River hasn't been the most outgoing sergal growing up. In fact, the village elders weren't sure if she'd ever come out of her shell. Instead of being handed around through the village like all the other young sergals, River clung to her father's side. Sira had been approached by the village elders about his daughters strange behavior. He didn't know what to make of it either, only said that River enjoyed being with him. He would take her up the Lyvank mountains some weeks to show her the beauty of the morning air, the colors that lit the sky and Talyxian forests below. The purple hues were daunting against the green but River could see the beauty in it all. Sira had agreed to try to detach himself from his daughter and allow her to grow up normally with the other village sergals. River wasn't too fond of that idea herself.

"Go on River, find what you need. Ask the Eltus, they will help you," he urged his daughter in a separate direction once they arrived in the busy marketplace. River flicked her ears and turned her smile into a frown as she looked around at all the bustle.
"I want to stay with you," she tried.
"No River, you're old enough to go on your own," he urged her away. This time he walked away to start shopping for the items he needed. River stood there for a moment as people passed around her.
"Hey, watch out kid!" someone yelled as they road their horse on by. River spooked at the thundering beast and ran towards her father to shove herself under his arm. Sira looked down in surprise but had to give a heartwarming smile at his frightened daughter. He knew she would grow up to be independent one day, this just wasn't the day. Until then, he would keep his daughter by his side, regardless of what the elders wanted. This was his daughter after all.

A short and sweet image. I digitized it from an older work doodle! I had a mini series of River growing up with her parents and learning skills from them.

River and Sira are (C) me
Sergals and all things Vilous are (C)