2024-06-27 - A New Type of Sound

Neath stirs from sleep to investigate the new presences on the sands. It isn't often there are new minds so close - of course it's intrigued, though it does find itself a little miffed that they'd come while it had been resting. They come close, closer, closer still - closer than most have been allowed to come at all. What is this about? Is it important? They hope so, otherwise it might keep happening. Important things, it has learned, tend to happen less often than unimportant things and it likes it that way, though they still happen too close together for its liking.

Mother seems pleased. That soothes it - if it is important, it's a good important - and so it settles and waits. There's not much else for it to do, of course, but there's a difference between waiting for a good thing and waiting for a bad thing. It thinks. It hasn't had many bad things to wait for yet. Maybe you don't wait for bad things - maybe they simply happen and you don't know about it beforehand.

What happens next is... Confusing. It's never heard Mother make noises like this, nor has it heard Mother's bondmate (it still doesn't know what that means. In its own time.) or any of the other presences that come nearby do anything similar. It's mildly alarming at first - Mother doesn't mind it so it can't be bad, but what is it? Is it supposed to be getting something out of this? It tries to listen for words or... Something to hold onto, but there's nothing.

Neath pays attention for the first few songs, trying to understand what this is for. It's too focused on trying to understand to even attempt to appreciate, and so it's left frustrated when the Harpers finish up and leave. What was all that about?