In Dire Straits

Sunset saw the princess fuming and sulking near the royal den. She chewed a mysterious rib bone, gnashing and growling at nothing but the memories behind her glaring green eyes.

It had occurred only in an abstract way to Pareidolia that someone might want to hurt her. Innocent and privileged as she was with the gift of her thriving and gentle homeland, the dire-mix was far from stupid, and so too were her cagey parents. Someone had hurt her mother once, had pinned her down and slowly, very slowly, wrenched her hind limb from its socket. She did not know these gruesome details, nor was she ever told the tragic stories of Inarian monarchs past, but —

Now she knew. She could never un-know.

Her bruises, her bite marks, all her various ouches and miseries, they’d healed well enough. The medics here were skilled and veteran in their craft. Maybe there were scars, but they were concealed by wild, shaggy fur, and thank wolfgod for that... it would not do for a queen to have ugly disfigurements. A queen must be beautiful and fierce.

And had she been?

If she ever saw Shuck again, maybe she’d have her arrested by the elite guard and punished at the cost of one mad yellow eye. A queen must be just with her enemies. Maybe she’d let Leonora do it. A queen must be generous with her subjects.

The rib cracked loudly down the middle.

My my my my my my my, what a BEAUTIFUL evening it was. 

Murdock sat himself in the low hanging branches of some tree covered in purple flowers, which was very indigenous to this area he had found.  In fact,  there was a whole lot of purple in this place.  He was of course not one to complain, he enjoyed being in the presence of such beautiful flowers, they reminded him of- well something beautiful, and he liked that feeling.  Feeling beautiful.  It was a feeling he often relished in himself.  Today though, he thought perhaps he could relish another in this beauty.  

Someone who deserved it.  

Someone who was already beautiful.

Someone like Miss Goldie.  

Murdock hadn't seen Miss Goldie in quite some time, so naturally he thought he would go give her a visit, and bestow upon her the most beautiful crown of purple flowers that she had most likely ever seen, quite like this sunset.  Leaping from the low hanging branches, (which would have been easier of he just stepped down because they were literally a foot off the ground,) Murdock set off in the direction of Miss Goldies place, of which he had never been so hopefully he was going in the right direction. The omega made sure to greet everyone on his way to see Miss Goldie, giving "howdy's" and "Heya there pardner's" to just about everone who crossed his path.  Even if they did give him odd stares, he didn't care, almost forgetting he had Miss Goldies flower crown perched a bit crooked atop his head.  

Thankfully Murdock mustvescent carried on the breezy wind, and Murdock smiled widely as he been going in the right direction because Miss Goldies cent carried on the breezy wind, and Murdock smiled widely as he sing-songed his way to saying hello - "~Hellllllooooo Misssss  GOOOOLLLDDDiiiieeeeee.......  you're not miss goldie, but you smell like her, HELLO! HELLO!"  He smiled as he looked down on Mini Miss Goldie, the flower crown threatening to drop off his head entirely onto her, noticably smaller one.

Lost in her acidic thoughts, the young princess did not take any real notice of Murdock until he was practically on top of her. It gave away what a pup she still was, these obvious oversights, the social cluelessness — any of her three caretakers would have smelled the big white beast long before he arrived on their doorstep. She looked up at him, eyes wide and owlish, mouth agape before she realized the indignity and corrected herself with a ladylike ahem.

“Hello,” echoed Doli matter-of-factly, blinking and stretching out her toes to allieviate the tension she still felt. What a bizarre fellow. What was his deal? And who was — ?

“Miss Goldie? Are you looking for my mom?” She tilted her head to one side as if inspecting the source of an interesting noise. “What for?”

Don’t take that suspicion personally, Murdock. This girl’s had one bitch of a week.

“... I like your crown, by the way. Pretty.”

There was never a wrong time to compliment a crown. Crowns were fantastic.

