((Set before the challenge))

Ever since Kali's passing the woman had been doing her best to make a point to visit her older children and remind them she loved them. She knew well enough now how easy it was for them to be here one day and then gone the next, and she wanted to make sure that if that turned out to be true again that her children knew she loved them... And maybe she was soothed somewhat by checking in and getting to see her children, to remind herself that they were fine. The woman wandered off the usual path, heading towards the den her pair of twins shared. Ichor's scent told her he'd headed away from the den into the main part of the packlands but he hadn't been accompanied by his brother and so Recluse kept moving towards the den, letting lose a low bark to let her son know she was coming. "Poisons" & Venoms

Image by Hagon

Today was a day for languishing in the moonlight. No patrols to run, no work to be done. Just himself and the ambiance of the familiar territories he called home. So when he caught the sound of his mother's low bark nearby, he perked up with a grin. Mismatched eyes sought out her familiar form as it emerged from the foliage beyond the den he shared with Ichor. "Hey mom," he rumbled fondly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He slipped from the mouth of the den easily enough, and trotted forth to greet her. The young male sought to brush his cheek against hers as he got close, and once again found himself concerned by the fact that he had grown so much larger than her. It felt like he was still a dumb pup scampering around her heels and barely tall enough to put his front feet on her shoulder to tug on her ruff. "How have things been? The new kids are already roaming around, I've seen." he drawled with a grin, turning a glimmering eye towards her. He and his siblings weren't the youngest ones anymore, and there would be no more coddling to be had. No, it was time for them to make their own names within the ranks and to find their own destinies it seemed. He would miss the simplicity and fun of being a shithead kid, though. Part of him was hoping his jovial tone would be enough to keep the conversation from turning as dour as it easily could, with his older sister's death still looming over their heads like a pendulous blade. ”Speech” ’Thought’

When her cherry gaze alighted on her son Recluse felt herself soften, letting her son initiate their affection though she hummed happily and gently planted a kiss on his cheek as he moved past her, though she had to crane her neck somewhat to do so. Viscera was not the tallest of his litter but he was certainly in the running for the next biggest after his sister Widow. The polar opposite of his much smaller twin. "Hello love." She said softly, watching her son as he moved and settling herself once they had pulled apart, she was still clearly tired, sleep was scarce enough as it was but she was clearly doing her best, and the smile she gave her son was genuine. "They're little handfuls certainly." She said chuckling lightly. "I am lucky to have Eraithus to help keep an eye on them." There was something unsaid there, she'd never needed a partner to help raise her kids before and she didn't regret that but she was clearly struggling more with this litter than previous, Kali's death had left her ill-equipped to handle the grief she was still fighting through. "And how have you been Viscera?" "Poisons" & Venoms

Image by Hagon

She greeted him in kind, and their downy cheek fur mingled briefly before his mother settled gently upon her haunches at his side. The clearing beyond the den wasn't particularly large, but it was comfortable enough for the two of them to catch up. So he thumped down onto his own rump to lean lightly against her shoulder. She admitted that the latest litter was a rambunctious bunch and she was grateful to her husband for his assistance. He matched her soft laughter with his own quiet chuckle. "I know we weren't much better, at least you've got an extra pair of eyes now." he added with a grin. "You can always give me a call if you need someone to keep them occupied, I feel like I haven't been very present lately.." the pallid prince said it with a soft sigh and a tiny frown that was quickly wiped away as he looked to his mother again. She asked after his own state and he shrugged lightly. "I've been.. alright. Now that we're older I've realized I don't have the same drive as my siblings- no, that's not right. Ah," Viscera drew the last syllable out between his teeth as a low hiss while he sought out the right words. "It's not the drive that's missing, it's the direction. I've seen Ghoul and Widow pursuing their interests with a fervent intensity that I wish I could mimic. I just don't know what it is I want to do with myself now. Being warrior would be fine, but there's none of the socialization that I enjoy. It's all combat and conflict- at least the way that Ghoul does it." he admitted it with a slow drawl that was quite unlike his usual pointed, charming tone. He was unsure of himself, it was plain to see. He glanced over to his mother again. "How did you know you wanted to create Habari, mom?" he asked with a curious tilt of his head. Yes, maybe he could draw inspiration from her and figure out what he wanted to do with himself. ”Speech” ’Thought’

