I Remember That Laugh

Orin Takekuro · 11-09-2011, 06:23 PM

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Word Count→400+ :: I was going to go on some more but I didn't want to PP too much without having you approve it first. Hope I gave you enough to reply to. If Tala joins her up into the treetop village you can PP them walking/arriving at/entering Orin's cottage.

Wait… Tala was apologizing to her?! The woman – the angel – that delivered her from evil, gave her and her infant daughters a safe haven thought she had something to apologize for? Orin revered the woman, loving and respecting her even though she didn’t know what had become of her. Sure, Tala disappeared, but Orin never blamed her for that, she only hoped that the woman had been safe wherever she’d gone.

“No, Tala, don’t apologize to me,” she said fervently, moving out of the embrace and taking the woman gently by the elbow that was beneath the cloak. Something had happened to her and now the tables were turned, and Orin owed it to her to take care of her when this harsh world had her dazed and torn. “If you owed it to me I’d accept it at once, but you don’t. It is I who should apologize to you.” She gently urged her forward, leading her through the trees until they came to a peculiar place, for twisting down one of the formidable trunks was a flight of stairs that appeared to hoist the traveler up into the treetops.

“This way. The trees will protect us from the wind. We’ll go to my cottage and warm you up, and then we’ll talk. Are you hungry?” If Tala looked up she would see the village among the canopy, an entire network of bridges and huts built among the centuries-old trees. It was a fascinating yet fairly undiscovered place, a true masterpiece built by Shawchert’s hand but hardly inhabited. They would have the privacy they needed for their looming intimate discussion.

As she took the first step and glanced to make sure Tala was willing to ascend into the trees, her gaze caught the empty forest behind them. Something was missing and Orin knew what, but how long had it been? Was something amiss or had more time passed than Orin realized? The puppies – little more than a dream in Tala’s belly – were nowhere to be found. Maybe Tala had returned to Phoenix Valley… no, it didn’t exist anymore. She could have gone back to the old lands but wouldn’t have found their former pack. Maybe that meant there were friends in Ichika caring for them? Another look to Tala’s face made her blood run cold. Somehow, Orin had a feeling that Tala’s pups weren’t in the protective care of a comrade.

Table made by Kiki! Image credit here.

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