HERO OF THE STORY — intro

[margaret r.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]★ — Tiny wings fluttered softly, accompanied by a light giggle as the girl slapped at a ball of yarn with equally tiny paws. The ball skittered to a corner of the room, and, like a child often does, Margaret immediately lost interest in chasing after it. Out of sight, out of mind, right? That was the case for her, at least.

The child rose to her paws, whose color resembled that of a fine creme brulee—not that she knew what creme brulee was. She found herself bored now, and as such, she needed something to do. But what was there? She'd been living here for nearly five months, and at this point Maggie felt as if she had exhausted any and all sources of recourse that could possibly be found within the relatively small home. Her siblings weren't nearby, so she couldn't bother them, either. What was left for her to do but venture outside, then?

Bored and unsure, she waltzed her way to the door of the hut and exited, forgetting to close the door on the way out. The outdoors greeted her with the smell of salty seabreeze, something that she didn't think she would ever quite get completely used to despite living so close to the ocean. She enjoyed the scent, though; it was simply a perk of living in the Typhoon.

The girl skipped away from the hut gleefully, approaching the jungle with reckless abandon. She happened to be blissfully unaware of all the dangers that the jungle undoubtedly harbored. If someone had seen her, perhaps they would have stopped her—alas, there were no adults nearby to turn her around and keep her from hopping, skipping, and jumping her way into the palm-covered undergrowth.

As one might expect, bugs happened to be abundant within the jungle. Beetles, ants, and other nasty critters scuttled across the jungle floor with no cares in the world besides staying alive. This was of no matter to Maggie, who thought that some bugs were actually kinda cool! She knew that plenty of her clanmates chose to squash bugs the moment that they laid eyes upon them, but because she was so young, she had yet to develop this sort of distaste for insects.

Margaret hadn't pranced very far into the jungle when her lavender hues picked up on movement just in front of her. She stopped for a moment to figure out what it was, a wide grin spreading across her face as she did so. The bug had eight long legs, and its segmented body was somewhat stocky. It wasn't particularly large, perhaps nearly the size of her paw. Curious and bewildered by her discovery, she reached out a paw to touch it. Unfortunately for her, the spider did not like this, and before her paw made contact a sharp pain radiated from her paw. "Ow!" Maggie shouted, instantly recoiling from the bite as the spider rushed away. "Meanie!" the girl called after it, watching it go before bringing her paw to her face to examine it. There was a little blood and the bite area was slightly numb, but ultimately she would be fine. Did the jaguar cub know this? Not at all.

"Ouchie..." mumbled the four-month-old, still examining her paw.

[roan ;]

[div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ — Truth be told, Roan hadn't really had much time to spend with his little siblings as of late. With Brandy and Lu getting hurt, and then his mama just a little while later, the draconic feline had been kept busy not only with treating their wounds and checking up on them, but also going to collect new supplies to replace what had been used on him. Most of the time, when he ended up returning home for the day, he felt exhausted, with tiredness clinging to his every limb and dragging him towards his bedroom without so much as a second to spend with his family. Honestly, most of them were lucky if they even got a hello from the young sage before he buried himself in the blankets, eyes shut tight. He felt slightly bad about it, but he also knew that Roxie would approve of what he was doing, not wanting him to work himself dead without any sort of rest. It was just a shame that it meant he hadn't interacted so much with Margaret, despite having been so delighted to have siblings in the first place. Maggie was young, and Roan wanted to be able to be around and teach her things, but it seemed as though the world was simply against him. Still, he had asked for a way to help others, and he had certainly gotten it.

The young practically teen had all of this on his mind as he ventured towards the jungle that day, the pouch bouncing against his side woefully light. For the most part, Roan had planted and tried to cultivate little pockets of herbs that he could harvest from to fill his bag and the temple, but there were certain plants that simply wouldn't grow without the dark, damp environment of the jungle. This meant that Roan needed to delve into the jungle on his own every so often, usually not telling anyone before he went off. He hated the secrecy, but he didn't want anyone trying to stop him from doing his job, least of all his mama.

