Plagued by nightmares of beasts with thousands of teeth, the pale child had not recovered quickly. Constantly tossing and turning, crying for parents who had yet to leave her side. Olya had worked hard over the course of several days, constantly tending to her wounded rump and keeping the bandages fresh. It had been harrowing and stressful for all involved.

Days had passed since the fever broke, mild as it was. Her mama, da, and teacher agreed that it would be safe to venture from the safety of the crypt. The maze of caverns had served them well, keeping the pale child out of sunlight until the healing process could get well underway. With a little bit of fumitory paste applied to her nose, the shaman in training had been herded back into the world.

Blinking wearily, the youth stepped out into the sunlight. So far, she hadn't been to this area of Boreas. It was new, and strange. She didn't doubt that her family lurked close by, keeping a watchful eye on her. It didn't matter, she didn't feel like going very far. Her butt still ached something fierce, and it was hard to walk very far. There was still a nagging fear in her chest, too. There weren't any of those beasts around here, right? Where was the danger? (Everywhere, it was everywhere.) A soft sigh was pushed from her chest, and the youngster flopped heavily onto the dusty floor. The familiarity of a cavern's mouth kept her calm, where her family's absence still made her nervous.

Crossing her forepaws, one over the other, she let her hind legs lay to one side. She could scurry back into the darkness of the cave, if she needed. It made her feel safe. With grass under her paws, thin and sparse as it was, she let the crisp air cleanse her. Olya said that it was important to keep her spirit free of burden by bathing, or by laying still while the wind whipped at her. This was pretty similar, right?

walk "Talk" think

Purposefully Jupiter marched homeward with a spear clamped firmly between his teeth. He'd decided to stay close to Dauntless' old lands in case his family came back. As much as the idea of staying in one place chafed at him, Jupiter hated the thought of them coming home to find everyone gone. He didn't want them to feel the way he felt about them now. The uncertainty he felt, the fear that something bad had happened to them; he hated the thought of them feeling that way about him. So he stayed. Or, rather, he stayed most of the time. It was hard not to wander occasionally. Nonchalantly he marched by the entrance to the crypt only to freeze a couple feet away once Marvel's presence registered with him. Beaming, he turned around immediately and dropped the spear . "Hey, Divo!" Gosh, she looked kind of sad. "You look like you could use some cheering up." He padded closer. "What's wrong?" "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

Familiar vocals bled into tall audits, and the phantom child blinked wearily towards the source. A lanky blue form, blissful in its distraction from her wallowing. He was holding something weird in his jaws, but dropped it in favour of greeting her. Divo tried, and failed to smile. "Hey, Divo!" He called. The urge to be polite and stand up gripped the child, but Divo couldn't be bothered. "You look like you could use some cheering up." Jupiter pointed out the obvious, but it was still endearing. That's what friends did, right? They cared about you. He sauntered a little closer. Boy, he was big. "What's wrong?"

The youth sighed heavily. "I went on an adventure," thickly accented vocals began meekly. Sculpted auds flickered back, hesitant. "and it went very bad." Mismatched eyes sought his features, brows pinched together. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Nope, nope, not right now. Clearing her throat, she sniffed a little. "Is that a new beating stick you've got there?" She questioned, hoping he would be able to distract from the general misery with something interesting. Jupiter always had something interesting going on. How he managed it was a mystery.

walk "Talk" think

ooc: I am SO sorry for making you wait so long!! I forgot I had a bunch of Jup threads >.<

