent had gotten larger too, now more akin to something called a wickiup. Large and dome shaped with constant smoke from the top billowing out. They had made this place their home on the suggestion of the twins. Not half a day's walk to the plains so it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar but the small forest around them provided additional shelter and a flowing creek not far that led to a lake. Mother was happy with the place at least. Toffee placed her wood on the row nearest to the wickiup and so did Tad. They both entered their home and the wave of warmth felt wonderful on Toffee’s prickling skin. The dim light of the wikiup revealed Teefee humming a tune and their mother drying some cuts of meat. That was the other priority the twins had given them. They needed enough food to last them through the cold. So far they had gathered berries, nuts, seeds, roots and herbs. They had learned how to fish and the game in this land was abundant. It was with a great amount of consternation that the great spirit was against death but Saries was willing to tolerate it due to their unique circumstances. Being a mix of animal and human seemed to pay off in this regard, at least. “Welcome back children.” Their mother smiled warmly. “I trust the journey was not too difficult?” Tad went to his fur bed and sat down, muttering about the cold. Ina frowned as she looked at her son and then she turned to Toffee with questioning eyes. “It was fine, mother.” Toffee said as she sat down next to the fire. “The wind is sharp and the leaves fall. I cannot remember what the sun looks like. It’s been so cloudy of late.” Ina hummed affirmatively. Teefee came over to Toffee and presented to her a stone axe. The head was made from a fine smooth tan chert, woven tightly with leather straps around a dark wooden handle. Toffee took it and felt the weight of it. “Teefs! This is your finest work yet.” she beamed. Teefee smiled ear to ear in response. “I think so too! I’ve never seen such nice rock and it was easy to knap and mold.” Toffee stood and swung it around. It was nice and balanced, somehow. “Mother is still working on Tad’s and I’m making some more arrowheads for you too.” Teefee said, hands on her hips. Toffee smirked and put the axe down before pulling Teefee into a hug. “Thank you, sister. Trees will now fear me!” Teefee laughed and the day wove into night with pleasant chatter around the fire. Even Tad found himself smiling from time to time. Toffee enjoyed herself and it actually felt like the times before the sun. Back when things were easier. She stared into the fire and before long she heard her mother’s voice call to her. “Toffeen. We should talk.” Toffee blinked and looked across the dying flames to where her mother held a somber expression. It seemed she had missed that both Tad and Teefee had fallen asleep. She tilted her head slightly and looked at her mother. “About?” Ina sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I cannot bear to see you and Tad with heart’s so bleak.” Toffee breathed in through her nose. She didn’t really want to have this conversation but she couldn’t see a way out of it, so she picked up a stick and began to play with the coals. “Is that so?” she said after a moment. “You often think I don’t have eyes, Toffee but I have watched you like a hawk since the time you could crawl. Don’t even get me started about when you began to walk.” She smirked, her gaze now held by the fire. “You liked Jiva and Tad liked Sirele. I am sorry things did not work out.” Toffee snapped her head at their mother but she was still looking at the fire. “I didn’t like him.” She lied but knew it was pointless to lie to her mother. So she sighed and deflated a little. “I wanted you to go with them, you know. I could see something there, a spark of what could be. I’m not sure what I would have done with Teefee though. So I am both grateful and saddened. I refuse to watch my children grow old and not know what love is. So before they left, I asked the great spirit where we should go to find civilization. They told me of a place located within a valley and of a place near a great mountain that spits fire. If these seasons had not arrived, we would still be on our way.” Ina said, now looking at Toffee. Toffee perked up at the mention of these places and her heart felt heavy at what her mother decreed. She gulped. “You would have let us go?” Was the only question that came from her lips. Ina nodded. “Of course. It would be selfish of me to deny your own journey. I have always wanted you, Tad and Teefee to be happy.” she smiled whimsically and quickly added, “I have also wanted grandbabies for some time now, too.” Toffee felt her cheeks flush and she scowled at her mother. “Relax, my heart, you will understand one day.” her mother chuckled. “Now get some sleep. I need you three to go on a hunt tomorrow.” Toffee, thankful to stop talking, nodded and got under her furs. She shut her eyes in a heartbeat but also said, “Thank you mom. I love you.” “I love you too.” [hr] With the children out on their hunt, Ina was tidying up the wickiup and after some time she grew thirsty. She checked her waterskin but found it empty. It looked like she would have to go down to the creek. With a grumble about chores not being done, she put on her warmest furs and trekked