The moment that they were introduced to their uncle, the first thing Arcturus thought of was the chance to convince his uncle to take him on trips! He didn't live in the Armada like the rest of his family so it felt like free rein for them to go out and adventure. He was extra nice to his uncle, only pouncing on his giant paws a couple of times and never with his claws - which was very, very nice in Arcturus terms. He also kept looking at Uncle Indigo's big, fluffy mane with awe, comparing it to the extra fluffy, fuzzy fur around the back of his neck and chest that he saw when he saw his reflection in a puddle. Would he get to have a big, majestic mane like that too one day? He sure hoped so! He knew he would get to have the awesome saber teeth at least so he already felt like he could be really cool like his uncle just from that, but now he felt like he had something to look forward to with his mane.

During one of Uncle Indigo's visits, Arc got his attention and begged him to take him out on an adventure. He didn't really care where, he just wanted to go out farther than any of the places he had seen so far! He was constantly crisscrossing the plains the Armada took up and he had seen the beach a bunch of times. He was ready to see something else like when he had gone on the big hunting trip with his mom. He climbed up onto his uncle's back, settling himself into the big cloud of a mane with a grin, sitting so he could see over the top of Indigo's head. "We can go wherever you want, Uncle Indigo!" he insisted, "You like to collect plants and stuff, right? We can go do that if you want!" He just knew he couldn't leave the pack lands even if he had one of his parents' companions with him so this was his ticket to the outside world!

"Arcturus Fatalis"

Indigo was absolutely infatuated with his tiny niece and nephew. They were both incredible, but he never doubted that fact to begin with. He adored both of them and however much conflict he might have had about Aslatiel having children it was all washed away when he met those two beautiful children. Arcturus may not have been his son but he shared his name and reminded him far too much of himself. With his fuzzy thick fur around his neck and the tiny sabers that poked out from under his lip. If his coat color were different Indigo might have claimed him as his own, but that could never be. He would never be allowed to create a family with his sweet dear Aslatiel. Indigo could make himself happy about having Arcturus and Satira.

It didn’t take much effort for the boy to convince him to take him out into the world. Indy felt himself grin as the boy made himself comfortable on his back and got ready for the ride of his life. He had no doubt the boy had practice doing this exact thing with his grandpa, but he did doubt the boy got outside the territory very often. He positioned himself on his head, his adorable decorated paws sinking into the thick fur of his mane. He offered up permission to go wherever he wanted, the boy just wanted to enjoy leaving home for a little while. There weren’t many paws that were much safer than his own.

”Lets see where could we go…” He trailed off as his huge black paws carried the two of them over the border and into unclaimed land. ”Have you ever been away from home?” He asked softly, grinning as he tried to glimpse Arc’s eyes. He loved this sweet little boy and he was ecstatic about spending time with him. ”I do already have a lot of plants though… what do you want to do?” He asked with a grin.

"Speech"

Arcturus peered out at the new parts of the world that Indigo was showing him as they walked, grinning a huge, snaggletoothed grin the whole time. Even though he had seen the willow trees from the border and had even hid in one that one time that he and Tira saw a saber toothed cat with Ashur it was still different some how seeing them from this height from on top of Indigo's head. His uncle asked if he had ever been away from home before, holding onto Indigo's ear with a giggle as his head turned to try and look at him. "Yeah!" he answered excitedly, "One time mom took me out to a big prairie and she let me kill a pronghorn all by myself! Well... okay, it was a baby pronghorn, but still! I did it all by myself!" he boasted proudly, his little chest puffing up at the thought. Of course he conveniently left out the part where his mother had captured the fawn and brought it to him for him to kill, but... The story was less fun when he put it that way! "Oh! And while I was there I saw a big hawk come out of no where and grab a hare and carry it away! It was so cool!"

His white tipped tail was wagging so fast while his front paws rested on top of Indigo's head. It was kinda like when he made his grandpa give him rides, but his uncle's mane made it even better! It was even easier to hold on and it was really comfy laying in all this fur. He wondered how big he would be done day and if his mane would be as cool as his uncle's... He hoped it would be! His gray ears perked when Indigo asked what he would want to do as they passed through the willow forest and Arcturus hummed with thought. "Well usually I just run around the plains with Ashur or Owl... Sometimes my dad does some fighting training with me or mom will take me hunting... I like those things a lot! I like playing with Tira too, but she doesn't like getting all messy so she won't play in the mud with me or even let me snuggle with her until I take a stinking bath!" He huffed and rolled his eyes at his prissy sister, but his playful grin quickly returned. "Soooo... Maybe there's something we can hunt when we get there? Or I could fight you!" He giggled and bit Indigo's ear with a little puppy growl. Not hard enough to hurt - just a little play bite like he did when he was wrestling with Tira.

"Arcturus Fatalis"

Arc seemed to thoroughly enjoy riding along in his mane, he didn’t miss the envious looks as the boy had looked at his own mane. Part of him hoped deeply that the boy would indeed grow into an impressive mane, he might not have been his but sharing those qualities soothed a bit of the ache in his heart. Indy liked the feeling of tiny paws in his mane, and the familiar and forbidden thought of what if continued to creep in. What if they had been his? He really couldn’t allow the thought to fester, it was far too painful to think about how different his life would be if he could have his heart’s desires.

The boy went on an adorable tangent about his first hunt, how Aslatiel had taken him out to kill a fawn all on his own. He sounded so incredibly proud of himself. He whisked Indigo’s sorrows away and the man grinned as he gave him a bonus story about a hawk and a hare. Watching other predators was always an interesting experience. ”Well, I still think it’s impressive. I’ll tell you a secret, I’m terrible at hunting.” He whispered the last part. He was never any good at hunting nor had he ever truly held an interest. Now he was too big and slow moving, much like a male lion he looked like, to truly be effective in it.

