MY family has never stuck around long, not long enough to build much family. Each generation it seems moved. From here to there his bloodline had traveled. He had the stories in his mind, their faces came up to his memory and for a second he thought of them. Silently honored them. What would they think of him here now?

The large dark iion paused, fell into silence while Roan ran through the family here with him. Mismatched eyes glanced over him into the dark, as if someone of them might come up here to face him. The caves already called to him before, sang a beautiful sound down in their darkness. Now it promised even more. Now there was investment, family, deep and hidden away. Can I stay? Mugo's brief hesitation faded away. He let loose the pause and caution into the wind. Passing up this chance seemed the greatest mistake he could make right now. Here was his family, at least a part of them. Possibly more than he had ever had even growing up from the sounds of things.

It was a pity to think about a family not sticking around long. Even if piece by piece, Roan's own family had seemed to disperse over the years, the ones that remained had at least always tried to stick together. They put forth the effort even with the odds stacked against them. It was a rare thing to find himself wondering about other branches of the Hodari tree, but now Roan could not escape the thoughts. What were the rest of them like? He only knew so many stories, and there was no way to know about generations that had followed afterwards. How many other cousins did he have spread across the world?

Only after @Mugo asked to stay did Roan actually notice the silence that had fallen between them, both seemingly lost in thought for a bit. Blinking his way back to the immediate attention before him, Roan eventually nodded while a quiet smile formed across his face. "Yeah. Sure," he offered with a bit of a boyish grin. "Of course." That sounded better, a more "kingly" thing to say.

Not wanting to keep his new relative away from his new home any longer, the masked lion then rose to his feet, moving to make way towards Obsidian. Maybe Mugo just wanted to stay because of his dark pelt and the shade living underground would offer, but maybe he also wanted to know his family. Fate would bring him to achieve both such things in one pride. "Who are your parents, then? I wonder how distantly we're related," the mauve lion mused as he'd start to head towards the Hollow's entrance. It would never cross his mind that they might not be related at all, and that they just so happened to share the same surname. There had to be a connection somewhere they could trace. He just hoped they both knew enough of their ancestors to find the link.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base

The large brute of a lion grinned, pleased at the quick acceptance he should be granted then by Roan.They might be family but Mugo was not expecting such a simple, casual, thing as it had been. His own experiences with family were great, but small and secluded. Numbers were few, so there was not many times he'd experienced someone new being welcomed with open doors. Especially considering he was just about sitting on their doorstep and almost trespassing in without permission. Thank you Roan. His smile was on the childish side, but his words were sincere. The weight of the appreciation a more matured reaction.

My dad was... He would begin to tell Roan about his own family. And I am unable to easily go look this up because I'm typing this offline so you know, fill in the blanks as you so desire. What about you? He'd gotten to know the names of the curent family Roan held but where back did their lines cross?

The mauve lion would simply smile at the thank you to be accepted in Obsidian. Even if they weren't family, had their conversation still gone in this direction, the king would have probably still accepted the rogue. @Mugo had given no reason to be hostile with him. Even if he was close to their borders, it appeared to be by sheer lack of knowing his surroundings rather than having any sinister plan to purposely trespass. But since they are family, it was the least he could do to offer his cousin a home for however long he desired it.

Ears flicked forward with intense interest in his newfound cousin's family tree. Roan was eager to connect the dots, but nothing of particular familiarity jumped out at him just yet. Maybe if his father was around, he would recognize some of the other names offered, or even Ademt, but for now, the mauve lion would simply put Mugo's branch of the family tree somewhere in the mental picture. Maybe they weren't as close as he thought. "Um, my dad is Dero Hodari, who's mom was Kito Hodari. And she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Paloma del Sol-Hodari and Ademt Hodari, respectively." Roan threw out whatever names he thought Mugo might recognize. If there had been any lingering stories of past Hodaris, surely Ademt, at least, would have popped up in there somewhere. He had been a prince of Besnik, after all.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base

Your dad is Dero? Mugo clearly recognized the name (and if there was any lingering doubt that they were kin remaining in the deeper recesses of his mind they were gone by utterance of that name). He was less familiar with the relationships that Roan described but Dero jumped out, bright and vivid. His mismatched eyes widened and he tilted his head to one side, confused. You don't look old enough to be his kid. If he was more familiar with the distant relatives of his family and if he could recognize Ademt, Kito, or Paloma, then he might have realized that the Dero Roan spoke of and was son to was not the exact same one in Mugo's own history.

I mean if you are that old, keep doing whatever you're doing cause you look great. He added in quick, voice gilded with a light chuckle but sincere all the same. He didn't want to inadvertently offend the lion if he was up there in his years.

The confusion on @Mugo's face was mirrored by Roan as well at the question. It didn't immediately click that this younger cousin would even know of Dero the First before knowing of the mauve man's father. The first Dero Hodari had long since been dead, and frankly, all of his children probably were too if Kito was any indication to go by. She was the youngest, after all. As Mugo pointed out Roan's own age, though, it slowly started to make sense. "Heh, I'd like to say I'm older than I look, but if anything, I probably look older than I am by now." War and loss had certainly aged the man more than expected, though his fluffiness did help a little to hide his scars left from battle.

Roan knew now, though, which Dero his cousin was more familiar with. "You must be thinking of Dero the First. He is my great-grandfather, though I never met him." Surely that must be the one the ebony lion knew of. The first Dero had been quite a large presence in older Hodari history, before Ademt ever branched off on his own to new lands. "My father, apparently, looks just like him, so he was named after the first Dero. No one around here really knows of the old Dero, though, so I never think to differentiate between them when talking about them." Considering that Mugo probably didn't know anything about Dero's youngest child, and thus all of Kito's descendants, how would he have even known that there was a second Dero Hodari now?

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base