With the absence of Callisto, it was hard for Calder to find his place among his new family members. Armai was...well, a sister, but Lian and Zola were something else entirely. It was obvious they held only dislike for him and his full sibling - they made no attempts at hiding those sentiments - and though it was difficult to live with their constant pushing to keep him down, he still fought against it. Lel said he was his son, Lel said that Jian was his mom now too; they were just mad because they refused to share. 

But Calder was determined. This family was his so he intended to make it so, at least as far as his parents were concerned. It was already obvious there was no chance to change the minds of Lian and Zola, but that did not mean Lel and Jian were going to dislike him. No, he wanted to impress the both of them. He might have looked less like them than did any of the rest, darkly coated save for the tip of white upon his tail and the speckled lines his sister said sat beneath his eyes since he had yet to see them for himself, but that only meant he needed to work a little bit harder. It did not, however, mean it was impossible. 

Completely determined, refusing to admit defeat, the bold, dark boy padded about through the snows outside of their towering den, his little nose working away at the end of his muzzle. He was searching for something, anything, of interest that he could get and bring back to show off to his dad and new mom, eager to please and eager for their praise. So long as he had their validation, he could live with everything else. "C'mon, where are you?" he mumbled frustratingly below his breath, his youthful voice a quiet growl as he moved with his head down and white-tipped tail up. There had to be something - a flower in this mess of cold and white would have been nice for Jian, a half-eaten carcass that he could pass of as his own catch for Lel. Brows knit with intent, the boy kept searching. 

 

(OOC: I hope you didn't mind the little power play kat :x if so do what you want xD) The snow wasn't so bad once the blizzards were gone. Zola still didn't like the cold too much, but she didn't mind snuggling up to Lian and even with their parents to keep warm. But today, she dragged her brother outside to play out in the snow, which was weird because she was finally coming out of her shell and wanted to explore. She heard the tiny clipping inside the metal giant, knowing that the stride was too quick for Lel or Jian, so she knew it had to be one of the wretched children that the black lady left behind. So her ears perked to the noise and then she ran over to Lian and began to push him closer to the forest by their den in order to hide. She ran beside him and pulled at the hairs on his stomach before taking off towards the woods. "Come on!" She shouted with a hoarse, almost whispery voice. She ran behind one of the shrubs close to the edge and looked at Lian with a quick return to her new "brother" that came out of their den. She watched in amazement as he sniffed around the ground in search for something. An evil giggle escaped her throat and she whispered, "What do you suppose we do?" Walk "Talk" Think

With the black woman gone he had more time to focus on his children, keeping an eye on the newest pair while trying his best to keep tabs on his first litter. The latter were growing bigger each season and more independent, which made watching out of them a bit harder and yet he had to trust that he and Jian had raised them well. That they could hold their own. For now he was focused on Calder, his younger son. Violets watched as the boy padded further from the entrance of the ship. Tail tucked neatly against his leg and form pressed into the snow he would be rather hard to spot. He had been watching when Zola and Lian had left, deciding to watch for their return, camping out just a bit aways from the hole in the metal beats’ hull. Then the younger boy had poked his head from the den and the snow white male’s attention was drawn to the pup. He seemed to be searching for something. A flash movement from the forest beyond drew his gaze once more and he assumed his first brood had found their half-brother. Silently the male would watch, waiting. He had not failed to note the animosity between his older litter and the first and while it annoyed him that they could not get along he knew one of these days things would be settled between them. So for now he would wait, looking to see exactly what would play out before him. "Speech"

 

The boy had been rather surprised when his sister pulled him out into the snow, he had healed quite well, nothing permanent had been placed on him and life returned to normal. Though he'd vowed that he would do his best not to scare Zola that way again. She'd been so worried for him, so much that she'd shed her tears for his safety.

As they played easily in the snow he would think that her motions were just part of the game and as she pushed at him he would try and push back, but then he heard her words. She'd pull at his fur and he'd scowl unappreciatively, but would follow all the same. As they hid his icy blue gaze would be directed toward the small form of one of the brats that had come from his father's toy. With every day that passed he would grow more curious about her purpose, and why it was their father insisted on keeping the terrible children.

Zola would hiss at him darkly as he watched the boy, her question causing him to blank. He would have stayed out in the open, and made him go back inside. It was their turn to play. However she seemed to need something more diabolical. "We should scare him so he never wants to come outside again." He would nod, though as to how he wasn't sure.

