I'm in hiding
As Amalia smiled in his direction, he grinned in return and lowered his head to mouth his teeth around the rabbit's head. He was toying with it, prolonging his hunger as his tongue savored the taste of it's fur. Vadim's dappled tail would sway behind him slightly when she looked like she was about to talk again, though this time he had already started to pluck at the flesh of the rabbit by starting with one of it's ears. He was thoroughly enjoying dinner and a lesson, relaxed despite the soreness of the fight.
When his father's voice came booming out of nowhere, however, every muscle in his body tensed as he immediately rose to his feet, his ears pinned back against his head. His 'brow dots started to pull together in an expression of guilt as his head lowered, fat snout angled so that he could look away from his father out of respect. There was something about his father's voice that was different, though.. he'd never heard him upset, but frustration wasn't the only underlying tone in that voice. Was his father.. worried for him?
As Ash said her piece, Vadim's molten gaze bravely ventured over the two of them while Amalia introduced herself. He leaned into Ama as if to nuzzle her one last time while she whispered to him and gave her a nod. He was sad to see her leave, but he understood. He made a promise to himself to not let this be the last time he'd ever come across this woman. Her warmth and loving nature was certainly something he found himself craving, was.. that what mothers were like? When they actually played a part in your life? He did his best not to think about that now.
He looked back to his father and slowly rose his head when he found the courage,
![[Image: vadim_by_nnightcrawler-dais3pi.png]](https://orig00.deviantart.net/54c9/f/2016/267/0/0/vadim_by_nnightcrawler-dais3pi.png)
Liar would shift slightly, "I sort of understand how you feel though. Is it because of Ivalice? Lately it just hasn't felt like home." even if their mother had come back. It felt distant and it felt like he had his head screwed on backwards. He looked towards Amalia for a second, he noticed her scent so his ears perked forward a bit. "Excuse me Ma'm..... I hate to intrude on this topic. But did you know a woman by the name Arian?" suspicion centered in his brain for a second.
TAGGED // liar
Ash watched her father carefully. Furrowing her brows for a moment as she looked at the girl he stopped. Well she didn't really understand what was going on. She and her siblings would be a year next season so they were pretty big as it was. So the fact that Vadim got hurt was a bit surprise. She did suppose though, in her age - now she was seeing not everyone was invincible. Not even her dad would be and that sort of scared her. What if Vadim had never come back? She pulled herself to his other side looking sadly at her brother.
"Are you really okay Vadim?" she questioned. Though she ignored what her father said about Ivalice. She liked it there, but regardless she was concentrated on her brother. After all it was scary how her dad acted, because in reality Vadim could have died. Her heart pounded against her chest at that thought. |
![[Image: qB7n6hY.png]](http://i.imgur.com/qB7n6hY.png)
The tiny woman let out a soft sigh as she licked the boys cheek, nuzzling him tenderly. She didn't want to leave him, but his family was here and it sounded like they had things to work out. She would only get in the way, plus she had come here to gather herbs. She couldn't wander back with nothing to show from her trip! But as she turned to leave, Liar's voice called out to her. Perking, she turned around and tilted her head to the side. Would she stay? Well... she couldn't turn that down. Smiling she turned and trotted over to the little family, settling into the fluffy side of Vadim that was free. She gently leaned into his injured side, careful not to disturb his wounds. She listened as they talked a little bit, closing her eyes and just listened to his heart beat in his chest. He hoped he wouldn't be too upset with all this going on, she didn't even bother to ask what had even injured him. It just wasn't her place, she wanted to heal and that was all she was good for. Everything was all fine and well until Liar turned to her and asked about Arian. Her entire body grew ridged and she leaned closer into Vadim, turning to hide her face in the fur of his chest. She fought back tears at her sisters name, her ears flat against her red chest. She didn't know what to say, her own chest constricting tightly. "Um..." she whispered, finally pulling herself away from the boy to peek at his father with her misty blue eyes. "She... she was my sister. Adopted, but I didn't see her as anything less than my sibling," her voice was soft, she she quickly shook her head back and forth to scatter the tears. She smiled a bit, letting out a struggled giggle. "But why do you ask? Were you a friend of hers?" It was still hard to think of Arian in past tense, it was a huge shock that she was gone from this world forever. Blinking rapidly, she tried to get rid of the tears and move on to better things. Turning to the golden girl, she flashed a more convincing smile at her. "So, love! Ash, was it? What do you want to do when you grow up?" she asked, her muscled still tense through her entire body. But she was good at hiding her feelings, the only one who would be able to feel anything was Vadim, and that was only because she was pressed into him. "Speech" |
To his surprise, Amalia was asked to stay and Vadim's tail gave a brief sway as she came back to his side; he tensed a little as she pressed against his injured side, though relaxed as he realized her touch was surprisingly gentle. He wasn't used to having so much comforting presence surrounding him. His father, his sister and now even Ama surrounded him and cuddled into his fur. He relaxed beneath their love and listened as his father began to talk to him again.
His father was.. apologizing? He'd never resented the man, he'd known his father had been busy. Vadim's ears drooped again as his lips contorted into a slight frown, shaking his skull lightly.
Still, it felt good to know that his father put thought into it.. and even felt some remorse over it, it helped the child know that he'd not been completely forgotten, but he wouldn't allow his father to hold regrets. With enough courage, he managed to flash a gentle smile up toward his father in an effort to show him that everything was really okay between them. When he asked about Ivalice, Vadim looked to Ash again and shook his head.
When his father changed his attention to Amalia, he took the time to answer Ash's whisper and gave her a nod, reassuring her that he would be okay. He gave her a smile as well before he felt Ama tense up and bury her face into his fur. His chest was still bruised and sore, but he ignored it and instead laid his fluffy neck down on top of her's gently in hopes to provide some sort of comfort. It was the last he could do, after all that she'd done for him!
