Make my messes matter
Make this chaos count

"Another royal, huh?" Darcia replied in kind, the curled ends of his whiskers twitching. He had stumbled across at least one distinct pride border in these lands so far, so it made sense that there would be at least some form of leadership and hierarchy to be found. And a princess of a mire no less, the mud was looking more fitting now. "I guess I'd better remember my manners."

Heh, princess frog.

Standing, the seeker decided it was time that he get off of his literal high horse and at least talk on even ground. Normally, he would be just fine setting her soak in the muck while he stayed where he was most comfortable, but proper decorum of talking to another of high rank on at least equal footing was a thing drummed in. Though it wasn't like he was striking any deals or playing ambassador.

The boy descended easily, long claws allowing him to do a an almost leopard-like walk-crouch down before he reluctantly, gingerly, stepped into the chilled water. Not nearly worth it for the decorum, but it was too late to climb back of now. Ugh, he could feel something gritty between his toes.

"I can't imagine being in this every day. Your immune system must be made of stone," Darcia commented, straightening himself up again before going on. "Anyhow, if you ever do see someone that looks like me, same age, same doubled ears and tail, tell him that Darcia is looking for him."


@Theodosia

Let every little fracture
In me shatter out loud

_{BG — ART — CODE}

Theodosia is very much royalty - in fact, that is the name of the rank the princess has within the pride - but does she consider herself a royal of any sort? No, she really does not, but this boy does not need to know that.

"Not many lions in Amaryllis have manners," she says with a derisive scoff, not directed towards him but rather at the mess she has seen on more than one occasion. "The Mire favors ambition, so we get a lot who have no decorum whatsoever." She eyes him curiously, finding that she likes his manners. They are much more civilized than those of some of her kin at home.

Finally he comes down from his perch, putting him on her level - ground level. When he finally stands before her in the mud she can see that they are nearly the same size. In fact, he is a little smaller than she is, and more slender as well. She snorts in a very unladylike manner when he mentions living in the mud every day. "I would say I'm used to it because I was born in it, but that would be a lie," she said wryly. She had been born in what was more a forest, lacking in the mud department. But the death of her mother had ended that existence and brought her to the Mire.

In truth, Theodosia probably hates the mud just as much as @Darcia does.

"You climb well," she comments, eyeing the tree he had just descended. There is a touch of envy in her voice. It is a skill she has never tested before, and now she is craving the escape it might offer her. Gone is the girl who was willing to tease and here is the girl who wants to learn.

She nods her head simply at his direction, willing to look out for a Darcia lookalike, and then asks, "Does this clone of yours have a name?"

Make my messes matter
Make this chaos count

"ooc": apologies for the short reply, have been having very low energy past few days.


"I've noticed an awful lot of gawkers." He can't help but be inclined to agree with her for the most part. Not all of his encounters thus far in the region had been bad exactly, but Darcia was very quickly realizing just how much the odd man out he was here. Back home, travelers passing through had been the ones that were out of their depth in a world where he and his reigned. Here? Here, he was unusual, even monstrous.

Standing with dark sludge lapping at his shins, Darcia noted her use of what he could only assume was the region's name; Amaryllis. A good bit of information to know thst he plucked up and tucked away with silent regard. He knew where he was now, perhaps not physically all of the time but he had a name to a face.

@Theodosia's compliment and question are met with a twitch of his doubled ears, the corner of his mouth sliding up before a small laugh left him. "Dubhán. He climbs just as well as me, so you might want to keep an eye turned up."

It wasn't much, but it was another set of eyes looking out.

Let every little fracture
In me shatter out loud

_{BG — ART — CODE}

OOC: no worries. apologies on my end for making you wait - I've been slow while at work this week and focusing on reqs for my leaders

---

Theo tilts her head to one side, studying him again. Perhaps it is rude for her to stare so, but she finds him intriguing. Different is good in her book. "Well, of course they stare," she says with a shrug. "You're different. People don't know what to do with different." She is certain he already realizes that, of course, but she says it anyways. "Different isn't bad though," she adds shortly after, finishing with, "I find you interesting." They way he looks, his mannerisms. All of it is interesting to the young girl who has spent most of her life in the mud and muck of the Mire.

Askan has settled down some, and with a bird-like huff he ruffles his feathers again and takes off from her back to rest in a tree, which is far more comfortable. If she had not been in a swamp she might have considered sitting down once he was gone, but she isn't about to risk covering herself in more mud by doing that.