Viscera said that his littermates hadn't been much better and Recluse couldn't help but laugh again, they couldn't know exactly how much trouble they'd been for her, sick as she'd been, not to mention their birth feeling like dying. "Certainly better than one eye, yes." She said, reminded of the crystal that had afflicted her when they'd been born. "If you want to babysit them I won't say no, but don't feel you have to." Though maybe her kids having an older sibling they could actually get to know wouldn't be so bad. Viscera spoke about his own feeling of not knowing where he wanted to go. He followed up by asking how she'd known she wanted to create Habari. "My father was the heir to the Klein empire, it was expected that he'd rebuild it for the family here in Boreas... That ended up not happening but it meant I grew up knowing there was a throne in my future and I knew I always wanted it. When it became clear that I would need to make my throne I took the initiative. " She got silent for a moment, understanding how little that would probably comfort her son. "I've never expected my children to feel that drive though, if you want there are options that'll let you go out and see the world, your older brother Misery just returned from a job as a spy and you could do that if you want. I'd also never stop you if you wanted to leave Habari for any amount of time... But you do not need to know what you want right away." The woman lowered her head to tuck it under Viscera's chin, looking to comfort her son even if she could not hold him as she once did. "Poisons" & Venoms

Image by Hagon

His mother welcomed the thought of him taking the time to tend to the younger litter, and he bobbed his head softly. A gentle smile toyed at his pale lips, and he took a moment to consider the brief interaction he'd shared with one of his younger siblings already. It wouldn't be so bad to help train them and entertain them while their mother worked to maintain the pack. The thought fell by the wayside as he fixed his attention firmly on his mothers features while she explained the mechanisms that brought her to power. He knew that the Klein family was large and branching, but he hadn't been aware that it was rooted in an older empire. Mismatched eyes watched the expressions that shifted over Recluse's face while she spoke, and he noticed the way her resolve seemed to strengthen as she spoke about taking the initiative to create a throne for herself. She offered him the chance to leave the pack if need be and explore, perhaps through the same rank that his elder brother Misery had claimed. He hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think I want to leave Habari, at least not for long. I like it here with you and my siblings. Though I admit the idea of having a role in the politics of Habari and the other packs does sound appealing.." he mused softly, and then shrugged half-heartedly. It was something he would have to think about for a little while, yet. However, he had latched onto something in what Recluse had said before the talk of his rank in the pack. As she tucked her skull beneath his chin reassuringly, he sighed. It was so rare that he got time to be with his mother, just the two of them. He loved her fiercely, and wished they could spend far more time together. Perhaps he'd need to work for a higher rank, force his way into her daily routine by being a key player. His mind quickly tripped back to his previous train of thought, and he hooked one taloned paw around her closest foreleg in a loose embrace. "What.. what happened to your dad? How come he didn't have a throne for you to claim?" he questioned quietly, slate wreathed banner curling loosely around his hip. ”Speech” ’Thought’

