OOC: Jupiter is meeting Amadeus for the first time.

Once again, the boy was off on an adventure. He tried, he really did, to be good and stay where he was supposed to, but it was just so hard. The world was far too interesting and he was far too impatient. Part of him felt bad for potentially worrying his mother, but his inquisitive nature had a way of making him forget the consequences of his actions.   "Psst." Jupiter froze. He spun around in search of the source of the sound. There! He spied a pair of beady eyes peeping at him from the lowest limb of a nearby tree. Loudly, he asked, "Did you 'psst' me?" "Yes," the weird critter whispered back. "Now be quiet and run, boy, you're in danger." Not believing the little monster for a second, Jupiter stayed rooted where he was and simply cocked his head. Still not whispering, he asked, "From what?" A yowl from a nearby monster answered his question. The boy's ears fell flat and he instinctively took a step backwards. Finally whispering, he asked, "W-what's that?" "That, little fella, is a mountain lion." The critter drew its tail around and dangled it down in front of him so he could see that the last quarter of it had been stripped of its hair. "And he is a mean sonofabitch." Jupiter wanted to ask what a sonofabitch was, but he didn't think the time was right. The sound of heavy paws crunching through the snow reached his ears and the boy shot a worried glance up at the little tree monster. "What's it gonna do to me?" The response was immediate and confirmed Jupiter's worst fear. "Well it was gonna eat me, so I'd wager it'd eat you too." Another yowl, this time much closer, caused the boy's head to snap around. His fearful gaze searched the forest behind him before returning to the tree monster. The monkey took pity on him and leapt from his perch. Before the boy had a chance to react the diminutive primate scaled him like a tree and came to rest on the back of his neck piggyback style. The monkey kicked at his neck. "Giddy up, little doggy. I'll lead you ou-" An angry scream interrupted the monkey and announced the arrival of the mountain lion. With a terrified yelp Jupiter took off running. He didn't know what to do; he'd only ever fought imaginary monsters. The only thing he could think of was running. It was his only chance. "Run, boy!" "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

With his injuries having been healed at last, he was able to explore beyond the pack borders. Aurielle and Aramis were old enough that he felt as though no catastrophe would befall their young lives if he ventured beyond the walls for a day or so. Aurielle had begged to go with him, but he’d firmly refused, and she had been mollified by a promise that he’d take her to visit Lirim and their family there not long after his return. He was exploring the north, and so far, the exploration had proven fruitful. He’d encountered pack borders that held the unmistakable scent of the male that had come to the borders a while back. It was a chance to take in the scents for himself, and get an idea of their numbers. He’d circled the border carefully, taking note of the scents before passing on into a massive forest of great redwood trees. He smiled, memories of the stories his Grandmother told him running through his mind. This was the first place she and Cairo’s children had set paw on the continent, so many years ago, ragged and travel weary, and heartsick over the loss of the land they’d known. Many of the trees grew in such a way that they provided shelter enough for several wolves at once, and he made his way carefully along, taking care to watch and listen, and to use his nose as he went. Shelter for wolves was also cover for an ambush. However, he found instead the scent of a young male pup who bore the scent of the pack he’d passed. What was a pack pup so young doing beyond the borders? But the question was thrown to the side as a wild mountain cat scream came from ahead, and the terrified yelp of a child in danger. He surged forward, bounding through the trees, mindless of the floppy hind leg—at this gait, it wasn’t as much of an issue. A brightly colored pup blurred toward him, carrying a creature upon his back, and Regulus barked sharply. “Around that tree, hurry!” He didn’t wait to see if the boy listened, instead leaping over the child to come face to face with the mountain lion… or at least... he was pretty sure the grumpy cat was a cougar. Fathomless sapphires locked with crimson cat eyes in an inky black face. The big cat seemed equally startled by the arrival of a huge red beast, and Regulus took the advantage it gave him to barrel forward with a snarl and snapping jaws. Oddly enough, the cat didn’t fight back, merely let himself be bowled over, belly up. Maybe it was because he wasn’t the only large cat in the area. A white blur bounded into the clearing, snarling feminine tones spitting “Artashir, if I have to yell at you one more time to get a deer for dinner, and not a primate, I am going to—” She broke off at the sight of the giant red wolf and her mate, looking sheepish, pinned beneath him. Well this was getting more bizarre by the second. The cougar he had pinned gave a growl, similar to the clearing of a throat. “Aello, I believe we found our liege… M’lord, if you could let me rise… I will not harm the monkey. Or the star child.” Regulus considered for several long heartbeats. But the female hadn’t gone after the pup, or after himself… so he stepped away. He was familiar was cat body language, though that of a cougar was a little different from a small cat, but as the male rose and sat, the female coming to cautiously sit beside the male, he knew they wouldn’t pose a threat anymore, so he turned and looked about for the child, calling, Are you alright, young ones?”

