She'd come a long way from the bratty little child she'd once been.

Nothing had forced the hybrid to grow up quicker than the events that had taken place barely a cycle ago. She'd witnessed a most horrible crime- the murder of her mother, and the attempt on her own life by the very same bird. She hadn't realized the severity of the situation until well after she'd returned to Canis.

It had been when she'd finally come out of hiding.

When she'd finally seen her father.

Remedy had slipped from the cliffs of Canis to make sense of the nightmare, to seek guidance from her sire, but the once ruggedly scarred cat had overnight become a monster. She'd been so taken aback by her sire's mangled face that she'd fled without waking him, leaving Canis behind entirely.

She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see Cure, who still had a mother. She didn't want to see Kerberos... who'd dealt the killing blow in her defense. In my defense. It had been the first thought down a dark line of damnation. My defense. My fault. I should've fought back. I should've been able to take the hit myself. Now they're all torn apart and it's all my fault. This had been her thought process as she blindly marched through the caves, direction-less.

Perhaps it was muscle memory, or a homing instinct, but she suddenly found herself entering Pisces.

The scene of the crime. Her blood felt cold and heavy under her skin. I shouldn't be here. I've no reason to ever be here again. Why am I here? She needed something. Some sort of answer. But what? Her talons clicked against the stone floor as she carried on into the cave, her tiny frame- one rounded with cub-soft plush- now moved fluidly, slender, feminine grace. Not a mark on her. She was perfection, and yet...

...and yet her mother had tried to kill her. I must be bad. I must be. Why else? Why else would she hate me?

ooc: open to everyone, tagging special peeps just in case but anyone's welcome.

@Baroque @Leon @Makyna

Baroque had just woken up, stretching as he stepped out into the... Surprisingly warm Pisces. Not all days were as nice as this. His bleary blue eyes scanned the calming blues and greens, the death that had hit Pisces well past him now. It had happened when he was so young, he might have forgotten it.

If he had the capability of forgetting anything. Sure, names escaped him, but visual things... Well, they traced under his paws, his magic tugging up those images every time he drifted off too close to where the blood had been washed away.

When his gaze landed on a shape by the waterfall, the golden cub felt that tug to the past race across his legs. A voice tickled his ears, sharp and piercing and unforgettable. "Woah, Pa, look at that! There's so much water! Oh, look, green stuff! Like what Cure talked about! Oh, there's so many people here! I can smell them all, like you taught me- oh man woah is that your map!?" As he heard her voice, blindly watching as practically a dozen gembounds gathered in his home. He could remember each color, feel the heat of his father and the way the mist rolled in that day. It was so much colder then, and his fur puffed up as he wandered subconsciously towards the waterfall.

He saw her in memory, first. A creature of black and red, larger and more powerful than Bevy-- their old leader-- but unmistakably her child. He caught her glance at him, before he had shied away. He was watching himself, inside out, tears racing down his embarrassing face-- smushing his face into his father's fur. Afraid of all of it... Where was Thistle?

The thought snapped him out of his magic and he found himself, smack dab, right in front of Remedy. Mouth a gap, he stammered, fumbling for his words.

"U-u-uh--- hew...hello.." He breathed, taking a timid step back as he realized he had just tromped up to her without so much as a proper warning. The poor girl... Her mother was gone now, wasn't she? He just couldn't imagine... But now she was home, right? Where was the leopard-- her father? Wasn't he with her? He was supposed to be.

A lump formed in his throat and he found no more words. The birdcat had caught his bearcat tongue.

@Remedy

Remedy had been so lost in thought that she'd almost walked into the bearcat, gasping as his earthy fur came into view of her downcast gaze and she stepped back as he did, startled. At first, her expression was panic- had he heard her thoughts? Course not. She hadn't any idea what sort of magic the bearcat cub could use. No idea who he was, beyond being... oh, right, the little crying child of Leon's. Her expression softened for a moment, then heterochromic eyes turned cold.

"You're Leon and Makyna's son." It wasn't really a question, just a pointed fact. She studied him a moment- he wasn't crying this time, but she wondered how often he did- his eyes seemed stained from the tears he'd shed over time. What did this one have to be so upset over? He had a father, sisters and most importantly, a mother. Remedy had no such rapport. "I saw you before, at the election."

It seemed a long time ago now, but her eyes flicked over towards the spot. The charred ground was still vaguely red and black and she could imagine where her mother's body had laid there, bloodied and broken. Kerberos... He'd been protecting her from the crazed bird... but she couldn't shake that bitter resentment in her chest at the thought.

"...did you know her?" Her voice was quiet now, a whisper. Rem's gaze never broke from the spot of her mother's murder, as if glued to it. Frozen in place, she seemed to slip back into that state of shock.

