A Temper Like a Storm Cloud PV Ōkami Faoláin

Interacting with: @Ōkami Faoláin Word Count: 504

Date: 4th of August 2026 (back dated) Location: Loch Ba, Isle of Mull, Scotland

The Loch glittered with the reflection of sunlight, a gentle breeze sending ripples over the surface.
It was a beautiful day. This summer had already brought some great weather; warm mornings, sunny afternoons, and even some days Taryn’s father called “a little too hot” as he returned gushing sweat and red as a tomato from a stubborn hour of working in the garden. Today however, was one of the more pleasant days. The perfect day to spend an afternoon at the shore of Loch Ba.
They had prepared a picnic this morning, their cosy kitchen crowded as Taryn and her mother packed hummus, different vegetables and bottles of water and elderflower syrup in a big wicker basket while Taryn's father cut bread and her sister washed strawberries.
When all was ready, they went outside. Taryn helped her father secure the basket to his broom and then watched as her mother placed a Disillusionment Charm on herself and on the broomsticks. Taryn's father put the same charm on Taryn and her sister. All of this was routine. These were their usual precautions for travelling per broom in broad daylight.
They all mounted their brooms, Taryn sharing one with her mother, and flew to the Loch.

***

Taryn was seated on the picnic blanket, holding her crochet project practically against her nose as she tried to get her hook through a previous stitch that was annoyingly tight. She had tried to crochet with less tension—every time her mother did a stitch for her, it looked so simple—but with little success.

‘Come on…’ she whispered, readjusting her hook. Every time she tried to work into the stitch, the hook slipped past it. Taryn groaned and let herself fall back onto the blanket.

‘Do you need help, honey?’ her mother asked, turning her head sideways to look at her daughter, and placing her book upside down on her stomach for a second.
When the family had arrived at the Loch, they'd placed their picnic blanket on their favourite spot beneath a birch tree, and immediately gone for a first swim, before having lunch with the four of them. After that, Penny had taken her camera and gone for a walk, while Taryn had returned to her latest crochet project and her parents had picked up their books.

‘No,’ Taryn said, sulking. ‘I’m tired of crocheting.’
She looked away. Her gaze landed on a couple of other people not that far from their picnic blanket. She hadn’t noticed them before.
She quickly sat up, her interest piqued, and watched curiously. One of them seemed to be a girl around her age. She’d love to say hi, make the girl's acquaintance. Perhaps they could play together—Taryn could use a change from her crochet project.
She got to her feet and adjusted her bikini top and swim shorts as she gathered her courage.

‘I’ll be right back,’ she said to her parents, before approaching the other girl.

‘Hi,’ she said, halting a short distance away from her. ‘I'm Taryn. Who are you?’

This is a private thread together with Ōkami Faoláin.