Break Free

As soon as the boy had risen, he was off and moving. It had taken some careful maneuvering to get away from his sister Armai, clingy, whiny little brat that she could be, but as always he had managed. The elder two had been avoided on his way out, his parents had not been seen, and the cold winter day had been all too welcoming compared to the stuffy confinement of the family's home and shelter. Calder's dark legs were eating up snow the moment he was outside and under the morning sun.

He did not go far - he rarely ever did - but stayed close to the ship that housed the Leone family, patrolling around when he could find nothing of interest to keep him occupied otherwise. But it was the scent of his sister that seemed to draw his attention most at one point, one fact about it more poignant within his mind than the others. It was alone. Always Zola was with her brother Lian, and to Calder's recollection one was never too far away from the other. It was odd for him to find her scent alone, and with curiosity on his mind he trailed it.

Eager wandering steps brought him within sight of the rocky shoreline where Zola was lying, her dark upper half setting her apart from the snowy rocks. Just a little the dark colored boy was anxious, his silvery eyes scanning about to see if Lian might appear somewhere to come to his sister's side, but at the same time he was already planning. Zola was alone. What could he do to the wretched older sister during this time? His mind was far from made up, but Calder was already grinning, his tail waving with slow delight as he marched toward her and called ahead, "What'cha doing, Zooola?" imitating his sister's annoyingly chipper, singsong voice. She might have been a pain in her own right, but Armai certainly knew the right way to get under someone's skin and he wanted to use her tactic for himself.