Play It Again
Stolas
12-24-2022, 12:05 AM
Stolas' wispy thoughts were interrupted by Fiametta's sudden and unexpected question of his nobility, catching the adolescent boy's attention with a bit of a start. He was so used to living around Ashen wolves who just knew him by his family name and as Plague's son that he had come to expect everyone to know him as a lordling. The concept that there were wolves who didn't know who he was still struck him sometimes. It didn't come from a place of conceit or hubris, but the sheer fact that young Stolas also did not get out of his pack very much. His entire world practically revolved within the confines of Ashen's borders. This was something he was trying to change, of course; to break free and give himself more experiences and be a little more worldly. Fia offered him that escape and change that he craved. Maybe that's why he was enjoying spending so much time with the girl with the flame markings on her coat.
"Oh! Um, no no, not a prince," he remarked with an embarrassed flush to his cheeks and a bashful fold of dark ears to his crown. "The princes and princesses are all my cousins, since my aunt is the Empress. I'm technically a lord by family and pack standards." The Abraxas-Kleins had always held themselves as close to gods more than mortal wolves, but Stolas didn't know how true that was. It did however make him a lord amongst the common folk of Ashen by comparison—not quite as haughty in rank as his cousins were, but he and his siblings still bore noble blood and lineage. How much did that really matter in actuality? He did not know. It hadn't made Stolas act any differently or like he was better than anyone else. He was still just a confused teenager trying to find his place in the world.
When he asked her what she was passionate about, Fia seemed to take pause, hesitating in her response. Stolas noticed and cocked his head to the side while he waited for her response. Was she trying to think of something she found fun, or was she hesitating because she was embarrassed by whatever it was? After a beat, Fia told him how she'd fought a bear with her brother and made jewelry with her sister. Ah, so the Elysian girl had siblings as well! Stolas' expression brightened at the discovery of more common ground between them. "I've fought predators with my siblings too. Combat really is a lot of fun when you get to do it with a partner." Fiametta's honest remark about being lazy got a barking laugh from the Abraxas lad, who turned a toothy smile to his new friend. "Nonsense! I'm sure there's a lot to you! You just might not know it yet. You know you like to fight bears and look at the stars." After pointing out those points to her, Stolas turned his slate gaze up to the stars again and added, "I'll bet there's a whole slew of things you don't know you like yet. You just have to find them and try them out."
"Stolas"
"Oh! Um, no no, not a prince," he remarked with an embarrassed flush to his cheeks and a bashful fold of dark ears to his crown. "The princes and princesses are all my cousins, since my aunt is the Empress. I'm technically a lord by family and pack standards." The Abraxas-Kleins had always held themselves as close to gods more than mortal wolves, but Stolas didn't know how true that was. It did however make him a lord amongst the common folk of Ashen by comparison—not quite as haughty in rank as his cousins were, but he and his siblings still bore noble blood and lineage. How much did that really matter in actuality? He did not know. It hadn't made Stolas act any differently or like he was better than anyone else. He was still just a confused teenager trying to find his place in the world.
When he asked her what she was passionate about, Fia seemed to take pause, hesitating in her response. Stolas noticed and cocked his head to the side while he waited for her response. Was she trying to think of something she found fun, or was she hesitating because she was embarrassed by whatever it was? After a beat, Fia told him how she'd fought a bear with her brother and made jewelry with her sister. Ah, so the Elysian girl had siblings as well! Stolas' expression brightened at the discovery of more common ground between them. "I've fought predators with my siblings too. Combat really is a lot of fun when you get to do it with a partner." Fiametta's honest remark about being lazy got a barking laugh from the Abraxas lad, who turned a toothy smile to his new friend. "Nonsense! I'm sure there's a lot to you! You just might not know it yet. You know you like to fight bears and look at the stars." After pointing out those points to her, Stolas turned his slate gaze up to the stars again and added, "I'll bet there's a whole slew of things you don't know you like yet. You just have to find them and try them out."
