Walk | Talk | Think

For far too long, Minerva had remained inside the family's den. It felt empty without her father's large presence to fill it almost to capacity, but with the way her siblings were growing they were starting to make up for his missing shape. And she, in comparison, remained small, tiny next to each of them, frail and fragile and fair. She hated it, but her isolation caused that hatred to remain inside where it twisted and wreathed just below the surface, holding her captive to her own self loathing here within this confined space.

But enough was enough. She was starting to get tired of being left alone while the others roamed about, all able bodied and competent. The dainty girl wished to do the same, to proudly walk among them as an equal if not something even greater for her personal hardships, and that was not going to happen so long as she stayed holed up in here.

Minnie crept on small grey paws toward the den's opening, peering out into the world though keeping herself well within the shadows and out of direct sunlight. It was all so...bright out there, blinding and brilliant and... Frightening. Could she possibly keep up with her siblings, with those others that they lived with? No, of course she could not. She was weak, and foolish for even thinking that she might be capable of equaling them in their physical talents. Minerva's purple eyes squinted as she stared beyond the sanctuary that she haunted with her continual presence, caught between wanting to dash out and wanting to slink further into the shadows.

Atreides had once more taken up his usual position outside the den his sister had slumbered in for so long. The dry scent of herbs mingled with his sickly younger sister's scent. Mom and Dad must have really been looking out for their youngest child, because she hadn't died like they'd been expecting since forever. It was either that or Integra playing around at being a healer was actually working, though where Integra was learning about all these plants he didn't know. Maybe that was Mom and Dad helping them out. Minnie's lack of death was especially surprising because these days it was really just the three of them looking out for her - well, and Mom and Dad, but they weren't exactly corporeal anymore - and since Bellona had managed to die and she was actually healthy he'd been expecting sickly Minnie to go off to meet Mom and Dad and Bella any day now. Movement at the mouth of the den had him rolling back to his belly in surprise. "Hey, Minnie," he greeted cautiously. "Whatcha doing?" ""

Walk | Talk | Think

Minerva jumped at the sound of her brother's voice from just outside the den. Immediately her head snapped in his direction, at last spotting him there where lay upon his stomach. Hmph. She should have known he was going to be there. If he was not just outside the den, standing as sentry, then Integra was inside trying to coax her into eating something green that was supposed to help. The sickly girl still did not know what it was that had started to bring her around, but she had also been too consumed by realizing how much she had missed in her state of confinement and weakness to truly care.

Of course he used that silly nickname the family had attached to her, that little reminder of her minuscule size, but at least it did not sound offensive coming from him. She fidgeted a little on her small paws, her frail body still sticking to the shadows as she was asked what she was doing. What was she doing? Eyeing freedom? Wishing things were different? No, that was not quite right. "I'm tired of being in here," she answered surprisingly directly, her young voice rather rough with lack of use. Her squinted purple eyes peered at Atreides through a face that, though thin, still retained a certain determination. "I want to come out."

In the tragedy they'd suffered through there was at least one bright spot. Their sister, Minerva, was finally getting better! Integra loped back to the densite, herbs hanging from her jaws as they almost always were. Even when she was out on patrol if she saw something useful or something she wanted to test she couldn't help snatching it up along the way. She approached their densite to see Trei sticking his head in at Minnie who was…. what was she doing? Was she going outside? Approaching the duo she paused to set down her herbs in time to hear Minnie state that she wanted to go out. Integra moved to pushed her head into Atreides left side to nudge him away from the entrance before turning to Minnie and grinning. "Sure! If it's not to bright out today." It was a warm summer day, not blisteringly hot with a decent breeze and Integra felt the fresh air might do their little sister some good. Especially as they were there to keep an eye on her. "We can just hang out around the den for a bit, right Trei?"

Minerva seemed defensive as she stated her desire to go out of the den, but Trei didn't take it personally. After all, if he'd been stuck in a den for most of his life he'd probably be going crazy. He couldn't really blame her for wanting to get out. Integra, swooping in like some sort of plant-toting bird, nudged him out of the way, and he gave ground with a mock-reluctant grumble and a playful nip. "Yeah I don't see why not. Not going to get any stronger curled up in a den all the time, right? Maybe I can go catch you a mouse, Minnie." He puffed up a little as he said that, still proud of his newfound skill in rodent hunts. He was getting pretty good at it, actually. ""

OOC: Yes, the reference is deliberate. I couldn't help it.

Walk | Talk | Think

Suddenly she was not staring up into just one sibling's face but two as Integra shoved their brother aside to stand beaming in his place. Their cheer did not quite reach her as Minnie glanced between the two of them and tried not to feel like they were giving her any sort of special treatment, though she knew for a fact none of them behaved with this much enthusiasm when they began to head out of the den during their own daily activities. It was only because she was weak and small and sickly that they were behaving like this, and it stung her easily wounded pride. Sure, it was a special occasion since the white and grey girl did tend to spend all of her time inside her earthen shelter, but she did not want to be praised for such a meager accomplishment.

But at any rate, they were encouraging, and she did need that, even if it meant she was going to have an audience. Nothing was said to either of them as the small girl crept just a teeny bit closer to the entrance of their den and blinked her eyes. "It is bright," she admitted, feeling tempted to shrink further back into the den again and away from the blinding light. But, as Trei had said already, she was not going to get stronger by staying in the den. And she needed to get stronger.