@Baroque

Baroque opened his mouth to give her a name, to tell her who he was. To welcome her, to do anything, but no. Instead, he stood there, slack jawed, as she stared at that spot and asked him if he knew her. Baroque's waterlogged gaze was stuck on her warning-brushed plumage no matter how hard he tried to look away.

"N...No... Not personally... I only.. I only saw her met her once, b-before the meeting..." He managed to stammer out, but he could feel his claws dig deep into the stone, prying out secrets and history that he didn't want to see.

The images from before continued to haunt him, the voice of Bevy calling the meeting, of her daughter's excitement. It was a stark contrast now-- the gembound's beak was shut firmly, a line that stretched across her face, flat and cold. There was so much pain, he could practically feel it from her, though he didn't know how to fix any of it.

And he still didn't know what to say. Terrified of breaking into tears himself, he stepped closer to her and reached out a paw to place on her shoulder.

"M-my friend says it's okay to cry. My... My papa cried, too, and he never cries."

@Remedy

He didn't know her. Hadn't known her. That was fine, she thought. She didn't want to know more about her anymore. Well, no, she did... but now, she wasn't sure if she'd like it. She wasn't sure of a lot of things now. The hybrid shivered under her feathers, and then, the bearcat was stepping closer and a paw raised and she caught the movement in the corner of her eye and startled when he touched her. Reacting suddenly, she flinched away, turning to look at him with wide eyes- her expression flat, as if hiding a scowl.

"I don't want to cry." She'd never cried. Not once. She'd come awful close when Cure was kidnapped, but even then, it had been hysterics and fear, not sadness. No tears. Now, she wasn't sure if she could cry- if she ever would. At least, she thought, not for Bevy. Never for Bevy. "I don't feel sad." She followed the statement with a softer tone, almost apologetic.

"...she hated me." With this statement, the hybrid sat, wings slacking at her sides. "She'd always hated me." It didn't seem fair. What had she ever done to deserve it? It must've been something awful. Maybe... maybe it wasn't something she'd done... but something she hadn't done. Her mind raced as it had since the event, searching for answers. Finally, though, she regarded him with a gentler stare.

"My name's Remedy."

@Baroque

The girl flinched away from him and he set his oversize, awkward paw back down on the cold stone. His eyes finally hit the floor, unable to look at her any longer when she said she didn't want to cry. The grizzly cub never wanted to cry himself, but the tears always found him anyway, bunching up in the corners where he couldn't shut them out.

Even now, even over nothing, the salty droplets trickled down his cheeks, as he forced his eyes shut. She spoke in a soft voice, with gentle, almost kind words, and he opened back up, swallowing the lump in his throat as he met her eyes again. The hybrid, flashing reds on black, slumped down, breathing words that made his breath hitch again.

She was talking about Bevy, wasn't she? Baro's parents spoke so fondly of her, a warmth in their voices, and they respected her. If she was so wonderful, why would she hate her own daughter? Why didn't Remedy and her father live here, with them? What had happened, and why couldn't he understand it all-- why was he so useless?

Gentle again, she gave out her name and he forced it into his mind. Remedy, a beautiful name with a wonderful meaning. It was simple, and sweet, and showed exactly what her parents thought when they named her. The boy nodded gently and glanced over his shoulder, wondering if his parents were waking, if Cadence and Sonata would be stomping out of the den after him soon.

... What was it like, feeling so alone?

"I-I'm Baroque," he turned his bright gaze back to her, tail swishing behind him. "And... I don't hate you," he offered, uselessly, grasping at straws. What was he supposed to say?

Worry and anxiety churned in his gut and he felt his emotions swell like the rising tide. Tears trickled down his cheek and he raised a paw, shoving the golden fur into his eyes. "... I-I'm sorry." He forced a pathetic grin on his face and kept his eyes closed as he beamed at her. "I'm bein' d-dumb... D-D.. Do you wanna do something? I know s-some fun games..."

@Remedy

He was crying again. This one-- oh, Baroque-- always seemed to be crying. Was he crying for her this time? He said he didn't hate her, and for an instant, she wanted to respond, to tell him that maybe he should. She decided not to. He looked sad enough as it was, and as he wiped the tears away, her ears perked and her head tilted and she now looked at him with a renewed interest.

What was so bad about this little bearcat's life?

He apologized, then grinned, and she had to blink because as pathetic as the expression looked in general, on him, it was charming. It was handsome and charming because she knew he was forcing himself to look happy. For her. Why put that kind of effort in? I'm no one special. It confused her... and flattered her. She managed a small smile back, but his eyes were closed and the fur there was damp and she suddenly found herself overcome with a strange urge.

She lifted a careful talon and pressed her knuckles to his cheek, wiping the wet away gently, tenderly.

As quickly as she'd done it, she withdrew her paw and held it awkwardly in the air below her chest.

