a little sunlight was far overdue for the to-be-savante girl. she'd been cooped up in the cave her family had taken residence in for long enough. tending to the injured and smelling the stench of old blood grew tiring after a while. and as much as she adored her kin, she also needed time to explore alone every now and again.

with this in mind, the patchwork woman would trot out of the shared cave and aim to scramble up slope that looked climbable enough. claws out, a lunge would be made in order to hook her front paws onto a pair of footholds before hind legs would kick at the rock in front of her in an attempt to gain purchase.

lucky for csitri, this worked in her favor and she'd chosen a path that wasn't extremely treacherous. while some pebbles rained down, nothing fully gave away and she was able to heft herself on the ledge she'd been eyeing. with that done, she gained more confidence to scale the mountainside until she got to a substantial height - enough so that she could stare out at a distant portion of amaryllis, but not enough that it would be extremely difficult to get down.

@Alexander ♔

Alexander had noticed the small girl leaving the cavern and had quietly decided to follow after. He made no attempt to hide this, however, and left it up to on whether she would notice him or not.

Of course, she had to make things difficult - and perhaps in her struggle to climb upwards she might have missed the crimson beast equally struggling to move up the mountainside. This was not ideal given his size and the mass amount of mane he sported.

Brows furrowing as @Csitri seemed to finally settle on a ledge just big enough for herself. Thankfully, there was another within reach beside her that fit him. Alexander found himself settling down with a huff, a mixture of dirt and sand ushering from beneath him as he did so.

"You must make me work for your company, hm?" He muses warmly, pale eyes casting to his would-be daughter.

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her father was noted, yes. one was hard pressed to miss a big crimson and white lion out and about in the daylight - especially one struggling to pull his heavy ass up a rocky mountainside. csitri would giggle as she watched him from her perch. tail wrapped neatly around her paws as bi-colored gaze danced with amusement.

once he finally joined her, she'd grin cheekily at the giant and shoot him a wink for good measure. "you know i'm worth it, isä!" the response was prim and proper despite the goofy look on her face. they both knew it was worth her adoptive father's time to follow her around - as it was for any of the others. that's simply how the savantes worked, they cared deeply for each other and would always ensure the safety of the pack over everything else.

that, and csitri just so happened to be very confident that she was alex's favorite...even despite the fact that they shared no blood.

@Alexander ♔

Heavy paws extend out over the ledge he rested on, his head raising as he yawns lazily. Sore muscles ached, the wounds he had from the challenge screaming at him, but he had no intention of mentioning that to @Csitri.

The beast did not even give any real indication he was in pain, as he knew it would bother her if he did. Tongue lolled out a bit as his pale eyes continued to gaze at her adoringly, his toes curling and kneading as they curled under the ledge. There was much to talk about moving forward. Csitri was far past the age for the conversation ceremony, but he had no idea how to approach the subject to her - especially with their lack of a home, a flame and a sacred ritual spot.

Deep in his soul, however, he wanted to bring this precious girl into the fold of their blood. "You seem well, a lányom." He murmurs, showing no hesitation in calling her his daughter.

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mimicking the massive beast, she doesn't hesitate to make herself comfortable. so she sprawls out on her own ledge and rests her chin atop her paws. blinking at him, she rolls his words around in her head for a moment. despite all they'd been through to this point, csitri supposed she was doing quite well.

it was as she stared at him that she noticed his wounds. they seemed to be healing, but still in a rather painful stage. but csitri decided she'd ruined enough egos lately (ahem, dragos) and decided to remain silent on the issue. surely that was a subject one of the other healers could broach and argue later. for now, she was happy to bask in his attention and chat idly like old times.

"i am. although i worry about dragos." cissy admits, pursing her lips. perhaps it was kicking a man while he was down, but the young woman told her father everything. and this was just too much not to. he'd probably be able to shed some more light on the situation as well, since her brother was acting like such a stone cold ass.

@Alexander ♔

Alexander's pale eyes cast out across the horizon. The labyrinth did not seem so massive and intimidating from this higher vantage point. Though, he knew if he was not careful he could easily still get lost within it. Thankfully, he had taken time previously to learn the shortest paths through it, making reaching his family an easy task.

An ear flicks at the mention of Dragos, a brow following suit. "Oh, is he recovering well after...the challenge?" Alexander wanted to be more involved with his son, but the beast knew that such attentions were not welcome. At least not from him. So, he was forced to appear the distant, uncaring father - when he was anything but. Blue eyes cast back toward @Csitri, clear worry on his features. He knew that she would give him the truth, while Dragos would require a lot more bending.

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her stare would remain on his face stubbornly, trying to gauge their father's reaction to her concern. she knew he'd also be worried and hated to add more to his already full plate. but her uncles weren't likely to know what to do with her moody brother, and valerian...well, she wasn't quite brave enough to face him yet. not concerning this.

csitri would look down between her paws at the mention of dragos healing. her pelt felt hot, shame hitting her hard. she wasn't sure how to feel about what she'd done. at the time and shortly after it hadn't seemed like the wrong choice. it still didn't. but it had been...odd. csitri had never shared her blood with anyone before that moment. it was nothing like she'd been expecting.

finally peering at her father finally, the leucistic lioness would sigh heftily. "he's...healing as well to be expected. it's just that..." jaws snapped shut as she considered what to say. opening and closing a few times as she struggled, she finally decided to get on with it. "i had to heal him with my blood, isä. and he's been giving me the cold shoulder ever since." csitri admitted. saying it out loud made it seem so simple, but she knew it simply couldn't be. hell, she wasn't even sure how the two were related, but cissy had a gut feeling they were.

"i think i hurt his pride."

@Alexander ♔

He wasn't prepared for what @Csitri was to say. Blood healing was natural within the medical practices of his kin, but usually left to those more experienced - the older women of the family. It doesn't surprise him that Camellia or the others had taught her it, but her having used it, on Dragos specifically. The beasts features drew into a thoughtful expression, brows furrowing slightly as he hummed. "I do not think it is his pride, @Csitri..." He murmurs, tail flicking idly behind him, the tip a bit restless as it kicked up dirt along the edges of his ridge. "What do you know of blood, the importance it holds within this family?" Exactly how much had his sister been teaching the girl.

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she blinks as he says that he doesn't think it's dragos' pride. "well then what could it be?" csitri wonders aloud. her lip pouts out in thought, considering all options deeply until he asks her a question. another surprise.

blood held plenty of importance to their family. the piebald woman knew this, but she was also quite...scatterbrained. so perhaps she'd missed something that camellia had explained. sometimes she tended to day dream during their lessons instead of actually listening.

"i know it's to be used only in dire circumstances in order to heal the injured...and there was something else. but i don't remember exactly, to be honest. why?" wide blue and green eyes would stare at alex earnestly for an answer.

@Alexander ♔

He listened quietly as she explains, brows still furrowed. Alexander didn't want to alarm her, or make her feel bad for using the method. For all intents and purposes, she had done the right thing. Shaking his mane slightly, the Savante let out a low, heavy sigh and laughed a bit. This was a bit awkward. Such a topic of intimacy was not something he was used to expressing. "Well..." He begins, his tail sweeping wide behind him. "Blood is also used in...intimate moments, between those that care deeply for one another. A bonding, of sorts. Though usually the blood must be shared." He explains, blue eyes shifting to watch @Csitri's reaction very carefully

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