(OOC: The way the thread is moving right now, I thought it would be better to post Zola next ;3) Lian's idea was pretty reasonable... Nothing that could make Lel angry with them. Nothing would cause any serious harm. Zola sat up a little straighter, her ears flicking in many directions but her eyes never left her little brother wondering the open space. She was thinking on what they could do... And a vague idea struck her mind but she wasn't all about explaining it to Lian. Maybe a good idea... maybe a bad. It wasn't like they could just jump out of the bushes and yell "boo." So seeing it as the first idea to come to mind, she took immediate action. Her body sprung off her haunches as she flew through the bush, sticks prickling at her and catching in her fur enough to make her look a little frazzled. She may have caught a couple puny cuts under her coat, but nothing that would make her die. "Oh, Calder!" She ran as fast as she could to her little brother, putting up a pretty nice act if she could say so herself... "Calder, help me!" She slid to a stop behind him, trying not to make eye contact though her eyes were filled with fear and she even tried to make them tear up a little as she looked toward the forest where she came. "It's the Bandersnatch! He's coming for us!" She wondered what Lian would do... If he was analyzing his own plan or if he would just sit back and watch. But what fun would that be? Surely he had something on his mind... Walk "Talk" Think

OOC: I hope you don't mind me throwing Mai in!

The smaller pup of Callisto's brood wriggled about as she felt the warmth and presence of her brother leave her side - just as the soothing scent of that large fluffy lady had disappeared. Armai had waited impatiently for the return of her mother, but the woman had never come back, and so - as she always was when Calder was away - the silver pup was sent into a panic. Sure, she may have no longer been an infant, an absolutely helpless, squirming newborn, but she hadn't seemed to grow out of her tact for crying and whining when distressed. So, it was only natural Armai let out a sorrowful yelp.

Time passed without the arrival of her brother in response to her call or of a parent's appearance to check on their child's yawp. As the shrill echoing of her cry began to dissipate the babe grew antsier, and for the very first time she decided she'd abandon the safety and comfort of the den of her own free will. She'd had yet to develop any sense of child-like curiosity, or any want to do something other than snuggle with whoever was near enough and so she'd found that nothing had ever compelled her to explore the world outside.

Unsteadily, the girl rose to her paws, her movements shaky as she followed the only path she could easily pick up - Calder's scent. Despite her blindness the girl had managed to iron out the stumbling of her steps with practice and encouragement, but it was her current sense of alarm that made her move slowly and sloppily as she wobbled behind Calder.

Innocent anger bubbled up in the pup's chest as she thought of the ordeal she was going through simply because her stupid brother couldn't stay put - it was this sudden rush of annoyance that caused the girl to quicken her steps and release a bewildered whine in the direction it seemed her brother had went, "Caaaaaaaal?"

But her first adventure wouldn't be so easy as the overwhelmingly dull scent of the snowy outside mixed with the scent of her brother and sent the sightless babe spiraling into confusion. For a moment the silvery girl stood in the snow, unsure of where to go and lost in her imaginings of what would happen if she could never get back to the den - when the sudden yell of a familiar voice broke though her daze. Fright forced Armai to the ground, her downy tufts of fur mashing into the snow beneath her as she cowered. The quickness with which Zola arrived on the scene had distressed the pup, and the creature which her sister spoke of - a Bandersnatch - only intensified it. Armai instantly believed Zola's hysterics without having to see her frazzled appearance or convincing portrayal of fear, she'd had no reason to suspect anything. Unlike her brother Armai had not yet sensed her older siblings hatred of her, she had however realized they took great care to never spend time with her, and as such the siblings she barely knew held a certain air of mystery to them ... they almost compelled Armai's curiosity.

This was no time for curiosity however, this was a time for fleeing and hiding. If I could see I would have never ventured this far in the first place, she thought as she began to place the blame on Calder, she would have been completely content watching - or rather, listening - from the safety of the den as he was eaten by this Bandersnatch!

 

The boy was bold in his wandering, unafraid of what the world held beyond the safety of the structure that housed his family and far too determined about his mission to give it more thought than suspecting his desired finds to be hidden somewhere nearby, awaiting him to locate them. And Cal tried, in his own way, impatient and irritable, marching about through the tricky snow and trying not to get distracted by the scents that wafted in around him. There was plenty to distract, particularly with it all being so new to him, but this was important. He needed to stay focused. 

