Dragonfly Fen so you'd better run for cover

For @Maeve only. Hope you're okay with the set up. (:
Dated 11/3 - Clear skies & sunny, afternoon.

He wasn't a keeper of the children by any means, especially the two orphans that resided within the Argyris domain. @Wren had grown on him quite enough, but still he didn't keep tabs on the boy and his sister, leaving such a task to @Vitani as she wished to shoulder it. However, as he perused the borders of the pack, freshening the boundary markings and keep his senses alert to any changes and unwanted presences, the silver man came upon something that could not be ignored. A trail was found, left behind by Maeve and leading out of the territory.

Without a thought, he followed it, but his motions became more and more determined as he was drawn further and further away from the pack lands. He had expected to find her not too far out of bounds, perhaps distracted by something or simply curious, but to have left the mountain completely was no mistake, a determined escape. It was wondered if this was normal for the girl, or if something had happened to chase her away. Her scent was unaccompanied, and still he couldn't help but suspect a small possibility of danger.

As the scent grew stronger, he began to call out to her, hoping dearly that the girl would answer him unharmed.

Sorry! I lost the charger to my laptop, so I haven't really been able to get on! :(

Maeve had been growing rather gutsy with her attempts to escape reality as of late, thus bringing her to yet another foreign location. Originally the fae had headed out on a quick search for Celandine, though the more she found herself unable to find the woman, the farther she went. Now, obviously her princess wouldn't be residing all the way down the mountain, but was there really any reason to stop traveling? It wasn't as if they had any set plans this afternoon, and surely exploration never hurt anyone. Perhaps this was just what the young orphan needed to abscond from all the.. Noise.

Alas, not every day could remain blissful in the silence that was her own head, and sure as shit, someone beckoned for her. 'Ah, bu' I jus' found such a cool spot!' the fae exclaimed, admiring the obscure rapid growth of vegetation in front of her. Maeve had never seen a cattail before, but she was pretty sure she liked them. "What?!" The youth hissed back at the foreign commotion that was quickly closing distance. "I'm fine." she huffed, knowing all too well that they'd ask. That's all anyone ever asked. Perhaps next time she found herself in the vicinity of atypical plants, she'd be smart and conceal herself from annoyances.

aww that really sucks, I'm sorry. :c

He'd found her, it was certain, and still no signs of trouble existed anywhere within the vicinity. It was a relief, yet only fed his curiosity. Had the girl truly gone this far on her own? He supposed she was old enough by now, after all, what did he know about raising children and what they could and could not do? Yet when at last she responded to him, the snap of her answer sealed his ears against his head and momentarily halted his advance as shock bounced through him. I'm fine, she was quick to assure him, and now it seemed he knew for sure, she had definitely come this way on purpose and... to be alone? What in the world?

"Good ta know," he murmured back as he pressed on, pushing through the growth until she was within view. His ember gaze regarded her a moment before he decided to speak further.

"Was jus' lookin' after ya," he informed her. "Thought maybe ya got snatched up."

His gaze traveled past her then, over the area he'd found her in. He'd been here before; he'd been nearly everywhere within the Lore, given how quick he was to run from every responsibility he encountered. Yet he hadn't stayed long, never taking a moment to appreciate whatever was here. Was this where she normally went, perhaps a favorite hideaway of hers? Did she bring Wren here? Did he even know she was away? He couldn't imagine the boy letting what little family he had left out of his sight for long, given that the child seemed to be developing quite the knight complex. The questions simply kept flooding into his mind, and at last he decided that the best course of action would simply be to start asking them.

"Y'come here often?"

It's alright! I actually ended up finding it.. In my car. Sigh.

Maeve didn't turn to greet the presence that now accompanied her, she simply couldn't be bothered to. Instead, the young fae shuffled through the small voice bank stored in her mind, halfheartedly attempting to match the stranger up with one of her pack-mate's. A few attempts later and with no prevail, the orphan ignorantly deemed the situation harmless regardless and continued on with her little pout. She couldn't help but cringe every time the male spoke, why was this happening? "No, I'm fine." the pup insisted, maintaining a sour speech pattern. Maybe he'd get the hint and move on. 'Wish I got snatched up. Dun' feel like takin' to nobody today.'

"Nope." Maeve sighed, wishing she could just outright tell the stranger to leave without the worry of any repercussions. "Jus' found the place t'day. Was lookin' for the Princess." not that it necessarily mattered, though nevertheless it'd likely be better to explain her case before the conversation furthered. "Bu' she's not here, so." obviously. "Celandine, that is. Not Kyna. Y' know where she is?"

The orphan abruptly made herself more comfortable within the overgrowth of cattail's, she had no intentions of leaving anytime soon if that was the male's goal.

I used to care, I was being cared for.

Maeve Destine-Caravello

@Maeve <3

Her responses struck an unfavorable chord within him, and he couldn't help but wonder why the child was being so... bitchy. Given all that had happened to her and the family she used to have, he supposed it could only be expected that she might turn into something so sour. Still, her clear annoyance nurtured his own and as he reclined next to her, the male unconsciously took on a similarly sullen appearance. And yet he felt compelled not to leave.

Looking for Celandine. That struck him as a bit odd, and he couldn't help but ponder if maybe that was where this one learned her attitude from. What would Cel want with the orphan that might've contested her crown, though?

