Cassandra Valour

Mama had told her that Mummy had become the sovereign of another pride. It confused Cassandra - wasn't Mummy the lead fighter for the Hollow? Isn't that why they'd had to meet King Magnus' cubs at that event when she was a little bit younger? A huff escaped Cassandra as she continued to pad away from the confines of the Brook. She was hesitant, to a point, to leave the safety of the Brook. The only time she'd left it previously was under the protection of one or both of her mothers. Leaving the Brook... it was weird to be doing. But still, the Valour child set off from the safety of her home in the early hours of the morning. Mama had been busy doing something, but had left Farrow to watch over her and her brothers. And that's when Cassandra had snuck out from the den. She wanted to find this place Mummy had become a Queen of. She was curious, in all honesty. And wanted to ask Mummy what she did to make Mama so upset.

It was quite the trek from the Brook to the Cove, and the sun was well in the sky as Cassanda finally found herself coming up to the border. She'd been taught about borders, and that the only one she could cross back and forth without any potential threats was the borderline of the Brook. Her paws were sore from having walked that far distance, and she likely wouldn't head back to the Brook that day. Sleepover with Mummy? She was perfectly okay with that - if Mummy would have her. Huffing, Cassandra sat her butt down on the sand right at the borderline and called out for her mother. Hopefully she wouldn't get in too much trouble for having wandered off from the Brook... She just wanted to see where Mummy lived now, and figure out why she'd left the Hollow when she wouldn't come live with Mama in the Brook. The Valour girl figured she was old enough to know these things by now. Still only 8 months old, the dark brown girl was rapidly growing into her full personality. No longer was she the shy and somewhat nervous young cub.

Now she was a daughter she hoped Mummy could be proud of - headstrong, outspoken and fearless. After all, would a younger version of herself left the Brook alone, without an escort? Not to mention the fact that she'd snuck out as well. She'd told her brothers to tell only Mama where she'd gone - not Farrow. She still wasn't the biggest fan of him. After all - why did he have to barge into her perfect life with Mama and Mummy? Sure he was nice - but why did Mama need to add him into their life? These thoughts were running through the girl's head while she awaited the familiar form of her mother to show up. Her tail would tap gently on the ground as she peered past the borderline to see what this strange place held.

@Morrigan

text. "She speaks." 'She thinks.'

Art & Table code by Zodiac

Feyre sleeps with one eye open. Or so she pretends. In fact, she has been sleeping on her patrol duty and is drooling vigorously down her chin. Dreams aside, it's her own snore that wakes her, causing her to stumble a little. With some embarrassment clouding her cheeks, Feyre grabs her stick - a very sharp and pointy one - and hauls herself up. Mama and her lil' sibs are doing good and Drakon's taking care of them. So Feyre will be doing the more important job of securing the cove. She thinks Avaneira is gonna poop out kids too since her belly looks big like mama's were before her sibs came out. Everyone relies on Feyre now until both Ava and Hecuba can walk again. Feyre soon stops as she sees an older girl along the border. Hey! Trespasser! I'll knock you out! It's a warning, even though it sounds like a threat. Feyre races toward @Cassandra with the mighty intent of poking her with her stick. There's a reason why no bad guys have come to the cove yet.

image by rabbit/nesla, code by koi

From behind the two young girls within the depths of the territory came a low rumble, "Feyre, thank you for your diligence, but please don't hit my daughter with your stick," she stated calmly, revealing the beloved face of her only daughter to be not a trespasser but kin. Though Drakon's crew still didn't seem to like the idea of calling them family. Feyre at least seemed like she might be coming around. Morrigan moved quickly to nuzzle her daughter's face and usher her across the border into safety before turning back with a stern look, "Cass, as thrilled as I am to see you, my darling... Do Talisa or Farrow know you're here?" As happy as she was to be able to embrace one of her children and know they were safe after recent events at any chance she got, it was a long way down from the Brook and Morrigan couldn't imagine @Cassandra being given permission to make the journey alone... especially with death and turmoil being so close and so recent.

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

Cassandra Valour

Though she expected her mother to appear to heed her call first, it would appear that wouldn't be the case. A younger and smaller cub would appear, waving a pointy stick at her as she raced towards her. Cassandra's eyes widen with surprise as she quickly darted out of the way. She didn't really want to get poked by anything... She'd be in even worse trouble if she came home to the Brook injured in any way. ""I didn't even pass the borderline! I'm no trespasser!"" Cassandra retorted with a snort as she gave @Feyre an annoyed look.

