roll the dice - open; visiting hall of kings

[ARVID R.]

Shouting. It was an unpleasant sound, and enough to make Arvid's ears flatten temporarily against his skull. Part of him just wanted to run as soon as he heard Sojourn's screeching, considering he didn't want to make things worse. He didn't even really know Sojourn yet – only knew her name through hearing it from others – but it was clear that she was angry. He didn't want that anger to be focused on him, rather than whoever she was already shouting out. Still, even as he turned to head away from the short structure, he found himself pausing. Even though Sojourn seemed furious... it also seemed as if there was some hurt behind her words, as well. Her first rage-filled question seemed genuine, at least to the young canine. Why hadn't they come back, whoever they were? Arvid's curiosity was piqued, and he ultimately decided to head back, if only to get on the kingpin's good side. After all, it seemed better to be on Sojourn's good side, rather than her bad side. So, after a couple more seconds of contemplation, the dire wolf turned, pressing himself against the stone wall as he moved slowly towards the inside of the Hall of Kings. As he padded inside, he was surprised to see that Sojourn wasn't alone, with Aphra standing nearby as well. However, it didn't seem as though she was the one getting yelled at, so... was she actually trying to help?

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Arvid sat down a short distance behind Aphra, his tail twitching behind him. He had a multitude of questions swirling around in his mind, but he held his tongue for the moment. Instead, he focused his attention on the statues that lingered above them, staring downwards with their cold stone eyes. He had to assume that the pair was important, but he wasn't quite sure why. Both former kingpins had fallen long before Arvid had joined, so he had no concept of who they were, or what their relationship to Sojourn was. Did she know them personally, or was she just cracking under the pressures of leadership? He couldn't blame her if she was overwhelmed, truly. The dire wolf had never been a leader – obviously – but he had to assume that being kingpin involved a lot of rather stressful tasks. Perhaps he could help her out, somehow? He didn't ask her about that initially, though. Instead, he just questioned quietly, "Who... who were they? I assume they must have been important, but... if you wanted to, you could tear these statues down. If they don't deserve to be remembered, you can make sure that they aren't." After all, Sojourn was the kingpin now. If she wanted to have the statues torn down and destroyed, she could... couldn't she?

If he had known about their relationship to Sojourn... well, he wasn't sure he'd feel much differently. He had never really known his own parents, and he couldn't help feeling a little bit bitter about that. He would've assumed that Stryker and Ninazu had wronged Sojourn, judging by her reaction at the moment. So, he still would've suggested the same. Just because they were family didn't mean that they were immune to criticism. If she didn't find them worthy, then why couldn't she forget them, and make herself better?

i wanna be the sand inside that hourglass