Orion could be quiet, even peaceful, during the dawning hours; where gembounds only started to stir, and the lights of the caves began to flicker into their vibrant glow. Casimir wasn't particularly a morning person, but sometimes the world decided that today, he was going to be awake whether he wanted to or not. He made his way to the gardens his father had made, leaving behind his sleeping siblings (and pray that they stay sleeping, for once). Under the warmth of Orion's light, the little garden thrived, and the young Casimir sat himself down among the soft grass and blooming flowers.

Here in the peace and quiet, Casimir took a moment to reflect. His family could be a bit overwhelming, but did he really want to be anywhere else? He had everything he could possibly want: safety, comfort, love. Every time he contemplated, under the shimmering lights and surrounded by flowers, he found his answer unchanged: He wasn't going anywhere. He simply wasn't made for adventure and chaos like his siblings. And why go anywhere, when he could stare at his father's garden and feel perfectly content?

He raised a paw and tried to groom out some of the knots that had formed in his sleep, struggling to get the gunk from between his toes. It would take him all morning to even come close to getting his pelt clean... After only a few minutes of trying to get one leg presentable, his tongue felt like it was going to fall off. The rest would have to wait. He laid down among some bright bluebells, gently raising his huge paw to brush the soft, delicate flowers.

Casimir had been gifted with his father's magic, but even though day in and day out he tried to coax it out in different ways, he hadn't much luck. It always seemed to want to cling to his fur, tangle in the thick curls like substrate. At least without anyone around to pester him or make him feel pressured, he could try at his own pace. With a deep breath, the young cub spread his toes and tried to make one of the bluebells that had yet to flower bloom.

Immediately, a sprout twisted toward his fur, toward his skin that seemed like the tastiest soil, and a sharp hiss spat from between Casimir's teeth as his magic sparked. "No, not that--" But try as he might to redirect his magic, his immediate frustration only caused the magic to kick back, and the sprout slashed through his skin. It didn't take root, whether from his resistance or his lack of experience, but it did cause crimson to bloom through his pristine fur.

Ears twisting back with annoyance, the feline licked at the injury before it stained his fur further.

It was truly remarkable how a few, simple, musical little words could bring Casimir's morning to a complete stand still. How many times had he heard the baying ♫ Good moooorning! ♫ of his brother, and yet every time it hit him like a sunbeam directly to his eyes. With a wince, his eyelids would shutter close, his shoulders tensing, and the fur along his spine would try and fail to rise under its weight, just like every other time.

Once adjusted to the brightness of his brother's mewling, the sounds were sweet and warm, and reluctantly Casimir could raise his head from his wrist and peek open one eye to squint over at the soft, round silvers of his lynx-kitten face. Seeing those big blue eyes staring out at him made embarrassment root down somewhere in Cas's chest, but it was shyly tucked away by a stoic aloof energy.

So proudly did Cas raise his little, scraggly bearded chin, fixing his baby brother with a focused stare. It could be intimidating, maybe, if only to someone not so close to him. Instead, this was a common practice: Tobie fumbling his tongue over words in an eager babble, and Cas-i-mir ♫ not moving his lips until every single word was decided on and triple checked by every neuron in his brain during every single conversation.

Tobie, naturally, babbled out a question before Casimir could even decide on which greeting was most appropriate for this early in the morning, whether it was a good morning or not, and how to say it so his tone didn't come across as, well...

That question put away his greetings, and in their place came a more hastily insistent answer. "I'm not--" But Tobias wasn't accusing his oldest triplet. He was chasing harmless curiosities like he always did, and technically, Casimir was trying to use magic on those very flowers... it hadn't gone right, though, and so much like the child he was, he tried to hide his mistakes. A report card, a messy floor shoved under the bed, a broken vase.

And child he was, he wasn't very good at hiding: his fur was stained red with the mark his guilt. Even Tobias could see that. His nose crinkled, ears twitching, and his mouth hung open, lips wiggling about his teeth as he openly struggled to explain himself. A couple heartbeats, and then:

"It's nothing." So came his hasty reply, urged by his brother's prompting questions. Casimir had a hard time with being put on the spot, and it showed clear as day before those big, innocent blue eyes. He had to have an answer right at the tip of his tongue, before ideas sprung to his baby brother's fuzzy little head. "I'm fine. Snagged on a thorn." Too quick. The flowers their father planted here didn't even have thorns to speak of. A deep breath, and more composed, he set his paw down in the dirt and pushed himself to his feet, as though to show he could still use his leg just fine. "... It does not even hurt."

If he was being honest, he didn't want Tobias to worry. That was really all it was, more than pride or shame combined. Of course, Tobie wouldn't let such worries drag down his whole day, but... It still felt terrible-- wrong, even-- to bring a rain cloud over that sunny disposition.

Of course, Tobie's big blue eyes stared his big brother up and down, doubt as clear as a crystal in those obvious, shimmering pools. Okay, Tobias answers, and even a total stranger can tell he's not convinced. Casimir's fur settled anyway, a huff coming from a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

It wouldn't be so simple, though. Now that Tobias was awake, that marked the end of Casimir's alone time. There was about a fifty percent chance that Pelly would be chasing his heels, and soon, the big wooly cub would be completely outnumbered. He loved his brothers more than anything-- maybe even his own fathers-- but goodness, how was he ever going to figure out this magic if he didn't have time to practice without someone staring him down? Tobias might not judge him, but that didn't mean he wanted an audience either.

Aaaand there it was. Tobias had an idea. Casimir braced himself, squaring up his shoulders and shaking out his fur with a shake of his head. "Let's hear it," Casimir replied in a tone that dragged itself through the mud. He was resigned to at least hearing Tobias out, but he could already guess:

An adenture. A little trundle into the great unknown. A mention of having fun, as though Casimir sitting around at home was incapable of doing something worthwhile. His two brothers were always chasing some new height of entertainment, and it was lost on him. His back-swept ears pricked anyway to listen, following his brother's honest stare up the nearby cliffs.

Casimir felt his stomach drop just glancing up and thinking of how high it must have been. He didn't even enjoy being up on his deer-father's haunches for a little ride, much less... "... Is that how Ampelio got hurt?" Came Casimir's astute observation; when you shared a den, it was hard to avoid noticing every little thing.

Note: If "Cas" noticed the nickname, it clearly didn't bother him.

His icy stare was frozen upon those dangerous, jagged cliffs. Of course, it was hard to miss the wide-eyed stare even from the corner of his vision. Tobias was giving him that hopeful look, big, round saucers bleeding right into his soul like the warmest light of the day.

"I'm not busy," Casimir reluctantly corrected his brother, ears flattening. "I was not doing anything with any flowers." A touch of compliment, whining, and begging, and Tobie could convince someone to give him their dessert. "But... That sounds like a fantastic way to get into trouble. Why can't we have fun here, away from..." Tall, dangerous, dizzying heights? Ohh, we're starting to sound like a scaredy-cat, Casimir. Surely he's not a scaredy-cat, right?

No, no, no. It was perfectly rational. Pelly had already gotten hurt-- if not on this particular adventure, then a similar one-- and Casimir did not want harm to come to Tobias, either. "Without risk of injury." So succinct. Surely Tobie wouldn't have a counterpoint against that.