However, her expression would change from annoyed to happy once she heard her mother's voice. A nuzzle was give to her face, and Cassandra let out a soft rumble (almost like a purr) at her mother's affections before she was quickly nudged past the border line into the territory. Hear dark ears pushed back as @Morrigan then turned to her with a stern look before questioning her presence. Looking down at the ground, Cassandra answered her mother. ""I told Khal and Ori... Mama had told Farrow to watch us while she was off doing something again, so I snuck out early this morning while he was still asleep."" The Valour girl said, knowing she was probably likely to get in trouble for having snuck out.

""But I wanted to know what was really going on! Mama won't tell me anything - just that I'm too young, and just leaves us to be babysat by Farrow while she goes off and does things."" Cassandra said, bi-colored purple gaze met her mother's own. ""She didn't even tell us why you weren't coming around as much anymore - other than you'd become a Sovereign of another pride. I miss seeing you all the time... It seems like you've not been around much lately and I missed you..."" The young girl said, rushing forward to press her head against her mother's chest or leg - whichever she could more easily each.

Cassandra was truthful in what she said. She really did miss seeing Mummy all the time - and even though she was growing older and older, she'd still call her moms what she'd called them her whole life. ""I just wanted to come see you and spend time with you, and I was afraid Mama or Farrow wouldn't let me come if I asked permission.."" She said, ears pushing back as she spoke. She'd always been more like her Greyflood mother, aside from her connection and interest to Maua. That came from Talisa's side of the family.

text. "She speaks." 'She thinks.'

Art & Table code by Zodiac

Aha. So the big lion girl was lying! Served her right for trespassing and lying. But before Feyre can go for the ankles, @Morrigan came out of nowhere. She told Feyre that @Cassandra was her daughter. To Feyre, however, she saw little resemblance. Morrigan had black fur but Cassandra has brown fur. One of them ought to explain how that was possible. Still, Feyre didn't want to get in trouble so she dropped her stick with a thud and sat on it. Might as well keep an eye on Cassandra in case she decided to trick them. But it sounded like the girl was...upset? Feyre didn't get what she was saying but had a feeling she shouldn't even be here. And yet, she stayed, only because it was her sworn duty to protect the border. You're welcome Feyre grumbled, though her cheeks did get a bit warmer at that part of the response from Morrigan.

image by rabbit/nesla, code by koi

As Cassandra's fiery response to Feyre's own fire, Morrigan was shown again that their only daughter might have been taking more after herself than Talisa. She revealed that she had at least told her brothers where she was going, though, so Farrow and Talisa shouldn't be too panic-stricken. "That wasn't kind to Farrow, Cass." Her voice was still stern but her face was also concerned about Cassandra's apparent lack of respect for the handsome brute. As Cass let her feelings spill out though, Morrigan felt her heart clench with more guilt in her chest, another reminder of what it was she was missing out on. She would wrap her paw around @Cassandra as she rushed into her embrace, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Your Mama is busy. She's the Heiress of the Brook. A very important person for more than one reason... And now I'm Sovereign here with your Aunt Ava, just like she is for Aunt Nym. She misses me, too, so it's hard. But we're both just trying to keep you all safe and secure." She was undecided if she should tell the children about Valhalla's death, since they hadn't known him personally, but if she was pressed she would tell them when it was necessary. For now, she didn't want to make things too heavy. She was just happy to see her daughter, but there were things they needed to discuss later on. "How about we let @Feyre show us around the territory for now though, huh? Talk about this stuff later?" This meant Cass could at least spend the night in the Cove and the Sovereign looked to Feyre to see if she was willing to accept the responsibility of tour guide and border guard.

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

Cassandra Valour

Her ears pushed back at the slight chastising about how her leaving the way she did wasn't very nice to Farrow. A small 'hmph' escaped the near yearling. ""I just don't like him.. it feels like he's trying to replace you in my life. Acting like he's my dad when he's not."" Cassandra said, her voice soft as she looked towards the ground. She really felt like Farrow had just barged his way into their family, and tried to take over Morrigan's spot in it... Her brothers seemed to like him well enough, but she just didn't have the same connection with him as Khal and Ori seemed to.

Her feelings were soothed a bit as her mother placed a kiss on top of her head while wrapping her paw around her. @Morrigan would then go on to explain that her Mama was the Brook's Heiress, and that apparently she was very important for many reasons. ""She just doesn't seem to have time for us anymore... She used to spend lots of time with us when we were younger... and now it just seems like she tends to spend more time with Farrow these days… She’s still around us, and takes us to different things.. But it just feels like Mama’s spending more time with Farrow - especially now that she’s pregnant."" Cassandra said, looking down at her paws as she spoke. She had no idea about the death of the native that had occurred, nor did she know everything that had happened in the world outside of the Brook. Her and her littermates had been kept sheltered from the violence outside their borders.

