OPEN picture a place where it doesn't hurt

[little miss]

a small grass-woven basket with high walls sit centered on the place they call obsidian island, seemingly empty. how it got there was a mystery, especially since the view was so clear from the main island. perhaps someone had managed to slip out of view to place the gift, or maybe even visit the black rock while the inhabitants of the big island were all sleeping, or simply just too busy to notice. it was strange, nonetheless. of all things, why an empty basket?

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

From the sky, Vale had seen what definitely didn't belong on Obsidian Island. Nothing belonged on Obsidian Island. But, certainly, out of all the things that could rarely show up on Obsidian Island (like a sunbathing seal, a confused mainland bird) a gift basket? Vale had never seen a gift basket here. Vale didn't even know how the fuck it could've gotten here.

The raven swooped down. Xyr feet landed on the handle of the basket, and xe attempted to open up and investigate. Fearlessly, of course, because Vale had already survived the death of xyr birth body. Why should xe care about dying again? Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought xem back!

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[little miss]

a frail body could be seen in flickers, wriggling in discomfort as their basket had somewhat shifted as vale landed. it appeared to be a big cat cub, with a pelt mottled in shades one would find on rusted steel, adorned with the familiar rosettes of a jaguar. the cub's eyes grew wide as they peered up at the creature, and immediately the child would disappear. the side of the basket would begin to shred, and whimpering would echo from the walls of the container. eventually a thud would be heard and the cub would once again be visible as she scattered, attempting to flee the unfamiliar corvid.

another wave of freight washed over her as she realized there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. she was no longer at home, and her family was nowhere to be seen. where was her mother? her siblings? why was she here, of all places-- a big black rock! defeat began to settle on her, and she skidded to a stop as she reached the edge of the island. she was terrified, and all that she could think to do was sink to her feet and curl into a ball.

none of this made any sense.

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

All of this was very confusing to the inquisitor. First, the basket wobbled of its own power. Then a child’s face appeared. And then the child was running away and crying! Vale blinked thrice in confusion. Xe was pretty sure xe looked normal. Normal by Vale Weirdness standards.

Vale didn’t chase after the kid, but stayed perched on the basket’s handle. Xe tilted xyr head to the right. Then left. Xe was not good with children. Especially not terrified children.

“Aye, step away from the edge, you idiot child!” Vale cawed. “I am horrible at swimming! I will not be able to rescue you! I am not qualified to babysit idiots near bodies of water!”

Then Vale stopped, thought it over, and replayed internally what xe’d said to the child. That did not sound very helpful to a terrified adult, nevermind someone as extra stupid as a child. By Requiem’s scales, why did xyr curiosity have to get xem into this horrible mess?! Someone with actual skill with talking to children should have investigated the gift basket, but, noooo, Vale had to assume there was edible food or something shiny inside! What else did a sane creature put in a basket?! A child did not belong in a gift basket?!

“You! Child! UHHHHHHH you have a name, right? Tell me your name and what the fuck happened to where you got on this slab of boring-ass rock?!”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KNOX.]

From the main island it was hard to miss that there was something happening over on Obsidian Island. Knox stopped whatever she had been on her way to do, watching as who she could only assume to be Vale prodded at something xe certainly would've been better off leaving to someone else. By the looks of the following scene, that is. Her ears flicked back at the distant squawking. Fine, it would poke its nose into someone else's business for just a moment. Swimming across the gap was not hard for her, though it was definitely something she hadn't thought of doing since she'd been a cub. Seriously, why did whoever it was choose the useless hunk of rock out here to drop the basket off at?

Claws extended to give her a better grip on the obsidian ground, the lioness pulled herself up out of the water to now join the other two. She shook herself out, but was not concerned too much with drying off just yet, it would have to get back to the island somehow. Knox looked between Vale and the terrified child, a small frown on her usually expressionless face. She thought back to her rationale with Ryosuke--yeah this would've absolutely terrified her as a cub. There was also a spark of extra sympathy due to the child appearing to be a sort of big cat as well. "You are terrible at this." 

It carefully stepped up beside the basket the raven was perched on, studying the object for only a moment before sitting back and looking toward the child. She thought it better to keep the distance than crowd an already cornered animal. "Lucky I am here now, and I can swim just fine if you send it spiraling into the sea." She let out a quiet chuff, something hopefully comforting to a fellow big cat, "Xe won't hurt you." ....probably. It opted out of that addition, that would certainly add unnecessary terror to the already frightened kid.

