* chapter i: darkness / abandoned & strained kit

[Eris]

eris would never have known there was a kitten at the border, had it not been for elijah's wings. eris wasn't going to lie; he wished he had elijah's wings. stella, priscilla, and kaisa's wings were nice and all, but they weren't big and impressive like his brother's. eris hadn't been watching elijah, but a bird called overhead and the gray-and-white child's head snapped up to search for the source of the call. that was when he noticed elijah, up there in the sky. he was swooping down toward the border, his flight direct enough that eris assumed he wasn't just landing for no good reason. he was landing because something there was something interesting. eris's curiosity flickered up and he started heading toward where he thought elijah had landed.

he didn't notice elijah's flight to marcellus, and in the time it took for them to return, eris would only just be arriving. he had been farther away than he had expected, and little kitten legs did not do him any favors. "hey!" he came running up, stopping sharply next to kaisa and taking in the scene. it looked like a family gathering, almost, expect half of their family was missing and marcellus was curled around some unfamiliar kitten, one that looked young, small, and not in good condition. he couldn't see any cuts on it, but it looked shaky... maybe it was sick? or maybe just really hungry and tired? junji was a soothsayer, but eris hadn't lived long enough to pick up much medical knowledge.

"what's goin' on? who's this?" eris asked nobody in particular, moving closer to stare at the dark-furred kitten. his eyes shifted away from it to look at the empty basket nearby. "oh." his eyes widened. he knew that sometimes people couldn't care for their children and abandoned them, but it wasn't like eris had ever seen it happen before.