""Is it okay if I stay for a few days? I wanna meet Aunt Ava and see the Cove. We can let Mama know somehow... I just wanna spend some time with you.."" Cassandra said, perking her ears forward and nodding as she suggested that @Feyre show them around the territory and that they'd talk about everything later. Her bi-colored purple eyes turned to the younger girl. ""Is that your name? I'm Cassandra."" She said, hoping to make the younger girl less stand-off-ish to her presence here.

text. "She speaks." 'She thinks.'

Art & Table code by Zodiac

At the words from @Morrigan asking her to show the newbie around, Feyre perks up and her face considerably brightens. Her paws begins rolling her stick under her as she begins to think of something to talk about. One face comes into her mind, someone familiar, but now twisted over into something fantastical as she imagines the thing moving around. With her small tail swinging in a circle, she steps away from @Cassandra. Okay well one of you will have to hold my stick so I can talk! She stares at the older girl, who looks big enough to easily carry it. New girl, you can take it! There's a scary one-eyed monster that lives here who eats cubs after she slaps your bum. Feyre giggles a little, but hopefully she doesn't intentionally summon Big Bad Meanie here. But Morrigan's here and she's sure she'll get help from her! I'll even show you how to beat adults with my stick if you can keep up. With that, Feyre starts leading them, first to the den area. Definitely not to flaunt her collection of sticks that are overflowing from her own den.

image by rabbit/nesla, code by koi

Her ears pushed back at the slight chastising about how her leaving the way she did wasn't very nice to Farrow. A small 'hmph' escaped the near yearling. "You don't have a dad, Cass. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to give him a chance. Talisa had two mothers and a father and received all the more love and support for it. No one is taking anyone's place..." she tried to reassure her, tell her that there were endless places in her life for people who loved and cared for her. It was something Morrigan had not had the chance to know, but she wanted it for her children.

Morrigan released a sigh, deciding it would be best to give her some explanation so she knew Talisa's preoccupation was because of something much worse than her handsome beau. "A native man was killed in a deathmatch in the rainforest, Cass. That has never happened in Maua's lands before, and the man who died was very close to the Valour. He lived there before you were born. Our ranks mean that we don't only have to grieve, we have to deal with the political fallout as well. I hope one day this all makes more sense to you..." she said before standing and looking at @Feyre again, "but for now lets go check out the Cove, shall we? I'll take you home to the Brook in a few days."

She couldn't deny her growing daughter the chance to stretch her wings, but she also didn't have any intention of sending her back alone anyway. "Lead the way, Feyre," she offered the other girl before she would follow along with @Cassandra. exit morrigan

table by ferus, art by grav3wolf

Cassandra Valour

It was... odd how much the younger cub seemed to love that stick of hers. Cassandra wouldn't say anything, but she did find it odd the infatuation that @Feyre had with the stick. When the smaller cub told basically seemed to insist she carry this stick of hers, Cassandra got a bewildered look in her eyes for a moment or two - though she quickly covered it up as soon as it passed over her face. ""Sure..."" She said in response to the younger girl's insistence that she carry the stick. Feyre said something about some scary one-eyed monster that lived there, and the fluffy girl's gaze darted over to @Morrigan, doubt in her eyes as she looked towards her mother. This younger girl was... weird to say the least.

Her mother would try to reassure her worries about Farrow and stuff, and it did soothe the near-yearling somewhat. ""It just feels like it..."" Cassandra said quietly, scraping her a paw on the ground as she spoke. Her next statement would be answered though, and the Greyflood would tell her about what had happened that had caused Talisa to have to deal with a lot of other things that weren't just grief over the death of a family friend. ""Oh.."" She said softly, ears pushing back as she felt thoroughly chastised by what she'd thought. However, her ears would prick right back up as Morrigan offered that they go check out the Cove. ""I'd like that."" She said, rubbing against Morrigan's legs as they started to move further into the Cove. The dark-pelted lioness would then ask the other girl to take the lead, and Cassandra would finally learn the other girl's name - Feyre. Looking at her mother with amusement at the younger girl, Cassandra would pick up the other cub's prized stick as she'd asked her to do before continuing to follow behind Feyre and alongside her mother.

"-Exit Cassandra-"

text. "She speaks." 'She thinks.'

Art & Table code by Zodiac