outside. The path to water was well worn by now and easy to follow. It wound through the trees and Ina marveled at the colors, the smells and the temperature. Her children were young and could only remember life in the hillsgrass lands but her memory went deeper. Before, in the times when the land was ablaze, where the night and stars held dominion, where colors were dulled grays and bleak browns. Those days she did not wish upon any. So the cold would not bother her, nor would the arrival of winter- it was just what it would do to her children that worried her so. She had truly wanted them to find happiness with Jiva and Sirele, even the great spirit. But Teefee proved to be a problem she could not quite grasp. She walked over a fallen tree as she thought, they’d have to move that eventually- but Teefee. She was a flower in a world of thorns. That wasn’t bad. One needed flowers to appreciate all that there was in the world. But she worried most for her youngest. The great spirit, Sirna, had given her a strange gift that none could really fathom. She feared it would lead her down a path that went against the ancestors. She had not yet voiced these concerns with Teefee, for the girl had a talent for being disarming and talking your ear off about everything. But Ina had seen something in her daughter’s face when Jiva and Sirele had been spending time with her siblings. A look of worry, marred by jealousy. She had not asked Teefee about it because she knew the girl would never harm a soul. But perhaps… Perhaps a conversation was warranted? Ina sighed and knew she should have talked to Teefee weeks ago. The path grew wider and at a certain point she felt an odd sensation before it flew away. Her thoughts were so wrapped up in what to do about Teefee, who she was beginning to suspect would not be able to find someone to love like Tad and Toffee, when Ina realized the path was… Wrong. It was far too wide and when had it gotten so dim? The wind no longer was blowing as hard and a new, strange smell wafted past her. She could hear faint laughing and other odd noises but strangely, she did not feel so panicked at this. Instead, curiosity overtook her and she walked around a bend, the trees suddenly too thick to peer between and found herself before a festive atmosphere. Yelling and shouting, laughing and signing, smoke and cooking food- and she wasn’t alone on the path anymore. She noticed out of the corner of her eye before turning to see another woman, her hair pale blonde upon even paler skin and behind her a younger looking man with auburn hair. They looked just as perplexed as her. Then she heard a loud gasp and spun in the opposite direction to see a small boy. He couldn’t be any older than five years. He wore strange clothes and his skin was darker than any she had seen before, with jet black hair. He was looking with excitement towards what lay before them. Ina looked around to see if the boy had any parents but it looked as if he was alone. She pursed her lips, wondering how she would have felt if her own children had been in a strange place with strangers- no one friendly to help them. Her own children, of course, she needed to go find them but… the boy looked up at her with big brown eyes. She smiled and he smiled back. She reached out her hand to him and he took it. Her kids would understand. She just had to figure out what was going on here, find this boy’s parents and then she’d leave. Yes, then she’d leave. [hr] Teefee playfully shoved Tad as he moped. “Just because you missed the shot, doesn’t mean you’ll miss the next one Tad.” He grimaced and barely made an effort to push her back. Teefee pouted and began to sulk before she spotted Toffee just ahead, minding her own business as usual. Teefee’s pout turned into a grin as she hopped forward and then leapt at Toffee, grabbing her from behind and rubbing the side of Toffee’s face with her own. “Teefee!” Toffee groaned before shoving her away. “Ugh!” Teefee began to pout again, “You two are no fun today.” She huffed and crossed her arms before falling in between the two. Toffee just sighed. “Teefee. We are coming home empty handed. We’ve been out all morning. How are you not tired?” She shrugged. “She’s not tired,” Tad began, “Because she’s the only one who got to take a nap today.” Teefee smirked and stretched her arms high. “There was no prey, so I napped.” “Of course you did, Teefs.” Toffee said, shaking her head. But the smile on her sister’s face gave away that she thought it was funny. They made their way back to the wickiup and it was Toffee who slowed slightly. “No smoke?” she said and then jogged to the entrance. Teefee cocked her head and looked at Tad, whose expression had changed from his usual mopiness to one of alertness. Teefee felt it too. Something was wrong. Toffee entered first, Tad followed her and then Teefee. The dim light of the wickiup revealed a suffocating silence. Mother was gone. “The coals are cold.” Toffee said, rushing up from the fire and past them, back out of the wickiup. She began to shout for her. Teefee could only let her eyes look around the familiar surroundings before it really sank in. She turned to Tad, who seemed to be just as confused. “Come on!.” She pulled him by the hand and out into the cool air. They would search for a week but Ina had vanished into thin air.