* chapter ii: life / exploring

[elijah]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; border-width:0; width: 70%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; line-height: 1.5; font-size: 9pt;"]He recognises this child and he is happy to see them, flapping his wings and landing on top of the turtle statue, standing on the head and peering down. Cheeks are rosy in greeting, the boy smiling. He likes to think he was a hero that other day, going off to find one of his fathers and stumbling across papi. He is glad Marcellus is always there to help him and listen, even more happier that Peppino had been there. Perhaps the child should go and ask his mother about healing, sit around and watch Junji heal more. Then he too can be a knight in shining armour. Before the brown ragdoll speaks, he notices the utahraptor at the bottom, speaking in some garbled tongue. He does not understand. It is another language but it seems different to whatever Masie and her owner could speak. His nose twitches, lying atop the head but careful so not to accidentally roll off and hurt himself. He doesn't want to risk a fall, doesn't want to make mama look at him in such concern. "He-Hello," the boy calls out to the other child but then flinches with a wet droplet hits his back. Elijah raises his head, looking up towards the sky before being welcomed by the patter of rain, the vast greyness of the sky.

He hops down with the flutter of his wings breaking his fall. Elijah doesn't know what he'd do without his wings. They are a part of him and he uses them every chance he gets, proud of the feathers that stem from his body. It is his angelic ancestry that blesses him with such a gift - a gift that his other siblings don't exactly have. Not even mama can fly because his wings are too heavy. He tries to gently bump the unnamed kitten, the soft glow of his baby-blue hues visible through the darkness of the world around them. "Let's go to that palm tree over there," the boy invites, then raises his wing to try and shelter the other from the rain as part of a nice act. It's important, he thinks, to be giving. A good prince is someone who is self-sacrificing, someone who can --... claws disrupt his thoughts, the glint of a strike and purple blood. He feels lightheaded again, holding his smile because he doesn't truly understand this emotion that is swelling within him. It is strangling his stomach, squeezing him. He pushes the thoughts aside, ignoring them. It was all a bad nightmare.

Elijah turns to look at Ament, not understanding that he is feral and dangerous: "Shelter." Rainy days are no fun but he doesn't want to get sick from being so exposed to the cold. His attention doesn't stay on the raptor for too long, shifting back to the unnamed child. Regardless of whether or not the dark kitten will follow his suggestion to go to the palm tree, he continues trying to talk to them. "My name's Elijah but you can call me Eli. What's your name?"