Chapter 164
Natalie was surprised when Sophie came up to talk to her about a dream. After all, she had only seen the whole nightmare going on the night before last, and they had not even been together with her for a week. However, that did not phase her. If her new daughter was willing to open up about what was ailing her this early, she would be ready and take it head on. She would prove that she was capable of a mother, as well as a person who could be confided in for anything that may bother her. However, when Sophie started to explain her dream, Nat realized that it was not like the nightmare she had before.
"So, I woke up, but not really, in this weird foggy place." she explained, doing her best to remember what had happened. Immediately, Natalie went stiff upon hearing that Sophie's dream was one of the weird prophetic ones that she and Shannon had. Last night, she thought she had seen a bit of energy enter her, but she had dismissed it as nothing. Now it was clear that she had not been seeing things, but that she had actually observed the start of one of those dreams. Carefully, she listened to every single word that Sophie said as she attempted to describe the whole event. She said nothing when the orc came up, or when it was taken down. Calmly she just waited until Sophie was finished explaining everything she saw. Then, as she finished up, Nat asked her to once more recreate the sounds that she heard from the white creature.
Once she heard the sounds that were mimicked by her daughter, Nat had a pretty good idea of what the white blur had been. However, the behaviour seemed weird to her, until she realized that they were nearing breeding time for the birds. After all, that was the only time year-round when snowy owls ever made noises without anyone being near their nest. Or attacked anything larger than themselves. Otherwise, they were silent predators who hunted down smaller creatures, usually lemmings and field mice. They came through the area every now and then, but not in an active manner. However, they were far more common back where she grew up. Their sound was quite distinctive, as well as the fact that they were one of the most visually distinctive types of owls in the world. They were large, proud, and very fluffy. The thick down they sported, as well as their larger size had them rivaling some small dogs in terms of softness, if not outright beating them. "Sophie, was the blur you saw possibly an owl?" Nat asked, curiously.
"No, it couldn't have been. Owls go 'who', not 'Whoa', everyone knows that mom." Sophie replied, eyeing her mother with skepticism. At least, until Nat replicated the sound of a snowy owl perfectly. Sophie couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at her mother, for that was the exact sound that had appeared in her dream.
"That, my dear, was the call of a snowy owl. I grew up with some being around every now and then. Plus, I did work as a wildlife officer before the whole event. There were a couple injured ones that came through that I helped get strong enough to fly once more." Nat said, smugly. Sophie went silent at that, knowing now how well her mother knew exactly what she had seen. All she could do was stare slack-jawed at the woman, impressed and flabbergasted that she had known.
Later, when Shannon finally woke up and came out of the tent, Sophie had devolved down into question mode. Everything and anything about owls, she wanted to know and hear about. From how there were over two hundred different species in the world, to what sounds each one made that Nat was able to replicate. Of course, the first one that Nat had done was the signature who that most people stereotyped as the sound of an owl. Specifically, it was the sound of an eagle owl, which lived over in Eurasia. It had just been one assumption that had carried over with colonists hundreds of years ago, which had survived to this day. The one that Shannon walked out to was one of the barn owl. That one sounded just like a banshee shrieking, if not quieter and for a shorter duration. When Shannon gave a look as to what they were up to, Nat just signaled to her later.
Knowing she wouldn't get an answer immediately, she just started on breakfast. Today was just going to be a simple day of toast, covered in peanut butter and jam. It wasn't hard to set up, nor was Sophie needed to come help. She didn't mind though, as she was having fun hearing all the different sounds of owls that Nat knew. Neither of them left where they were seated until Shannon called them over, saying that the food was ready.
When they all gathered for food, Nat brought up the fact about Sophie's dream. Sophie looked at her, both questioning and fearful, until Nat explained that Shannon had experienced them as well. As had she herself. The entire breakfast talk had become them explaining to Sophie what the prophetic dreams they had before were like, and how they seemed to work, at least to their knowledge. All of this was to give context as to what her dream might mean, as well as what she could do about it. After all, would she need to help out some owls? Or would they be there to save her at the last minute? Was that what the energy wanted her to bond with? Or just an option put forward? Nothing was currently set in stone, especially with the vague nature of that dream. Throughout the whole discussion, Sophie just sat there and listened while eating her slices of toast. This was a lot of info at once, and she was doing her best to try and understand as much as she could.
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