A streak of red barreling towards him caused Jupiter to slam on the brakes. His front legs stiffened and that, combined with his forward momentum and the additional weight on his neck, caused the big-headed pup to tip forward and slide through the snow on his chin. “Around that tree, hurry!” Mindlessly Jupiter scrabbled to his paws and lurched around the tree. On the other side of the tree came the sound of a struggle but before he could process just what that might mean for the red wolf, Jupiter felt fists clamp around his ears. The little tree monster yanked up on them as if he thought he could steer the boy by doing so. "What are you doing? Keep running!" The little monkey yanked his ears hard to the left, clearly trying to direct him that way. "But-" "Forget him. It's a mountain lion, not a tabby cat." Jupiter lurched to his feet, but before he could make up his mind, the monkey yanked his ears backwards. "Wait, wait. Maybe he's not dead after all." Both listened intently for a moment. "Are you alright, young ones?” Jupiter peeped around the tree and was surprised to see not one, but two big cats sitting obediently in front of the big red wolf. "I take offense to being referred to as a "young one" but yes, we are alright." He yanked on Jupiter's ears again, this time earning a protest. "Ow! Rude little monster!" The boy shook the small creature off of him, and in a huff the monkey scaled the tree beside him. His fear ebbing away, Jupiter crept from behind the tree. His eyes darted from the big red wolf to the two placid cats and then back again. Clearly, there was magic involved. "Wow, how'd you do that?" "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

As the vividly marked blue pup crept from around the trunk of the tree, Regulus looked him over with concerned fathomless sapphire eyes until he was reassured that the boy was unhurt. The question the child posed was one of those awkward ones that children seemed to adore chucking at the ears of adults. Not because it was one of those ‘You’ll learn when you’re old enough’ questions, but because he wasn’t entirely sure what had happened here. Honestly, he answered, “I haven’t a clue.” His head turned to look at the two large cats, and the female caught on that maybe an explanation was in order. She bowed her head, every inch a picture of dignified grace, saying, “My name is Aello, and this is my husband, Artashir. We are Mountain Lions of a small family clan from the Mountains to the south east. Our clan is the only one of our kind to choose to live in a group, or to service ourselves out to others as companions. My husband and I have been searching on the word of one of our elders, for a great red wolf to serve.” Artashir finished for her, “You took me on with no hesitation, red one. Thus, we believe you are the one we were sent to serve.” Regulus stared at the two cats for several beats, letting it sink in. Companions. And they’d chosen to be at his side? This would be interesting to explain to Solveiga, let alone the whole pack. Usually, wolves and cougars didn’t get along, but he was reminded of his grandmother’s story about the female mountain lion that she had worked out an agreement with—the cat could live within Valhallan borders as long as she didn’t cause trouble with the pack, and assisted in defending the pack from sieges. He sighed. “Very well, then… I accept your companionship.” The cats nodded, and Regulus continued to the whole group at large, though his gaze shifted back to the boy as he finished, “My name is Regulus Adravendi, Archangel – or leader – of the pack Celestial. What’s your name, boyo?” His tones toward the child were warm, his deep affection for children taking over from the bizarre nature of today’s events. He padded over to the boy, lowering to his level, belly to the snow. “And what are you doing so far outside your pack’s borders?” There was a gentlly teasing reprimand there, but he wasn’t going to chew the boy out. Whomever his mother was, he’d let her give the real tongue lashing.

The big red guy's answer was kind of a bummer. How could he not know what he'd done? He had to have done something to stop the mountain lion from eating his face and if he'd done something then he had to have a clue, right? ...Right? An idea struck Jupiter suddenly and he eyed the grownup up and down. Maybe it was magic and he just didn't want to say. That seemed likely enough. His gaze darted from speaker to speaker as they talked about grownup stuff he had a hard time following. So the red guy was important somehow? Further proof that he had magic! Eventually the grownup's attention focused on him. He introduced himself and then asked Jupiter for his name. Well, that was an easy enough question to answer. The next one? Not so much. Immediately he allowed his expression to soften and become more wide-eyed and innocent as he prepared to lie. "My name is Jupiter and I-" "Was saving my hide." Amadeus shimmied down the tree and leapt up onto Jupiter's shoulders. "The boy heard me yellin' and ran out to help." Surprised, Jupiter glanced over his shoulder at the little tree monster. He didn't know what the monkey was talking about, but it sounded good so he was going to roll with it. Jupiter turned back around and nodded firmly up at Regulus. "Yep. I thought he was gonna get ate by a monster." "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

