71st of Glade, 112
The searing season was just around the corner, and all the snow in Clearwater, a lumbering village north of Antiris, had completely melted. The sawmill was back in operation as the river had thawed, so there was no need to send large shipments of raw lumber to the south anymore, at least until the frost returned. Lumberjacks and carpenters alike were hard at work at the crack of dawn and would continue to be even as the sun met its highest point in the sky. Just like most days, Magna and the other children of the village had been studying under Verka, the village elder, while the workers carried lumber to and from the nearby sawmill. The whole town was alive and thriving now that they'd escaped the winter's cold grasp.
Unfortunately, that also meant that Elder Verka's lessons would stretch on for longer. She spoke of bears and the significance of the color of their fur. There were black bears, brown bears, and white bears; all of which prowled the pine forests that surrounded them. When encountering black bears, one was meant to be loud and aggressive, appear as large as possible to try and scare them off. When it came to brown bears, one needed to back away slowly and avoid eye contact as to not provoke the beast. Should either case fail and the bear decided to attack anyway, one needed to lay down and feign death. "What happens if you find a white bear?" Asked one fo the younger girls in the sitting circle. "You pray," replied Verka, and silence fell upon the children.
Soon came recess, and some of the younger boys were playing as bears, chasing one another around the wooden log cottages. That was until two 'bears' clashed, and an argument ensued over who was the white bear. At first, it was all grunting and roaring at one another. They rose on their knees to beat at their chests like gorillas, trying to appear larger than one another. Then came the verbal conflict before the larger of the two finally pushed the smaller to the ground. Then came the crying. That was when Magna decided that she was the white bear, and stormed in all red and angry. "WHY DID YOU PUSH HIM?!" Barked the giant, who was just shy of a grown woman's height at the low age of ten. "Cause he said he was the white bear when I was it first!" he yelled back, though with not nearly as much power.
In a flash of rage, she picked up the boy by the back of his shirt's neck and held him over the smaller, crying boy. The stitch of his hemp clothes tore a little, and he began to flail. "LET ME DOWN MAGNA!" he screamed and tried to swipe at her with his shorter arms. A lean of her head evaded the slow, desperate swipe. "SAY SORRY!" She ordered sternly. At that point, a small gathering of the village's youth had surrounded the three, and the smaller bear had stopped crying. That was when a shrill, aggressive cry broke the chatter; Verka's voice. At once, all the wind in Magna's sails fell, and her heart sank to the pit of her stomach.
"Miss Verka! I-" She stammered and put the boy down. "For shame on you, young lady!" Bellowed the elder, who waved her cane threateningly at the taller halfbreed. Before she could respond, the boy she'd grabbed ran to the elder's side and sobbed all the way. "She punched me in the face!" he cried and made the punching motion into his own palm. "She WHAT?!" Cried Verka. "WHAT?! No! I didn't!" Of course, it was plenty obvious she hadn't. And with some defense from the onlookers, her name was cleared in that regard. The argument was settled when Verka declared that she would speak to both of their parents; Magna's for she had attacked one of the children, and the boy's for he had lied for the sake of drama. The hotheaded Magna stormed off in a temper, declaring the whole ordeal unfair, and school resumed without her.
She spent some time at the bridge afterward, where she lamented her actions. Her feet hung off the side as the cool waters ran below, and she looked to her hands. Hands that were capable of such atrocious deeds. With a sigh, she looked to the woods and wondered what laid beyond. She couldn't wonder for too long, as she soon heard the sound of squeaking wood and metal, and what sounded to be... Horses? Hoofbeats? With a sudden rush of energy, the halfbreed climbed to her feet, then ran to the source. How exciting! Visitors were approaching!
The searing season was just around the corner, and all the snow in Clearwater, a lumbering village north of Antiris, had completely melted. The sawmill was back in operation as the river had thawed, so there was no need to send large shipments of raw lumber to the south anymore, at least until the frost returned. Lumberjacks and carpenters alike were hard at work at the crack of dawn and would continue to be even as the sun met its highest point in the sky. Just like most days, Magna and the other children of the village had been studying under Verka, the village elder, while the workers carried lumber to and from the nearby sawmill. The whole town was alive and thriving now that they'd escaped the winter's cold grasp.
Unfortunately, that also meant that Elder Verka's lessons would stretch on for longer. She spoke of bears and the significance of the color of their fur. There were black bears, brown bears, and white bears; all of which prowled the pine forests that surrounded them. When encountering black bears, one was meant to be loud and aggressive, appear as large as possible to try and scare them off. When it came to brown bears, one needed to back away slowly and avoid eye contact as to not provoke the beast. Should either case fail and the bear decided to attack anyway, one needed to lay down and feign death. "What happens if you find a white bear?" Asked one fo the younger girls in the sitting circle. "You pray," replied Verka, and silence fell upon the children.
* * *
Soon came recess, and some of the younger boys were playing as bears, chasing one another around the wooden log cottages. That was until two 'bears' clashed, and an argument ensued over who was the white bear. At first, it was all grunting and roaring at one another. They rose on their knees to beat at their chests like gorillas, trying to appear larger than one another. Then came the verbal conflict before the larger of the two finally pushed the smaller to the ground. Then came the crying. That was when Magna decided that she was the white bear, and stormed in all red and angry. "WHY DID YOU PUSH HIM?!" Barked the giant, who was just shy of a grown woman's height at the low age of ten. "Cause he said he was the white bear when I was it first!" he yelled back, though with not nearly as much power.
In a flash of rage, she picked up the boy by the back of his shirt's neck and held him over the smaller, crying boy. The stitch of his hemp clothes tore a little, and he began to flail. "LET ME DOWN MAGNA!" he screamed and tried to swipe at her with his shorter arms. A lean of her head evaded the slow, desperate swipe. "SAY SORRY!" She ordered sternly. At that point, a small gathering of the village's youth had surrounded the three, and the smaller bear had stopped crying. That was when a shrill, aggressive cry broke the chatter; Verka's voice. At once, all the wind in Magna's sails fell, and her heart sank to the pit of her stomach.
"Miss Verka! I-" She stammered and put the boy down. "For shame on you, young lady!" Bellowed the elder, who waved her cane threateningly at the taller halfbreed. Before she could respond, the boy she'd grabbed ran to the elder's side and sobbed all the way. "She punched me in the face!" he cried and made the punching motion into his own palm. "She WHAT?!" Cried Verka. "WHAT?! No! I didn't!" Of course, it was plenty obvious she hadn't. And with some defense from the onlookers, her name was cleared in that regard. The argument was settled when Verka declared that she would speak to both of their parents; Magna's for she had attacked one of the children, and the boy's for he had lied for the sake of drama. The hotheaded Magna stormed off in a temper, declaring the whole ordeal unfair, and school resumed without her.
She spent some time at the bridge afterward, where she lamented her actions. Her feet hung off the side as the cool waters ran below, and she looked to her hands. Hands that were capable of such atrocious deeds. With a sigh, she looked to the woods and wondered what laid beyond. She couldn't wonder for too long, as she soon heard the sound of squeaking wood and metal, and what sounded to be... Horses? Hoofbeats? With a sudden rush of energy, the halfbreed climbed to her feet, then ran to the source. How exciting! Visitors were approaching!
