Even if she was exuberant and enthusiastic, @Thella ♔ matched his energy in most situations though perhaps outshone him even then. She was bright and bouncy, seemingly teeming with life in such a small body but he liked it. As for the talking about herself he hadn't expected her to not know what to say and to mumble and draw from making eye contact. It made his own brows furrow, wondering what might make her hesitate to talk about herself but he supposed it might not be easy to some to explain their life's gifts. I'm sorry, he eventually offered because from what he gathered the before-Hollow was a terrible time for her.

I can promise you that the Hollow is a good choice. You made a good choice, a very good one. If anything, he knew this for fact — the Hollow was a place of good hearted individuals that would make sure that she found her own version of happiness in whatever form that may be. If it does bring forth the bad, did you live in a forest? Or on a Mountain? Or some plains? Perhaps if she focused on the nature of her past, it might ease her memories. Cosmin liked to view the Mountain from the Labyrinth every now and then and found great comfort in its fantastical heights.

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Thella waved a paw through the air. "Please, don't apologize. It's just still so real and feels like it was just yesterday. Maybe one day, I will tell you."

She was glad, then, for @Cosmin's change of attention on her past and his question brought great memories flooding back, overtaking those that only instilled fear. "Plains," she whispered softly. "They were beautiful." She could feel the grasses tickling her sides as she walked through. "The grass was tall and lush and the sun bright and warm." She was young when she was last there and the grasses rose high above her head; she had to follow others or listen for their voices to get around easily. "I loved to play hide and seek with my siblings and cousins. We were not as large as your family here, but we were growing."

"My mother..." tears were starting to gather and she tried to blink them away. "My mother was beautiful too, more so than the land we called home. She had this knack for telling us the most extraordinary tales and would have us waiting with baited breath for what happened next." A quiet chuckle escaped her then before she was brought back to the young man in front of her. She turned away swiftly to swipe her eyes free of tears with her paw. It was her turn to apologize and she did so profusely. "I'm so sorry, Cosmin! This day is not about my sorrows. It's meant to be a happy day for you! I think we should go have a meal in final celebration!"

code by scorpixia♡︎ art by muuland

As it were, Cosmin was still too young to know what true fear looked like. Throughout his year of life, he had never had to deal with pain or suffering, loss or hardship. Things had been as easy as they could be while you were Royalty within a family that was as large as his. So he was happy, at least, to be able to give her a distraction and to replace those terrible memories with something a little fonder. Perhaps, in time, @Thella ♔ might be able to not feel such pain and would automatically feel the warmth of the Plains when those memories resurfaced unintentionally.

Sounds like you got your bard-ness from your Mother. He grins, reeling on the story that she wove as though her mother was his. It painted a beautiful picture and he could see every little detail that she had woven for him. He had found that story-teller's were often the best and most experienced, they could distract the mind but could also bring truth into their stories. Life lessons, as his family had once taught him in story. It was a long one that he couldn't recall as clearly as he would've liked but he remembered that the teaching was that they were better together as a family than they were apart.

I's okay, I don't mind hearing you talk. It was nice. Cosmin hoped to ease any embarrassment she had over telling her story. It was he who had asked for it, anyways, in an effort to get to know who she was. It had told him a good bit but he supposed a meal did sound quite nice. Yeah! I'm down, he issued with a shake of his head and a stretch of his legs, let's go find ourselves a meal!

— exit cosmin —

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Thella had enjoyed her time with @Cosmin today on his birthday. The young man had such an outflowing of positivity and she couldn't help but smile along with him. She loved how much he smiled and how much he wished for others to smile. She just knew that he would grow even more into adulthood as such a force of good-will and she only hoped that she would be around to see it happen.

She stood with him and began to match his pace as they left for one of the nearby caches, giving him a slight brush of the shoulder along the way as a small thank you for letting her be the one to celebrate with him.

-exit Thella-

code by scorpixia♡︎ art by muuland