She offers @Darcia the slightest curve of her mouth in a smile. "After finding you up there, I think I'll be looking up more often," she responds lightly. "Do you always hang around in trees?" She glances up towards the branches a little wistfully, wishing climbing was a part of her skill set. She decided then that she absolutely must practice it. Surely she can do it if this lion can.

Make my messes matter
Make this chaos count

He is at first struck ramrod straight by the unexpected compliment, stiffening in surprise at the surprisingly thoughtful words send his his way. Interesting in a good way, huh? He could work with that. Darcia is quick to clear his throat, plastering on a smile to cover up the boyish bashfulness that tickled the back of his spine and giving a purring laugh.

"Well, I'm glad you think this poor fish out of water so interesting!" The Geminus heir replied, straining to keep his ears perked attentively forward and not nesting back into the tufts of his growing mane. A sharp, exasperated sounding chirp from Gentian nearly made him flinch, but helped him at least snap back into full focus. "I know it has been a refreshing sight to see someone else with a companion, I've never seen a white crow before. Is this a local species or a case of albinism?"

Albinism. Considered a curse in the Sunless Stretch where the dark was pervasive enough to gray out such pristine tones, but not enough to save a stray cub from predators in the dark who only saw easy prey. A child touched by the all encompassing white hadn't been born in generations in his family that he knew of, the lightest he'd seen among other Geminus being a golden-brown hue. There were other reasons why that might be, but right now was not the time to dwell on them.

At her own question, he perked a touch more genuine alertness fills the prince.

"Thank you, I appreciate the extra eye out," he began, mentally checking off yet another name and face to watch out for should they cross paths with good news again. A princess should have some sort of reach, yes? "And I highly recommend climbing as a skill, it has myriad uses. Me and my brother were actually born in a tree, a massive one that crossed boughs with several others of similar size. If you add enough filler and support over generations, wouldn't you know it, you've got a massive nest!" He missed that nest and the security it had given him and Dubhán as they rested high above all but the most tenacious of threats. "My paws didn't touch proper ground until I was a few months old, actually."

@Theodosia

Let every little fracture
In me shatter out loud

_{BG — ART — CODE}

She smiles tentatively at @Darcia and his reaction to her compliment. She had been telling the truth of course. He is different from what she knows, yes. But there is always something intriguing about things that are new. And while she does think he looks different, she doesn't think he looks weird or even bad. He seems quite well-spoken, too, and the fact that he is a prince draws her interest even more.

He pulls his ears forward and she finds herself wondering if he can hear better with four of them, or if his hearing is just the same. Or perhaps one of the sets of ears is more decorative and less functional. Perhaps she can ask him later, but before her thoughts stray too far he brings up her companion as his own chirps in his ear. "I'm pretty sure Askan is just albino," she answers, glancing up at the crow. "The rest are all the normal black. Sometimes they hang around too, but its just him today." The rest of the flock had not deemed it worthwhile to follow them around in the swamp, and she couldn't say she blamed them much.

"I haven't see anything like your bird before," she continues. "What is it?" Whatever the little bird is, it is quite pretty. The flashy colors are not lost on Theo with her plum coat. She is quite fond of shades of purple.

The idea that a lion might be born in a tree seems a little outlandish to her. Here there weren't any trees to support that kind of weight. But she had never been outside of Amaryllis so she supposed anything could be possible. "I think I would much prefer a tree to the Mire," she says, a hint of awe followed by disgust in her voice. "I was born in a little clearing, on the ground. When our mother-" she pauses for a moment, trying to find the right word. Dead isn't quite right, because even though that's what they had all thought, it had turned out that she was alive. "Went missing," she finally finishes the thought, "our father took us to his pride where he is the king. It just happens to be a mire."

Since he had shared a bit of his story she doesn't mind sharing a small bit of hers.

Make my messes matter
Make this chaos count

@Theodosia's mention of being normally tailed by a host of crows has him interested, and honestly considering the practical uses of such an arrangement. Corvids were clever birds with often complex social structures, he could see how having that network on one's side could be a boon. On the other paw, because of that intellect, they were smart enough to cheat a system set into place.

Definitely a mix of risk and reward, but he ultimately had no stake in whatever headaches might rise from trying wrangle them. Darcia nodded at her assessment of her companion, offering a contemplative hum of "I see, fascinating..." under his breath as he glanced over to the pale bird.

"Gentian is a violet-backed starling, from a line that has accompanied my family since my grandfather's time," he shares his own companion's species, to which another chirp escapes the mentioned starling as he preened himself proudly.

