somewhat vague details based on thread with magnus finishing


She woke when it was still early. The sun had barely begun to peek over the horizon and for a moment she was disorientated. What had woken her?

An answering growl from her stomach clarified things and the growing cub lifted herself to all fours. Bright eyes scanned her surroundings and a small thrill of fear coursed through her body. This place was strange and unfamiliar and while Magnus had welcomed her she worried that somebody would come along and be angry with her presence.

At the same time she was hungry, and if there was one thing the cub had learned it was that water would often tamp down that feeling. Though the lagoon was surrounded by water it was not the kind that she could drink and so she left her sleeping space and set off to find some that was more palatable. Lucky for her there was a small stream not far from where she had settled and her nose was quick to point her in that direction.

Tense and on guard she sat at the edge of the water, examining her surroundings with quick and furtive looks. Once she was fairly certain she was alone she lowered her head to lap at the water. Asteria remained on guard, muscles tense and ears constantly twitching, prepared to flee if any sign of danger reared it's head. By all appearances she was a stray, a trespasser, and she only hoped that anybody who showed would listen to her words before they reacted with tooth and claw.

@Saga

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she watches the dark cub with a narrowed gaze and vague frown. she's on edge, practically vibrating with the need to either fight or flight as she perches at the edge of the stream and drinks up the water with a seemingly relentless need. a soft sound escapes the back of her throat as she rises, stretching in a dramatic fashion. her tongue lolls out in a yawn and she wanders closer, body swaying a little to make her more comfortable as she moves. she's not as big a balloon as so many before her have been, but the pregnancy pushes out her formerly athletic build and threatens to make her misstep as she becomes accustomed again to feel of carrying children. she approaches casually, head at half mast and tail curled above her hips in a friendly manner. "i don't think we've met," saga says by way of welcome as she comes to a halt at the stream's edge. she drinks her own fill, lifting her head only when she's finished, and licks the water from her whiskers. "i'm saga sigrun." @Asteria

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It was her plan to find Magnus, after, and thank him for the shelter. Sleeping here had been vastly better than trying to find her way back to the jungle in the dark, not that there was anybody there for her to go back to. The rest of the group didn't seem to mind much if she was away, and Nero definitely didn't now... But Asteria had told him she would help, and before she left she wanted to ask Magnus if he knew this Saga that Nero had mentioned.

These thoughts and more skittered through her mind before they were abruptly interrupted and she scrambled back from the water with a squeak of surprise. For all her due diligence she was a cub, yet, and clearly had not heard the approach.

Her gaze rose from the water to the newcomer, studying the stranger with a clear lack of trust. She was tense, still, though gradually relaxed as it became apparent that no harm was meant. "Hullo," she murmured and watched as the lioness drank.

Her next words stunned the child enough that her jaw quite literally dropped. "Saga?" Repeating the name with something akin to disbelief. "D'you know a cub... uhm well he's not a cub really now, kinda bigger... his name is Nero." She looked expectantly at the mother-to-be, her own name forgotten in the excitement of the moment. Even if Nero had all but disowned her the black child was still determined to live up to her end of the promise. Even if she never saw him again.

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the squeal of surprise is ignored and saga simply drinks while the cub gathers herself and finds the courage to speak. when asteria speaks her name again, a brow quirks above her dark brow and she smiles vaguely, mystified. was her name so... strange? "ye-es?" she drawls out only to be surprised, herself. the little scrap of dark fur knew the albino child from the challenge some time ago. a faint smile creeps across her lips and she nods her head absently, hoping he is doing.... well. he'd been keen on the youthful group he'd fallen in with and she hadn't wanted to drag him kicking and screaming back to the hollows. seems this girl was in the same position. the yearling group was gaining traction, she notes with amusement. but asteria looks thin and she frowns lightly, leaning closer to regard her critically. were they not able to hunt well? that doesn't bode well for the mother and she leans back with a hmph. "i do - i was going to bring him home but he preferred the company of the other youth..." she shrugs one shoulder as if to say what can you do? "i assume you know him - and hopefully his group, too? have they kicked you out?" her fur bristles along the nape of her neck at the thought and she holds tight to her composure as she struggles to get the whole picture before feeling angry or not. either way, the child needs some help and she's loathe to send her back to them. @Asteria

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The confirmation brought a swell of excitement to the child - maybe she could help Nero. Maybe even now she could help and then maybe he wouldn’t hate her so much. That thought made her ears flatten for a moment, but she shook it off.

