set in the days after YOU'RE NOT MY REAL MOM

Aure swore he could still hear the rattling cries of Lessers broken from the inside out.

The Bonebound's venture back to Canis had been quiet, achingly uneventful. His own voice failed him without the distraction of cleansing and healing some of the remnants of the Hive that'd been leftover, scattered into the mists. Tunnel K's shroud hadn't helped matters, the clinging humidity and chills down his spine altogether too raw and fresh in his mind. There wasn't any lunch to lose, but Aure'd fluttered up to his father's cairn nonetheless and laid alongside the chrysalis blooming there.

Sandwiched between its girth and half-preserved wings, the young King'd roiled in his overcharged queue of - thoughts. He hadn't cried, but there was a fair amount of dry heaving. Aure could find comfort, at least, in knowing that no one had died and that at least one part of that infection had been destroyed.

And... that it was up to them to root other parts of it out - not as violently as Astraea had.

Swallowing, gathering himself up, Aure shoved aside the thunderhead brewing in his mind and stood. Bright eyes almost automatically drifted to his talons as he drifted forwards, off the edge of the cliff leading to Aza'zel's cairn, and towards his mother's den.

The scent of familiar, harmless (relatively) fungus was calming almost immediately.

He peeked in, sniffing once for his mother, calling softly, "mom?" More as a polite greeting than asking for permission to enter, seeing as he simply toed his way in instead, bright eyes searching in the dark. "How're you holding up?"

@Giggle

Giggle looked up, blinking.

Her den was open--no overhang, no cliff; the hyena avoided the dark. The den, then, was but a clearing; a small open area set low amongst the surrounding terrain and pressed, hidden by foliage, against the West Wall. The hyena had done little but sleep the day or two since the battle; her body was weary from travel and combat, and her mind rather trying to avoid several very important things.

For one, the troubling fact that the bones seemed to urge her to make contact, again, with Mother: with the terrible fungus that controlled the mind, that turned its servants into husks. How could that be a good thing..? She would have to consult the bones, again, but thus far she hadn't found any trace of "Mother," anyway.

And here was Aure: she had only asked how he, and Eythan, were once after returning. And then she'd retreated, trying not to think about the screams, the bursting bodies, her ever-growing hatred for the world around her and its so-called Masters. Her sons, though-... even Eythan; she cared for them. She loved Aure, even if Eythan would never truly reach that point. She had forgiven Eythan, at least, for the most part, and that was something, and he'd... improved. Vastly.

She respected that; she did. He had gone from a wallowing, lying cat-beast killer to a dutiful son and a genuinely contributing member of the reborn Bonebound, and she could not ever just cast that aside.

But here was Aure, then; the prince, the new King, the rising leader who had indeed led them well thus far. She ever feared that the pressures on him might grow too much, as they had with Aza'zel; and her guilt, now, at having not checked on him more or sooner twisted her face into a brief grimace as she stood. She stretched, and padded over with a wave of her tail to touch noses with him, wearily.

"Aure," she rasped, her voice with that "old smoker aunt" depth; "I should be asking you that. I'm fine. I'm sorry I've not been checking up on you more. That was... hard for everyone, I think; how are you?"

Her grim rest, her oblivious stick-head-in-sand-and-ignore-it-all, fell away; and instead she was swamped by "I need to-" thoughts. I need to consult the bones. I need to look for that fungus. I need to ask if we have any members that need help, or any readings that need done. I need to check on Omen...

But first, she needed to see to her son, and King; and so she dropped back to her haunches, and waited.

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@Aure

Aure helped Giggle close the distance between them, taking a few eager steps forwards and gulping down that ever-present sense of nausea. Biting it down made the vignette fade further into his periphery - experiencing it again in flashback only brought a useless wave of emotion. That, in this case, was better to simply let drop out of memory. He stepped back (against his own want to stay in close) and let his eyes wander over the clearing in the bones, the fruiting bodies cultivated off to one side. The bio-luminescent blooms he'd made as a child still laid in a small circle on the floor.

It was a pleasant callback to early days.