He lifted his head from Amalia as he felt her begin to pull away and perked his left ear to listen to her pay attention to her words, his heart sinking as he realized that she'd lost her sister. He couldn't imagine, and his eyes drifted to Ash at the thought- it put it into perspective for him a little better. What if he lost her? What if she'd lost him, and he'd caused her the same grief that Amalia here carried? He pulled his stare away from her to look back to Amalia, who was already forcing a giggle and flashing a smile. He could feel her tension still, but her face remained pleasant despite how she felt on the inside. Something about that control over her emotions admired him, and he found himself smiling as well.
She changed the subject to Ash, asking his sister what she aspired to be and Vadim couldn't help but wag his tail. He was interested now, too! What did his sister want to be?
"The princess has never told me what she wants to do when I think about it." Liar said non nonchalantly with a smirk. Ash seemed to worry about her appearance and how she acted around others. So she hadn't really done much of anything else or perhaps it was his fault for not giving them the opportunity to train properly.
TAGGED // liar
This was turning out to be a weird day for her. As Ash listened to the wolves her attention turned to Amalia. The little lady had joined them in their small pile of fur - but it was somehow comforting. She was a little surprised when father said in a way they were related. Then they asked what she wanted to do and she was tongue tied. "T... to be honest I never thought about it." she shuffled a bit as she looked to Amalia.
"I thought I was just going to spend the rest of my time by Vadim's side." her gray eyes looked down. "I'm not a good fighter and I can't really memorize herbs like all the healers do." she smiled a little. A little nervous now, "Maybe I'll take up being a spy." she joked lightly. |
She was thankful when Vadim’s large head draped across her own. How the tables had turned, she had been the one to comfort him and now here he was doing the same thing to her. Her adoration for the boy was only growing, and she almost wished that he was without a family so that she could take him home. But that was terribly selfish of her, he seemed to have a family that cared very much for him! Plus, she would be very upset if someone wanted to snatch up her kids from her. Amalia took time to answer Liar, but she was shocked when she pulled away and he said that he had been her cousin. So, through her mother adopting Arian she was somehow related to the two kids before her. A large smile spread across her face, this time it was not forced. She was pretty far removed, if Liar was her cousin then what were the kids? First cousins once removed? Or… She shook her head slowly, there was no point in trying to make sense of it all. There were a lot of wolves out there that she was ‘related’ to from Arian’s actual bloodline. It still stung though, it was hard to picture her sister as really gone. Even after all this time it felt to surreal, like she was just gone off on a herb hunt and that she would come back home soon. But no, there was no hope of that. Swallowing hard, she tried to shove the depressing thoughts away. It was not a time to sit here and weep in front of these perfect strangers, although they were family in a sense. "Well, you kids can call my Aunty Ama if you wish. I know that it’s not very proper since I’m not your aunt, but family is family," Plus, there was a part of her that would love for them to call her Aunty Ama, and was so very thankful for her extended family. The topic soon switched over to Ash with her very quick conversation change, and she smirked as Vadim offered up some suggestions. Her dark blue eyes rested on the golden girl, but she stuttered out a short answer, unsure of what she wanted. Ama tsked her tongue when she said that she wasn’t good at anything, her head shaking back and forth quickly. ”You’re young yet, love. You can do anything you set your mind to, even if it is a spy," she said with a giggle, leaning over to press her nose into the girl’s cheek. Pulling back, the tiny woman sniffed and looked all the way up at Vadim, the boy already towering over her. "And what about you sweetie? What do you want to do?" This topic was a lot more interesting than the sadness that laid in her past, anyways. She knew that she should head off soon, but she found that she couldn’t tear herself from Vadim’s fluffy coat. If she could take them all home she would, but Athena would have a lot to say about her new ‘strays’, most likely. "Speech" |
He stood there, his tail wagging behind him calmly while an excited pant left his tongue hanging lightly from his smiling jowls- happily waiting for his sister's answer and enjoying himself despite the soreness of his wounds. He'd cast a quick glance to his father as he waited, and then finally Ash gave her answer.
He'd quiet his pant as he listened to his sister's words, though canted his head as she revealed at first that she was uncertain. Then, as she said she thought she'd spend her days beside him.. he nearly beamed with happiness. He had no idea she thought so highly of his company. Afterall, their adventure in the mines had made him worry that perhaps he was actually boring in comparison to the others out there. Her final answer made him grin- he could see her being a good spy. She had a trustworthy face, who would ever suspect?
He gave a nod as Amalia spoke, agreeing with her words as she reassured Ash. If his sister wanted to be a spy, he was sure she could do it, and he would help her! One of his ears lowered while the other focused on Ama's question when it came time for her to direct one toward him. His orange gaze gently settled on Ama's face for a moment before it drifted around the forest surrounding them.. as if an answer would come popping out around the corner any time soon.
He almost didn't answer, his mind quickly shuffling his thoughts as though they were cards, trying to find the right one that would make a fabulous little lie for them believe.. but he couldn't think of anything good. Finally, he gave up and decided to be honest- after all, he was in the company of family, he could trust them. He looked to his father, his eyes searching his dad's as if trying to discern what sort of reaction the man would have before the words were even spoken,
"If she saw you now she'd be very proud Vadim. You come from Walkers and Armada's you are strong and you care about your family. That's all that matter to me is if you have your own happiness and follow the path you believe is correct for you." Liar opened his eyes and smiled. "You're free to visit Amalia when you want, just be mindful of the borders as usual." he looked at Amalia softly. The man folded his paws slightly. Dipping his head, he was dearly thankful for the events really. "We should head home now anyway. Your brother must be worried."
TAGGED // liar