In Dire Straits - run, run, lost boy

speech ♚ thoughts

Little paws carried a little person hesitantly through the jungle. It was dark, and hard to see, and he had no idea where he was going in the first place. He didn't know how to track or scent or even catch his own food--this was only his first time out of the den, after all. But Mama was late! She always came back when it was dark... or, well, darker. But she hadn't come back the whole night, and Luke was really hungry! He was also sort of scared--there were a lot of things out here making noise, and none of them sounded like mama. She'd always told him not to leave without her, but she'd never been gone for this long!

What if something happened and she couldn't come back??? That would be terrible! He had to find her!!!

He wandered for a long time, letting out pitiful little mewling noises, trying to call out to her. She always came when he called, but this time she didn't. No matter how loud he got, no one came for him. Mama was gone. He hoped she wasn't gone like his brothers and sisters--they never came back. Once his voice got hoarse, he stopped calling for her, but it left him feeling a little hopeless.

Luke sat right in the middle of the path he'd been following and stared at his feet. He sniffled. What if Mama never came back too? Then he'd be all alone forever. He didn't want to be alone. Big tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped onto the ground beneath him. He was a quiet crier, if nothing else, only the occasional sniffle giving any indication that he actually was crying.

A branch snapped nearby and his little head perked up, but not by much. "M-mama?"

ooc: a lil plot approved by Oni!! Alteron's first (dun dun dun???) brainwashed lion bab. he's very young in this thread, probably a little younger than a cub that would be allowed out of the den. the general idea is that he'll grow up thinking he's a wolf and not realizing he's a lion, because he's so young now!

[Image: d3c9e2579315d28a1bd29291f71b5e6f.png]

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Certainly, she did not have permission to be this close to the border, and she knew that. But just like the most recent outings she's had, Rosalind felt that everything fun happened where she wasn't supposed to be. As long as she behaved, and didn't get caught, Ma would never know.

Actually, she was on her way back, deciding that today there wasn't anything in particular worth snooping around the borders for. Usually the perimeters offered more amusement. Not today, she figured... until she heard the obnoxious incessant mewing. The young girl ignored the calls at first, noting the daylight was slipping away fast and that meant she had to be home. But her curiosity was killing her.

In one quick motion she turned towards the direction of the mewing, her speed was picking up as the sound grew slightly louder. It was a weak noise, which made her assume the source wasn't very big. This was one advantage she had, still being small herself. When she finally got a glimpse of the whining creature, she ceased her movements at once; but not before snapping a twig. Whoops. She isn't as stealthy as she'd like to pretend.

"M-mama?" Oh, it speaks.

Rosalind popped her head up from the brush she took cover in, toothy grin spreading across her face.

“I'm not ya Mama, boy. But I can help ya find her.”

She leapt out of her hiding spot, leaves and small twigs attached. She crept closer to the small cub to investigate, “You've gotta real smushed face.” She dapped his nose with hers, giggling. She couldn't help it, she'd never seen such a compressed face before. She wanted to keep him all to herself, her very own new smushed-faced-friend.

It wasn't everyday Alteron found a feline wandering around its borders. Thus, it surprised Cuff a little when her nose (and ears) managed to catch wind of one.

The feline, when she found him, turned out to be a lion cub, and a very young one at that. But that wasn't the only surprising thing. A quick glance to his side also revealed something else. The little lion boy wasn't alone. There was a little dragon standing with him. A little dragon who definitely should not have been there. Cuff narrowed her eyes.

Shit.

Not wasting any time, she withdrew from the gloomy thicket, gliding towards the pair of children smoothly, deliberately scuffing her paws against the dirt to alert them to her presence. The glance she favoured Rosalind with when she stopped before them was sharp, but it wasn't necessarily scolding. In truth, the silver Outrider had never been that good when it came to disciplining children. She was even worse when it came to punishing her own.

Still, that didn't mean she didn't have any reason to worry. She knew who this child's mother was, after all.

"Something tells me your parents aren't aware you're out here," she told the little royal girl, quirking a questioning brow. "What are you doing so far from the Cathedral?" And at such a late hour, and so close to the borders too, no less. Cuff fought the urge to sigh. Children could be too mischievous for their own good sometimes.

She held Rosalind's gaze for a moment longer, simply studying her, waiting, before the sound of a small sniffle made her turn her head towards the other child. The outsider one. When she noticed his tears, she couldn't help but fold her ears back slightly and frown. She hated seeing children when they were upset.

"It's alright," she soothed, trying to comfort him, "don't cry. You're—" her voice nearly faltered, but she pushed on—"safe here."

He wasn't, not really, but he was so young. Too young. Would he even understand?

She lowered her head and smiled, and though the gesture was small, strained, and worn, it was still genuine.

"I'm Cuff. What's your name?"

speech ♚ thoughts

“I'm not ya Mama, boy. But I can help ya find her.”

He knew the girl that popped out of the bushes wasn't Mama immediately--she wasn't the right color! What he didn't know, however, was what she was. She didn't look like mama, but... he'd never actually seen anyone else besides mama and his siblings. Was this girl different or was he the one that was different?? Either way-- "R-really?" He sniffled again, but a hopeful little smile appeared on his face. Did she mean it?! She'd help find Mama?

