HUMBLED ;; open

[larkspurkit !]

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larkspurkit !
elysium !
tags !

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[div style="width: 310px; font-family: verdana; color: #c48d85; text-align: left; padding-top: 15px; padding-left: 10px"]keep your head up !

larkspur paw lazily stumbled his half-awake self through elysium's camp, yawning tiredly. sleep. something typically so easily obtained from the young tom, had been at a loss for him early that morning. it was a foreign concept entirely; getting up early. the sun was well out by the time he woke up usually. seeing the sky still dark from the winter sky was strange to him.

he sat, bored, in camp trying to find something to do to entertain him. or make him stop being so restless to go back to sleep. something just made his body not want to cooperate. how evil for it had turned on himself. and how terrible for his clanmates, sure to get a cranky, irritable and even more combative cat later on.

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© MADI

[nemhain.]

Nemhain had never truly formally met Larkspurpaw. She knew of him, like she knew of many other Elysites, through combing about Rin's memories and picking up names and faces. However, in terms of any sort of actual introduction, Nem hadn't really had a chance to interact with Larkspur until now. The fenghuang had been in her usual sleeping position atop Rin's home, her large body curled down against the roof with her head resting near the edge. It was a position that she rather enjoyed, since it not only enabled her to be up high in her natural environment, but also somewhere where she could see most everything that was going on below. That was how the persona caught sight of Lark, one of the few souls besides her actually awake at this early time of day. Feeling curious about what had woken the child up, Nem figured this was as good a time as any to introduce herself, and got up, pushing herself upward and soaring down to land nearby, her talons sinking into the earth. Once she was close, she walked over to Lark, chirping deeply, "Hello there, little sir... Larkspurpaw, right? I don't believe we've properly met yet. I am Nemhain... are you alright? Most children your age are not up at this time of the morning."

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Nobody ever wanted to be out before the crack of dawn, and yet as Rin trudged back from her night watch at the docks, she could see that there were three of them. Nemhain being awake made some sense, but Rin definitely hadn't expected Larkspurpaw to be awake- though he had boasted that he was "big" at the last assembly, she figured that would make him want to sleep later. Then again, the process of growing up had side effects, in particular insomnia. Perhaps that explained it.

  "He still needs a mentor, doesn't he?" Rin murmured under her breath. Elysium rarely had formal apprenticeships, but someone ought to teach Larkspurpaw how to fight and hunt. She'd offer, but she was self-taught in both regards, so the process of mentorship was unfamiliar territory... that, and for all she knew she might not be an Elysite long enough to finish his training.

  It was probably best not to dwell on that part. "How long have you been awake?" Rin asked, loudly enough for Larkspurpaw to hear. Hopefully he hadn't been up all night.

[Cosmic]

Valerian was always up before the ass crack of dawn, being the night owl and simultaneous early bird he was. He could survive off of five hours of sleep, thrive even, and was blessed in that sense. He had adapted to this lifestyle years ago when he was just a child, suffering from insomnia. He knew the pain of being irritable from not getting enough sleep, or, in his case sometimes, too much. Either way, the older feline understood Lark’s annoyance.

However, every child needed their sleep, and now wasn’t the time for him to be awake. Larkspur needed to get some rest.

And... he heard Rin mention the need of a mentor. His good nature took over and he piped up, “Hey, Rin, Larkspurpaw and Nemhain. If he needs a mentor, maybe I could take that position up?” It would give him something to do with his time, and he did love to teach and contribute where he could.

A bright smile was on his face, despite the hardships he was facing, and it was likely a refreshing sight to see for those that knew of what he was going through.

[larkspurkit !]

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larkspurpaw !
elysium !
tags !

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[div style="width: 310px; font-family: verdana; color: #c48d85; text-align: left; padding-top: 15px; padding-left: 10px"]keep your head up !

light, drowsy blue gaze had shifted to nemhain as she took to approaching the young tom. another yawn disrupted him, a chill shaking down his spine. "m'fine, lady. i just can't fall asleep." he mumbled, eyes narrowed into a bitter glare. not toward nemhein, but simply  at the fact he couldn't remain asleep. when rin came forward next he groaned in response to her question.