The jungle was twisting and thickly dense with growth as usual as he stepped inside, pulling his wings in close to himself and glancing around. There didn't seem to be any sort of danger today, so he felt safe in moving forward, stepping carefully over the roots of trees and avoiding the small prey animals. It was best not to scare them off, in case he got hungry later and wanted to try hunting. However, in his hunt for herbs, he was caught off guard by the presence of a foreign scent within the jungle. It was distinctly familiar, since it clung to both his pelt and his mother's, but also wholly unique. Maggie. His heart leaped up to his throat at the realization, and as he quickened his pace, sure enough, he heard Maggie's soft and startled voice shouting out an ow. The exclamation only drove Roan to move faster, practically leaping through the trees to where his little sister was. His eyes softened immediately upon seeing her, and he quickly moved over, his long tail curling to touch her side protectively. As he looked down at her injured paw, the sage muttered a bit breathlessly, "Maggie... what happened? You... you shouldn't be out here, especially not on your own. It's dangerous out here, and I'm sure mama wouldn't want you getting hurt..." The boy knew he was being hypocritical, but he just couldn't help it. Maggie was just so small, and vulnerable to everything.
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[MYERS]

[align=center][div style="text-align:justify;width:55%;font-family:verdana;"]Roxanne's children seemed to have a problem with the concept of staying between the lines - which, as far as Ahab was concerned, was the mark of an intelligent child who cared little for menial things that held them back. But when he was given a job that had long since exhausted him within the first day, little things like spider bites were an irritant far more than a badge of honor on a young explorer.

Hell, he still thought Roan ought to stay in his mother's sight and not wander too far off, and he was nearly grown. Once a child, always young to him, especially when most of his clanmates were small enough even in old age to fit in the palm of his paw.

At least she seemed oblivious to the carnage that had only recently ransacked their island, which was a relief - that was one less traumatized patient on the list. With Roan essentially in training at such an age, Ahab felt inclined to keep him in range just to ensure that he could impart wisdom at the appropriate moments. For instance: don't touch the tarantulas that wander the jungle, unless you intend to eat them. (Which Roan would probably grimace at, as eating spiders seemed to be an exclusively Ahab-thing around these parts. For shame, they knew not a delicacy when it stood right under their nose.) Margaret ought to follow them around, too, and perhaps she wouldn't be in such a predicament if she knew Ahab's words of wisdom.

"Ginger, Roan. Helps the itching, and the swelling. She should eat that with her food for the next few days if you have some in that bag of yours." The bear drops down into a seated position, gesturing towards the kit with a firmness that said she ought to know better. "Stinging nettle, if you don't. Otherwise... You're fine. It's just a bite."

[ROXANNE R.]

[glow=white,1,400]I LOVE YOU, CANNIBAL QUEEN ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

It was hard taking care of quite a pawful of children on her own though Roan helped when he wasn't too busy with his own Sage responsibilities and Roxanne was grateful for that. The Reaver had her own duties to attend to as well though that had been postponed for a while now with her recent injuries that were holding her back from activities that would push her too far. Broken ribs was definitely not something that she enjoyed in the least and it had been a long while since she had them, her breathing was painful and often resulted in a bit of a wheezing fit. Sometimes, Roxanne wished she needn't breathe so she wouldn't feel the pain and it worked until her lungs demanded oxygen or someone like Roan or Miller reminded her to fucking breathe with a nudge of the nose. It all hurt but Roxanne was willing to put her own pain to the side and concentrate onto others seeing as they mattered more to her than well, herself. Roxanne had been keeping watch of her remaining cubs making sure they didn't wander too far from home, the last thing she had wanted was for them to get hurt after the whole shitfest from the meteor shower. Four cubs to keep an eye on even if her mind lingered on a plethora of questions wondering the whereabouts of her last cub, worry in her mind at all times and then there was her firstborn, Roan, who she still would fret over from time to time. He was almost an adult, she knew this but he would always be the small kitten that she once cradled between her paws.

It didn't take Roxanne long to realize that one of her cubs were missing and she was already rising to her paws ignoring that pain pulsates throughout her form. Where was Maggie? Worry glistened in her gaze as she moved out from her home and onto the beach with a frown fitted onto her face, both ears perked forward. Where was she? She began to bite at the inside of her right cheek realizing that the young cub was nowhere in sight though her mismatched gaze finally locked onto Ahab who seemed to be approaching the jungle. There. Roxanne did her best in limping a bit faster with gritted teeth, a few wheezes leaving her maw and it wasn't long before she was there. Ah, there was Maggie accompanied by Roan and the large ursine, Ahab. "Ah, there you are!" Started the Reaver with a small frown on her maw though it didn't last long recalling when Roan had ventured into the jungle for the first time, oh, how he had been so little then. "Maggie, you shouldn't be in here... It's very dangerous." Roxanne began to scold lightly and as much as she wanted to fret over her cub, the Reaver didn't want to end up getting in the way of both her son and father's work. Fortunately for Margaret (and Roxanne's heart) it had only been a bite from a tarantula, nothing too severe.

She hoped. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[margaret r.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]★ — It seemed that Maggie had not been as alone as she thought.

