(orp) A little pond by the creek near the forest

[Serene]

"Ok! Anatalie want to count with me?" Serene pauses for a response then starts counting. She covers her eyes with her hands and is very tempted to peek. "one, two, three, four five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! Ready or not here I come!" Serene looks around for Grazilda.

[Grazilda]

Grazilda ran as fast as she could and tried to find a suitable place to hide. Knowing Serene, she should be smart enough to hide, for Serene had a lot of practice in this game when they were in the Viceregral Castle. She ran and tried to hide behind a tree but she figured out that it would be easy for Serene. With limited time and choice, she quickly climbed a tree and hoped that Serene won't look up.

[Serene]

"Come on Ana lets go look for Grazilda!" Serene starts skipping around looking for Grazilda.

[Serene]

Serene skips through the meadow looking to see where Grazilda's hiding place might be. There are butterflies and bees , flowers and grasses, and mice and lizards around where she looks. No Grazilda to be found anywhere. Serene loose track of Ana as she skips.
Serene stops and looks around. It appears as if she is all alone. Maybe everyone left she thinks?
Maybe they went to the pond! Serene skips over to the pond. As it has quieted down, the wild life has returned. Serene skips over to the log which crosses the pond in a north south direction. She climbs on the log to cross the pond. She holds her arms out to help her balance. Where could Grazilda be hiding? Did Ana hide or leave? Serene wonders as she crosses the log.

[Grazilda]

Grazilda kept an eye on Serene the whole time. She held her breath every time her sister looked up. Fortunately, Serene looked away from her hiding place. She stayed up and covered herself with leaves and branches. She bit her lips to suppress her laughter. If only the younger Dalakoi knew that the grumpy one was just directly above her.

Grazilda's back started to itch. She moved her arm to scratch her back. As she did, her axe hit one of the daggers hidden on her torso and made a slight sound. She squirmed and hoped that Serene didn't hear it. If she did, hopefully she won't look up.

[Serene]

Serene got to the other side of the pond and hopped off the log. She was now next to the trees. Serene heard a soft clanking noise of metal on metal. Serene giggled. She laughed out loud. She danced in place excited beyond belief.

"I found you! I found you!" Serene shouted. Serene had not actually seen Grizilda, but she had heard her make a noise. In Serene 's mind that meant she had succeeded. Grizilda was after all a very accomplished sorceress and warrior. It was not often that she might make a sound while hiding. It couldn't of been Ana. She didn't have any metal to clank.

[Grazilda]

Grazilda shook her head slowly and smiled. A small mistake led her sister to discover her. Well, all hope was not yet lost as Serene still didn't look up. At least her sister knew that she was still around in hiding. She was careful and moved ever so slowly. She grabbed a small branch and tried to throw it to another direction to detract the younger Dalakoi.

Serene developed a keen sense of hearing. A year ago, she wouldn't have noticed that slight clank of metal. This time, however, Grazilda noticed that her sister learned to be a observant and analyzed things about her surroundings. Grazilda smiled in approval yet stayed in her hiding place.

[Serene]

Once Serene calmed down a little, she looked around in surprise that Grazilda didn't appear. She was sure she had found her. Where could she be? She looked around and thought. Suddenly something moved. She heard a thunk. That could not be Grazilda she would never be that noisy. Maybe Ana was in trouble? Maybe she had fallen with a thunk! Serene looked around. Maybe she was mistaken.... She couldn't see Ana or Grazilda. She needed a better view. Maybe she could climb this tree to get a better view.

Serene started climbing the tree...


* edited a spell check which changed the noise thunk to think *

[Grazilda]

Grazilda tried so hard to stiffle her laughter. Her sister finally caught on. Serene was on the way up two trees away from her. If she moved, she would be seen. She waited and hoped that she be found. That's how you do it, Serene. Yup. One foot after the other...One arm after the either. She thought as she watched Serene carefully. She silently whispered a short spell of protection toward Serene so that if she would fall, she would land softly and slowly on the ground. As Grazilda spoke the spell, a soft green glowing light covered Serene.

[Serene]

Serene loved to climb trees. Before Cassandra and Serene joined the Dalakoi family, back when she lived with Cassandra, Serene and Cassandra spent most of their time in trees. Cassandra is a dryad and has a special relationship with trees. Serene didn't always understand but Serene certainly had spent a lot of time in trees. A special calm always came over Serene when she was in the trees. Everything seemed to slow down and Serene actually became serene, calm, and relaxed. Trees were so healing and relaxing. Serene would relax and press her ear against the tree and listen to the sap flow through the trees. The sound would put her in a trance like state.

As Serene was climbing she felt the tingle of magic. She knew Grazilda had to be near. As Serene climbed she became calmer and much more relaxed. She had a grounded feeling about her, no spikey excitement exuding from her. Serene settled into a crook of a tree branch and slowly and serenely looked around. She could see all around the meadow, the pond, in the cattails, frogs on lily pads, turtles on logs, blue herons fishing in the lake, and all around the forest undergrowth.

Where was Grazilda? Where was Anatalie? Serene took her time and was patiently looking around.