"i've been awake for... forever! i hate it. i'm cold, and sleepy, and the sun isn't even awake either." he mewled away at his complaints, dramatically falling onto his back. "you know what... just knock me out. i won't even be mad." he covered his eyes with his paws, sighing loudly. he peaked out from between them to look at halo, rising back to his paws to look at them.

"what do you mean? like stark?" larks voice raised in a bit of defense. "i don't need another stark. I've been living alone for this long. i don't need anyone else."

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[nemhain.]

It was startling, having her own usual title used against her through the mouth of the young child. Not even mentioning the fact that his use of "lady" was brusque and impersonal at best, even if it was a result of the child being cranky from lack of sleep. The fenghuang was so caught off guard that she found herself just staring and blinking for a moment before she recovered, shaking her head and taking a deep breath inward. It was normal for kids to be agitated when they didn't get rest, as far as she knew. She was sure it was nothing personal. Offering a nod to Rin and Mercer, Nemhain held her tongue to stop from laughing a little at the boy's complaints, amused by how frustrated he was with the very sun up above. She certainly wasn't going to dignify his request to be knocked out with even a response, so she chose instead to focus on his last comment, "Stark...? Stark is like... a father figure to you, isn't he? I believe what Mercer is offering is different from that. Unless Stark also teaches you things like combat, and hunting, and other responsible adult activities." She had never met Stark personally, but she knew of him through Rin's memories, and she wasn't sure if the male had decided to take up the mentor position in Lark's life as well.

[COSMIIX]

[glow=white,1,400]BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH, IT WON'T BE ENOUGH TO SAVE YOU ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Admittedly, Stark had his own time of absence through he didn't make a big fuss out of it especially since he wasn't a well known face or he wouldn't recognize any of the new faces. Not that he cared as much as he used to that is, Stark was known to be a sort of nomadic bastard coming and going whenever he pleased though he spent this times absence as a form of contemplation and self recovery (even if he had ended up injuring himself more than recovering). He couldn't imagine how Larkspurkit would feel about his sudden disappearance but he could only assume that the child he had taken underneath his wing hated his guts, it made him wince only to be reminded of how his own kids from his first litter had grown a distaste towards him. He wouldn't blame Lark for feeling that way towards him if that was the case, Stark had been selfish in his rash decisions. Someone always ended up getting hurt, he would be the one inflicting it without realizing it before he was too late to retract his action or words. Now, here he was in the Elysium once more and he could feel a few gazes settled onto him and their murmurs made his ears twitch. He let out a wheezy laugh unsure of what to say or do, he was a lost soul. Stumbling around with the wonderment of when their roaming would end. The thought made his head shake briefly yet he would stop in his tracks at the sound of voices, he would frown with a cock of his head.

"I don't need another Stark. I've been living alone for this long. I don't need anyone else."

His interest would peak wondering who was speaking his name, eventually the sight of an orange tabby coat caught his gaze and he saw a not so little Larkspurkit or well, an apprentice now. Part of him wanted to vanish and the other half with his parental instinct began to nag at him to approach. With a shuffle of his paws, the Alaskan Malamute would walk over with a faint smirk on his maw "Ya heard the boy. He doesn't need another me," Oh, how dare he be so coy yet his gaze fixated onto Larkspurpaw only for said gaze to melt immediately, his once tense body immediately slumping. Larkspurpaw was probably the only person he had left that he actually cared about, he wanted it to be known yet his buzzing mind refused the canine any words to express himself in such a matter. His snout scrunched up with brief frustration until he finally found the words dripping out slowly like a broken faucet "'Ey Lark, long time. . . Sorry for y'know going away for a bit. . ." A weak smile appeared onto his maw, his ears brushing against the back of his cranium with a soft wheezy cough escaping him "Missed ya loads, kid. . ." His once coy grin turning into a saddened smile, well, now he'd be prepared for whatever was thrown at him. Rejection. Hatred. He deserves whatever was coming to him. [glow=COLOR,1,400]♛[/glow]

[Cosmic]

It was at that moment the feline felt him curl into himself and want to disappear. The urge to just run and hide his face away from everyone was immensely strong, and his smile quickly faded. Once enthusiastic, now embarrassed and humiliated for even asking such a question to begin with. Even though he didn’t know who Stark was, they must have quite a reputation to warrant such a reaction. But he didn’t deserve the tone Larkspur had given him... did he?