Minerva pulled in a quick, steeling breath and stepped forward, her dainty paws light and careful as tread for the first time out into the open. It felt only a little different, what with the air open and nothing being between her and the sun, but just enough for her to feel that uneasy prickle along her spine. She stopped just a foot or so outside of the den and peered all around her at the openness of the territory, wondering just how far she could go. A strong, urging voice wanted her to rush and press those physical boundaries now, but she hated the idea of appearing more weak than usual in front of her brother and sister. No, this would do for now. Though now that she was here, outside and in the open, she hardly knew what to do with herself and stood a little awkwardly as she glanced at both Trei and Integra, as if to ask if she was doing it right.

Integra nodded at Trei's suggestion of mouse catching. He was a really good hunter! Integra was better at hunting for plants than animals but she was slowly getting the hang of chasing after smaller prey. She'd have to convince Atreides to give her a lesson later. The girl moved away from the den and waited as Minerva slowly crept into the light. She nodded. Maybe such a bright day wasn't the best but the idea of having their fourth sister able to romp and play with them was more exciting than she could take. Minnie looked to Integra and the eldest girl smiled before moving toward her smaller sister, looking to nuzzle the other on the cheek. "Welcome…. to the outside!" With a playful bark she skittered next to Trei and let out a little howl. Where was Sirius? She was missing everything! "Soo… do you feel like you can move a lot? How far would you like to go? I'm training to be a healer so if you want you can come walk with me to go collect some more plants. Trei and Siri can guard as against rogues and stuff."

As they gave her room, Minerva moved hesitantly to stand out in the sun for the first time in a long while. Trei sat back for a moment, just watching with an encouraging smile. "You'll get used to it," he sought to reassure her, stepping closer though he didn't touch her. Sometimes he was afraid he was going to knock her over or hurt her with his big clumsy body, she was so delicate, but he really couldn't let it bother him. Whatever Integra was doing was working, because he no longer woke up expecting her to be dead beside them. Even so, she was so tiny still compared to them... Inty suggested that he and Sirius - where was she anyway? Probably out doing Serious stuff - could stand guard against rogues and stuff, and he puffed up again. "You don't have to worry about a thing. I can keep you guys safe. I've already chased away a trespasser." She was on her way out when the guy showed up - it totally counted. "Plus if you get tired we don't even have to come all the way back here. It's warm enough we can all just sleep outside if we go too far to get back tonight." ""

Walk | Talk | Think

It seemed that Trei was right. Slowly but surely the brightness of the outdoors was becoming more tolerable and her vibrant purple eyes stronger in what they could tolerate. The sky was still a little hard to look at, but the ground and grass underfoot was easier. Experimentally Minerva wiggled her toes and felt the grasses shift beneath her feet, felt the cool earth touch her pads. It was really different from the warmth of the den, and not at all what she had been expecting. A quick nuzzle against her cheek from Integra had the little Armada girl bracing herself, as if she might be knocked over, but Inty was careful to let her keep her footing as she welcomed her to the wide world of the outside.

As her sister howled, Minnie lowered her head and sniffed curiously at the ground, catching so many scents that she could not place them all at once. It was an intense combination of many different faces that she had yet to meet, critters that she had yet to run across, and a world that was entirely foreign to her. Feeling overwhelmed by it already, she jerked her head away and glanced instead back at her siblings as they did their best to make the outside as welcoming and tolerant to her as they could. Inty's suggestion of wandering and searching for her precious plants sounded fun, but she was concerned about weakening along the way. Atreides was quick to accommodate that even suggested they could spend a night outside. The thought was surprisingly very tempting - she had seen the night sky from the inside of the den, but surely it must have looked better out in the open. The choice was hers.

It was a lot of pressure to be placed on her all at once, getting to choose where they would go, where they would spend their night, but because she was a prideful girl and wanted to seem strong to her siblings in other ways, even if she was physically weak, she drew in a quick breath and tried to pick herself up a little straighter where she stood. "Alright," she answered decisively, "let's look for plants." But, being still very unfamiliar with plants and what exactly grew here, she deferred to Integra with a quiet question, "What are we looking for exactly?"

Integra beamed at her brother. As much as she would joke about the girls being the strongest of the litter she really did respect her brothers skill and strength. He was always there for them. Integra's jaw dropped slightly at the mention of a trespasser. "What? No way! When was this?" She didn't know he'd run into a trespasser, let alone chased the trespasser off! Integra eyed him skeptically but he seemed to be telling the truth. Integra nodded at the mention of sleeping outside. Yea, she certainly didn't mind and if it got a little chilly they could all just cuddle up for warmth. Integra bit her lip as she pondered Minerva's question. She only really knew of a few plants, what would be the easiest to find? She already had quite a store of fireweed. "Hmm… how about some marigolds? They're still in bloom, with big yellow, orange and red flowers bunched up like… just a sec." Integra slipped away from the group to dive into her storage den. Quickly she snatched one of the drying marigold and brought it out to show her siblings. "These are marigolds. You can use the petals to help heal cuts and bug bites and when it's chewed it can help a sore mouth or throat feel better. You gotta be careful if pregnant ladies to eat it though or it might make the babies pop out." "Come on, they grow in warmer, moist soil. There's some on the east end of the orchard." Integra started off at a leisurely pace as she tried to gauge what speed would be the best for her recovering sister.