"Why are you crying, Baroque?" She asked, simply, but with some level of passive concern. "Are you sad about something?" Then, a thought, a memory. Cure's tears when Hasira had taken her. "Are you scared of something?" Then a horrible thought and she whispered, leaning away from him and tucking her chin down, ears folding back. "Are you scared of me?"

@Baroque

Baroque almost flinched as he felt a talon on his cheek, but he forced himself still. Sometimes, This' tried to do the same thing-- or his mama-- when they were trying to brush away his tears. It didn't stop the flood but he opened his eyes, blinking through tears to meet her gaze with a thick, tangible awkwardness flooding the air between them. He inhaled sharply at her question, pulling his eyes from her to stare down at his own paws.

"I-I-I..." He mumbled, failing to find adequate words. His shoulders shook, fighting desperately to gain control over himself. It seemed impossible for the cry baby, until Remedy asked if he was scared-- yes, he was, of something stupid-- asked if he was scared of her. He snapped up, looking at her abruptly, tears falling back past his face as he practically lunged forward, words lunging out of his throat.

"Wh-what?! No! I'm not... Why would I be? You... You haven't done anything wrong, Rem', I'm just so scared of saying something to make you feel worse, and now I've gone an' done it-- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, please, no," He raised a paw towards her, though he didn't touch her. He wanted so badly to pull her close and purr and purr like Haw' had shown him, the gentle noise had cheered him up even at the worst of times. "Come on, we, we should play a game. That always makes me feel better, look, it's alright. I'm not scared of you, I'm just a big baby who cries over dumb stuff. You're nice and I want to see you happy like you were then," he went on, his jaws snapping shut at the last words.

Oh, he had probably said too much. The tears were gone from his eyes though, and a dreadful fear in the pit of his sick stomach made his paw droop and his ears pressed flat to his skull. "... s... sorry."

@Remedy

He stammered, then shot to the response, dismissing the idea completely. Scared of saying the wrong thing? He thought he already had? Remedy's ears perked back up but her expression didn't quite shift back yet, still stoic as she listened to his hurried words and she watched his paw raise up and he wanted to touch her, but he didn't. He apologized again, for mentioning the election probably, and she blinked as he slunk back into a hunched over mess.

Remedy wasn't sure why, but in that moment, she felt the need to touch him. So she did. She reached out with that same front paw and hesitant for only a second, placed it firmly on his shoulder. The distance shrank between them as she did, and she had to stand to right her posture again, wings shifting to her sides where they rightfully belonged.

"Thank you, Baroque." She offered, and then, miracle upon miracles, she managed a smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but it wasn't fake. "You don't have to worry about that, though." Her smile faltered, replaced with concern and she tilted her head to try and make eye contact.

"I don't think you're a big baby and I don't think that's a dumb reason to cry." She felt a warmth to her cheeks and a strange fluttering in her stomach, and suddenly shy, she glanced down at the ground. Her paw stayed flush against his fur. "...I've never really had anyone be scared of saying the wrong thing to me before." Did that make sense? "...thank you for caring so much. You really don't have to, though." She looked back up at him with a sad smile. "I'm really nothing special."

@Baroque

Baroque blinked as Remedy touched his shoulder, shrinking down slightly at the touch. His blue eyes met her vibrant, multicolored gaze and he felt his breath hitch again. Why was it so hard to breathe around her? He was caught up in her smile as she spoke, telling him not to worry and his stare hit the floor again, hard.

Her words were kind, gentle and reassuring. It reminded him of Thistle, but her words were more melancoly, as though she didn't feel the same in her heart. She was speaking to make him feel better, not just because she was speaking the truth-- but somehow it made him feel roughly the same. Quietly, he looked up as her stare dodged down to the small space between them-- their eyes never quite meeting. That was okay-- he'd probably just cry if they did.

But then the girl did meet his gaze, smiling again. He couldn't escape that smile, it was so hard to see-- just in the corners of her beak-- and just barely there, too. He wanted to keep it there; she deserved happiness. The words that came out of her mouth tugged him out of his shy shell and into that barreling, bumbling hero that Thistle so loved:

He spoke with confidence now. "Nothing special? Rem'," he reached up a paw as he spoke to her, putting the massive mitt on her beak. "Your parents were both great, wonderful leaders of Maji Walezi. You've got both of them inside of you, even now. I know sometimes I feel like I could never live up to how great my own parents are, but that's just that, a feeling."

"You already are the best of both of them. My pa tells me stories of your parents all the time, and even though I don't know you, really, I can already tell you're as brave and smart as them. You're gonna be something great someday, and you're already super special. There's no one like you, Rem'."

And by some, gosh darn miracle, he managed to get all that out without breaking eye contact or shedding a single tear.

@Remedy