beautiful sound
Poem smiled softly as her bright paws stopped on the trail, she moved her dark marked muzzle from one side to the other as she surveyed the area. Edgar mimicked her movements. This was the border with the outside world, just a few inches away and Poem wouldn’t be in Abaven anymore. She found her gaze drawn to the horizon as the raven perched on her hips flapped his wings with uncertainty.
”Be brave, Edgar.” she told him as she looked back towards him. ”You should fly up and survey the area, like your mom does.” She told him eagerly. He didn’t look near as excited to perform the task, but he took it anyway. He struggled to lift himself into the air, but he managed to make it above the canopy of trees. Edgar called out to her that he had spotted someone, and Poem looked around curiously.
Tornadic prowled along the border, clearly sulking as his too-big paws paced over the soft grass. More than once his head lifted, almost expecting to see movement in the shadows, hoping to catch sight of slate fur or white rimmed golden eyes moving toward him, but there was nothing. He still didn’t fully understand why they had to come to Abaven, or why his mother was acting the way she did. She hated their father, that much was obvious, but he couldn’t for the life of him understand why.
He swiped his wrist over his eye and gave a small huff of frustration before shaking out his body and continuing his brooding patrol of the border. He wanted to go home, and he wanted his father. His attention momentarily diverted upwards where he saw what was obviously a fledgling raven circling over him. Curious, and eager to distract himself he followed the bird’s path until he came face to face with a girl, roughly his age. He cocked his head upward to look at the raven again then looked at the girl. “Is that your familiar?” He asked. His father had a raven companion, but his familiar was the black serpent named Raane who was never far from his side. His father had explained the difference between the two once, but he hadn’t paid much attention, deciding it was something he could just ask about later.
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”He’s my companion, I.. don’t know what a familiar is.” Dark ears perked towards him as she leaned forward curiously. ”I’d like to know how to get one though,” she almost asked. Her father had two ravens to help him with his alpha duties, she supposed she could also have a second friend, who happened to be a familiar. Whatever that happened to be. Her icy tail flicked at her hindquarters before she lowered her haunches to the ground. A thrill at being so close to the border ran through her, she felt like an alpha already. Standing here on the border talking to a stranger… She was just like her mom.
He sat and thought for a moment, reaching back mentally to remember what he could about his father’s explanation, or at least something he could passably make up on the spot. “A familiar’s special; they’re like a best friend or a littermate, but not a wolf.” He explained. “My dad says him and his cobra know each other so well they finish each other’s sentences!” He exclaimed enthusiastically. Which wasn’t exactly a lie; his father had trailed off once or twice while speaking only to have his cobra interject with a request for food. “Most of all a familiar won’t let anything happen to you, and you won’t let anything happen to them. It’s like losing an arm or something.” The sooty pup added.
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She and Edgar were beginning to know each other better, they were almost always together. The boy went on to explain further and Poem couldn’t help but see the similarities between herself and Edgar and the boy’s father and his cobra.
”I wonder if he’s really my familiar and I didn’t know it?” She asked curiously as she looked over at the raven who had relocated to a tree branch above them when she sat down. ”We are best friends, and almost littermates. Tato said they hatched the same time my siblings and I were born. And we’ve been learning to keep each other safe.” She beamed up at her friend before turning her blue and lavender gaze back to the boy.
”What’s your name? Do you know what kind of familiar you want to have?” She’d always wanted to have a raven partner like her mom and dad. Though Edgar’s companionship had been somewhat of a surprise she always knew she needed him in her life.
She asked what kind of familiar he wanted and he faltered, taken by surprise. “Well…I dunno. My brother says I look like a possum but I think he’s just being mean.” He said then tilted his head as he pondered the question. “I think I’m like a cat! Smart and sneaky, and dangerous!” He said with a playful and almost purrlike growl.
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She looked back to the pup as he answered her, he said something about a possum. Personally, Poem thought possums were cute. The boy said he thought he was more like a cat. Poem hadn’t had any interactions with cats yet. Her brother had almost gotten eaten by a mountain lion though. ”Oh! A cat sounds fierce!” The Destruction offered back. ”I think that I’d like to make friends with a raccoon, or maybe a monkey!” She liked their little hands. ”They’re crafty and brave,” two qualities she admired and thought she had. ”Do you only have one brother?” She only had one, and wasn’t a fan. She wondered if this boy, in addition to having an incredible father like her, had a brother he fought and competed with.
The girl’s question brought a smile to his face, he may not have had a familiar or a companion, but he did at least have more than one brother. “I have two brothers, Tyto and Tythe.” He said proudly, his chest puffing out slightly as he spoke. “Tythe’s kinda weird, but Tyto’s my best friend, we’re going to be Highlord and Viceroy someday, just like my dad and his brother.” He explained.
Speech |
“What’s a monkey?”
Her thoughts were interrupted by the question, how had he not seen a monkey? ”They’re flat faced, with long toed paws, usually furry but sometimes..” She started to whisper now, ”their butts are bald!” She couldn’t hold back her giggling as she said it.
He went on to answer her question about brothers, unlike her he had two and it sounded like he got along with them much better than she and Noir. ”Oh, that’s awesome! Mom says that I’ll be the alpha after her with my sister!” It was odd how much the two of them had in common. She hated to think it but she also thought she liked Tornadic a lot better than his sister Theta.
He looked at the girl wide eyed, astounded by her description of monkeys. Had he ever seen an animal with a flat face before? He didn’t think so. Then she burst into giggles at her description of their butts and he started laughing along with her, mostly at the use of the word.
They calmed and she went on to explain that she would be alpha after her mother. “Well…Supposably, my biggest brother Astraios will take over after my father and brother step down, but I’m gonna make my own pack! Like my dad did!” He said and dropped into a playful bow. “It’s gonna be just like my dad’s pack though cuz Astraios might want to change some stuff, but I'll be in charge and I'll get to make whatever rules I want!"He exclaimed.
“By the way I’m Tornadic, but most people call me Torn.”
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Poem ogled appropriately as the boy spoke, and nodded enthusiastically. He gave her a name as the excitement continued to build. ”I’m Poem, but you could call me Po if you want.” She told him after he offered a nickname. ”It’s nice to meet you,” she added with a respectful nod, Shaye was diligent in teaching her daughter manners, especially with the role she had to fill.
”Your dad sounds awesome, I’m sure he’s proud you wanna be like him!” Her dad was proud of her at least. ”Abaven has been in my family for a really long time.” She wanted to be like her mom and dad and take up that mantle. She thought for a moment about what he had said, ”what rules will you have in your pack? Have you thought of a name?” Poem couldn’t deny her curiosity. She was going to inherit what was already built, she was impressed by the boy’s eagerness to build his own.
His heart sank as she mentioned how proud he would be of him. Would he? He couldn’t say, he had just learned to take his first steps outside of the den when he had been taken to Abaven, and he couldn’t help but feel like their father had abandoned them despite his visits. Would they ever go home?
“I guess...” He mumbled then lifted his head as she changed the subject to his future pack. “Yeah, the first rule is gonna be ‘No one messes with the high lord!’” He proclaimed proudly, his chest rising with pride “I don’t know what to call it though. Astraios named Erövrare so maybe someone else should name my pack…It’s gotta be something super awesome though.” He said and nodded his head in affirmation.
”You’ll make such a good High Lord!” She expressed gleefully, finding that talking about the future was much easier with this boy than with Noir had ever been. She still hadn’t made time to tell her brother about her own promotion. She needed to sooner rather than later though, before her dad could or one of the other pups.