He focused again on his mother, gazing at her up and down as if she'd acquired a million more wounds in the few days following the war. Checking, grounding. Aure sighed softly, the sound whistling through his beak, "I don't blame you for having to take some time for yourself. Bones know I didn't make myself - available." He remained standing, padding the length of the mushroom wall distractedly before meandering back to Giggle. "I'm... doing my best. It's been... a hard few weeks. I wouldn't want to take another stab at it, even if I could make it better," Aure's ears swiveled back in time with his slight grimace.

He exhaled again, "but... no one died. No one, but -" His voice faltered, and he finally gave up on restraint, striding towards Giggle's side and settling into it with a ragged huff, "I don't want to... see that happen again."

@Giggle

He stood apart; adult, leader, king. And he spoke; and she listened.

And then he came and pressed against her: child... son.

Giggle nudged him gently, grimly.

"I don't think that was easy for anyone to watch. I think the prick did it to make a point," she added, quieter. "He could have cleansed them--I'm sure of that. He killed them instead. I'd swear he's part cat," she added, darkly, looking away.

She stared off into the same mushrooms, for a moment, their glow reflecting in her eyes.

"But you're right: no one died. No Greaters. You did well; have I told you that?" she added, looking to him. She was silent, for a moment, and then nudged his shoulder with her own, as if to draw his eye.

Her expression was warm, but sombre.

"Imagine something, Aure. Imagine what the caves would be now if the Bonebound weren't there. If you hadn't been there. To learn about the fungus, to help the Children of Rot, hell even to get Pride and that damn dragon," she added, amused and dark all at once. "Dragon's lot would've had to fight alone, and maybe they'd have managed, or maybe not, but there'd have been a lot of deaths. And if they didn't-..."

The ragged hyena shrugged. "Don't let your ego get too big, but without you, and without the Bonebound, the caves right now would be--excuse my language--fucked." And this held humor in it, but she waited: waited for that to sink in. She doubted Aure had thought of it, yet--but she had.

She had thought of it... and she'd worried on it.

How close they could have been, the rest of them, to annihilation. Or to death; and she wasn't sure which of them was worse.

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@Aure

"You heard him," Aure shifted more onto his side, giving a wet-sounding laugh at the jab at felines, "he was warning us." Not to think this was over, not to believe this'd been put to rest with one battle. That'd been the ramping point of war, a point made not to slack off on keeping an eye out. Aure's thoughts wandered distantly to Wilder, a prickle of apprehension twitching through his flank. He'd seen neither head or tail of the little cat since then, and he was... almost glad for it.

That was a loaded train of thought.

Giggle's shoulder bumped into his, most certainly attracting bleary-glassy eyes. Parsing the last chunks of what she'd said, he deflated - more out of a sense of bashful-unable-to-take-a-compliment than embarrassment. "I try," he murmured softly in the undercurrent of her continued speech, a grim look into a future where they hadn't reacted so quickly - where they had, perhaps, ran to hide from the howlite chrysalis yet-sitting in Canis and the potential of failure like the Kingdom of Eridanus had. Where they hadn't stood strong and marched off to save what lives they could.

Somehow, through all of the panic, throwing up on his own two feet, losing composure: he'd managed this, survived, led others to survival, safety.

He... he could be proud of that.

Bright eyes went half-lidded as he went for another nudge, another snuggle deeper into Giggle's flank, uncaring of the fungal dander likely coating his side (Bones knew he had quite a collection on his own.) "If it gets too big, it's your fault," he laughed softly, swallowing once before proceeding, "but, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you and Eythan and - everyone to..." Aure trailed off, verbally gesturing his inability to articulate just how grateful he was for them. "to remind me to stay steady and... push through the best I can."

A long pause.

Wilder -

The wyvern finally peeled himself off of her, if only to stare into his mother's dark eyes, brows pinched in worry. Unable to contain all of that, he murmured quietly, "I need to - ask you about Wilder. Like she's not... a cat." Cat was said hesitantly, but with a wary note of wariness. "I know that it wasn't her that threw that - fungus at me, but... but, she scared me."

