maybe they had never said it outright, but rohan knew (even at this tender age) what was expected of him. even if his mutter and vater doted on them all he knew they would not always be able to keep them safe. knew, too, that his siblings needed... more. more than his vater could give from the mire; more than his mutter could give from her throne.

and maybe he's a spiteful little creature already, born the strongest of them all, the biggest of them all.

always slipping away when the evening looms, playing with the shadows, racing his own across the sand. away from the weak and the sick, away where he can be unburdened. freed.

"well hallo," he gruffed at the skittering crab that sought the deepening shadows of rock. rohan interrupts it's escape with a bat of a paw, tactfully avoiding the pinch of claws as he knocks the poor creature askew. toying with it, allowing it to get just near enough to sanctuary before sending it rolling again. they are not hard enough hits to wound the crustacean, but it is hardly a nice game.

frogs and snails and all that...

t

he anathema of wings / untethered and forsaken

---

It was rare when the young Stärke cubs got to leave the borders of the Lagoon, but it were the little blessings that excited Melusina the most. But as the night drew and the siblings had mostly retired to the den with their too-tired mother, Melusina had noticed one particular brother missing. It were impossible not to observe @Rohan's disappearance. He were the largest, and strongest, of them all. Despite how sheepish and exhausted she were from the day's festivities, Melusina quickly ambled out of the den, clambering over their other two littermates and pulling free of their sandy abode.

Into the wilds she went, following his scent. Delicate little paws still struggled against the sand, and the dune grasses that slowly turned into the gnarled roots of mangrove trees and seagrasses swallowed her whole.

Tiredness thrived in her gaunt gaze, dark circles living in the pale skin underneath her eyes. Her muscles ached, her breaths throaty and deep. She'd half-wondered if she might not make it to wherever Rohan had slipped off, but just as she crested the far-flung hills of Scilla's borders she could see him along the shore, bathed in the silver glow of moonlight. A smile sprawled across her lips, a bursting second wind sending her stumbling down the sandy hillside, slipping free of the Lagoon's territory and quickly making her way toward her brother.

Roh—! she called out, before her foot suddenly caught, and sent her stumbling down the small slope. Tumbling she went, until she stopped just shy of his feet, covered in sand and wheezing.

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eventually the crab gives up. rather than race for the protective dark beneath the stones it holds its ground, waving it's claws, snapping them towards the tender toes of the young prince. rohan scowls and attempts to shift around behind it, growling his frustration when the creature proves too quick on it's six legs. frustration swells until he lifts his paw with obvious intent, glaring at the creature that does not realize how close death looms...

... and then his sisters voice reaches him. a shout that has him scowling, whirling away from his target (which quickly escapes to the shadows), ready to give her ten kinds of heck for following him. "mel--" but then she's tumbling down the hill and fear lodges in his throat and he is racing to meet her in a half-flung attempt to stop her fall.

it is, of course, too late. by the time he reaches the bottom of the dune she is splayed out on the sand, coughing and wheezing and looking like more of a mess than usual. rohan rather roughly examines her, nudging her one way and then the other, making sure she's not broken before --

"what were you THINKIN!?" the furrow on his brow deepens as he glares down at his sister, giving no outward indication that he had been worried at all.

@Melusina

t

he anathema of wings / untethered and forsaken

---

She hadn't noticed his careful plotting, the prey he so methodically stalked before Melusina's fall quickly ruined his focus. Through the stumbling of ashy limbs and sand tossing up all about her, she could scarcely see her brother ascending the hill in an attempt to rescue her. And by the time she's splayed out at the bottom of the dune, covered in sand and wheezing between the grains that had caught in her nose and her throat, Rohan's poking and prodding and assessing her in similar ways that their mother would.

A soft squeal of protest quickly accompanied a sharp sneeze, a flurry of sand and splatters of blood falling onto the beach before them. Never did they quite shirk or fear whenever Melusina's nose bled; it were common enough now that such mundane things as sneezing could set one off.

What were you THINKIN!? @Rohan demands, and tears prickle in the corners of the Scillan princess' eyes.

I—I—! she sputtered between hiccuping sobs, waaaaaaaAAH!

I wanted to see you, she wanted to say, but for a girl so small and so full of unbridled emotions she couldn't quite get the words out between her childish wails. Sniffles wracked her body, girlish tantrum overcoming any sense of decorum, or safety, now that they'd long left the Lagoon's borders. Overdramatic tears streamed down her cheeks, wetting her chest and her paws.

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rohan doesn't show that he worries. in fact when his sister sneezes blood on to the ground he makes a great show of lifting his paw and leaning back, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

but then -- "don't!" -- too late. great shuddering sobs explode from his small sibling and he groans. glancing back over his shoulder he confirms that the crab had long disappeared, and feels another hot burst of frustration for his sickly sister.

"stop it," he snaps, reaching out that same paw he had lifted and batting at her ears, "quit bein' a baby." nevermind that his paw gently swipes across her cheek as it falls back to the sand. rohan keeps his frown carefully set in place, soft brown eyes narrowed at @Melusina.

"how ya gonna be a queen like mutter if'n you cry all the time huh?" wasn't that what she wanted?

t

he anathema of wings / untethered and forsaken

---

She can barely hear @Rohan's exasperated groans through her girlish wails, but she can feel when he bats at her ears, and the gentle wipe of his paw against her teary her cheek as it returns down to the sand. His poking and prodding only feeds into little Melusina's cries, her howling growing louder and louder and certain to attract the attention of any others who may be nearby. But just as she inhales to let out another shriek, she suddenly stops short, a choking, coughing noise erupting from her throat and stopping her mid-wail. Suddenly, she keels over, a rough coughing fit taking over what once had been a typical cub tantrum.