[little miss]

as if the situation couldn't get any worse, now the bird was yelling at her! xe was asking her name, but mommy told her to stay away from strangers, and definitely never speak to them, especially when she was alone. the cub tightened further into her ball, trying her best to disappear. it wasn't until another voice echoed in her ears that she perked up, gaze lifting to meet the lioness.

without thinking, the cub frantically sprinted towards her, attempting to scurry under her to hide from the winged creature.. apparently xe "wouldn't hurt her", but she didn't believe one word of that. little miss had seen birds feasting on her kind, albeit he was dead, but still! what if this bird would also eat her!?

maybe this stranger would save her? she appeared somewhat familiar... mostly because she was another big kitty like herself. she lacked the spots, and she wasn't shaped like any of her family was, but it was close enough (at least for the youngster). if she managed to squeeze under knox, it was certain that her heartbeat would be able to be felt, as it was rocking her whole body.

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

Vale turned to look at Knox. Xe huffed a dramatic sigh of relief, but the feeling was genuine. “I know, Knox! I really don’t like children!”

Xe knew xe couldn’t handle children well. It was a skillset xe avoided on principle and suffered the consequences proudly, without ever stopping to consider if xe needed such child-handling skills. Today was truly the first time Vale’s inability to deal with children carried a consequence, so fuck yes xe was so relieved that the maned lioness had arrived to deal with the idiot-in-training.

Because, seriously, how was a three eyed raven less scary than a big fucking adult kitty cat?! Ludicrous! Vale wasn’t even gore’d up in beautiful decay!

“Yeah, ‘course I won’t hurt you, kid. I’m a raven. What am I gonna do to you with your claws and teeth?” Vale swayed side to side on the perch. Xe was conveniently leaving out all xyr powers. Right now, lying by omission was necessary.

When the cub darted to hide under Knox, Vale shrugged with both wings. Apparently xe was just that terrifying? What a confidence booster. Xe tilted xyr head at Knox and cackled, “Okay, looks like you’ve got this handled, uhhh you need any help or should I head back to the Big Island? You want me to bring anything or anyone?”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KNOX.]

Knox shook her head at Vale. Not that she really needed a reminder to never let xem babysit, this was....Vale. She side-eyed xem as xe went on with whatever reassurance for the small child, which she had to admit wasn't that bad all things considered. Then, in her peripheral she saw the kid dart forward and quickly put all attention back onto her. First, it was confused, then momentarily a bit surprised as the cub was attempting to find shelter with it. Knox was just as much of a stranger, but definitely had not started the interaction by yelling at the poor thing. Upon feeling the cub's heartbeat just by acting as a place to hide, it sighed and lifted its paw then placed it gently on her back. 

The lioness looked back toward Vale, looking a little more deadpan, "If I have a need for you to yell at scared children again, I will be sure to call for you. But no, no I don't need your help from here. Unless you want to try fetching something for the kid to eat." Not that it really wanted to be on this rock much longer, but trying to rush the cub to the big island right after gaining what little trust there was right now might've been a terrible idea. And offering food tended to help as well. 

She tilted her head back down toward the cub, shifting her paw to almost hug her now. Definitely not how she saw her day going, less tedious than planting seeds but absolutely much more responsibility. "See, the bird will go away now. You are okay. Can you tell me your name? How did you end up in the basket?" It was pretty obvious someone had to have put said basket here on Obsidian Island, it didn't just float on the wind. 

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

At Knox’s deadpan and quite accurate assessment, Vale cackled. With a wing, xe saluted. “You’re totally right!”

Admittedly, Vale never would’ve put together “abandoned scared child” and “provide food as reassurance,” and so xe thought that Knox was a goddamn genius. Which maybe was a bit ironic, because on the occasion where Vale had lived outside of groups as a solo weirdo, xe had collected a murder of speechless crows by providing food… and yet Vale couldn’t put the brain cells together to realize that trick worked for children, too.

Or, maybe, Vale just absolutely refused to learn how to do a single act of childcare.

Regardless, with a few strong wingbeats, the raven took off into the sky. Still cackling. “I’ll return with food! Promise!”

// temporarily out of obsidian island!!

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[little miss]

her name? what was her name? oh yes, she remembered now! "mommy calls me little miss." the voice was meek and mild, definitely soft enough to be missed if there were too many loud thoughts in one's head. the cub inched out from under the lioness after the bird left, her maw raised towards the sky, eyes skimming for any sign of xem. she flicked her curled ears before her vision landed back onto the feline.

"the bird is not going to eat me, right?" she shuddered at the thought, knees barely managing to stay stable enough to keep the cub from falling straight to the ground. "a bird ate my brother," she stated matter-of-factly, head bobbing ever so slightly as her nose crinkled. "i don't want to get eaten..." the little voice trailed off and she shot her attention back up to the sky.

she had completely forgotten to address the other question...

how did she end up in the basket? for little miss the question was more like how did her basket end up here?

and where did that bird go?

--note: uses mental manip. for her speaking