“yeah, I mean no they haven’t kicked me out, but yeah that’s Nero.” Her teeth pulled on her lip for a moment as she considered her next words. “he is, was, my best friend. I think… I think he made a mistake. He’s sad all the time, and angry. I tried to help, I tried to be his friend, but I’m not enough.” The words came out in a tumble and try as she might she couldn’t keep the emotion out of them.

“They aren’t bad, they’re just… busy? Honestly the only one I’ve met is Bhaskar and he’s real nice… I don’t know the others.” Asteria shrugged, her own experience was inconsequential right now. “I think Nero needs a mom.”

Her ears pressed against her head again as she peered up at the lioness and hoped she hadn’t said too much. Honestly Nero might hate her for saying as much as she had - but that didn’t matter anymore did it? He already had left her, he already hated her, so the least she could do was try to help him.

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the poor thing. saga's heart tugs as she spills the truth of everything. ah, so nero was not.... exactly doing well. her face falls at the realization and she sighs sadly. she's been so selfishly caught up with everything that she hadn't spent time to track the boy down and see how he'd been doing. wincing at how utterly awful she was, saga sits with a sigh. "busy, hm?" her tone is rather dry with a hint of anger at the edges. it's obvious that they'd been close but something led to a falling out - and asteria is wounded, despite her attempt to hide it. for a long moment, the sigrun woman is quiet. thoughtful. then she leans her head down to peer at the child at her level. "nero needs a mom, but you don't?" she queries, a brow quirked. it seems the yearling group is well enough off for the older children but cubs? they obviously don't care quite enough to keep tabs on the youngest of them. her brows tighten as she recalls bhaskar saying he would take care of them. all of them rallying against her when she offered help. a lip curls back and she swallows the anger thickly, pushing it down and forcing herself to control the agitation. "i think perhaps you both do." she doesn't look at the girl as she says it, but the intent is clear: she doesn't particularly want the girl to leave the lagoon. but she's not quite ready to claim her. she's not keen on forcing the independent youth to curb to the laws of a strange new land. but if she can't persuade her, saga knows that she'll do it to keep her safe. "why don't you stay in the lagoon? with us? we can go find nero together... get you both well fed and safe." @Asteria

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Was that the wrong word? The child frowned and puzzled over it for a minute for she shrugged. “I guess so. I jus’ see Bhas an’ Nero.” Not that Asteria was real easy to keep track of, being gone most the time. But how could she explain that to Saga? How could she explain that the only thing that kept her from drowning was keeping her feet moving?

The child was puzzling over that thought when the pale lioness spoke up again - Asteria nearly choked on her own saliva. Her ears burned and the burn spread down her face and chest. “I…” A familiar dark wave of panic rose and threatened to drag her down as the child opened and closed her mouth in a good imitation of a fish. “I have a mama,” she finally said, though the words were heavy with sorrow and practically gasped, “I jus’ don’ know where she went.” she had lost track of the days…

Asteria was horrified to find her eyes filling with tears and did not dare look up. “S-stay here?” The jungle was awfully lonely, especially now that Nero stayed away. “I think Nero would be mad. I think… I think he needs you more ‘n me.” Even as she said the words her heart wrenched painfully - the notion of rejecting the one thing she had ached for since she had been abandoned was unfathomable.

“He doesn’t wanna see me.” Her shoulder slumped and her ears stayed flat against her heart, chin tipped towards the ground in a posture that was the epitome of defeat.

