There had been some small talk as they had ventured out of the valley that they had been seeking temporary asylum in- but nothing notable. He had brought a small pack along with him- a satchel of sorts with basic provisions in it. Some of the meat that had been cured from the bear they had slain. It wasn’t a lot, of course. But enough that might save them from having to hunt along the way. A piece of flint and a small knife for a fire starter. And a small bottle of spirits that he wasn’t entirely sure he was willing to share just yet.

They had settled into a comfortable pace- of course, the northern winter was brutal- but once they got moving, Aresenn had become comfortable with it. Crossing the wall had been a relatively simple task, and not long after, pine trees began cropping up out of the tundra. In the time he had spent away from his family, it was a place he had grown quite familiar with. Attached to the memories that were never his in the first place. “My father led a pack here a long time ago- before I was born.” He mused lightly while casting a glance toward her direction out of his peripheral for a moment before refocusing on the trail ahead. It wasn’t said from a place that sought recognition or envy. It was nothing more than filling the silence as they made their way across the continent. “He called it Incendium.” Of course, he didn't know much- just what his brother Vulcan had told him of it ... but the name, he remembered vividly.

"Aresenn Praetor"

Absinth didn’t actually have anything she couldn’t travel without, keeping herself unburdened by supplies was a blessing and a curse; either way she didn’t dwell on it. Aresenn certainly had a few things that were worthy of bringing along judging by the small bag he carried, but the contents were unknown to her. Smelled like bear meat though.

They had made it to the neighboring territory, a place Absinth had poked around a bit yet had never gone this far in. It was liberating to be free to travel like this, and she fell into step with him, casting a glance to her side as he began to speak. His father held a pack here long ago, within the pines they now cut through on their trip. She made certain to hang onto his every word, since Aresenn was not always going to be so.. Open. Though, by the wording, it sounded as though he had not been a witness to this Incendium. She hummed, returning her gaze forward as they walked- mulling over the information before she spoke again. “Ah, so close to being a prince.” She grinned playfully, not at all mockingly; just making sure the topic stayed as light as she could manage. But still, she was curious for more details. “What was their code of conduct?” He had told her of being a pirate, of chaos without purpose; so what was his father’s pack like?
wormwood

With her remark about his missed opportunity to be considered something akin to royalty, he couldn’t help the shallow scoff in amusement that manifest in a single note hum that escaped his nose. “I’d be no more a prince, than you a princess.” He answered her teasing with a bit of his own. Though it didn’t last for more than a few words. As she prompted him to continue, he’d clear his throat and do just that. “My father is a Praetor, and I carry his surname. But I don’t know which of us are legitimate and which of us aren’t. We can’t all be- I don’t think he’s ever taken a wife. My mother was a slave.” It didn’t necessarily address her question, but it did provide a little background information before moving on. “Anyways, from what my half-brother said, they were a pretty cut-throat bunch. I always wondered what it would have been like to see.” Aresenn explained. As they got to talking, and was easy to forget about marking the distance traveled. But even still, it was making the trip through the territory go a bit seemingly faster.

He recalled having this same conversation with Sephiran immediately after meeting Vulcan. So much had happened since then. “It sounded a lot like what Sephiran is trying to build.” He acknowledged aloud. It wasn’t much of an explanation as it was an initial realization for him. Maybe that’s why he was drawn to the ideals. “Ranks weren’t simply handed out, they were earned through battle. Those who wandered too close and didn’t belong were either taken hostage or killed. Deserters were hunted down. And if you didn’t pull your own weight, you didn’t last very long from the sound of it.” From what she had explained to him about her past … perhaps she would find similarities in her upbringing. Of course, that was what could have been. Not his reality.

"Aresenn Praetor"

Imagine that. Absinth the Princess. She could feel the shudder run down her spine, not particularly thinking she would have been all that much different… more spoiled… but more guarded. She would not have been able to escape whatever fate the new king had in store for her. Absinth’s expression briefly flashed with agitation, biting her lip and accidentally causing it to well blood again. Goddamn it. It had finally fucking closed.