He opened his mouth to speak, but all that was there was dead silence. There was nothing to say as he felt the last bit of self-confidence, if any, he had slip away. There was another voice that had come from nearby, and then he saw the malamute. From what the large canine had said, this must have been Stark.

Valerian felt himself slowly backing away, looking down at the ground as he did so, “I-I’m sorry. I won’t ask again...” His voice was off, a bit of sadness laced in his tone and speech. He was a freak again, wasn’t he? They didn’t care about him, and saw him as only a monster, at least that’s what every fiber of his being was screaming at him. His anxiety grew to an all time high as he then turned around and began walking away, his pace fast.

He really didn’t want any of them to ask him what was wrong or even to come back, because it would cause him to feel even worse than before. He felt like he was beginning to shake a little, and stepped up his pace.

I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorr- That was the only thing that went through his mind at that point, feelings and memories coming back to him during that brief interaction. And it wasn’t good.

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Having mentioned a mentor seemed to summon one into existence, or at least spurred Valerian into wanting to be one. Rin noticed the clear smile on his face, a stark contrast to his past demeanor. He'd been getting much better since that first day he appeared, distressed and in need of help. It was almost enough to make her crack a smile back.

  Before she could, though, Larkspurpaw started talking again- and her attention turned to him. Yes, she did recall Stark, though they hadn't spoken much personally. Lark's insistence that he didn't need anyone else, though, sounded a little too familiar for comfort. Turning to Nemhain as she spoke (and noting with mild amusement the persona's efforts not to be offended), Rin nodded in agreement.

  No sooner had she nodded, however, than Stark himself reappeared at the scene. She had to admit, she hadn't been expecting that. "...Welcome back," Rin remarked after a moment, twitching her ears. She wasn't entirely sure what else to say, but it didn't matter that much- Larkspurpaw would have enough to say on his own. At least they had one more creature on their side, considering the circumstances.

  Turning back to Valerian, Rin blinked. The sadness and shame on his face was unmistakable. Before she could say anything, he had turned and left, clearly freaking out underneath the surface. Fleeing the scene after the smallest thing set one off... that was even more familiar.

  Furrowing her brows, she followed after Valerian. She had asked his help not long ago; now it was time for her to return the favor.

  /ish

[larkspurkit !]

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larkspurpaw !
elysium !
tags !

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[div style="width: 310px; font-family: verdana; color: #c48d85; text-align: left; padding-top: 15px; padding-left: 10px"]keep your head up !

his gaze shot to nemhain once more as she spoke up, his lip curled in distaste. "no." he practically spat, the hair on his back rising. his defense had begun to shift into anger now the more they dwelled on it. stark was very much a sore spot to the young tom.

"you wanna know what stark taught me?" he voice began to rise as he took slow, steady steps toward the fenghuang. "stark taught me that i can only trust myself. that no one's going to take care of me, but myself. that i have NO ONE but MYSELF!" he unsheathed his claws, ready to lash out at her when he noticed movement.

"oh come on." larkspurpaw gritted his teeth seeing the malamute waltz in. he was practically fuming the more he spoke.

sorry? sorry??

his breathing became irregular as he used all his forced to leap from his back legs and swing with all his force he could muster against stark's cheek. whether it landed or not, when he came down he glowered at the dog. "you... you-" his eyes welled up with tears looking at him, but his face still twisted with anger. larkspurpaw gave another sniffled before burying himself into stark's fur, his soft cries muffled by his thick pelt.

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© MADI