The conversation dipped slightly darker for a moment as the princess gave him a brief glimpse at her own life, particularly a troubled start that landed her in a place that she appeared leas than enthused about. Some of the shine fades from Darcia's eyes as he schools his posture to something more subdued, offering Theodosia an acknowledging dip of his head. "That must have been hard for you, to lose someone so important before you could could even meet them."

He could only assume "missing" meant death, but perhaps the girl wasn't wiling to brazenly admit that to herself. He could unfortunately...relate. But there was no proof to suggest Dubhán was anything but alive.

"It's looks like you grew up just fine though, with lots of feathery friends," Darcia appended, flicking his lupine ears repeatedly like a pair wings themselves.

Let every little fracture
In me shatter out loud

_{BG — ART — CODE}

It is true that the birds that often tail her are intelligent in the way they operate. Some of her family might consider them dumb animals but they are anything but. They learn quickly, and they only stay with her because she offers them benefits. Food, trinkets, and the safety of a predatory friend. Without that it was unlikely any but Askan might stay. And it is only Askan that bothers to teach her, though the others are aware of her knowledge.

The little bird on @Darcia chirps as he is spoken about and Theodosia chuckles lightly. He clearly knows he is being discussed and she finds it cute as he preens at his feathers. "He is very striking," she offers, being truthful. His bright colors are beautiful.

She shakes her head in response to his comment about her...situation. "No, we knew her," she says, her voice not dipping into the sorrow that had come with her mother's supposed death. "For a few months we lived with her. She didn't come for us one day, and when father visited he says he found her dead, and then took us to the Mire." She emits a single, harsh laugh. Aidoneus was never dead. They had been through all of that pain for nothing.

"Turns out she faked it," she finishes with a shrug. "Father buried her for nothing - or maybe he buried someone else. I don't know." She shakes her head, ending the story there. "Sorry; you don't need to hear my life story," she apologizes with a wry smile. Truthfully, though, Theo is still quite young. Everything that has happened in her short life weighs heavily on her, and much of it lies unresolved in her mind. She could hardly resist a chance to get some of it off her chest.

But Darcia is right. She grew up well enough, always curious and with her strange friends. The others thought her odd, but perhaps she is lucky to have what she does.

Make my messes matter
Make this chaos count

Darcia's lips pull tight once it is his turn to be exasperated with his avian friend, nudging Gentian's side with his nose when the starling hopped across his shoulder in a showy strut upon being complimented.

"Off with you, go find some gnats or something," Darcia snorted, shaking his head and watching Gentian puff up and take off before listening to @Theodosia's correction. His brows lowered slightly as he considered her words and the uncertainty in just how the situation unfolded. Her father had possibly buried the wrong body, or else buried her mother alive? It seemed like even if she was convinced that her mother hadn't perished, she still lacked the full story of just why that was.

Not his place to pry, or audibly assume otherwise. Aside from comparing him to a bat at first, the princess had been kind to him.

"There's no need to apologize, it sounds like it's something that's been perplexing you for a while," the Geminus heir assured with a light wave of his dual tails. There is a pause, then he continued on. "I should be moving on soon, I have a lot of mucky, mucky ground to cover," Darcia chuckled ruefully before sighing as he shifted his amethyst gaze out over the swamp. "You seem like a smart one, so I think no matter the case of your origin, you're going to be fine, yeah?"

He dipped his head, mindful to keep his locs from dipping into the mud. "It was nice to meet you, Princess Theodosia."

Let every little fracture
In me shatter out loud

_{BG — ART — CODE}

ooc: sorry for the delay, got distracted with taking over SL

---

Theo chuckles at the antics of the little bird. It is clear that they both care for each other, much in the way that she and Askan do. He had found her as a cub and they had been friends ever since.

When he finishes with his bird and turns back to her, he accepts her apology graciously. She offers him a crooked smile in return. "Things have been a bit of a mess lately," she agrees with a nod. It's hard to handle such things when one is barely a year old.

As @Darcia mentions that he should be going, Theo glances up at the sky. Time had moved on as they had spoken and she really should be getting back to the Mire for now. She nods in acceptance. "I should be getting home," she sighs, almost wistfully. Soon, she promised herself. It will only be home a little while longer. "Good luck finding your...brother?" He hadn't said as much, but she assumes the relationship is most likely siblings. "I'll keep my eyes up."

She offers him one last smile. "Yes, I think I'll be fine," she chuckles, turning away from him to head back towards the Mire. "It was nice meeting you, too, Prince Darcia. Maybe we'll meet again." Maybe she would no longer be a princess.

And with that she heads off, wading through the swamp like she had been born in it.

/Exit Theo