As a leader, the crimson male knew what to look for to tell if there was a lie involved. As a father, he was just as astute, and he had to hide a grin as he spotted the tell tale signs of a whopper about to be spouted as those young eyes widened. The boy introduced himself as Jupiter, but the monkey jumped into the conversation. Regulus stared down at the two, locking eyes with Jupiter, and simply raised one brow point before drawling out, “Oh really, now?” His scarred features twitched into a conspiratorial smile as he tipped his head and offered, “When I was about your age, maybe a bit older, I went out exploring. My mother had taken myself and my siblings to see a neat stretch of sand that reached alllll the way to a second continent to the far south. So I found my way there, and one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I’d made it to the southern land, and I was lost like you wouldn’t believe!” He chuckled, then shifted so the boy could see his left shoulder, and the scarring that left him without fur where the gashes had been left. “See these, Jupiter? The claw marks are from when I was almost a yearling, when I tried to find my first spar. The curved scar came from a boar I met on that adventure I took to the south. I ran across him in a tangled, dark, and scary woodland down there, and I guess he wasn’t fond of my red coat. He got me so fast I wasn’t sure what hit me! If it wasn’t for a stranger who swept in and killed the boar, I’d have been swine food. I never got her name, and I don’t think she even spoke the Common tongue, but she guided me back to the land bridge. When Mother tracked me down, I was in so much trouble… I wasn’t allowed to leave the den for a whole season.” He straightened up a bit and gazed down at the brightly marked child, grinning. “I know the feeling of wanting to see the world, but I learned my lesson big time that day. But what would happen if you had been badly hurt by one of these two cats here? Your mother would probably be devastated.” He rose to his fours, shifting his paws so his good hind leg bore his weight, tail flicking out for balance. "Come, leanbh." He uttered, tipping his head toward the way to the boy’s pack’s territory and stepping forward as the Old Tongue word tripped easily off his tongue. “Let’s get you to your pack. What’s your mother’s name?”

"Oh, really? Jupiter nodded firmly. Yes, really. He was wearing his serious/innocent face; Regulus was supposed to believe him. Even if he didn't, Jupiter was going to go to his grave professing that lie for no other reason than that he'd said it out loud. He was committed now. When Regulus showed him his scars Jupiter's eyes got huge. "Wow!" It sucked that his mom punished him, but on top of going on an adventure he got super cool scars. In Jupiter's mind the punishment had been worth it. As for what would have happened if he'd gotten hurt... The boy shrugged. "Yeah, prob'ly, but I would have gotten cool scars like you!" His smile faded as Regulus mentioned taking him home. He didn't want to go home; he wanted to keep exploring! Briefly he considered protesting, but then it occurred to him that doing that would undermine his story. And it wouldn't really hurt to go with him, would it? The day was still young; he could walk home with Regulus, accept his punishment, and be free with plenty of time to play before dark. It would all work out. Confident in his plan, Jupiter perked back up. "Okay!" He frisked forward - unknowingly jostling Amadeus around - and moved to stand beside Regulus. "Artemis Aeris." Wait, what had Regulus called him? Leanbh? "What's that word mean? L-leanbh?" "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He could see the boy calculating in his mind as the words about taking him home sunk in. There was that flicker of ‘I don’t wanna’ before a light dawned and the boy agreed. Regulus chuckled softly as he led the way, taking in the name and nodding. The question regarding the word he’d spoken was answered readily. Regulus enjoyed teaching, and so he grinned down at the boy, “It means ‘Child’ in the Old Tongue. Most of my family speak it fluently. Would you like to learn a few words?” His tail waved happily at the thought of teaching a young mind what he knew as he kept an even speed, even if the gait was a rump hopping kind of thing.

This other language thing baffled him. It was one thing to hear a word in the language he spoke and not understand it, and another to hear and not understand a word in another language. The word 'leanbh' sounded different rolling off Regulus' tongue than all the rest of the words he'd spoken. It very distintly didn't belong with the other words and that was intriguing. Jupiter nodded vigorously. "I would!" It was like a code. He could say mean words in another language and no one would know it but him. That way he wouldn't ever get in trouble for calling a butthead a butthead ever again. Some people deserved it, so he didn't understand why it was a bad thing, but hey, this other language thing would solve that problem completely. "What's 'butthead' in the old tongue?" Hopefully Regulus would tell him. If he was going to be teaching him words they may as well be words he'd use, right? Jupiter thought of another one. "Oh, what about 'jerk'? My siblings can be jerky buttheads sometimes." "Jupiter" "Amadeus" "You"

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

The Crimson Archangel lifted a brow point, hiding a faint grin as Jupiter asked for the Old Tongue equivalent of a few insults. Spoken like a true boy pup. He pretended to ponder as they passed through the great trees, head cocked to the side. Artashir and Aello hung back a bit, settling into their new roles as his companions, and conversing between themselves in their own strange tongue. He’d have to ask them to teach him, if they would be willing. Finally, he felt Jupiter had waited long enough and said, simply, “Butthead is Ach ansin. As for the work ‘Jerk’, that one doesn’t have an equivalent in the Old tongue. Would you like to know how to tell your mother ‘I love you’ in the Old Tongue?” He winked down at the boy without missing a beat, “It may sound mushy, but it’ll win you a lot of points in the ‘Mom won’t skin me alive for whatever I did this time’ skill. And one day… They may be exactly what she needs to hear to get through a hard day.” How many times in his mother’s most stressed of times had he used those words and seen her eyes fill with tears before she’d drawn him close? So many.