Her solemn expression was enough to purge his features of cheer. He didn't like it when his friends were sad; that made it kind of difficult for him to rope them into doing fun things with him. Oh, no! She was going to cry, wasn't she? Now it was Jupiter's turn to look distressed. He wasn't very good with tears. They made him a bit uncomfortable because he didn't know how to handle them properly. Fighters, as far as he was concerned, didn't cry so whenever he felt bad or sad he tried to keep a stiff upper lip. It was kind of hard sometimes, like after his mom left, but he was getting better at it. An adventure had gone wrong? That didn't sound very promising. Lots could go wrong on adventures. Once, on his way to Hell's River, he'd dropped a very heavy stone and almost nipped off a bunch of his toes. "Is that a new beat stick you've got there?" Jupiter looked down at. His friend might have wanted to change the topic but he wasn't so sure he should go along with it. "It's better than a beating stick," he said with a soft smile before bending down and using his nose to flick the spear closer to Divo. "It's a spear and you can have it, if you like." Maybe if she took it, she'd feel a little better and he could ask her about her bad adventure without upsetting her too much. "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

When the cerulean boy's features fell, the phantom felt all the worse. She hadn't meant to bum him out, too! He only grew more distressed as she pressed on with her tale. Well, good thing for subject changes, then. "It's better than a beating stick," he assured her, his features shifting into a small smile. This was way better than moping about her missing tail. He flicked one end towards her with his nose, and it skittered towards her paws. "It's a spear and you can have it, if you like." A spear? She'd never heard of a spear before. Brow would quirk, a momentary distraction coming as a blessing to the forefront of her mind. A cautious sniff at the slender pole. Mismatched gaze flicked up to her friend for a moment. It had to be safe, or he wouldn't have just tossed it at her... Right? "What is it for?" Alright, perhaps that wasn't the best wording. The words were out now, it was too late to take them back for a less embarrassing version of the question. Damn second languages! "speech" JUST A FULL TANK AWAY FROM FREEDOM

She asked him what it was for and Jupiter brightened. Well, he was just going to have to show her, wasn't he? That way she'd get the full effect. "Lemme show you!" He frisked closer and snatched the spear up. His voice slurring around the stick, he said, "You use the pointy end to stab things!" Jupiter jumped to the side and pretended to stab something with the tines. Hoping to get her to laugh, he then raced around the cave entrance savagely stabbing at imaginary enemies before trotting back to her. With a flourish he dropped the spear at her paws. "See? It's better than a beating stick. Nobody'll mess with you if you got this baby with ya!" "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

As quickly as any awkwardness might have arisen, it disappeared. Sometimes Divo found herself stunned by how easy it was to hang around the young male. He was as effervescent and fun as his ostentatious pelt might allude. With a bright and airy tone, Jupiter cried "Lemme show you!" He skipped closer and plucked the spear from the ground with his teeth. "You use the pointy end to stab things!" Though his speech was a little garbled, the display of the weapon's use filled in any gaps. He scampered all about, jabbing his weapon at imaginary foes. The determined look on his face, coupled with the twirling movements of his false battle, succeeded in cheering her up. Just enough. A soft smile rose to her pale features, watching her friend saunter back over. Jupiter returned the spear to its place at her paws. "See? It's better than a beating stick. Nobody'll mess with you if you got this baby with ya!" he announced gleefully. "Will you teach me to make them? They might help with hunting!" As winter approached, there was a very good chance that her family might benefit from something such as this. Up north, whatever prey they happened upon, if not already dead, would be far easier to secure with a spear. Not to mention, she wanted another excuse to keep the conversation headed in the same direction. Learning a new craft was far better than talking about her accident. "speech" JUST A FULL TANK AWAY FROM FREEDOM

He stood there, grinning and panting, and waited to see what Divo would do. Hopefully his antics would cheer her up. He wouldn't know what to do if she stayed sad. A hint oof a smile was already brightening her features but time would tell if he was truly successful or not. After a beat she asked him if he'd teach her how to make spears and with a teasing flourish, he said saucily, "It would be my pleasure." Spears like this one were easy. He was to the point now were he thought he could make them in his sleep. "First we need to find some good, straight sticks." He stepped back and glanced thoughtfully over his shoulder in the direction of Dauntless' old lands. After a beat his attention turned back to Divo. "I dunno if there are any good ones around here. If not, I know there's lots in the old Dauntless lands." "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"