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Summer was winding down. The nights
in the Great Forest were becoming cooler. There was mist laying on the ground
when the sun first woke the forest in the morning. The leaves of the softer trees looked a bit
tired and worn.
It was that sweet moment just before
autumn begins in earnest.
There would soon be rain, a lot of
rain. This forest was, after all, built of rain, wind, stone, and the mighty
trees.
Maeve and Ralph were up early,
conversing over by the river, so they didn’t wake anyone still sleeping, which
was, in fact, everyone else. Ralph sat on that same rock where Twigg had sat when
Rose had first appeared, with his feet also in the running water. Maeve, feeling
the chill a little since she was a rather mature Raven, sat on his shoulder for the
sake of the warmth.
“Well, Boss. Now what will you do? You
have a wolf at the door. Well, inside the door. The puma bros., a son who is
nearly grown, a daughter, your dear Ramona, and now you have this changeling,” chuckled Maeve, in her
Raven voice, which Ralph understood perfectly well.
“It’s more crowded in the cave than
it used to be, Maeve. That’s for sure,” he said.
“I’m a nosy old bird, I know it, but
I have to know where you put everyone to sleep last night?” said Maeve.
“We tried this: Twigg gave Rose his
bed, and he slept on the floor at her feet wrapped in that big quilt Thaga made
for him. We had an extra quilt which Rose used for her first night with us,”
said Ralph. “It was not ideal, but for an emergency it was doable.”
“Ah, Twigg. What a fine fellow he
is, Ralph,” said Maeve.
“I know it, Maevie, I know it. But
he can’t stay on the floor forever. Something will need to change, and I have
an idea. By the way, you called Rose a changeling. Why? Do you know something I
don’t know?”
“Maybe I was there, Boss, when he
found her in the river!” whispered Maeve. “What he said is true as rain, as far
as it goes. There is more to it,” she said.
“It’s a nice quiet morning, everyone
is sleeping. This is a good time to tell the tale, dear old bird,” said Ralph.
“Very well. As I flew up the river yesterday,
just feeling the wind, and drifting upstream, I noticed a large silver creature
swimming up our river. Something I had never seen before. It was like a fish,
but not quite fishy enough, if you know what I mean. As I looked I saw arms, a
long finny tail, and drifting hair in the current.
“When I got up to the very spot
where we sit now, I noticed Twigg sitting here, summoning fish, as you taught
him to do.
“I lighted up high in that tree over
there, silently, and watched to see what would happen. I could imagine several
possibilities. Some good, some bad, some merely nothing at all.
“What did happen was this. This
finny woman, for such she was, gazed upon Twigg through the water. She swam
near him where the water is shallow and slow, and she sat up. I could see that
the water woman was enraptured by what she saw. Twigg is a remarkably handsome young
thing!
“He spoke to her. He gave his hand
to her, and he drew her from the water to sit beside himself here. He named her,
though she didn’t speak, but only nodded.
“Oh, Ralph, here is truth, though it
sounds like a fairytale when I say it. He took her face between his hands, and
he blessed her and held her, and as all of heaven and earth is my witness, she
changed. She became as you are. I saw this. I am a true witness,” said Maeve.
Ralph looked long out over the
running water. At last he nodded and smiled.
“There is a lot to be done, Black
Leg. Much to be done!” said Ralph.
“Ramona will be a mother to this
changeling. We will all speak to her until she speaks back to us. So it will be,”
said Ralph. “Cherry will teach her to play.”
“I will be her father,” said Ralph.
“Yes, you will,” said Maeve. “And I
will watch over her from the sky,”
“The rest is for Twigg to decide,”
mused Ralph. “I wonder how it will all turn out!”
“Whatever Twigg decides will be
good. You know that, Boss!” said Maeve, giving him a little bit of raven side
eye.
“I do know that. Now, how about we
go home and build up the fire for Mona! Anything to aid cooking something for
morning is a good thing!” said Ralph.
“It’s always a good thing when
Ramona cooks,” added Maeve happily.
“Let’s go, I think I was born
hungry, Maeve,” said Ralph.
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