In truth, her father was one of her least favorite topics, but she made a point to keep it short. Viscera mused about wanting a role that kept him closer to home and Recluse hummed lightly as she considered their options, Recluse wasn't so proud to assume that there weren't any holes in the structure of Habari and if her son had spotted something she was missing she certainly wasn't about to deny him a rank he wanted. Unfortunately, the conversation did turn towards Hannibal and the woman sighed, pulling out from under him so she could look up at her son as she spoke. "My father was a coward." She said plainly, the hatred she'd always felt for the bastard was tempered here though there was still resentment in her voice. "He was challenged when I was quite young and when he lost he ran away, abandoned his children. I don't blame him for not realizing it then, but our mother had also fled, took my brother, and me and my sister were left with no parent to care for us." She tried not to think too hard about how close to death she'd been, how if it wasn't for the lightning king she'd have died there in the den she'd once shared with her family, alone with not even her sister anymore. "When he showed his face again, he'd started a new family, children he would abandon again. At that point, your aunt Deathbelle had started the Ashen Empire and he flitted in and out of the empire, though I've not seen him in many years. I suppose it's possible that not having to fulfill his duties as the Klein heir meant he did not feel he had any duty to the empire anymore, I cannot know anymore. I never forgave him for abandoning us and then starting a new family while his current one languished without him." There was a fervor to her tone that spoke of how raw that wound still was. "Though I suppose I can thank him for one thing. He taught me exactly what type of parent I never wanted to be. Because of him, I knew I never wanted any of my children to go through what I did." She leaned back into her son, none of her children would ever suffer as she had, doubt their own worth as she had. They would always know that she loved them and that they were wonderful in her eyes, each of them irreplacable. "Poisons" & Venoms

Image by Hagon

It was obvious to a casual observer that he'd picked up many a trait from his mother, the most obvious at the moment was the propensity for thoughtful humming in place of thoughtless jumbles of words. Their gentle embrace was broken as his mother pulled away to look him in the eye and said that her father was a coward. Without thinking, the young man's features pinched in disdain, upper lip curling in an instinctive sneer. How unfortunate, how disappointing. He could hear the edge to her voice, a sharpness that had been honed over the years. He kept silent and still as the tale unfurled like some thorny vine that had ensnared his mother in her youth. Abandonment and fear as the start of her life, without a parent to care for her. A pang of loathing bloomed in his chest unbidden, something that would certainly remain rooted there for many years to come. No one mistreated his mother, not even her own parents. Onwards the tale was spun, the reemergence of the ill fated heir with a fresh new family that didn't include Recluse. Once again he felt that sharpness in his gut, a desire to lash out at a figure that was long gone. His grandfather ought to be made to pay for what he'd done. An inconsistent, flighty figure that never stuck around to finish what he'd started, from the sound of it. How pathetic. To think that this was supposed to be the man who ruled the Klein empire at one point. Thank whatever power existed over them that the family had been spared such a disgrace. And then just as quickly as the vitriol had risen in his mother's voice like acrid bile, it began to fade. She leaned back against his shoulder and pressed her cheek against his neck, admitting that she had managed to learn some valuable lessons from the whole ordeal. Snorting lightly, part derision and partly acknowledging the incredibly irony of it, he shook his head a little. Sighed quietly, tucked his chin down to smooth his tongue over Recluse's muzzle affectionately. He understood Ghoul's devotion suddenly. He wanted to ensure that his mother was never forced into something so traumatic again, even if he only ever supported her from her side. "I suppose I owe him some kind of thanks, then. Of course it would come after I hurled him down the side of the volcano." he replied with a soft laugh, mismatched eyes crinkling at the corners with a genuine smile. ”Speech” ’Thought’

It was perhaps lucky for Hannibal that he'd not shown his face in some time, he'd likely find that his daughter had a ready and willing army of his grandchildren who were more likely to sacrifice him to the volcano instead of embracing the former patriarch. Her mother likely would get a slight benefit of the doubt but she held no kindness for her either, it had plagued her for years, why had her mother only taken their brother, why hadn't she been good enough for her mother? But now as a mother herself, she knew only one thing, her mother had never been a good mother, she could not imagine choosing a single child she'd have to abandon, she'd rather die. She supposed she could understand trusting her older children to handle themselves without her for some time but if she had to leave even a single one of her youngest litter? She'd be unable to. There was something about having become a parent that had healed the child inside her that had assumed she was somehow not worthy of love, she had made a point not to use her children as her therapists, though how well she'd done that wasn't totally clear to her, and yet- She felt Viscera gently plant a kiss on her face and she couldn't help but feel a surge of both guilt and love, she never wanted her children to feel like they had to comfort her but it made her feel good to feel loved. "You may have to fight your siblings for the honor," she chuckled, "or call for a truce and all take your turns." "Poisons" & Venoms

Image by Hagon