#elsewhere

"I have searched and searched, and fear that all of our pelts adorn the Hunter's walls. You should know this, you have his smell about you."

"Oh." Says Connor in a small voice.

They do recall a rather splendid cloak in black with gleaming fur trim that Lord Aiden sported last winter.

"Well, I don't think he knew you guys TALKED" Blossom maybe shallow but she defends the Baron. HE knows how amazing she is.

"Of course not." The Glimmerfox scoffs, "He's not a CHILDLING."

Rochallor looks sad "You mean only childlings speak fox?"

"Well, of course. Once you get too tall, your brains are too high up to understand." The Glimmerfox says, reasoning logically.

"That's why Squirrels are so dumb." He adds

Connor gasps, "I KNEW IT!"

The oldest of the childlings, Blossom crosses her arms to soothe herself. She had looked forward to being a wilder, but now, not so much. "Well, we're sorry for your loss. Uhm... what can we do to help?"

"Unless you can pluck friends out of the air, I don't see how." He says mournfully. "I'm just so lonely."

Rochalor gives the fox a hug, forgetting Dame Gwen's warnings that canines don't always like that "I was lonely just last week, it was horrible... nobody like me" True, for about 15 minutes, then he turned a corner and found connor again

The Fox blinks in surprise, but perks up a bit and leans into the hug. "I feel better now, a little, but soon you will go away and leave me all alone."

Blossom ponders "Where do Glimmerfoxes come from?"

A soft snort. "When a mommy glimmerfox and a papa glimmerfox love each other very much... " He pauses, assessing the childlings, then continues, "They dance all night and call to the moon and ask her to bring them a litter of little foxes. But I do not have a lady friend. I do not have any friends."

"I wondered" Blossom knows hanky AND panky go on for kithain, and has been told she'll learn more of both when she is an older wilder. Animals just mate. But she wasn't sure of Chimera. "Too bad we can't talk to the Moon, she might know where there is a lonely lady Glimmer Fox?"

"If you promise to look for a friend for me, I will give you my Moonstone. It reminds me of the Moon when she hides her face from the world."

Rochalor ponders and looks to Connor "Are there any Glimmerfoxs in Liversnail?"

"There are sky wolves, which are probably cousins. They are much bigger though."

The glimmerfox perks up a bit. "Oh, but I do not wish to leave here. This is my home."

"Maybe you could lure a girlfriend here." Blossom says "With flowers, sweet foods, lots of flattery"

"Will you help me collect flowers and sweet foods? Oh, OH! Do you know about... cookies?!"

Rochalor says "Know about them? WE sir, are experts"

"There used to be two-leg friends like you who visited. Dodo and Goldie, and Gio and Jon-Jon, Kal and Greeg, so many others, but not any for a long time. I am glad that you are visiting again, especially if you know about COOKIES."

Rochalor says "I'll visit you every third day that ends in why if I can, but also... well, maybe I can quest young man, and seek out a lady glimmerfox who is looking for a fixer upper. I hardly ever get to quest" a pause "And a cookie for you, and one for you, and one for Joe"

"You will visit?" His tail swishes happily. "Then YOU will be my friend. You are not a fox, but dog-boy here is close, and 4-leg friend has a lovely coat and tail almost as lovely as mine."

He does seem quite vain of his tial - but it IS a glorious tail.

He swishes said tail, and a small, round stone of gleaming white polished crystal falls free. He pushes this towards Rochallor with a paw. "Here, New Friend. The Moonstone I promised."

Rochallor takes it, "Thank you, old friend," he hugs the fox again "I'll warn you if I hear of any hunts. And... I think Dodo is old now, but there's a glilmmer in his eye that means a part of him remembers you, and it makes him smile"

"Oh! How lovely!"

"almost?" The centauress looks at her tail and hurmps

The fox does a little frisky motion, "Why, I almost feel like dancing again."

"Then dance!" Rochalor gets up and starts to dance... he is a horse pooka so he hoofs it well!

The glimmerfox begins his dance with a gleeful leap, his paws landing lightly on the soft earth, as he dances his way down the path, leading them back towards the glade.

Each step he takes sends a ripple of light through the air, the glimmering motes twirling and flickering around him like playful stars. His tail swishes elegantly, leaving trails of shimmering light that seem to dance with him, swirling in graceful arcs. He spins, his paws tapping rhythmically, a graceful blur of motion. His ears perk up as he moves, his eyes bright with joy, though as they enter the clearing, it is still quiet and somber, slumbering.

Connor dances along as he follows, he is quite uncoordinated, but he has the spirit!

"Cha cha real smooth now!"

"My friend Jack would hate this place."

Blossom actually dances, rather gracefully, and she ponders helping the fox anyway. Her birds have good eyes and maybe she'll have them look for glimmer foxes WIHOUT killing

Connor stops in front of the circle in the center of the glade and hops up and down. "The keys! Three keys to please the...fleas!"

A songbird, this boy is NOT

The feather and moon stone are ALSO fit in, "One, two, FIVE" Rochalor declarees

A soft hum rises from the earth as the keys settle into place. Slowly, the glade begins to awaken—light spreading out like a ripple from the circle. The trees shimmer as though dew kissed them anew, and the flowers unfurl, radiant in the soft light now bathing the clearing!

"OooOoooooo" Whispers Connor

"Pretty" Blossom admits

As the glade stirs to life, the quiet gives way to the rustling of leaves, the whisper of a gentle breeze, and the sweet, lighthearted trill of songbirds returning to their perches. The Radiant Songbird is there, leading a chorus of lovely music!

The motes of light left in the wake of the glimmerfox swirl higher, dancing among the trees, and laughter seems to hang in the air once again, as though the glade itself is breathing.

As the glimmerfox spins once more, the lights growing brighter and more brilliant with each step, a soft, melodic giggle interrupts the rhythm.

A pause from Rochalor "That wasn't my belly;it growls" The boy says

From the shadows at the edge of the glade, first a pair of eyes glow, then a silver nose pokes in, followed by a dainty female glimmerfox! Her fur a radiant silver-blue that gleams in the light of the glade. She moves with a coy grace, her eyes twinkling as she watches her fellow.

"Oh. Hello." He says, suddenly shy.

"I've been waiting for you to dance for me," she says with a playful tilt of her head, and as she smiles, her expression full of mischief and charm, the lights around her seem to glow brighter in her presence.

"Dance, dance!" Connor chants!

Blossom looks at the male fox "When a lady has to be the one to ask a guy to dance, she doesn't like being kept waiting TOO long. AHEM."

Rochalor advises "Dance like nobody is watching, even though EVERYONE in the world is"

He blushes at Blossom's remark, and with a bashful flick of his tail, he begins to dance again, this time with even more joy, knowing that he has an audience who has been waiting just for him.

He moves with a grace even Bluebell would envy, and finishes his dance with a final flourish—a graceful leap that brings him close to the new fox. His tail sweeps in a brilliant arc of light, and for a moment, the whole glade seems to shimmer as though filled with stars. As he lands he leans forward to touch noses with the female, and then they both turn as one, giggling, and dart off together into the forest, leaving behind trails of glowing sparkles in their wake.

Connor wonders to Rochallor, "Do we have to bring extra cookies now?"