Giggle glanced back, one dot of a brow perked just a little.
She didn't mind adults being scared of her. Gembounds scared of her meant they wouldn't try to rake her eyes out, a trauma that lived with her--and left her face scarred--to this day. And it added something, too, to the theatricality of her bone readings. But kids-? She liked kids; she was motherly, at her core. She didn't want them afraid of her.
Giggle padded up along the trail, and paused alongside the pit of bones. She glanced at Acheron, looking her over, then looked at the pit again; after a moment she chose a suitable bone, one that seemed a little reminiscent of the kid. It was a scapula, unusually long but still small, a little thick--strong--but still with an overall fragile appearance. She waded into the bones with a clatter, carefully taking this up in her jaws, and then clambered out and glanced to Acheron for confirmation.
If she could've flushed, she would have.
Which, obviously, was a blatant lie; and she hesitated after speaking. Beneath the brief rush of shame, she was already realizing that it'd been a surprisingly nice thing for the predator to say. She was a little touched, but she didn't have the emotional maturity as yet to push down the embarrassment to say as much. Instead, still the child that she was, she skulked around the edge of the pit with her head low and her ears pinned, sulky.
Acheron had no idea why the hyena had a pit of bones, nor why she just clambered directly into it, and she stepped back and stared.
Man, she was really blowing this, huh?
Giggle couldn't help but snort; she set the bone down and regarded Acheron with sardonic amusement.
Then she picked the bone back up in her jaws. She started up the trail, then glanced back, realizing she'd forgotten to explain the process; after setting the bone back down, she spoke again.
She picked the bone back up again, and headed up the trail at a leisurely trot, mind on the question ahead.
She had, indeed, begun to follow Giggle; when the hyena turned back again, she stopped, one hoof hanging midair.
Her mind lingered on what Giggle had said, though. Looking scary was helpful-? She tried to think that over, reasoning her way slowly through it; it was hard, without the experiences of adulthood behind her. But she herself had been nervous on seeing Giggle; it made sense that if she'd been... mean, somehow--like some of the monsters her dad had warned her of--they'd think twice about a fight.
Even though, from all the hyena had said, she was meant to ask things after.
Ahh--more questions.
She sat down atop the ledge overlooking the pit, after carefully setting the old scapula between her forepaws. Giggle didn't mind the questions, really; she was, after all, bored without any guests and the pup seemed friendly enough. And anyway, she'd always liked kids.
Then Giggle looked down to the bones, and took a breath, settling in to explain her theory of the world.
Again, not... entirely factual, but the hyena had her faith.
She made mental notes, silently attentive, surprised at the depth of the hyena's apparent knowledge. And Acheron wondered, for a moment, whether Giggle was actually, maybe, older even than her dad.
Ahh--but those mental notes-! She struggled to catch back up with what Giggle was saying: that not everyone had good motives, they wanted power over others; that she should have light-?, and that magic was in all things. Acheron tried, even, to commit to memory Giggle's perception of the present and future, but for someone so young it was all a little too absract. Maybe she'd understand in a few cycles, but for now it was a tangle of seemingly unrelated concepts, too confusing to make sense of.
Giggle gave a little nod, and pushed upright. The kid was ready; there was no reason to delay. She picked up the scapula in her teeth and stared down into the pit of bones, concentrating. She focused on her question, eyes cutting briefly to Acheron as she did:
Then she lobbed it down, watching it spin and fall away, watching the way it clattered into the other bones and how they, in turn, were affected.
The signs were... unpleasant, to say the least. And Giggle, even in the middle of interpreting the bone-fall, was already wondering how the hell to break all this to a child.
And then she took a breath.
Giggle looked to Acheron, trying not to appear too grim.
That sounded... worrying.
She listened with some alarm, ears sweeping back--and then, just like that, Giggle was done. She was asking a question--
She was just a kid. She felt... overwhelmed; this was too damn much for her child's mind to comprehend. An entire future, laid out as potentially a tragedy? Her gut sank.
Well--that was three questions, but Giggle didn't mind. She'd answer as many as the pup had, and anyway, she'd be worried about all of that too. It was an ominous reading, for sure.
Omen was awake, now, and as Giggle padded her way back down to the pit, the bird let out a haunting cry and perched atop the ledge in her place.
She plucked the same bone from the pile, picking it back out with her teeth, and carried it to the ledge again.
When she lobbed it, and watched... her heart sank.
She interpreted it--so to speak--in the same way.
Just a child, that's all she was; she'd meant this as a jaunty adventure, a chance to learn some fun things--hopefully good things--that might lie ahead.
'Hey kid, you'll split off from your family' didn't exactly seem like fun things. Would they fight? Would Pride run her off, or maybe she'd find out some weird and horrible secret about him-?
She wondered. And she didn't like the idea; she at once resolved to talk it over with him as soon as she got back.
For now, she fidgeted, waiting impatiently--but as quietly as she could--for Giggle to finish.