She easily washed away those thoughts as his words spilled out into the air. Praetor. Aresenn Praetor. His full name at last. She wondered what it meant, but she did not want to interrupt him. He spoke of illegitimacy, to which Absinth could fully empathize with. His mother being a slave though? Unexpected. Her own mother had been a prostitute, so it was similar enough; but it had been her choice to bear and birth Absinth in the end. At the mention of a half-brother and a volatile empire Absinth perked an ear, wondering just how much more similar they were going to be. She, herself, had multiple half-siblings she had either met already or knew inklings of knowledge about. But that wasn’t the thing that interested her the most. She needn’t even question him about it, for he continued on while her undivided attention was on him; her paws still walking to keep her parallel with him. So, that’s why you’re here. Absinth felt closer to him, in a sense, and even though he had not been given the opportunity to grow within such a pack; it was still in his blood. Just as it was in her’s. “Sounds like home. I’d show you, but they’d probably kill me on sight.” Absinth chuckled, casting him a sideways glance now that she knew a little more about him. “Why did your father’s pack fall? You said it was many years ago, where is he now?” A curious, genuine gaze would greet him if he made eye contact with her now.


wormwood

As she chuckled, he did as well through the exhale of his breath. “I think you’ve painted a fairly clear picture.” In actuality, he knew very little of where Absinth came from- it didn’t particularly matter to him. But the information she had shared was more than enough to give him a lasting impression of her background. And it wasn’t the haphazard carefree upbringing he had had with the pirates.

Aresenn chanced a look at her then, yet she had already anticipated it, and was there waiting. He met her emerald gaze as she asked her next series of questions. However, neither one of them had satisfying answers. “I don’t know why it fell, but my father is no king- that may have had something to do with it. To be entirely honest, I don’t really know much about the man.” He admitted. He didn’t harbor any strong feelings towards his father. None that were negative, nor positive either. Their relationship wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad, it just … was. “I think perhaps he is just mad and didn’t have enough support to sustain it. Any disputes between members were settled via combat in front of an audience, not until the individuals reconciled, but until the audience was satisfied. And if word got back to him that you were speaking ill of the paradise he had created, he’d punish you as he saw fit …” He mused aloud, allowing his attention to drift forward as they traversed the northern pine forest. He granted a few moments of pause before dismissing it altogether. “But of course, that’s just how my half-brother described it …” For all he knew, Vulcan could a compulsive liar. What was to stop him?

As to where his sire was now … “Last I knew, he was with the Raiders Hallow lot- what became of the Pirates after I left.” He hadn’t seen any of his relatives since his departure. He occasionally wondered about his siblings. His father … didn’t cross his mind all that often.

"Aresenn Praetor"

It had been quite a deal of extremes to create a creature like Absinth. Trials, tribulations, all that bullshit. The kind of stuff that grinded you down into dust and used the power to create something brand fucking new.  She didn’t dwell on it, and besides; most of what she learned from her upbringing had been useful at some point or another. And because of that- she could now forge her own path forward. The brighter side of things, wasn’t it?

After he’d met her gaze, he answered her questions with lackluster responses. It was a shame, but there was nothing to be done about it. She had suspected that Aresenn had little or nothing to do with his family, what with the way he was endeavoring to support Sephiran. Now she knew for sure that despite having blood relatives he could live peacefully or otherwise with; he was committing to a cause. “Oh, mad? Like Sephiran-mad, or truly mental? While I can appreciate his madness, there has to be a method to it. Or it all crumbles down. Dictatorship or not.” She could understand a bloodthirsty and brutal authoritarian, but to lose a pack because of it? It sounded like a major flaw in leadership. He sounded like a paranoid man, Aresenn’s father. It also sounded a lot like her homeland- but it was all word of mouth in the end. The half-brother could have been telling lies, or exaggerating details; not that either Aresenn or her would ever know.