@Saga

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she seems to have said the wrong thing, or struck a cord, because asteria is suddenly floundering in the familiar grips of what seems to be panic. saga's own mind flips back to her meeting with claw not so long ago and her own sense of drowning in emotion. steadily, she leans closer to press her nose to @Asteria's forehead, trying to ground her. the girl is staring at the ground and her words don't quite match the tone of her voice. the sigrun leans back and regards the black cub thoughtfully. she's strong - stronger than she gives herself credit for, truly. and loyal in a way that does her heart good. willing to put aside a home, a potential caretaker, to make sure her friend is cared for. even when he's, apparently, mad at her. while asteria stares at the ground, she tips her head skyward and closes her eyes, breathing deeply to control the agitation building in her. 'vellen save me from moody children,' she prays briefly, faint amusement sliding in to take the place of the annoyance. gently, then, she lifts a paw and places it beneath the chin of the girl, intending to tip her skull back so she can look at something other than the ground. "you know," she says conspiratorially, her voice a stage whisper as she drops her foot back to the earth whether asteria looks up or not. "sometimes parents have more than one cub." and this is a gentle tease, a jab at her - but half-hearted and far softer than saga's typical retorts. she leans in with a smile and swipes a tongue briefly across her face, trying to wipe the tears from her pink eyes. "besides, i don't have to be anyone's mother if they don't want. but i can still keep you safe, fed, warm." she's certainly not going to forcibly sit on every cub she finds until they decide she's their mother - although there's an intense wave of guilt that she didn't do just that when she first found nero.

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Asteria is only vaguely aware of Saga's touch, busy as she was fighting back the black wave. Despite her appreciation of the black sand beach and the blue-grey ocean she had likened her panic to a wave - it felt like the suck of water against her legs when she stood in the ocean shallows. Only it was bigger, stronger, and far more likely to drown her. Asteria saw the ocean as beautiful, unconquerable, but also deadly.

Perhaps it would amuse the older Sigrun to know the train of thoughts in the child's mind and the connection that had been made.

The sudden gesture lifted her chin and jostled the tears from where they had clung to her eyelids; they slid fast down her cheeks and she hated them. Emotion felt like weakness, like something she could not control, and Asteria did not wish to show it.

So with the light tease she forced a smile to her lips, half-hearted though it obviously was. "I know that," she wrinkled her nose and gave her a look that clearly said "I'm not stupid." However she also knew that that meant Nero would have to come live here too, and she doubted he would come now.

The gentle gesture was so unexpected to the affection starved child that it almost made her start crying all over again. Instead she closed her eyes and relished in the touch, any further tears lost to the sweep of @Saga 's tongue. A small part of her wanted to argue that she could keep herself safe, and warm and fed, but she knew that was a lie. Lazarus had helped (she could still taste the crab he had fed her, if she thought real hard) and she had hunted with Hiccup, but an instinctual part of her was craving real meat. There was only so much success a rogue child could have and though she was not starving she was still hungry.

"I am hungry," she murmured with a small frown, disliking admitting to any weakness. Her bright gaze did not move from the two-toned features of the lioness and she could not help but wonder - what now?

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she manages to draw a smile from the babe and feels at least relatively satisfied. @Asteria doesn't comment on whether or not she - or nero - actually want a mother or if they would ever consider taking saga as theirs and she doesn't press the issue. it's certainly not the moment to press. the girl might have a mother ( somewhere ) but if she's alone, now, the sigrun is not keen to leave her on her own one way or another. when she finally admits she's hungry the noble looses a rueful chuckle, eyes warming. "then stay." she coaxes gently, turning her body and angling towards where the cache is within the pridelands. "i'm the noble here - i have some power, kid. i can keep you out of harm's way and if you decide you want a mom who's here...." she tilts her head and winks down at the anxious girl and leaves it at that. they'll figure it out later. for now... she presses her lips together and rises, shaking some of the sand out of her coat and gesturing with a large paw. "let's go get you something to eat and chat about where to find our friend. we'll go this afternoon." she promises, her own determination steeling as she considers it. she doesn't want to put it off, not if he's as hungry as asteria is. he might be older than she is, now, but that doesn't mean he's any better at catching small prey or hunting than she is. and if the yearlings are.... busy, the sooner she snags the youth and brings him home, the better. "what's your name, elskan?" saga asks as they shift to find the cache and fill her belly. exit to foooood

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