[Ori]

Everyday he had found himself wandering farther and farther from home.  Each day he made sure to remember the steps he'd made so he'd be able to retrace them and go back home when he was ready.  There were still a few places he needed to check before he did eventually go home to Gemini, but he'd make sure to look everywhere in the forests surrounding these places beforehand.  It was a brisk morning, even with his fur the wind cut through it and chilled him right to the bone.  He shivered as the leaves crunched beneath his paws, what he wouldn't give for the warmth of curling up next to- well anyone really right now.  He didn't really have anyone back home to curl up next to, but the thought of it warmed him some.  

It had been some time since he had left home, and hoped that when he did return, he'd would be remembered and he wouldn't be some distant memory that no one knew.  But-  that was something he braved in order to find Kariya.  Family.  It was all he had, and though they were adopted- they were his family still.  He'd risk anything for them, even the thought of never being able to return to Gemini.  As much as it scared him- he'd risk it all to keep his family together.  He'd even risk death- as he already had running into many different wolves out here.  Some gentle- others not so much- one almost killed him.  But he forgave her, she was not all bad.  There was something inside her that was hurting, and he couldn't blame her for that. Miss Katti needed a lot of love, and Ori wanted to give it to her- but she left him before he was able to.  

So he kept looking- hoping to find some sort of answer about Kariyas whereabouts out here.  Blue eyes lifted up towards the dismal sky, small, white flakes began to fall.  One landed on the tip of his nose.  Lowering his head, Ori smiled as it melted there- then his eyes refocused and saw- could it be?  Miss Katti!  Up ahead only a little bit away.  His smile widened, and he began to run towards her- excited to see her again, to tell her of what he'd found since they last met. "Miss Katti-  Miss Katti!"  he called as he ran to her.  His long legs covered the distance in a small amount of time, and as he got closer, he realized- no.  This was not miss Katti- this was not Miss Katti at all.  And his face fell into a frightened grimace as he slid to try to stop, only to collide into the Katti look alike.  He stumbled backwards, mumbling apologies as he did so.  "I-I'm s-sorry.. I t-thought..You were.. s-s-sorry.."

[Oriana]

---

She, too, had wandered quite far from her home—

That small, fraction of naivety never left her, though, just rather it got stuffed down the darkest parts of her soul that got buried through the hardships of being Queen. Oriana still considered herself a Sabora, perhaps forever, but as the days passes and the sun continued it’s cycle of rising and setting, her hope started to fade and her bond began to fray. The speckled Queen, once a troubled, young princess didn’t know what direction she was being dragged on, but she knew she had company, family, and if there was one thing that the battered Queen could rip from Saboro’s toxic claws, it was her taught love for her family.

Her blood family— for she realized that was the only kind of family she could truly trust.

Just as the small white child was looking for someone, the cumbered Queen sought for something too. She’d likely forever look for her son, even if the chances were slim; Oriana grasped onto whatever fraction of her life she could keep her grounded. It was getting more difficult, as she could hear the quiet whispers of her sister’s words of not wanting to return, the calling, telling voices of her daughters and sons asking where she’d gone. Oriana’s heart was heavy, and it wasn’t particularly because of what she would return to, but what she would leave behind.

Images of her brother, her lost sisters, even her parents had fluttered to the forefront of her mind almost in sync with a distant call, like the world was reading her mind and forcing it open with scalpel and magnifying glass, searching, inspecting, PRYING—

"Miss Katti-  Miss Katti!"

The words made her heart and her body lock up. For a moment Oriana felt her whole innards in her throat, wondering if her mother was nearby, and if so, who was this small voice calling to her? Did she had more children? Is she even alive? Is Coven with her? A rattled breath escaped her as the young white wolf collided with her rigid, unmoving body. Oriana didn’t flinch, in fact, it was as if she’d been petrified on the spot. All that moved was her eyes, rolling down to the corner as far as they could strain to view the boy that came to a screeching halt, followed by his stammered apology.

"I-I'm s-sorry.. I t-thought..You were.. s-s-sorry.."

The Saboran finally unlocked her head and looked down, perhaps more imposing than intended; Oriana’s stoic, neutral face always left the viewer questioning what was truly going on within the confused, tortured mind of the damaged Queen. Inhaling deep, a sting to her lungs provided her a sharp reminder that this was real, it was happening, and this child had just called out the name of her mother. But he didn’t look familiar, or smell familiar, but he knew.