She hummed, mulling over the details he’d had shared with her so far. An ear flicking in acknowledgement of the whereabouts of his father. He sounded disinterested, to say the least. “Not quite a tight-knit family it seems. Yet another thing we have in common.” She said with an exasperated tone, like it was becoming tiresome- of course her amused gaze betrayed her playful intention.
wormwood

The conversation was a casual one, but it was too obvious not to notice Absinth’s analysis of the entire scenario detailed to her. Whether she took special interest in the information or was simply putting on a show, he wasn’t sure. However it was something that didn’t bother him to talk about, so he would continue with little resistance. “It sounded like Sephiran-mad. But I never saw it for myself. My father has his own brand, I suppose.” He answered. At the end of the day, there might have been similarities between Sephiran and himself. Or Sephiran and Ignis Praetor. But everyone had their own unique madness about them. It was like a blue flame and a red flame. They both burned hot but for different reasons. Then there was the inner demon. “When tensions run high, it’s like he becomes a different person …” It was something that he often thought about. The nearly constant rumbling in the back of his mind. There were times- like now- he could barely hear it. Then there were occurrences such as the mines where he couldn’t hear anything else. Not even the screams of the girl as he ripped her throat out. Blinking the thoughts away, he cleared his throat. “In the end, it did crumble. Method or not, it wasn’t enough in the end.” But perhaps that was why his father had been drawn to the structureless nature of Pirates Plunder. It was entirely okay if that was the preferred nature of the older man. It just wasn’t his own. “But no, tight-knit isn’t exactly how I would describe my family … I have a sister that I got on with fairly well. I have a brother who I pity. But neither one enough to stick around longer than I had to.” He hoped whatever had become of Rivin and Diablo was working out for them. But in hindsight, he did not regret the decision he had made to leave.

Suddenly cognizant of the fact that he had been talking an excessive amount, he offered up prompts of his own. “Do you have any siblings? Or any that you care about?” Aresenn asked, casting a glance in her direction once more. She had gotten the whole crash course on his own family lore. He felt he was deserving of a little more knowledge of her background.

"Aresenn Praetor"

“Ahh, I understand. My father has his own personal brand of insanity as well. Maybe it’s a dad thing?” Absinth laughed with a snort, wondering if her father was still out romping around looking for a new toy to entertain him. He must have been, she couldn’t imagine any alternative to the man. She could completely understand what he meant when the topic of his father transforming into a different person came up. But she did not speak because Aresenn seemed to linger for a moment, stuck in thought; and then he blinked and it was gone. Absinth did not draw attention to the momentary disconnect, instead she shifted her attention forward to the path.

Though he would go on to speak of his family ties and how meager they were. A sister he was indifferent to, a brother worthy of pity. Simple enough. Then he would turn the conversation around and question her about siblings. If she cared about any of them. Ha. “Oh. I have quite the number of half-siblings all strewn about the lands, though I doubt any are here. I think I had littermates, but I’ve no solid memories. My oldest half-sister was the one to teach me how to manipulate the old man, and I know of a few other half siblings by name… but I suppose I don't have feelings either way about any of them. Maybe appreciation for my sister.” Absinth tilted her head in thought, wondering if she was missing anything that could constitute a more hefty answer; but nothing came to mind on the subject.

Instead she turned to look at him again, a smirk on her face. “You shared your surname, Aresenn Praetor. So I’ll share my own, Inferos.”


wormwood

Aresenn couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her comment about their fathers' shared insanity. "Maybe it is a dad thing,” he agreed, though he couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment towards his own father for his lack of investment. However, that was an issue to unpack at a much later time. As Absinth continued on to share her own family dynamics, Aresenn listened intently, trying to piece together a better understanding of her background. It seemed that like him, she also had a scattered and fragmented family, with half-siblings scattered across the lands. Mostly made up of those who she held no attachment to- except for maybe one. “I imagine it could be a lot worse than indifference with one isolated occurrence of appreciation.” He answered with a half-smirk. At least she didn’t have anyone actively hunting her … or well, that she was aware of. 

Hearing the pause grow between them, his amber gaze landed on her once again just as she went on to divulge her surname. Inferos. With the sound of his full name on her tongue, he felt compelled to offer her the same. “Well, Absinth Inferos, I'm not sure I've ever met anyone quite like you.”

-Exit Aresenn-
"Aresenn Praetor"