Next New Age Abraxas 1:1-5

He wasn't the best son, was he? So much time spent wandering further and further from the shrine every day, marvelling at the world that surrounded them. The cold weather seemed to drag on, snow coating the ground with no interest in releasing its grip on the terra. The young wraith slunk between pallid trees with wide eyes roaming the landscape, drinking in everything there was to see and know. The boy returned home when it was time for prayer, and then vanished again like a ghost in the night. He was learning everything he could about the world, but that had led to his neglect of his duties as a son. However, when his mother summoned him, he answered without hesitation. Turning on oversized paws, he picked a careful route across the lands he was beginning to know as well as he knew the backs of his own paws. By the time he arrived back to the clearing that surrounded the shrine proper, there was his mother. Furs, fleeces, and eye-catching trinkets littered the area around her. A soft sound slipped past his lips, intrigued and delighted by what he saw. The oils, herbs, and incense weren't seen but smelled. Perhaps she had anointed the area already, and replaced the various components within the shrine proper.

There was already someone else on the scene. Dark coat and budding horns spoke volumes before the scent could even reach the distance between them. The boy had heard that his aunt the Empress had recently had pups, though he hadn't seen much of them yet. Nor was he in particularly dire need of catching a glimpse. They were blood, after all, so they would cross paths eventually. Now, faced with the other child, he found himself lacking. Other than the vaguely oversized teeth, Pontifex was hardly blessed by Abraxas. His inadequacies screamed out ever louder when he was staring at the young koi god, who was brash enough to drawl casual greetings in the face of authority. With a slow breath drawn in through his nostrils, he bolstered his posture with the flood of cold air in his lungs. Drawing his head high and pulling his shoulders straight, he slipped from the meager cover of the undergrowth to greet his mother and cousin. "Mother," he said as he closed the distance, dour expression softened with a smile. "what are we doing today?" he asked softly, two-toned gaze drifting between her gathered supplies and her dark features. Before he could lose his nerve, he turned to face the mysterious cousin. "My name's Pontifex, what's yours?" he asked quietly, breaking eye contact as he picked his way over to the gathered furs and selecting the spot with the best view of what his mother would be doing. He didn't want to miss anything!

Settling onto his belly, the charcoal and lavender boy carefully tucked his hind legs against his sides, tail wrapped to one side, and forepaws crossed. If he was going to lounge, he was going to be sure he still looked like the proper boy that his mother raised him to be.

"speech"