Oriana was both excited and terrified. She wasn’t ready to face her mother; to see her and have to admit her failure, her betrayal, her—

“How do you know my mother’s name?” Her maw moved without registration of her mind, and the words that spilled out were far from voluntary. Oriana tried to backpedal. “Who… Who are you? How do you know… the name Katti?” A near-whisper.

---

[Ori]

Ori had travelled with Sol Katti for days, they had spoken about many things.  Sol Katti had also attacked him for saying a name.  One simple name.  He was stupid to go around saying names again and again so openly- he was so naive, so young, so stupid.  He should not have left home- he was not brave, or smart, he was a scared little boy just looking for some purpose and a reason for his mother to smile again- to love again.  Bringing back her son would bring Serrate such happiness and joy.  He wanted that for her, for his pseudo siblings.  But he would not get that- any of it- if he did not survive out here.  

"How do you know my mothers name?"

The same seafoam eyes-

The same cold tone-

The same anger in her voice- This was not Sol Katti..

But they were so similar it scared him.  "I-.."  He was petrified, the last time he had seen this look in someones eyes, he'd gotten the scar so feverently placed across his eye.  

"Who... Who are you? How do you know... the name Katti?" 

Ori was shaking now, one of his imperfect defensive mechanisms.  Blue eyes darted around quickly, looking for a way out of this intense situation.  He looked back at her, she was so close, so intense- there would be no way he could outrun her if he wanted to.  As he shook, he dropped closer to the ground, tail tucked so far under him, he looked as if he had no tail to begin with.  "I- I.. m-m-met her onc-c-ce.."  He was able to stammer out, his vowels shaking along with his legs.  "I-I-I-...  O-ori.. My n-name is O-ori.."  There he went again- throwing out names, luckily this time it was his own.  It would seem throwing out names of people he knew was beginning to get him into bigger trouble then he wanted.

[Oriana]

---

The young figure was trembling before her now and Oriana felt… strange. How fitting for a ghostly child to appear to her in a time like this and remind her of her mother. The same mother that she feared confronting, to admit failure, to admit loss. Now, she had a petrified child at her feet and all she could do was feel strange sadness.

“Calm down.” Her tone lowered, still sharp in it’s feel. It wasn’t his fault that he’d stumbled upon a pandora’s box worth of mysteries, of pain, of betrayal, of everything that Saboro could shove in one chamber and let it fester and multiply.

It wasn’t his fault.

His stammering was similar to Cassiopeia’s. Oriana frowned, watching the shy, afraid little boy as he shook like a leaf in fall at her feet, terrified of the beastly thing she’d turned into. She couldn’t even fault him, for the crown did hollow her emotions and frost over her heart. “Shh,” An attempted coo, although nothing like she’d been able to do before. It hurt her to realize this. Taking a seat now, she exhaled quietly and closed her eyes, hoping to break the petrifying visual bond on the young boy.

“Slow down.” Oriana pictured her sweet daughter as she spoke, trying to imagine her fearful bi-toned eyes and her quaking frame. “It’s okay, nothing is going to hurt you. I need you to speak clearly, if you can—“ In the mess of the boy’s words she caught his name.

“—Ori.” She mimicked without register, until her eyes opened again and she felt as if she were looking into a mirror.

Time stopped. She blinked. Once, twice, three times, until the image of a red, black and golden child turned back into the icy, white child before her with blue eyes. He was like a ghost, a sign. A child who knew her mother and shared her name.

“Are… you lost?”

(I am.)

---

[Ori]

"Calm down."

These words seemed to be a constant plague in Ori's life, everyone always wanted him to calm himself- and he couldn't blame them.  He lived in constant fear- of everything, but it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help who he was as much as the wind could help blow, or the crickets to chirp.  Still, the fear was always there with him, lingering, nagging, always ready to snag him out of whatever happiness he could find.  But- he did as requested and attempted to calm himself, he took deep, shaking breaths.  But his eyes never left this lady- this almost mirrored image of Miss Katti.  

"Slow down.  It's okay, nothing is going to hurt you.  I need you to speak clearly if you can -- Ori."  

