March 16, 2003
The young females of the tribe are musing about which male would be good enough to be their lovemate.
"How about Lovemaker?"
Honeyhue played with her hair when she suggested her choice, but immediately, Silverwolf started to giggle. "Naa, he's far too old, Honeyhue!" Dapple laughed, while Honeyhue looked a bit disappointed.
"Well, at least we have to choose someone other than Mystic, right? Tendril's snatched him away in front of our eyes!" That wasn't the whole story, but the threesome liked the explanation Dapple gave.
Silverwolf sighed. "Mystic adores the earth that Tendril walks on," she muttered. "I'd give everything for a lovemate like that!"
The three of them were talking about whom they would choose as their lifemate, if they had the choice. Honeyhue had snatched away some dreamberries from her foster father's place and eventually, the intoxicating berries started to do their work. The three girls all started to open up.
Dapple regretted the fact that Tendril hadn't joined them but regarding her newfound lovemate, she could understand why, and she was happy for her; however, she also felt a bit of jealousy. Although she loved her soul sister very much, it seemed that she was always one step ahead, and Dapple didn't like that much. Honeyhue's words swung her back to reality.
"So would I," Honeyhue smiled, "Although I like men with experience. What about Rock?"
Dapple looked stunned. "Too many reasons not to choose Rock. What kind of lifemate would he be, hopping from the one female to the other? No, bad choice," she spoke with twinkling eyes.
Silverwolf laughed, and spoke: "But you can't say that he doesn't have any experience!"
"Hmm, I don't know," Dapple muttered. "What about Willow Walker?"
Honeyhue shook her head. **He has a cute face, but he's too proud. I doubt that a male or a female will ever fit next to his ego in his den. He should pick a new, larger tree when that happens!**
For a moment, they were unable to speak, bursting out in laughter while they saw the picture Honeyhue projected in their mind with her send.
Silverwolf pushed her hands against her belly. "It hurts," she laughed, but the laughter faded away when they looked above them. They had company.
The female with hair as black as a raven nodded, and the three maidens wondered how long she'd been there. Dapple felt the building tension; Shadowpool did this often. Sneaking upon people and watching them with a glint in her eyes as if they'd gone mad, but just at the moment that her impatience and temper burst out, the female sent: **What about Bladeshore?**
Three pairs of eyes glanced at the mysterious female, not quite knowing what to answer but finally, Silverwolf nodded. "I like him," she spoke slowly. "At least he's not as reckless as Ravencloud, and he can talk seriously. He doesn't treat me like a cub."
It seemed that Shadowpool smiled, but it could as well have been something else. Honeyhue shook her head. "If I had the choice between Bladeshore and Ravencloud, I'd pick the latter. He's just too serious for me, and Ravencloud has at least the feeling of adventure."
"But he doesn't have the experience," Silverwolf smiled, but Shadowpool shrugged.
"I can teach him," she winked, which caused another roar of laughter. Dapple had her doubts considering Shadowpool, but it seemed that she was up for some laughter today.
Suddenly, Summerset walked by and stopped for a moment to catch some words and she smiled, not wanting to interfere.
"You don't have much experience either," Dapple giggled, and Shadowpool grinned.
"More than you have," she swiftly replied. "Okay then. Who'd you choose to get your experience from?"
"Rock," the three youngsters promptly answered. Shadowpool snickered and shook her thick black hair out of her face. Honeyhue sighed. "But still, there are so few males available," she muttered, and Dapple nodded.
Dapple knew how Mystic had adored her before he turned his eyes to Tendril and somewhere she regretted that she didn't take her chance, but it wouldn't be fair. "Males will crawl for us when we're older!" she spoke vainly and narrowed her eyes.
Summerset shook her head and with a smile, she appeared below the branches where the youngsters sat. "Why, Dapple, why only focussing at the males? We females have so much to offer…" she winked temptingly. While Honeyhue and Silverwolf snickered behind their hands, a red blush appeared on Dapple's cheeks. She felt uncomfortable under the warm, penetrating gaze of the weaver.
Summerset smiled brightly to the four elves before she continued her way, grinning.
Dapple didn't dare to look up; she could hear her friends laugh and couldn't get rid of the uncomfortable feeling and was glad when Shadowpool came to the rescue. "I think I'll stick with Bladeshore."
"I-I like him too," Dapple startled, and Honeyhue sighed deeply. "Then you two share Bladeshore. I'll take Ravencloud. What about you, Silverwolf?"
The youngest of the four wrinkled her nose. "I think I'll stay with Snowspear," she then bluntly spoke, satisfied.
When the night slowly faded and made place for the day, the tree was filled with laughter of the four young females.