Desponia decided she did not like the island, whenever possible she would slip away to the mainland and make herself look busy among the large stones that dotted the scrap of land her older sister had claimed for her kingdom of sticks. She felt like she could breathe out here, and while in truth the island was huge some part of the woman was pretty sure there's wasn't a place she could go where she wouldn't be forced to share space with one of her cousins or her sister's followers or god forbid her niece and nephew.

Speaking of those two, they really got on her nerves. Not because of anything they'd done specifically but because they existed as two. She'd never asked to be born but here she was being treated like a common criminal for having the audacity to have had a mother who broke some, frankly as far as she was concerned, baffling law but those two got to roam around like they owned the damn place when by rights one of them should have been dead? If Desponia hadn't literally been made a captor of her sister's and was a less jaded woman she might have thought it funny.

So could anyone really blame her for wanting to be away from it all? She grumbled to herself as she set about poking around at one of the rocks.

"Speech"

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Ricin wants to away from others, the looming realization that the brothers will be one with the next turn of seasons has had the blue pup pulling into himself more and more. Thoughts turn to Manea and had told him about fate, saying that is why he is alive and here. Paws carry him slowly through the rocks as ponders fate. It may be fate that he is here but that does not heal his wounded heart. A heavy sigh escapes past his dark blue lips, head lowered as he plods through the garden of rocks. Crimson eyes glance around, memories manifesting of the first time the brothers had been here, of the first time they had met Avacyn and Manea. Memories of a different time dance before his eyes and he pulls his ruby gaze down to his paws, unwilling to relive those moments.

The scent of another pack wolf reaches the boy’s nose and Ricin head shoots up, steps slowing as he ponders what he should do. Chade has been encouraging him to leave the den, meet new wolves and get to know everyone. The blue pup had tried but Saracyn’s look of contempt had sent him skittering back to the brother’s home. Still, he had to try… for Chade’s sake. Another long sigh and Ricin moves to intercept the wolf. When he is within range, the blue pup calls out meekly to the purple form, “Hello? Are.. are you new here?” Fear sinks a rock in gut, afraid that they might look down at him like Saracyn does. Paws slow, ready to carry the boy away in a hurry if this wolf does not want to talk.



"Ricin Dauner"

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The scent of another pack wolf wafted towards her on the wind but Desponia willed them to pass her by. If she didn't react, instead kept pretending she was busy carrying out some order or another from her sister maybe they'll just leave her the fuck alone. No such luck though as a young voice, creeping up on puberty called out to her. Desponia sighed and turned around, at least it wasn't her niece or nephew. She eyed up the blue boy, was he a cousin of some kind, or somehow a totally unrelated wolf? She took another deep breath but softened her gaze slightly, much as she didn't like her sister's kids they hadn't asked for their mother to be a hypocrite anymore than Des had wanted to be born a traitor. She wouldn't assume the boy was bad by being here alone.

"Sort of..." She responded, shrugging. She hadn't been here long but she wasn't exactly new anymore either, she'd been kept close to her sister for some time though so she hadn't had much chance to meet the rest of her captors. "I'm Desponia, Manea's... sister." She trailed off for a moment, it was probably just easier to say this for now even if her distaste for her half-sister managed to sneak into her voice. "Are you family or..?" Most of the wolves here seemed to be her cousins and though she didn't know her maternal family well she had no doubts blue would be rare in her bloodline, but hey, maybe there would turn out to be hope for the kid if they were unrelated.

"Speech"

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The purple wolf sighs and turns toward Ricin and the boy suddenly realizes she may have wanted to be alone. Oops. When Chade had encouraged his lighter brother to meet others, he had neglected to mention that not all of the wolves would want to meet him. Still, as the pretty purple wolf eyes him, the light blue pup gives her a warm smile. Something in her gaze softens ever so slightly and Ricin tilts his head when she speaks, her cryptic response opening a lot of questions in the boy’s mind. Giving a simple dip of his head in understanding, the smile he wears grows when she offers her name and relation. Is there a slight hint of distaste that colors Desponia’s voice? That seems odd. Still, his smile grows even more as he says, “Hi Desponia! My name’s Ricin. I didn’t know that Manea has a sister. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Light tail wags gently as he speaks, his words genuine and joyful.

When she asks if he is family, the smile falters slightly and he shakes his head, saying, “No, um not by blood. My brother and I came to join Manea and her band because we lost… everything.” The smile vanishes as he thinks of the first six months of his life and the tragedy he and Chade had endured. But, she probably doesn’t want to hear about that. Instead, Ricin says, “Have you met my brother? He’s like me but darker.” Paw gestures at his chest, indicting his coat. Quickly, he adds, “His name is Chade and he is great fighter.” The smile is back, his chest even puffing out slightly in pride of everything Chade has accomplished. After a moment, Ricin tilts his head and says, “What did you mean by sort of? Do you not want to be here?” The worlds tumble out, the boy’s curiosity finally getting the better of him.



"Ricin Dauner"

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Well at least the little gremlin is polite, he offered her a polite introduction and she softened again, just slightly, couldn't be family not by the way he interacted with her that's for sure. And... Yep then he confirmed it, he and his brother huh, her brow furrowed for a moment he was awfully young to be without a guardian to speak of, for all her complex feelings about her sister she couldn't fault the woman for taking the pair of boys in if what he said was true. The woman settled herself on her haunches, lowering her guard visibly though there was still a stiffness to her as if she was incapable of totally relaxing. She listened to him talk about his brother and shook her head as he asked if she'd met his brother. Desponia had gone out of her way to avoid every wolf she could and especially that of the pups around, she had not seen him.