His shaking breaths began to slow, and the trembling all but disappeared.  He did not know why these wolves with golden fur had a way calming him so, but they did.  This golden lady had a soothing voice, more gentle then Katti's, but still had the underlying tone of- annoyance.  It was subtle, but Ori knew the tone well.  "S-sorry.."  He apologized.  It was second nature to him, apologizing.  Mind reeled back to Katti reprimanding him for apologizing, and he recoiled waiting for it from this golden lady as well.  However, no reprimand came, only words.  The world was confusing.  

"Are... you lost?"

He took a few breaths before answering, thinking over his answer.  He was not lost, not physically anyway.  He had been away from home for what seemed like forever, and there had been no sign of Kayira.  No scent, no tracks, nothing.  It was as if he just disappeared, a ghost not wanting to be found.  If he didn't want to be found, then why was Ori looking for him, why couldn't he just go home?  Serrate.  That's why.  "No..."  He whined out, before correcting himself.  "Yes... maybe?"  He wasn't sure where he was morally.  He was in a sense.. lost.  

But he knew how to get home.  

He looked up to the golden lady, eyes wet, but not quite in the verge of leaking.  "A-are you?"

[Oriana]

---

To little surprise her attempted appeal for keeping the youth relaxed didn’t help much at all. She could still see his little heart beat fast like a mouse, timid and afraid as a hawk loomed over him in inevitable demise. If anything the Queen noticed that he made a mighty effort to seem to have calmed down, but his tiny body tremors betrayed that. Still, Oriana decided not to touch on it again, hopefully finding a way to be less intimidating; as time passed his shaking did seem to lessen.

Oriana opened her mouth to speak again, words like ‘Don’t apologize’, ‘I won’t hurt you’ But she came to realize quickly that these things were likely the words this young child heard often. They were the knee jerk reaction to a personality like him, like the bible for a young fearful child. Instead, she simply waited for him to come out on his own and didn’t reprimand him for his choice of apologies, quaking or quivering. She’d be patient for him, perhaps for herself, too. Little did she know this young child could be the door she needed to get out of this lifeless rut.

"No... Yes... maybe?"  

Reminding herself again that he was just a boy, Oriana continued to feel out of touch with her motherly patience. Just as she managed to tame some of his nervousness, he in turn managed to help tame her hardened impatience. So much had happened since she raised children she loved deeply, the fledglings were political and lacking the same depth to love as her own, and now they all reminded her of her broken marriage and crown. This young white boy didn’t deserve her strife. “Do you live around here?” Finally she quietly hummed, trying once more to bring back that motherly tone she knew lived deep down in the hollows of her heart.

"A-are you?"

His wet eyes made her feel something. “Maybe, I don’t have a home right now.” Her face cracked in a smile, very brief, before it crumbling into an obvious painful frown. It as more transparent than she’d wanted, but she left a level of vulnerability for Ori; he was only a child. How could he possibly hurt her in ways others have in her moments of weakness?

“Tell me about yourself. I can tell you a bit about me, too.” A seemingly promising offer, but not without it’s catch. He may be a child, but she was no stupid monarch; youth can be just as deceiving as adults and she would not be so foolish to assume that his purity was all he had (Always so paranoid.) He may not hurt, but he could talk, even with a trembling voice. “You first.” Another gentle nudge, a quiet manipulation and keep control of the situation.

---

[Ori]

o r i  //

She looked so much like Miss Katti, all that beautiful yellow, and those eyes-

"Do you live around here?"

The question brought a wave of heartache to the boy.  While the answer was lost on his tongue, it was swimming, laughing, waving around in his heart.  Yes! He did! His home was so very close by, but- but he could not return to it.  Not yet.  He opened his mouth a little, a small whine escaped it, unintentionally.  He longed so much to go home, to run into the always loving arms of Serrate, to tell Deimos of his travels, and show her his new scars.  He wanted to tell Akira how far he had traveled, of the places he'd been, and the people he'd met, and of the things he'd learned along the way.  

But he could not.

"I-  I do. Live around here.  Yes m-ma'am."  He was finally able to stutter out, eyes focused on the blades of grass beneath his feet, sticking up between his toes.  But, they drifted upwards at the lady's answer about her home.  Those pale blue eyes, those ones filled with pain and heartache, only ached that much more for the lady's answer.  

"Maybe.  I don't have a home right now."