He could feel the boy’s tail wagging over his shoulders, it was good to know he was having fun. Indy didn’t have a lot of experience with young children. He had mostly avoided his younger siblings when they were born, but he’d been younger and in a much less stable position than he was now. Arcturus answered his question happily, speaking of his young puppy days. Training with Aslatiel and… Naiche. His sister as well, who demanded baths before snuggles. ”Baths are awful.” He agreed with the boy, who would likely grow up to avoid water much like Indigo did. Drying this thick mane took a day and a half.

”You think you can fight me?” He questioned with a sudden stop to disrupt the boy’s balance as he bit into his ear. He added a slight shake after, nothing to make him fall but hopefully might get him giggling. He already mentioned he wasn’t any good at hunting, Hopefully Arc would settle with a little baby spar.

"Speech"

Arcturus gasped with genuine surprise when his uncle revealed that he was in fact bad at hunting! It seemed so impossible to the young boy that he could possibly be better at something than his uncle, but maybe that was just a lesson that not everyone could be good at everything. Even his father had admitted to his mother being a better hunter than he was and he certainly couldn't imagine collecting and knowing so many different plants like Indigo, Mo, and Tira did. "Well one day I'm going to be the best hunter of all time so I can hunt for all of us! You won't even have to worry about hunting ever again," he insisted with a cocky grin. One day he'd be even better than his mom! He just knew it! He giggled when his uncle agreed that baths were awful, glad that someone finally agreed with him. They were just so much work and time just to have to do it all over again the next day. Besides, it wasn't like dirt did anything! It was everywhere so what harm was there in having some on his paws and legs sometimes?

He squealed and giggled when Indigo stopped out of nowhere and gave himself a shake, making Arc hold on tighter to his uncle's ear and mane to keep from falling off as he was questioned on if he thought he could fight him. "Yeah!" he insisted between giggles, swatting and batting at his uncle's ears playfully with one paw while he gripped onto a paw full of purple fur. He liked playing with his uncle. His father was always so serious and made all of their fighting into a lesson, but this was way more fun! "I can fight you, uncle Indigo! Let me down, I'll show you!" He was so eager to show his uncle everything he had learned so far that he very nearly just hopped down from his perch on top of his uncle's head, but when he looked down toward the ground he knew that it was just a liiiiiittle bit too far for him to jump from.

"Arcturus Fatalis"

Indigo barely held in his chuckle as Arc gasped aloud at the revelation of Indy’s hunting skill. He’d never been a hunter, not when he was young, not when he was growing up, and definitely not now. He was at heart a peaceful soul, much like Mortis had struggled with his hunting skill so did Indy, the difference was no one had ever pushed him to be a hunter. It always seemed like their father expected Mortis to be a mighty killer. Something the winged wolf never really turned into.

He had no doubt with a mother like Aslatiel the boy would grow into an unrivaled hunter, or he’d try with the mane that would one day develop. ”Oh is that so?” He questioned the boy lightly, wondering if the pup realized what a logistical nightmare trying to feed a wandering band would be. ”I look forward to that,” He chuckled before they got really serious and Arc held on as he was shaken atop Indigo’s mane.

It was strange how light his heart felt as Arturus giggled so innocently. He realized despite the boy’s parentage Indigo felt like he wanted to give the boy the world, his heart ached with how much he loved the young wolf on his back. Indigo wore a genuine smile, and he almost felt care free as he let his attention become fully engulfed by the boy. Of course he was still aware fo their surroundings, no one would touch him while uncle Indy was around. Arc insisted that he could fight and urged the massive man to let him down to prove himself.

Indigo was full on belly laughing now, like the weight of the world had indeed lifted off his shoulders when he took the weight of the boy. He shook his head amusedly and did as he was asked. ”Alright little fire foot, show me what you’ve got.” He lowered himself so Arc could get down without hurting himself and then he turned about face, lowering his head and showing off his fangs as his hackles and mane raised to their ends and he bents his joints like he was about to spring. ”Do your worst,” he encouraged him onward, wanting to see exactly what a little package like him could offer.


"Speech"

Arcturus was practically hopping in place on top of Indigo's neck while he waited impatiently for his uncle to crouch down so he could get off of him. He was going to show his uncle all the fighting things he had learned! And he wanted to do it right this second! As soon as the ground was within reach he hopped down to the soft ground of the mangrove they had wandered into and quickly ran into position across from his uncle, immediately dropping into the fighting stance his father had taught him and that he'd practiced over and over with Tira. He did all the right stuff with his ears pinned back, a snarl on his little muzzle, his paws placed firmly with his joints slightly bent and ready to spring, and his tail tucked out of the way.

Then he saw his massive uncle showing his huge fangs with his big mane fluffed out with his hackles and Arc's blue eyes went wide with awe. His mouth fell open with just how cool his uncle looked! "Wow!" he exclaimed with a huge grin, is tough guy act immediately forgotten as he stared up at his uncle with his tail wagging a mile a minute. "Uncle Indy you look so cool and intimidating!" He hopped in place with excitement, hardly even able to contain himself. Right now all he had was some saber fangs that hadn't quite come in properly yet and a fuzzy excuse for a mane that just made the back of his neck poofier than the rest of him - which of course ended up with lots of teasing from his sister. "Am I gonna look as cool as you one day, uncle Indy?" he questioned hopefully. He didn't figure he'd ever be as big as Indigo, but as long as his mane and fangs were as impressive as his then he'd be okay with that!

"Arcturus Fatalis"