Who: Kadyriath and an appearance by an elder of his clan What: Tree climbing and forest lullabys When: August 1992 Where: The Black Forest, Germany Rating: PG for nakedness Status: Closed, complete
Bare feet squished into the mud, a delighted look on the pale face under a dark shock of hair. His long limbs were uncovered, not a stitch of clothing on the little child with his long, lanky frame
"Kadyriath," said a deep voice from the very serious alp who'd been placed as his chaperone, as it were. "Stay here. I must talk to this clan's elders. I shall return as quickly as I can and expect to find you here--understood?"
"Yes sir," the boy murmured. And as he watched the man disappear between the trees, he grinned a wide, impish grin that took over his face. With a giggle, taking joy in being free, smooth little hands wrapped around a thick branch with rough bark. He swung himself up as though it took no effort at all, smooth skin rubbing against rough bark but not getting scratched up.
Crickets sang beneath him, while in the distance a nightingale sang. Climbing higher and higher, each branch up made his heart soar. He giggled once he was as high as the branches would allow him to go, sitting on the branch, swinging his legs, and watching how the moonlight bathed the forest in a veil of silver.
He listened to the whispers from the tree, over a hundred years old and still a baby yet. It wasn't a story that the tree told this time. Instead it began to sing, a low hum that grew. The wind add rustling of leaves and a whistling of it's own, as the crickets and birds changed, falling into time with the tree. It seemed slowly that the whole forest was joining in, and the child couldn't help but let his eyes flicker closed as it sang him a lullaby.