"Why?"  The question came out so much faster then Ori anticipated, he had thought to ask it in his mind, but instead it had slipped right out past his lips, and now hung in the air like a heavy fog. "I- I mean-  I'm sorry, t- that was r-rude."  He stammered, backtracking, trying not to make the lady lash out again, like her Miss Katti- like her mother.  He took a few steps back, distancing himself slightly in case she decided to reprimand- he didn't blame her if she did, it was incredibly rude what he had asked, but he still wanted a head start regardless.  

"Tell me a bit about yourself, I can tell you a bit about me, too.  You first."

But she didn't reprimand, instead, she prodded- asking him about himself, and as the trusting thing he was- he spoke.  "O-oh.. w-well.. um.."  Where to start?  What to say, perhaps in her wandering without a home, she might have stumbled across his pseudo-kin?  "M-my home, is called Gemini, and my mot-" You can't use that word Ori, not yet, "My q-queen is called Serrate, s-she adopted m-me after my p-parents and f-friend were -  well they were- a-after.."  He stopped, the lump in his throat grew too big to talk past, and he had to wait a minute for it to shrink.  He decided to skip forward, he was sure she could figure it out.  "S-so now I am l-looking for my brother, He d-disappeared after getting hurt from s-strangers... I need to find him and bring him home." His breathing sped up slightly, his throat tightened, and those baby blue eyes began to water once more.  

"I need to bring h-him h-home ma'am.. I j-just gotta. I g-gotta help Serrate."

Watery blue eyes looked up to her seafoam green.  Tears threatening to give way.

"M-maybe i-if I c-can't find him, I can at l-least give you a home.  It's what h-he would want me t-to do.."

[Oriana]

---

"Why? I- I mean-  I'm sorry, t- that was r-rude."

Oriana couldn’t help but smile. Ah, the ever questioning mind of a youthful child. She remembered those days rather clearly, the ones that didn’t last and when things felt like a true fairy-tale. The hesitance in her response led to the conversation to drift; nothing more came from the ex-monarch in response to the young boy’s stammering curiosity. She wouldn’t hit a child. She couldn’t even kill because of a child.

If only she were a better mother.

The dull reminder in the back of her mind caused her smile to drop a bit, finding herself fade away from the moment and perhaps make the pale boy wonder what happened, if he at all noticed. Thankfully for the brief moments of the buzzing in her ear, he didn’t speak, but once he did it pulled her back into her body and caused her to retain her focus.

"O-oh.. w-well.. um.. M-my home, is called Gemini, and my mot- My q-queen is called Serrate, s-she adopted m-me after my p-parents and f-friend were -  well they were- a-after.."

Oriana took that replace as an opportunity to snap out, quietly but reactive as if she had been poked with a sharp needle. “Serrate?” No, it couldn’t be. Surely there were others with that name? Closing her mouth she encouraged him to continue, a sudden thirst for information tugged at her like a dehydrated creature in the desert. Oriana didn’t interrupt him again.

"S-so now I am l-looking for my brother, He d-disappeared after getting hurt from s-strangers... I need to find him and bring him home. I need to bring h-him h-home ma'am.. I j-just gotta. I g-gotta help Serrate. M-maybe i-if I c-can't find him, I can at l-least give you a home.  It's what h-he would want me t-to do.."

So emotional, so vulnerable. Oriana wondered how this young child was left to his devices like this. If Serrate were that Serrate from Saboro, her great-aunt, then perhaps… this made sense. What kind of home was Gemini? Did it harbour the same viciousness as Saboro? And how… how did she never hear of this place before?

Oriana felt something unlock in her mind. Hunger, thirst, greed— All of the gluttonous, needy functions to find out more. It was added to her roster of renewal, of growth. Find Hircine. Find Gemini.

“I’m looking for someone too, perhaps we can help each other.” The words fell from her mouth as she seemed to look past the boy, blinking those doe eyes she exhaled quietly, lowering her voice as if to sound as gentle as a butterfly, landing atop the boy’s nose and encouraging him for exploration, an invitation; come, frolic with me, it’ll be fun! “— Would you… like that? We can find them and go to Gemini together.” The optimism tasted like plastic. Fake, but durable to withstand the possibility of failure.

“What do you say, sweet Ori?” (Yes, what do you say, sweet Oriana?)

---

@Gyr