Then the real question, the purple woman sighed. She titled her head to the side and considered. "How much do you know of my family's beliefs?" She finally asked, she'd prefer not to have to start from scratch if she could.

"Speech"

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Ricin watches Desponia, offering her a warm smile. When she settles on her haunches, the blue boy follows her cue and folds his back legs to take a seat on the soft grass. His tail still wags slowly as he looks to the older wolf, offering her the respect she deserves as a sister of Manea’s. Desponia tilts her head to the side and seems to contemplate Ricin for a moment and the boy suddenly feels very unsure of himself. His tail stops wag, crimson eyes widening a fraction in fear that he has done something wrong. Did he insult her by sitting with her? His fear is put at ease when she asks him a question and his brow furrows as he tries to remember. He hums softly as he thinks and finally he looks to capture Desponia’s hot pink eyes with his own crimson gaze.

Swallowing to try and wet his suddenly dry throat, Ricin offers, “I know Manea believes in fate. That is what she told me when I came to live here, that it was fate that had helped me and Chade live. And, um, protecting your family. Other than that…” he offers her a small shrug of his shoulders before saying, “We never talked about beliefs. It… didn’t seem important. Is there something I should know about your family’s beliefs?” Ricin tilts his head in curiousity as he asks the question, eager to learn more about Desponia and Manea’s beliefs. Maybe it will give him some insight into the lives of the family that he so desperately wishes he could be a part of.



"Ricin Dauner"

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Desponia nodded absently as the young boy explained what he knew about their family, she couldn't help but wonder about his question herself. Did it matter, clearly her sister had decided to forgo the laws herself, her twin brats running around were proof of that... But then a tiny, evil little thought wormed its way into her brain. She shrugged nonchalantly, keeping her mutinous little plot from bubbling to the surface. "I don't know if you personally need to know but you asked a question and I figured it relevant." She paused for a moment, shuffling her thoughts into a proper form.

"The only beliefs of my family that apply to my situation with my sister are as such: My family has long believed that there is one soul-mate for each of us and it is binding. A soul-mate pair is meant to be forever and not to have children outside each other. The other is that in every given litter born into our family, only one pup may allowed to survive, the rest must be... Well, it's a long-standing tradition with reasons that frankly are too much to try and explain but they are as they are right now." Desponia couldn't have said either way if she wholly bought into all her family's supposed beliefs, the fact she was alive and, well thriving was maybe not quite right, but alive was proof enough to her that maybe not everything was as her mother had been told.

"Manea and I have different fathers, our mother's first mate, her soul-mate, died when Manea was young. Our mother... She felt it was unfair the laws forbid her from having any further children due to the death of her soul-mate. I don't know how or why but she ended up meeting my father and getting pregnant again. From her words her family turned on her and forced her to pick between us and them. Needless to say I'm here."She couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice. "We were chased from the family, I am Desponia Antonis not Mendacium." She hissed her sister's name, unable to keep back her disdain. "We were exiled and I learned early on that my mother's family could not be trusted, we could not know what they would do to us, to me. I spent the majority of my life making sure to watch over my shoulder, until the worst happened. Manea found me, dragged me here... So I guess no, I don't really want to be here."

She lowered her gaze then, cocked her head to the side and feigned confusion, her tone softer but still loud enough for the boy to hear: "Strange, Manea was nearly an adult when I was chased from our family, and yet here I come to find that in her own way she's broken the laws... Her own two children break all traditions, strange that I am punished for the sins of my mother but she breaks the laws of her own volition and gets to keep her name, her family... Her freedom." It was a mutinous little thing to say aloud, but it felt so good to finally vocalize.

"Speech"

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With his head still tilted, Ricin watches the older wolf as she begins to talk. When she about how she figures its relevant, the boy straightens his head to offer her a brief nod of understanding. As Desponia begins to talk of their family beliefs, the blue boy stays silent, listening with rapt attention and respect nods. She speaks of litters being born into the family and how one is allowed to survive. Brows furrow in confusion, ready to ask why when she brushes it off as too much to explain. Giving a small nod, he holds his tongue and allows the purple woman to continue. Forehead crinkles in sadness at hearing Desponia’s sad tale and Ricin feels lost. Part of him feels the unfairness of it all, his own experiences tinting the color of the lens he views her story through. But… he also respects Manea and her family which, also means he respects her family’s beliefs.

Desponia voices her feelings of the injustice at everything before she falls silent and leaves Ricin to ponder her words. A silence settles over them as he contemplates everything. Finally, he seeks out her pink gaze as he says, “I am sorry to hear that Desponia. I respect Manea and her family and, because of that, I also respect their family beliefs.” Ricin needs her to understand that he will never go against his alpha or her family. Another shorter pause follows before he releases a sigh as he continues on, “However, I do understand about life being unfair. Chade and I… we had three other siblings. We were only six months old when our dad died and mom kicked all of us out of the den. Out of five pups, we were the only ones to survive.” Sadness fills his crimson eyes as he speaks of times past. Eyes leave the purple woman and move to look over the land as he lapses into silence.

Emotions raise and fall, hopelessness, sadness, confusion all cross his features as he wars with himself. It takes a moment for before Ricin begins to talk again and he does, he keeps his eyes facing away from Desponia, “I understand the feeling of being unwanted and, while I don’t understand exactly how you feel, I… can sympathize.” Eyes slowly track over toward the purple wolf, sorrow poorly hidden within their crimson depths. He feels torn between his loyalty to Manea and the sympathy he feels for Desponia. Would Manea be angry if he became friends with her sister?



"Ricin Dauner"

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