In Dire Straits - For Your Future's Sake [Crocus]

  It's often the girl goes wandering. She needs supplies for her craft, and it never hurts to find something pretty for someone prettier. Rabbits are her current quarry-- small, but the softest fur in the forest, and she'll have only the best for Sarissa. The small thing wandering the woods, however, is not nearly fast enough to be a rabbit. Or afraid.

  There are no litters she knows of-- barring Sari's half-siblings, as of yet unborn, and the Chariot's green is nothing to this degree. She approaches the puppy, scanning her surroundings for his parents, racking her brain for packmates. He's so singular looking.

  "Who are you?" she starts, forgetting her manners in the confusion.

Whose are you?
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This whole “hunting for yourself” crap was already getting old but for whatever reason, the Sun thought it would be a good idea for Cro to give it a shot now and then. “Start small – I’m not expectin’ ya to take down a deer or nothin’,” his father would tell him.

Well wouldn’t that just be a kick in the pants if Crocus actually presented a big ol’ buck to his dad. He smirked at the thought.

Crocus knew there would be food waiting for him when he made his way back to the den – his father was adamant on teaching Cro lessons, not starving the child – but the green boy would feel far better if he came back with a prize in the grips of his maw, even if it was a mouse or a young rabbit. After all, his aim was to make his father proud.

He huffed through his nose, upset that he wasn’t finding any scents to track. A dust cloud fluttered around his snout and he pulled his head up from the ground’s level as a voice rang out from behind him.

“Who are you?” The voice asked, and Cro turned around at once.

Cocking an eyebrow, he studied the lady who was clearly older than him, though seemingly dainty in stature (he compared most to the size of his father). As he turned around to face her, she would probably notice then that he was not near the size of a mere rabbit, and was in fact quite bulky for his age. He had some pretty big paws to fill out.

He liked to think he took after his dear old dad.

“An’ why should I answer to you?” He retorted, cocking his head to the side. Certainly not the manners his father had taught him, but when he was out on his own, it was Cro’s world.

He’d watch the woman with curious violet eyes and wait to see what sort of a response he’d get out of her.

A E S T H E T I C

Her head tilts, unphased. "Nobility, then." A squint, and her head shifts the other way. "You remind me most of Orcrist, but I know all of his." Intimately. Mia's demeanor stays soft, even if her voice has sharpened slightly. Why should I answer to you?

I'm older than you. Smarter, too. Stronger. I'm the daughter of the wraith, mate to one of the few Swords. I survived Oukoku-Kai. I killed to be here.

She smiles, instead-- the kind that closes the eyes. "Because I asked nicely."

Because I could kill you, here, in the brush, before you're old enough for it to be a challenge, and no one would know.
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“Nobility, then,” the grey girl mused. Crocus nodded his head at the remark, pleased that she seemed to have caught on so quickly. He took pride in who his father was and wore the title of Royalty loudly. Yes, his father was of the Major Arcana - but he was higher on the totem pole than the Chariot.

She started making a guess and Cro laughed. Wrong. But she knew that, so he didn’t need to tell her as such. She was doing so well, too. A shame. Unsatisfied with her claims of having asked him nicely, the green boy hummed lightly. It wasn't a good enough reason for Crocus to spill the beans just yet - he wanted to play a little more. “Guess again. I’ll give ya two more guesses.” He told her, a cheeky smirk tugged at his lips as he studied the greyscale girl with bright smithstone eyes. Surely she’d guess right by the third, though there were more names than guesses available to her.

Crocus sat then, enjoying this little game he’d created. She already knew he was nobility, so it only made sense that she’d play along with him. At least that’s how it worked in eyes of the Sun’s progeny. The poor boy was under the impression that his words were in the shadow of his father's, but he was young and his head was full of his father's praise.

One day Cro would learn the world is full of surprises. One day he'd learn that things did not truly revolve around him and his father.

Today was probably not that day, though.

A E S T H E T I C

The child laughs, and Miasma cocks a brow as he insists she try again-- evidently entertained. "Higher?" There's only one caste above that, these days. Bodily, he's built the most like Falco, but oh... oh gods, no. Fine, she'll play along. It's been too long since the girl's had a good game. "You sound like the Dragon, but she's long gone. I know Telana hasn't whelped ..." Azuhel's children are of breeding age, though-- particularly those with Crow.

Realization washes over her, and a hint of anger. "... Cocytus?" She didn't know he was mated-- she doesn't know much, really. Miasma's fur fluffs a little, sniping over a pair of pressing steps closer, "Who's your mother? What's your name?"

Why don't I know?

She needs a chat with the Sun, suddenly longs for her dad. Imagines him a little older, an invalid, trapped in her rotting workshop with only Miasma for company. She should be all he needs.

Crow has so many children, you couldn't even name them-- you won't even recognize them in Oukoku-Kai. Like his father, like his sons. You already had so many siblings-- you don't need this. You don't need anyone else.

A new horror-- a lower tone. "How many in your litter?"

How many need to die this time!?
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Somewhere along the line, Miasma grows irritated. Angry, maybe? Cro can’t tell immediately, but he smiles lightly as she guesses his father’s name. Question after question flows from her as she grows noticeably antsy.

Cro simply listens to all of her questions, waiting for her to finish before he attempts to answer them. She’s so curious now, and Crocus felt he had a bit of an upper hand in the situation. If he was smart, he’d try to gain something back for answering the questions she had, but he was too excited to be unknown to someone who seemed to think she knew so much about the pack.

Raising his head high in pride, he looks at her with a glint in his eyes. “Well, you’re right in guessing Cocytus is my father. And only in one extra guess!” He smiles at her. “Sure killed that game quick.”

Cocking his head to the side slightly, he considers the other questions she’d asked. “Now… What was all the other questions?” He mused quietly to himself. “Oh ya, first, my mom. Well. Mom ain’t around, it’s just dad ‘n’ me. Dream team – dynamic duo, if ya will.” His smile widened. What more could Cro ask for, anyway? Didn’t need a mom, didn’t need any siblings. Cocytus and Crocus made a stellar team, and Cro thoroughly enjoyed being the center of his attention all day, every day.

“I guess since you guessed right, I can tell ya my name. Crocus. Cro for short. The only son of Cocytus, the Sun.” He nodded his head then, punctuating his response with a slow blink of his violet eyes.

Then, “now, don’t you think you should be introducing yourself to me?”

A E S T H E T I C