"Nope," he answered her simply as his burning gaze surveyed the around before them. "Been wishin' she'd come back 'round m'self."

Celandine had seemed to be the one most driven to take her father's place on top, according to what the elder Argyris had heard of her, despite the finer qualities of leadership that she lacked. Erebos needed only give her a little guidance then, and he could be alleviated from his own responsibilities. That would be hard to do when the princess kept slipping away to nowhere, though.

"Kyna's not a princess," he off-handedly corrected her, an after-thought born of the silence between them. Phineas might disagree with him on the matter, but Erebos would be damned if the muddy-blooded whelp claimed the same rights as Borlla's litters.

Irritation built up inside of the monochrome'd fae as the man answered her question, however it was curious to her that he'd claim Kyna to hold no entitlement to the throne. So curious in fact, that she couldn't dare let the statement go without notice. "Um sure Celandine woulda loved to hear ya' say that, bu' because she's not here... Kyna's th' kin of Phineas, don't that make er' a princess? That's whu' everyone's been callin' her all her life, so.." and if she were not, for whatever what reason, then why did the stark white woman hate her so damn much? 'Then again, she did hate me fer a bit. Mus' be a heir thing.'

"Why dun'cha help me look fer her while ya' elaborate? Less' ya' got somethin' better to do, bein' all important now or whatever." Maeve rolled her eyes, slowly making way on the path she'd originally chosen to set out on for the day. "She ain't in the funny plants, vaguely searched em' before ya' came. What're they called anyway?" the monochrome'd child had taken quite a liking to the cattail's, and had honestly hoped the male had a better explanation as to what exactly they were.

Erebos looked on as Maeve continued the conversation, expectedly not on the same page as him. How could she be? All his justifications had nothing to do with her and were rooted in history that had eradicated itself long before she came into the world. Borlla. Where the fuck had she gone? If she had stayed, his life would be so much different right now, he was certain of it.

It wasn't obvious how the question should be answered, but luckily he was given time to think on it when Maeve suggested action and also threw him another query. Erebos followed a few paces behind her, ember eyes sweeping over the area around them to lazily search for the missing royalty he was pretty certain wasn't anywhere around.

"Y'got kind of a shitty attitude, y'know that?" he finally and rhetorically pointed out. It was a statement, and one that didn't even carry the distaste its content might imply; he himself wasn't the most pleasant wolf either, and he was well aware of it. That also meant he knew just how lonely such a disposition could make a wolf, though. Maeve's future really wasn't looking too bright, but he felt little draw to try and stop that car crash. Little did he know how much would change in the time ahead of them.

"Those're cattails, they explode into fluff when they're done," he informed her, answering the questions in reverse. "Kyna ain't full blooded. Celandine, Takis, Hypatia; they're the rightful heirs, and so long as I'm in charge that's how it'll stay."

Phineas might consider his bastard girl a princess, but that was just one of the many things the brothers would disagree on.

"Y'wanna take some of them catttails home?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 14, 2016, 05:45 AM by Erebos.)

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

Honestly, I think she likes you. XD

The colorless fae couldn't help but smile at Erebos' remark. Of course her attitude was poor, that's just what happened to wolves when anyone they'd ever cared about vanished into thin air, or so she'd assumed at least. And if that simply wasn't enough, Celandine had briefly trained her in the art of being a complete bitch, and honestly the child wouldn't have it any other way. Presently, Maeve couldn't think of anyone who even deserved her kindness, so why bother faking it?

"Well tha's real ironic tha' Cella hates ya' then. Seems like ya' on the same page n' all." She cackled, once again returning her admiration toward the strange 'cattails'. "Yea, think I'll take some. Bu' only cuz Cella would like em, prolly. She likes weird stuff ya' know." Honestly, the fae was lying. Silent Moon's true heir would more than likely despise the obscure plant, but Maeve couldn't possibly admit her fondness for them, it'd just be far too embarrassing. "You gotta make yerself useful though n' carry em. Can't use m' senses to their proper potential with a mouthful o' funny vegetables. Gods know m' the only one even tryin' here." and with a flick of her tail, the orphan continued making small steps toward her 'investigation'.

-cheers-!!

Erebos' ears picked up, surprise briefly shining within his ember eyes at Maeve's first choice of words. @Celandine hated him? The hell was that about? He couldn't imagine what he had done to the girl to deserve her ire. Was everything tied to Phineas just destined to be difficult? Thankfully, Maeve continued talking long enough to distract him from such annoying thoughts.

A chuff of laughter escaped his own throat this time as he swept past the girl. This child was really something, and he couldn't tell if he liked it or not, but it certainly wasn't driving him away by any means. Anyways, if that's how she wanted it, then let the search party begin.

"Don't get ahead of yerself now, y'aint no princess neither," he remarked flippantly, ignoring her command that he carry her presents for her. "We'll catch 'em on our way back. T'gether."

Putting his nose to the wind, he began searching with as much diligence as Maeve seemed to desire. Really, finding Celandine now benefitted him even more. Not only did he need the young woman to come back and prepare to claim what was hers, but he apparently had a misunderstanding to settle with her, and maybe this girl would lighten the hell up if her idol was back.