The Great Owl

Year 757 of The New Age
Summer
Oakfern, The Moonpool
Featuring: Nia, Lia and Nillie (NPC)

Lia:
They had been walking for what seemed forever to the little twins. Lia and Nia followed their adoptive mother, Nillie, through the tunnels. This was the first time the fillies had left the Warren, and so they stared in wonder at all they passed. Sticking close to Nillie’s legs, they jumped when a small ground owl hooted up at them. Lia hid under her mother, while Nia ran to the other side, putting Nillie between herself and the intruder.

“Girls, that is a ground owl. They are nothing to fear, and should be seen as friendly and messengers from Gaelach.” She gently coaxed the twins closer as another owl popped around of a nearby burrow. Hoot!

“Bleat!” Lia answered the owl and giggled. She stuck her nose down to greet the newcomers. A smile spread across her face when the two walked up, as if to say hello. “Owl!”


Nia:
Nia looked around her mother’s legs at the owls. She was not sure about the tiny creatures as she watched her sister look down at them. “Bleat?” Nia pushed herself against Nellie’s legs to gain her attention.

“It is okay Nia. Follow me, and I will show you.” Nellie took a side step so that she and Nia now faced the owls. She bent her nose down with a soft smile on her face, and they flew up to sit on her rack. She winced slightly when their claws dug into the velvet that still covered them. “See, they are friendly.”

Lia:
The twins walked beside Nellie, both watching the owls on her rack. They had never seen anything like them before in their short lives. When the owls grew tired of the chauffeured ride, they flew off to find entertainment elsewhere. Both the girls ducked under Nellie as the owls took off.
“Bleat?” Lia looked up at Nellie with a question.
“They decided they had other things to do. Perhaps they received a message a message from Gaelach they needed to deliver.” Nellie continued along the way until they walked into a big opening. Lia and Nia pushed against their mother’s legs as they were suddenly surrounded by fawns they had never met before. Nellie smiled at the tiny fillies. “We are in the Moonpool. It is a very sacred place for every Oakfern. This is where we old all of our important rituals. It is also a perfect place to teach little fawnlings about Gaelach, and why we live in the caves.”

Nia:
Nia looked around them, and was the first to pull away from Nillie. Although she was unsure of the weird flying creatures, she did not have a problem with other fawns. She nudged her sister in encouragement and smiled as Lia pulled away from Nellie to walk beside her.

When they reached the water’s edge, she laid down, and the twins followed suite. First they listened to Nellie tell them about Driton and Harun. She spun a story of a young fawn who followed the direction of an owl and found a safe home for him and his family. “When he and the other fawns reached a large cavern with an opening up to the moon, he knew that they were safe, and always would be, because of Gaelach, and Driton’s faith in their god. Now we call it the Moonpool, and is still our place to reconnect with Gaelach as a heard and praise him for giving us the caves.

Lia:
Lia’s eyes never left Nellie, taking in every word her mother said. Her eyes grew wide when she heard her mother tell them about the danger above ground that Driton faced before he was given safe haven underground.

Nellie continued with another story, this one about the why the other herds deserved the wrath of Gaelach and Oakfern’s water magic. “That is why we now have guards who work hard to train and become the strongest stags and does of the herd. Guards are very important, and they keep all of us safe, from predator and the other herds who would see us all dead. It is an honorable position and should only be taken if you truly believe in the herd and Gaelach.”

Nia:
Nellie told a few more stories of other fawns of notable title who had traveled above ground and caused havoc to their enemies. Nia listened as her eyes began to drop. It was almost time for a nap, and even more so today, as this was the first time the twins had traveled so far.

Seeing the fillies growing tired, Nellie stood and gently nudged Nia and Lia up to follow. Nia yawned as she walked behind her mother, no longer paying attention to her surroundings, content to follow. Nellie walked slower so that they could keep up, as their legs grew tired.

When they finally returned to their home in the Warren, she allowed the fillies to drink some milk before they bedded down for a nap. Nia and Lia snuggled into her mother’s warm belly, content with her full belly of milk.