·✧•· 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒐𝒓 · 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 ·✧•·

· ☾ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏 ☽ · ﴾𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔﴿ ·

Like a flash of lightning, amber eyes suddenly open to meet the warm rays of a new morning. The collective chorus of songbirds fills the serene stillness of the forest.

Unhurriedly, the mumrik comes to life.

He rubs his face as he patiently waits for his senses to seep through his drowsy haze. Sitting up, he lets his hands fall to his lap whilst dragging out a nearly feline-like yawn.

Snufkin was a bit puzzled as to why he didn't feel any different from yesterday. Though he couldn't understand why he was expecting to feel a change. Then he reckoned most people tend to feel that way on their birthday, as they linger in the anticipation of growing older each year only to find themselves in the same place as the start.

He didn't give it too much thought as he began to dress and welcome the day.

The young man takes a while to stow away his doublet and archery gloves in his rucksack. Eventually, he emerges from his tent. Nothing changed much about his appearance other than the lack of his action-ready attire.

Happy with the simplicity, Snufkin caps his wild hair with his hat. He takes in a gust of pine-laced dew and sighs pleasantly as he exhales. As his weary expression softens with a relaxed smile, he begins his aimless trek into the woods.

As much as Snufkin wanted his first act of the day to be greeting the moomins, he knew that would lead to endless good wishes and being smothered with gifts. Mostly from Moomintroll no doubt. Though he was never bothered by the generosity of his friends, soaking up all that attention would suffocate the mumrik rather quickly.

He just needed a few hours to clear his head before having the rest of the day dedicated to him.

The woodland was flooded with the warm haze of sunrise and the delightful chirping of sparrows.

Snufkin walked a long way, to the point where even the land around him became unfamiliar. Of course, he didn't let that deter his glee.

He enjoyed the sound of his lone steps grazing the damp soil as well as the way each warm-colored leaf crumbled beneath his stride.

The trickle of a nearby river beckoned him.

As he came closer to the soothing ambiance of streaming water, his eagerness bundled with the collective sensations already built up inside him. His emotions swell and swell until...

"Leave me where the moonbeams carve through the leaves like blades... Lay me in the tall grown grass in a shallow grave... Let it have me~"

The mumrik's serene tone echoes through the evergreen; his charming tune breathes new life into the natural sounds of the world around him.

"For a while, I was held by the myth of the lost pathway... In the spell of the night and the lights of the great white way... I ain't lonely... Are you?~"

Coming up on the river bend, Snufkin skillfully and joyfully leaps from one stone to the other. Landing on the other end of the creek, he carries on his stride, merrier than before as he sings to his heart's delight.

"Send me to the mountains let me go free forever!... I'll be running through the forest, dancing in the fields like this, forever!... Long lost─"

Suddenly, a barrage of crows soars out from the brush behind him.

Some nearly struck the vagabond as they flock away, croaking loudly until they all eventually disappear into the treetops.