04-29-2020, 03:20 AM
Unlike the many growing families within each group, Alaric did not grow up with siblings. According to his mother, he was the product of a failed litter in which he was the sole survivor. He'd been sickly for the first few weeks of his life due to the lack of warmth that having brothers and sisters provided, and his mother had been unreliable due to a sort of postpartum depression that came about as a result of the stillbirths of so many of her kits. He may have even died if his father had not been around to guide the queen into nurturing her one living child.
Perhaps if the tabby had grown up with peers like Ivan did, he would not be the aloof and distant feline that he was today. But his parents had instead made the decision to settle in bumfuck nowhere where little more than wild game and the occasional feral dog roamed. Friends? Nowhere to be found. Family? Only his parents. Alaric would never admit it, but somewhere deep inside of him, in a visceral, unknown area, he would have liked to have grown up with a friend or two, or maybe a sibling. Someone to talk to other than a mother who grew increasingly more depressed after the death of her mate. He'd felt bad for leaving—that was one of the few times that he had actually felt somewhat of a pit in his stomach—but he couldn't stand listening and watching as his mother wallowed in her own misery.
It was for that reason that he found himself to be jealous of Ivan (although he would never, ever admit it). In a way, he was reminded of himself, with the child possessing an acute intelligence as well as seeming to share the same coldness that Alaric harbored. He often found himself a shade fascinated by the child, if not outright intrigued. Of the children in Tanglewood, Ivan was easily his favorite, and the one he tended to make an unconscious attempt to keep an eye out for the most.
He padded alongside the four-month-old, a faint smile gracing his features as the child described the herb in question as well as enthusiastically stating that he was going to lead Alaric to the site. He wasn't quite sure what Ivan meant by "long with tiny little leaves," but it probably wouldn't be too hard to figure it out once they arrived. As for his favorite, though? There were so many that picking just one was pretty difficult. After giving it some thought, he arrived at what he considered to be a pretty basic answer.
"Goldenrod," the tabby stated, glancing inattentively at the tyke. "It promotes the clotting of blood cells, thereby stopping or slowing bleeding." He didn't know if his use of medical terminology would go over the child's head, but he certainly hoped that that would not be the case. "Do you have a favorite as well, Ivan?"
Perhaps if the tabby had grown up with peers like Ivan did, he would not be the aloof and distant feline that he was today. But his parents had instead made the decision to settle in bumfuck nowhere where little more than wild game and the occasional feral dog roamed. Friends? Nowhere to be found. Family? Only his parents. Alaric would never admit it, but somewhere deep inside of him, in a visceral, unknown area, he would have liked to have grown up with a friend or two, or maybe a sibling. Someone to talk to other than a mother who grew increasingly more depressed after the death of her mate. He'd felt bad for leaving—that was one of the few times that he had actually felt somewhat of a pit in his stomach—but he couldn't stand listening and watching as his mother wallowed in her own misery.
It was for that reason that he found himself to be jealous of Ivan (although he would never, ever admit it). In a way, he was reminded of himself, with the child possessing an acute intelligence as well as seeming to share the same coldness that Alaric harbored. He often found himself a shade fascinated by the child, if not outright intrigued. Of the children in Tanglewood, Ivan was easily his favorite, and the one he tended to make an unconscious attempt to keep an eye out for the most.
He padded alongside the four-month-old, a faint smile gracing his features as the child described the herb in question as well as enthusiastically stating that he was going to lead Alaric to the site. He wasn't quite sure what Ivan meant by "long with tiny little leaves," but it probably wouldn't be too hard to figure it out once they arrived. As for his favorite, though? There were so many that picking just one was pretty difficult. After giving it some thought, he arrived at what he considered to be a pretty basic answer.
"Goldenrod," the tabby stated, glancing inattentively at the tyke. "It promotes the clotting of blood cells, thereby stopping or slowing bleeding." He didn't know if his use of medical terminology would go over the child's head, but he certainly hoped that that would not be the case. "Do you have a favorite as well, Ivan?"
♔ don't do love, don't do friends