He blinked in surprise when she booped their noses together, then giggled.

“You've gotta real smushed face.”

"Was smooshed mean?" He asked just as Cuff appeared on the scene.

Cuff was much bigger than both him and the other child, but she wasn't nearly as big as Mama, and she also looked different. These new people were so fluffy! His emerald gaze was drawn to their tails, eyes dilated in curiosity, and it took him a second to realize Cuff was talking.

"It's alright, don't cry. You're—"

He tilted his head as she paused,

"safe here."

He wiped at the last vestiges of tears that clung to his eyelashes and smiled up at the monochrome girl. He had no idea what safe meant, but she was using the same tone of voice that mama used, so he liked her anyway.

"I'm Cuff. What's your name?"

Name? Oh! He knew this!! "Lewcas!" He told her, drawing the letters out a little too much. "But Mama calls me Luke!" Then he remembered that Mama was still missing, and his expression went sad again. "Have you seen mama?"

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She felt bad for the young boy, who clearly missed his mama. She couldn't dream of being so far from her Ma. He was being quite brave considering the trouble he was facing, she thought. She began imagining if she would be just as brave - but quickly eliminated the idea from her mind, she'd never be separated from her Ma. She wouldn't allow the thought to even take place.
   "R-Really?"
The small voice helped to avert her notions.
   "Was smooshed mean?"
Again, she laughed. But before she could give him an explanation, she was interrupted. By an adult. Yikes.

She stared at Cuff with large, begging eyes. Was there anything she could get away with in Alteron? There was this continuous pattern of being caught and it was starting to make her feel belittled and small in this large territory. How much longer would she have to be confined within close quarters?
   "Something tells me your parents aren't aware you're out here. What are you doing so far from the Cathedral?"
She was quick to respond,
   “Well.. I heard'em. The lil boy was real loud here, I heard'em. He sounded like he was in trouble! Or.. or hurt! I hadda make sure he was okay, I was worried!” A bit of an exaggeration here, though she was sure Cuff would believe her. She held Cuff's stare, holding her breath all the while, bracing herself for the response.

But, thankfully, the young boy -- who she now could identify as Lucas -- spoke up. She listened intently as Cuff consoled him, taking a step closer to the female. Rosalind felt quite convinced by her safe tone, and felt as if she was gravitating closer to the soothing voice. She looked up to the grey female.
   “Well? Are we gonna keep him safe until we find his Mama? I bet Ma will be okay widit. Can we ask her?”

ooc just something quick to keep this going!

It was no secret how protective Cuff was of children. Watching the two in front of her now, she found that that feeling didn't change much, despite one's bloodline and the other one's predicament.

“Well.. I heard'em. The lil boy was real loud here, I heard'em. He sounded like he was in trouble! Or.. or hurt! I hadda make sure he was okay, I was worried!”

Red eyes steadily held red for a long moment, before the silver Outrider slowly blinked, relenting. "That's good that you wanted to help him," she said, softening her voice a little, "but next time, find a grown up first, okay? It's not safe out here. You'll only worry your family, too." She regarded the young Draconius a moment longer, letting her words sink in, before she turned her head when the other child spoke.

"Lewcas! But Mama calls me Luke! Have you seen Mama?"

From the tone of his voice alone, Cuff should have known better than to glance at Luke's face, but it was too late. When she saw that forlorn expression she'd seen him wearing earlier, her ears folded back slightly, and she faltered, just a little. "I—" And of course, that was just when Rosalind decided to speak up again. Cuff pulled her gaze away from the cub, secretly (guiltily) grateful for the interruption.

"Well? Are we gonna keep him safe until we find his Mama? I bet Ma will be okay widit. Can we ask her?"

It was almost funny how tense the silver Outrider's body quickly became at the mere mention of the Dragon. She stood very still in that moment, face carefully neutral, and for a brief, terrifying instant, seriously contemplated killing the boy. It would be easy. Luke was still only a growing cub, after all. Still so very weak and small. Just a quick snap of the neck would do it. She could do it in such a way that it wouldn't even hurt. It was better this way. He wouldn't have to grow up and suffer here, in the hands of others who would only seek to use him or do him harm...

But in the end, Cuff knew she couldn't do it, because she was weak, because she knew she didn't have it in her heart to murder a child. As much as she didn't want to, she forced her body to relax, nodding her head to Rosalind, smiling a little, the action a little stiff. "We'll... leave in a minute, okay? I just need to ask our little friend here something first."

She wouldn't leave with them until she was absolutely certain of something. Her heart demanded this. Sliding her red gaze back to the little lion cub, she spoke again, gently. "You're being a very brave boy right now, Luke. Can you tell me the last time you saw your mama?" It would help give Cuff an idea on how long he'd been out wandering on his own. She really hoped his mother was looking for him. She knew what it felt like to love a lost child.

She also knew what it felt like to lose one.

Eira, she thought, distantly.

Somberly.