When the little Miss Goldie said hello, Murdocks smile grew three times it's normal size, her voice was so sweet, and small, and cute.  Of course Doli might not like the fact that he called her cute in his head but, Murdock called it like he saw it.  And he saw it cute.  Especially when she stretched out her little toes like that!  She was not a spitting image of Miss Goldie, but he wasn't mistaken that she was the kid of Miss Goldie, and the next sentence she said, was proof of that.

"Miss Goldie? Are you looking for my Mom? Why?"

She tilted her head, and Murdock tilted his right back at her, "Why not?"  He asked back.  "She is a very nice lady, and I wanted to talk with her, we haven't had a talk in OH SO long, it's LOOOOOOOONG overdue!"  He said, smiling, tilting his head shifted the crown atop his head a little more, but it stayed on still, it was a trooper.  

"... I like your crown, it's pretty."

If his smile could grow any wider it probably would have.  "I ACTUALLY was gonna give it to your mom, BUT, since she's probbably off doing real important Miss Goldie stuff... May I give this pretty crown to you?"  He asked her, batting his eyes.  "It might be a Liiiiiiiiiiittle big, but you'd make it look so much more pretty on your head, then on mine."  He said, bending down now, and letting the crown slip from his head, onto her much MUCH smaller one.  As it slipped over onto her head, he stepped back, and sat down, lifting his two front paws to his mouth gasping- "You made it look SO much better then I ever could have thought, best worn by a PRINCESS if I were to have a say!"  In which he always had a say in EVERYTHING.

Because he was Murdock.

"You make it look B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!"

Silly jester, of course Pareidolia would never turn down a compliment! Cute was separated only thinly from beautiful, in the right light, and between you and I, the young princess was feeling... well, a little unbeautiful as of late. There was a thick, visible scab on her brow, where Shuck had split it wide open, and several smaller ones scattered just nearby. Her legs were still missing patches of fur. When she opened her mouth to speak, there was a chip in one tooth, as if she'd been slammed face first into a rock. Call it vain to fuss over appearances, but she was still a sheltered, insecure teenage girl...

Murdock seemed... off somehow. She was not sure by what knowledge she drew such a judgment. He brimmed with manic energy, always wiggling, always in motion. He had the broadest grin she'd ever seen. You're crazy, aren't you? she almost blurted out, before (miraculously!) stifling the impolite impulse. Yet despite this, and despite his sheer size, Doli deigned subconsciously to treat him as a fellow child. So what if he was mad, she thought as she tilted her head just a little more when he did, a cheeky challenge. At least he wasn't a pirate.

"Oh! You're her friend..." That was an odd image. Stern hawklike Haven. Cackling hyena Murdock. Well, they did say opposites attract. Pareidolia relaxed a little; surely he was okay if he'd gotten the royal seal of approval. "I don't think my mom has many friends, so you must be special." Cue the wince. They call it brutal honesty for a reason, Doli. She was about to ask him his name, figure out his rank -- from the look of his pelt and frame, she guessed maybe a soldier -- but that was blasted clean out of her attention span when he presented her with the crown.

"OH!" she said again, though this time it was more a squeal, and for a moment she completely forgot her brewing grudge, her perfectly good seethe. "Oh oh oh, it's for me? Are you being serious??" Doli shifted excitedly from paw to paw ala shiba inu, tongue lolling in a beam of delight. When he slipped it from his head to hers, her heart swelled with pride and joy. Yes... yes, a crown for a future queen! It slid down over her eyes a little, but that didn't matter, she'd just walk with her head high until she grew into it. Or until the flowers withered, but shh, let the girl pretend.

"I can get why my mom likes you," she gushed, reaching up to touch the crown gingerly, even a little reverently. Taken in by the flattery, given something lovely to covet, Doli was pleased indeed. "My brothers and sisters are going to be jeaaal~ous!"

They'd always had to share, given how many of them there were, but this crown would be hers alone.