Help Me Find The Right Way Up Or Let Me Take The Wrong Way Down ___________________________________________________________ Azzurra had been sick for well, almost her whole life. Maybe it was the cold weather, maybe it was the loss of their mother, there were so many reasons Balthier couldn't pin it on. While he watched his father live without their mother, Allegro took extreme care to not let them think poorly of her. But Balthier did start to feel that way, and he felt so much like his father that he couldn't imagine he felt any different. Still, he kept those feelings to himself. He didn't want to plague Allegro with more things to worry about. Not that it was really anything to worry, but he didn't think his father would be proud of him for resenting their mother. Aranea was meant to come back any day now. Allegro hadn't come back tonight so Balthier assumed he might have been waiting for her somewhere or something of the sort. Balthier found himself caring for the rest of his siblings as if he was their father. Maybe it had something to do with bearing his father's markings. Either way, he felt the need to protect his family, Azzurra from being so sick, and even Psalm and Solo just from experiencing everything together. Balthier made his way to the den, checking on Psalm and Solo seeing they were asleep. He moved further into the back, branched off was Azzurra's part of the den. He stepped the front half of his body in the archway, "Azzurra?" He questioned quietly, not wanting to wake her if she had already fallen asleep like the rest of them. "Dad isn't coming back tonight." Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ Will You Straighten Me Out Or Make Me Take The Long Way Around

Azzurra laid among the pile of furs that had been the backdrop for most of her life, though there were chunks of time that were fuzzy or missing from her memory. Fits of fevers, days or weeks at a time where all she really remembered was moments of feeling extremely unwell, occasionally accented with the kind words or actions of her father or siblings. Well, mostly Balthier. The two dark coated, golden-marked males in her life were nearly interchangeable when it came to how much she remembered of them from the last couple seasons. More recently though the days of fevers and sickness were far more few and far between. Getting up from her bed was still difficult, but she was much more aware than she had once been.

She was at least aware enough to feel the passing of time, growing more bored of sitting in the den by the minute and feeling the loneliness more acutely when one of her family wasn't around. The days they had spent away in The Hallows when they went to see their mother without her had been the hardest. She had tried to make herself go, but even just getting up at that point had been a struggle. She had little perception of just how far the trip actually was since moving beyond this den hadn't happened in so long, but she believed her father when he said it was a very long trip that she wouldn't have been able to make.

Even though it was nighttime and she knew she should be asleep, she was having a hard time making herself do it. She didn't like being alone. She didn't like having nothing to do but lay here with her thoughts. As if answering her prayer, She heard her brother's voice from the arch way of her portion of their den, causing her to lift her head and her mismatched ears to perk. She frowned a little at the news he brought, her blue eyes finding his. "Okay... Thanks for letting me know." She could usually convince their father to sleep with her so she wouldn't have to be alone at night, but with him not being here...

"Balthier, would you snuggle with me for a little while?"she questioned softly, her wide eyes looking up at him pleadingly.

"Azzurra"

Help Me Find The Right Way Up Or Let Me Take The Wrong Way Down ___________________________________________________________ He stood in the doorway for a moment while she responded, expecting to just say goodnight and go back with Solo and Psalm. But when she asked him to lay with her, he didn't hesitate, moving immediately forward but carefully to not step on her. "Yeah, of course." Azzurra had been sick, not fragile. But Balthier didn't see it any different. He always felt like he was stepping in glass around her, like if he accidentally kicked a rock at her she would shatter. Her many bad days were more than noticeable, Allegro always tried his best to help her and those nights were hard to avoid noticing while Balthier and the other siblings were just a doorway away. He tried hard though never to think about how badly she had suffered at times, but of course that's what gave him this impression of her being breakable. He laid down to curl around her back, one paw gently placed over her shoulders, she fit snug with their size differences. He would only question quietly, "Is this alright?" Making sure he wasn't hurting her. When they were comfortable, he settled but he stared into the dark walls of the den, his mind churning with all the possibilities of what tomorrow would bring. He spoke out again in a whisper, he wouldn't have minded had she fallen asleep. "Mom should be coming back with dad tomorrow." He had his hopes up now that Allegro had left unannounced, as if he was going to surprise them. Calling her mom didn't really settle on his tongue well. But he was trying with just as much effort as Allegro had while preparing for her return to Abaven. He assumed, or maybe hoped, that it wasn't too late to fix the relationship all of them had with Aranea. He only really tried hard for his father. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ Will You Straighten Me Out Or Make Me Take The Long Way Around

Azzurra smiled with relief when her brother agreed to join her. Even if it was just for a little while, she still appreciated his company and his warmth. She watched as Balthier carefully stepped around her, always so careful and gentle with her. It made her wonder if she was actually as fragile as he made her seem, made her worried about ever leaving the den to face the outside world. It was a conflict she warred with in herself between wanting to be able to go and do all of the things that she had heard about her siblings doing and being afraid of what might happen when she did. Either way, she enjoyed the extra attention he gave when he was settling himself around her. It made her feel precious and special knowing that he cared enough to be careful for her.