Within moments of her pained shout, Roan had come out of the woodwork, emerging from the undergrowth with softened, concerned eyes. Her eyes immediately lit up upon noticing her older brother, but dimmed immediately once he began to gently scold her. "A really big bug bit me... Its legs were long, there were eight of them I think, and it was really fuzzy," said the cub softly. She glanced from her paw to the young sage, her eyes brimming with regret. Not only had she been caught where she shouldn't be, but she'd also gotten hurt in the process.

A big bear was the next to appear. She hadn't really talked to him much before, but she knew he had a funny name. Could she recall it? No, not in the slightest. "What's ginger?" asked the child, a tilt of the head accompanying her innocent question. Yes, her paw still hurt, but somehow she was able to ignore it for the time being to ask a question of the bear. How? Because she was a kid, and kids always seemed to have an uncanny ability to do just that.

And, of course, Roxie appeared too—drawn to her child with the innate instincts that mothers seemed to possess. Or, maybe, it was the fact that Maggie had left the door open that clued her into the fact that her daughter had disappeared. She looked to the ground as her mother too scolded her. "But... Mama, no one ever wants to play with me... I didn't have anything to do," she spoke sadly.

[roan ;]

[div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ — Although Roan had his own fair share of knowledge when it came to medical matters, he couldn't deny how grateful he was whenever Ahab was around. Although he and the male technically shared the same position, the draconic apprentice knew well that the bear had been around for far longer than he had, and thus probably had more knowledge hidden in the deep recesses of his mind. Knowledge so obscure that Roan wouldn't even be able to find it in his textbooks, and would be eternally gleeful to know when, at some point in the future, it would come in handy. Such as using ginger for a tarantula bite. Although Roan had already known a bit about how to treat spider bites, he couldn't deny that Ahab's reassurances were a relief, and soon enough he was digging through his bag, paws and claws searching out for the root and leaves. As he heard his little sister's words, he flicked an ear in response, mumbling softly, "It was a spider. A tarantula, I'm pretty sure. Although I didn't see it myself..." He also heard her question about ginger, but he didn't respond right that second, figuring that Ahab could deal with that little inquiry.

Once he found the ginger he was looking for, Roan felt a little grin spread across his face, and he moved in closer to Maggie. Carefully lifting her paw with his own, the sage used his jaws to grind a poultice, carefully applying it to where the bite had been. As he did so, he muttered reassuringly, "This might sting a little at first, but I promise it'll give you some relief from the bite." He knew that treating his sister's bite wasn't strictly necessary, but he couldn't help but want to see her get some relief. After all, she was his baby sister, and he wasn't exactly in the business of seeing his family suffer – even if he had been somewhat forced to endure seeing that happen over and over again, since his job as a medic was to help them. Once he had helped her out, Roan stepped back so that Roxie could get closer, knowing his mother well enough to know that she would want to pull her child close and comfort her. Upon hearing Maggie's last statement, he found himself flinching, a guilty look gleaming in his blue eyes. He should've been the one playing with her. He was her big brother, after all. They were supposed to be having fun and playing with mossballs. Instead, he was constantly out, searching for herbs and treating those that were injured. Sighing, the male defended weakly, "I'm sorry, Maggie... I'll try to be around more, I promise. I've just been... busy lately, with some things." Margaret's psyche had thankfully been left untouched by the meteor collision, and he wanted to keep things that way, so he didn't go any further into detail.
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[hollows creek !]

while hollow's creek was by no means old for his age, he did live a lot of life for his years. he was practically grown and taking care of his clan before he was the proper age of a soldier, his brother only tailing him behind. a special case the pair were the their uncle, having responsibilities pushed onto their shoulders so prematurely. it had been strange to hear of childhoods different than his own, especially from his own father. that is was unusual, the relationship between him and the sun crown and how often he intervened in their rearing.

from others, the affection they received from their family had been an unexpected shock. like he had been robbed of the feeling to be comforted and coddled, even though he had always been told it was wrong. that he had to internalize his tears and needs for physical attention and focus on his duties to citon. by the age of two he was commanding an entire army alongside his father, far too early compared to previous lead hunts. realistically, if echo had followed tradition, he wouldn't have taken his father's side in battle until he showed signs of failing.

when holly would see the carefree and innocent relationship between parent and child or siblings, his first emotion was always jealousy. it wasn't an overpowering feeling, but it always made itself aware of what he had lacked. he knew it wasn't their fault of course, but it was a feeling out of his control. roan and maggie weren't saved from it either.

hollow's creek had come by coincidence, but had grown concerned by the few words he picked up on. tarantula, stinging, bit. it seemed the girls family had come to her rescue, though, and his concerned expression was quickly replaced with relief. "aye, if spiders are an issue, i'll see to it you're not bothered again. i'll find it and give'em a stern talking to!" holly promised with a firm nod of his head.