The birds seemed to chirp their songs discordantly today, confusion having set in from the curtain of darkness that had fallen over the swamp. Though Return had awoken on time, used to rising before the sun in the months where the work needed to be done this early in the morning, the time that had passed since felt like an age and a moment all at once. The dark sky was unmoving, only flickers of light in the distance from zikwa or glowing little critters seeming to brighten his path as he walked.This was an unfortunate time to be expecting.
Return did not claim to particularly... know Sleeping Terror. He was familiar with her, at best. The lumbering Totoma mare had oft taken her time perusing his gardens in whichever form seemed to please her in the moment. Yet they hadn't much spoken beyond a knowing nod or tip of the head every now and again. To be frank, he was... somewhat intimidated by her. Anyone would be. She was massive, and could probably kick his teeth in if she felt like it. And rumor had it she often felt like it.
So it was with bated breath that he approached the near-mountainous lump of a mare, her legs tucked under her as she slept against a mangrove tree. Every little snore or huff in her sleep made him jump just a bit.
Once he was just a few feet away from her, he must have stood there in silence for a good minute or two before finally daring to clear his throat.
Slow as mud, one of the mare's eyes opened.Shaking her head as wilted petals kicked up a storm around her, she pulled herself to her feet. She took a few steps forward, before she stood close enough to Return to the Soil that he could feel her breath on the top of his head. And oh boy was she glaring.
"What, young one," she growled, the words coming from deep in her chest as she stared down at him with glowing red eyes, "is so important that you needed to wake me up in. The. Middle. Of. The. Night?" Each word from her mouth seemed to grow louder and louder until it was a roar.
Return shivered, dipping his head. "Um, about that."
"It better be pretty good!" howled the Totoma.
"Well. Ah. It's. The middle of the day, actually-"
If Sleeping Terror had opposable thumbs and hands she would be pinching the bridge of her nose right now, but as she had neither of these things, she simply made a face. "Do I look stupid to you?"
"No! That's why I'm here- I... Well, I'm concerned about all this, and I'm concerned about my children," he managed, reflexively scrambling a few paces backwards to get out of kicking-range for the mare. "If this continues long, the plants will begin to wilt, there may be famine, they may have trouble surviving- It's. It's not the way of things. Something is wrong, and I wanted to come to you for guidance."
The mare huffed, looking up at the sky, and then looking around her. Something about her demeanor said that she was trying to figure out if she was just having the wool pulled over her eyes or if the kiokote was actually telling the truth. But it seemed there was something about his desperation that convinced her, just a little. Still, she sounded dubious. "Young one, I fight things. Not concepts. Not darkness. If you thought I could just bring the sun back on a whim, I'm afraid you're not getting anywhere."
Return visibly deflated.
Terror shook her head. "But perhaps your children can. I can offer them only the will to live and the drive to fight. If it is darkness they are fighting, they will have to learn how to face it on their own."