Once he was laying around her at her back, she curled in on herself as well, tucking her much smaller frame into his and smiling again as she nestled herself into him with his foreleg draped across her shoulders. "Yes, that's perfect," she whispered to him in return, nuzzling the upper part of the foreleg that was under her, wrapping her dainty paws around his forelegs to hold him close. Nothing made her more content than being wrapped up in an embrace like this, but snuggling with Balthier was secretly - or maybe not so secretly - her favorite.

She let her eyes close as they laid together, relaxing happily into him, until she heard him whisper about how Mom was supposed to be back with Dad tomorrow. Her mismatched ears flicked uncertainly at the news even though she wanted to be happy. She hadn't seen her mother in so, so long and somewhere in the haze of her memories the very few memories she had of Aranea were beginning to fade. The only reason she really remembered what their mother looked like was because she resembled her so closely. Balthier took after their father and she took after their mother. In the few happy days they had all had together she remembered liking the comparison, thinking that she liked being paired off with her brother the way their parents were, but that was a long time ago now. At least they had gotten to see her during their trip to Auster. She hadn't even gotten that.

She blinked open her eyes and looked across the small portion of the den for a moment before she turned and rotated within her brother's embrace so that she could face him, her nose right in front of his. She searched his expression, blue eyes finding blue again. "Do you think she'll actually come?" she asked softly and doubtfully.

"Azzurra"

Help Me Find The Right Way Up Or Let Me Take The Wrong Way Down ___________________________________________________________ He lifted his head as she rolled over, their closeness was overlooked by him, he didn't see anything wrong with it. But he wouldn't have felt any different with Psalm or Solo. Azzurra just held his attention more while he felt more obligated to protect her and spend time with her. He couldn't imagine living this long in the den. He didn't really know the conflicted thoughts her mind, but he didn't ask. She would come out of the den when she was ready, and probably under Allegro's eyes. His neck was pulled back just a little so he could look at her, their closeness still present not that he was intending. She asked if he thought Aranea was actually going to show, and while he was doubtful, he liked to try and keep his family's spirits up. Just as he did for Allegro while he mimicked him, showed him appreciation for what he did for him and his siblings, and anything to make him feel like an accomplished father. He saw his father as the mortar of their family, and he wanted nothing more than to help him keep them together. "I... hope so." His response wasn't that promising, but it was all he could do. But it also wasn't quite the truth either. He had grown a hidden resentment for Aranea the same as his father. Of course neither one of them spoke of it, so he kept quiet on his feelings about their mother. He was willing to try as much as he didn't really want to. "I know it's been a while since you've seen her." Balthier did not take advantage of their time down in Auster. He avoided any alone time with his mother. He couldn't pin point exactly why but he just felt like their interests would match up, or that she wouldn't be as proud in him as Allegro. He was just unsettled by her presence at all, so he spent his time doing other things. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ Will You Straighten Me Out Or Make Me Take The Long Way Around

A small frown pulled at her lips at Balthier's less than confident reply about the possibility of their mother actually coming to join them. She couldn't blame him though. She didn't really quite believe it would be true either. In all the time since her mother left and her pack moved further away she had never come to see them. Or at the very least she hadn't seen her. She didn't really know what happened outside of this den, but surely if she had come to visit they would have at least told her, right? She hadn't just been avoiding her specifically had she? As much as Azzurra wanted to believe that their mother would come back to them it was getting harder and harder to have faith.

Her ears flicked uncertainly when Balthier mentioned how it had been a while since she had seen their mother, nodded quietly in agreement. More than a while. She sighed and tucked her head into her brother's chest, enjoying the warmth of him and letting it chase away her doubts and hurt. They still had each other and their dad so it couldn't be all bad. Plus she felt like she was starting to get a little better so that had to be worth something. She didn't want to feel so put out over a woman that she hardly knew, but somehow it didn't matter how much she tried to ignore it. She just couldn't. She let her eyes close as sleepiness started to creep up on her. Between being wrapped up in Balthier's embrace and her own lack of any kind of stamina sleep was hard to fight off.

"You're not gonna leave, right, Balthier?" she asked softly, hovering somewhere between being awake and sleep. "When we're adults, you don't leave, right? If you do will you take me with you?"

"Azzurra"

Help Me Find The Right Way Up Or Let Me Take The Wrong Way Down ___________________________________________________________ He relaxed himself as she found near sleep and rested beside him. He pulled her in a little tighter, thinking it would wash all the "what if" harsh thoughts away. They had both experienced a loss of their mother, at least in their young days. But he could never fully understand from the mind of his sister, she had been sheltered here her whole life and never got to see from outside of the den. He placed his forehead on hers, rubbing gently while he responded, "No, I'll always be here for you Azzie, I promise. His words were very serious, whether she wanted to believe them or not. He could tell she was getting healthier as they were nearing their birthday, so he would take her anywhere she wanted to go. It was very opposite of what she suggested, he would follow her more than she would follow him. And after knowing the pain she had experienced in her short life, he wanted to make up for that and let her experience everything she dreamed of. He exhaled, letting out that final breath before searching for sleep, but he was still there if she had anything else on her mind. The thought of Aranea here in the morning weighed heavily on his mind. As much as he tried to shove it out. The option of either expecting a whole happy family, or that Balthier would still need to step up to help Allegro with the slack. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ Will You Straighten Me Out Or Make Me Take The Long Way Around