03-05-2021, 08:20 PM
despite the overwhelming odds, tomorrow came
Even as he looks at me now, I can tell that @[Leilan] is analyzing my words, figuring out my place, not just in Taiga, but in all of the north, as well, as any good leader would do. I respect him for it. It’s hard to see what could have caused the rift between him and Yanhua. Yanhua had never told me what had happened; I just knew that something had, because Yan had seemed to bristle anytime the freyr was mentioned. Either way, Leilan strikes me as a wise leader, always looking toward what possibilities there were.
When he speaks again, I am drawn back into the conversation from my thoughts, which tend to wander. I laugh softly at his remarks, his insinuation that things staying the same would become boring, but I nod when he comments on a strong center, a “home base,” he calls it. I could have spoke then, when he paused to contemplate his thoughts some more, but I could tell he had more to say about my wish for the forest.
He brings another laugh from my lips before he is done talking, and I give him a jovial glance before continuing his thoughts with my own. “Of course, things would be boring if everything stayed the same, but I was under the impression that you asked me about the forest in particular.” I laugh again, this time throwing a jesting wink his way. “It’s like you said, the forest becomes a home base, the strong center. I hope that never changes, but I am certain other things will change. The names and faces will change, the life that lives here will change and grow, the plants will adapt to new situations, the paths that crisscross this forest will one day be grown over when new paths take their place.”
I pause for a moment to piece together what I would want to say next. “One of the things I enjoy most about this forest is that there is always something new to learn: a hidden path that I thought I’d traveled, a bird that sings a foreign song, a new corner to hide away in. That is the beauty of the redwoods. And if everything remained the same, then eventually, there would be nothing new to learn.” A hefty sigh lifts from my lips as I draw my thoughts to a close. I smile thoughtfully in his direction.
When he speaks again, I am drawn back into the conversation from my thoughts, which tend to wander. I laugh softly at his remarks, his insinuation that things staying the same would become boring, but I nod when he comments on a strong center, a “home base,” he calls it. I could have spoke then, when he paused to contemplate his thoughts some more, but I could tell he had more to say about my wish for the forest.
He brings another laugh from my lips before he is done talking, and I give him a jovial glance before continuing his thoughts with my own. “Of course, things would be boring if everything stayed the same, but I was under the impression that you asked me about the forest in particular.” I laugh again, this time throwing a jesting wink his way. “It’s like you said, the forest becomes a home base, the strong center. I hope that never changes, but I am certain other things will change. The names and faces will change, the life that lives here will change and grow, the plants will adapt to new situations, the paths that crisscross this forest will one day be grown over when new paths take their place.”
I pause for a moment to piece together what I would want to say next. “One of the things I enjoy most about this forest is that there is always something new to learn: a hidden path that I thought I’d traveled, a bird that sings a foreign song, a new corner to hide away in. That is the beauty of the redwoods. And if everything remained the same, then eventually, there would be nothing new to learn.” A hefty sigh lifts from my lips as I draw my thoughts to a close. I smile thoughtfully in his direction.
Borderline