It were a good few minutes before she was able to stop and reclaim her breath, and by the time it was done, blood had splattered across the sand once more.

Ugghh.. she groaned, rubbing her head. When she reeled back onto her rump, a sudden dizziness accompanied the throbbing in her head, and the taste of blood overcame that of the salt of the sea. Sniffles still wreaked her frail frame, shoulders shrugging with each recurrent snivel.

How ya gonna be a queen like mutter if'n you cry all the time huh?

I—I seen mama c—cry, she crinkles her nose, the whites of her eyes stained red from her tears, but she looked her brother boldly in the face. Melusina could not quite say whether or not she aspired to be a Queen like their mother, the idea of politics never quite appealing to her the way it did her brother, but she did want something more than what she was destined for. It were simply impossible for a girl her age to grasp just yet. And 'm not a baby anymore.

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@Melusina doesn't stop as he demanded, instead she gets LOUDER. rohan's ears press flat against his head, ducking down and looking frantically from side to side, half expecting some large escort to emerge from the shadows. maybe mutter with her scolding tongue, reminding him to be nice to his sister. "stooop," he growls, the word stretching out to the point that it almost becomes a whine.

and then she does stop. crying at least. but the coughing that takes over isn't any better, and the faint hint of worry creases his brow. these fits aren't entirely uncommon, but again he expects the scolding to come with them, one parent or another angry that he had forgotten how delicate his sister was.

the thought only frustrates him, and when nobody comes to her rescue he stands up straight and peers down at her. "yah but not allll the time," he taunts, scuffing at the sand, kicking up just enough to cover the mess she had made. acting like it disgusted her when really he didn't want to see the reminder of just how unwell she was.

"you are a baby," he insists, "an' you should go home mel. 's dangerous here for you." puffing out his chest, making it quite clear that it wasn't dangerous for HIM and that he was most definitely strong enough and brave enough to stay alone.

@Melusina

t

he anathema of wings / untethered and forsaken

---

She doesn't notice it now. Not when she is so young, so frazzled. But Melusina would eventually see the way with which @Rohan wiped away the signs of her sickness; whether it were for her own safety or for his own comfort, it would always bring a sense of ease to the sickly girl, a thoughtfulness where perhaps he'd intended none. But for now, after her wailing and sniffling and coughing, she could see nothing but the blurry white form of her brother against the backdrop of endless night.

Yah but not allll the time, he chides, quickly causing Melusina to give one last, big sniffle, and then will away the remnants of tears that lingered. She straightened her shoulders, attempting to puff her chest out in a similar manner to her brother's, only to find that her lungs ached, her throat sore. You are a baby, he says again, and it chinks Melusina's delicate armor, An' you should go home Mel. 's dangerous here for you.

O'yeah? she retorts, her pale nose crinkling, as if she'd accepted some sort of challenge. Prove it! Though she would always lose every fight, every challenge, every race, from a young age Melusina always thought one day, one day, she'd find her footing.

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Finally she stops and straightens, and while it is a pathetic attempt (in his sharp eyes) it is much better than the sniveling and carrying on. Rohan sneers again and looks away, surreptitiously scanning again for any sign that they were not alone by the pools.

But -- oh, there was the fire! It is slower to kindle in his sickly sister but he sees a flash of it suddenly, a desire to stand up for herself, a need to be stronger. Rohan stokes it with a taunting grin, reaching out a large paw to poke at the much smaller form of @Melusina. "C'mon, look, you c'n barely stand," teasing her but his words carry a hint of truth, his prod likely enough to make her stumble and waver in place.

"If'n you don't go home a monster will bite your toes!" An idea brewed in his young mind, a plan to make her braver, to push her further. "Look," and he bounded a step away to the rocks cast in shadow, gesturing to the overhang under which he was certain the crab had gone to hide. "If'n yer so brave, catch one!"

t

he anathema of wings / untethered and forsaken

---

He is far more attentive of their surroundings than she is. Melusina's entire focus in on her brother, his form not quite as blurry as it was before, his steeled and agitated expression eliciting a girlish regret, but the itch of sibling rivalry quickly quashed any balking the young Scillan princess might have done. And though she trembles as she attempts to stand up to him, the fire alighting in his eyes both inspires her and frightens her. She knew, all too well, that this would always be a losing battle. Always.

She nearly keels over when his paw pokes her square in the chest, the thrumming ache of her lungs and the stretch of her extended legs not nearly strong enough to keep her standing. But she held fast, her lips pursing in a girlish pout at his taunts. He speaks of strength and monsters, and Melusina cannot help the way her ears swivel backward at the mention of them, her eyes straining to keep focused forward, as if desperate to look around them, to see if there were truly any monsters lurking in the shadows. There would never be any, not while they were under the careful protection of their parents; right?

Look, he says, and Melusina immediately glances to where he points, fearful that there may be a monster lurking in the shadows. She sucked in her breath, her eyes narrowing, her head tilting to the side, straining to see what he was referencing. Her little nose wrinkled, sparing @Rohan one final glance, before stalking toward the shadowy overhang. Little paws carefully trudged forward, slinking low to the ground, appearing no more the size of a plump house cat as she slipped beneath the shadows.

And in the dark, she'd barely had time for her eyes to adjust before she saw the big, pinching claws of the crab's much larger friend, certainly the King of its roost. Angry at its intruder, who still hadn't quite found her footing, the crustacean burst forth and clamped its claws right on the tip of her pale nose.

Eeeeeeeep!

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