And he would have, had Zola not called out for him. His incessant wandering stopped the second he heard her voice, his lanky pup body tensing uneasily as his silvery blue eyes shot her way. What did she want? And why was she in such a hurry? Knowing how much she detested him and his sister, knowing full well there was no love lost between them, it was hard for him to consider in that moment, even seeing the panic and fright that she convincingly portrayed, that she was glad for any reason to see him. Another voice - that of his clingy littermate - called from a spot closer to the family's den structure, but he only managed to wrinkle his nose. What was with these girls today? 

Zola seemed to have her reason, and it was something that went by the name of Bandersnatch. Confused, Calder looked back in the direction she had been racing from, seeing nothing that gave reason to her racing or her frazzled appearance. "I don't see anything," he answered with bold condescension, the look that he offered her as skeptical as it was patronizing. Was she seeing things? How silly she must have been to be frightened by nothing and have to come to him for protection! And here he thought his older siblings were strong and independent. 

 

A sly grin would make its way over his maw as he saw the approval in his sister's features, she liked this plan. He would keep himself behind, letting her throw herself from the bushes and put on her best scared face. He did his bets not to laugh, he didn't want to give away his position just yet. Just alone Lian wouldn't be very scary, but if he had antlers like one of the caribou that lived up here surely he could get a scream out of the pups.

Finding a rather similarly looking branch, one that could easily pass as antlers if he held the fork in his mouth, and before that rolled in the dampness of the sand to make his coat dirty and grimy and wet. As he heard Calder say he saw nothing Lian would find his feet, and leap from the shrubbery, large stick in his mouth and coat indistinguishable from the usual pristine white it usually was. He would make all kinds of noises, obviously indistinguishable as his lips were currently being used to hold the branch. The boy would run right towards them, his most impressive monster impersonation on display.

The white brute watched with some amusement, violet gaze following a second form as she approached her brother. Armai was a curiosity to the male, his second daughter and just as gorgeous as the first but she moved with an instability that none of the others shared, she rarely seemed eager to explore instead tended to press against the nearest living form within the ship. Observing her now, slowly shuffling across the white expanse clearly disoriented, Lel’s own suspicions were confirmed. Something he had wondered at but due to the girl’s own appearance had been hard to nail down.  His first litter made their move then, Zola springing from the bushes looking ever bit terrified. For a brief second Lel bristles, ready to leap to his paws and defend his children from whatever menace had spooked his daughter. The words that dropped from her tongue sent a wash of relief through him and the man smirked. The older of his son’s leaped out quickly afterwards, disguised by the muck clinging to his pristine coat and the forked branch in his mouth. He’d wait briefly, curious as to how Calder would respond to the new threat.  Slowly he rose to his paws and approached his younger daughter, softly calling out to her so as not to startle the girl. "Armai I’m here." His tone was soft, a tenderness reserved only for his mate and children He spoke only loud enough she would hear and as he gently pushed one paw against her rump he also leaned down to gently lick at the top of her head. He lifted his gaze again, if Lian looked up now he’d see the man, white pelt clear against the rusted background of the ship.  "You’re siblings are playing a joke, do you want to play one back?" He didn’t really wait for an answer, heading off towards the rest of the pups just slow enough the girl could lean against him as he went.  Adopting a fearful expression and allowing the fur on his spine to lift he called out to the group. "All of you, away from there!" He allowed a thread of fear to weave its way into his voice. "Quickly!" Alarm this time as he furiously scanned the forest behind the pups and stopped, a conflicted look appearing briefly upon his features before the fear returned again, more visible this time.  "Speech"

Zola was unsure on what to do as Calder was not buying the gig, but as she looked back at the woods as he did, she would be well impressed of Lian as he came out in a bundle of mud and some "antlers". But she was startled as the voice of her father boomed behind her. She was for sure he saw them having their fun, and thought that he might have helped them. But she had become confused by his demands and the fear in his eyes. She immediately stood from off her side and hesitated to her father. He didn't seem to be helping them, and his voice was extremely urgent. She wasn't sure if he was serious, or trying to scare the siblings as well. She would turn to look at Lian to see if he was coming too... was the jig up? Was he in the state of fear and confusion she was? Walk "Talk" Think