Aure unloaded haltingly, uncertain of how to put words to his fears that, inevitably, that trigger would appear again in Canis and it would pull taut against his mind until he couldn't think anymore, "I don't think I can look at her and just not... think about what her - her body? - did and feel... okay." His feathers puffed up in mild distress, head tossing slightly as if one might gesture with their hands, "but, I can't just tell her to go away or get away from me. She'd be heartbroken."

It seemed the young King'd missed the memo on caring for oneself in that way and knowing when to draw a line in the sand.

It seemed he thought he just had infinite energy to expend on maintaining an otherwise exhausting relationship, and yet he looked drained talking about it.

@Giggle

M - Language

Wilder. Oh boy. Now there was a fucking topic. The hyena sighed out through her nose.

She looked away, thinking, for a long moment, Aure pressed to her side: it was clear that this wasn't an answer she wanted to jump the gun on. She gave it due consideration, real thought, and then turned, stepping away to turn and face Aure solemnly.

"If it weren't Wilder--if it were anyone else--I'd say it was just the fungus. But has she done anything for the Bonebound? From what I know she's just been trouble, again and again. Lying to the stag, protecting that goose, losing control of herself, and now this. But we're a family, as much as a kingdom; I know they don't have to serve a purpose to be part of it." Giggle stood, abruptly, turning and pacing to the water as she went on. "But is she even part of the family-? Who's she close to, Aure? She claims to be part of the Bonebound, but the Children of Rot, too. The thing is, that could be a good thing--you've only got to look to Serek to see that. Someone keeping communication open. Someone truly a part of both families, but Wilder-? I don't think she's part of any group. I don't think she's close to anyone. I think she's childish, I think she's flippant. Maybe this will change her. I don't know." The ragged hyena shrugged, and turned back to her son; to her king. "I always considered myself Aza'zel's advisor. That's the role I played for him. But I have to be careful with you. I'm your mother, and I don't want you to ever give my words too much weight, Aure. To see what I say as..." she paused, taking a breath, looking away briefly as if searching for the right words. "...as mother's final say, you know?"

The old hyena shook herself, briefly, as if clearing her mind--and maybe the fungus from her coat, dander drifting down. "But to answer you? I don't think it's unusual that you'd be uncomfortable around her, even if she were anyone else. It was... a bad thing, that happened. With Wilder? Specifically? I don't fucking trust her, and it's not just because she's a cat. If she comes back here, I'd ask you to haul her to sit in front of me and let me look into her mind. If she's some sort of traitor, I'll know; and if she's not, we can put both our minds at ease."

And if she loses her fucking mind again? Giggle wondered, looking at her son. What will you do then-?

She shook her head and looked down again, lapping at the water for a long moment. He's worried he'd break her heart. But heartbroken-? Would she be, or would she start speaking like a lunatic, lashing out, taking her venom elsewhere to turn against us? -Fucking cats, her mind spat.

At last she shook her head and turned back toward Aure. "You were asking about a little trauma, and I answered maybe a little too much. If it's just the bad memory of what she did that bothers you, I'll tell you it gets better with time, but that shit never goes away completely. Anyway--do you mind if we head up to the bones, while we talk? I've something to ask them--and maybe you, too."

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@Aure

Aure's beak went slack with words he couldn't find; what had Wilder done for the Bonebound, but to cause... unnecessary strain? All but losing control were things that weren't - forced on her. They were things that she'd done on her own impulses. And, the wyvern guiltily surmised, she never seemed to learn. There was moping around, being closed-off, talking about it; then, some expectation that she could just proceed as she had before. He'd never ask any of his family to find a reason to exist there, but -

(He clenched his beak, trying not to look so visibly crestfallen as Giggle stood, continuing to talk as she moved away.)

- but, his mother was right to question, to press. Aure was unsure if he'd ever seen the little black cat talk to anyone but him of her own volition. She sat on the outskirts of meetings, shied away from interactions, danced out of sight - only coming out when she had to, when the wyvern asked her to (Oh.) "I -" he interrupted softly, swallowing, "I think she stays only because of me." Even when they both were young and the group was reforming, Wilder'd tagged along blindly at his heels. Aure swallowed, "she - doesn't think she has anywhere else to go but here after that botched trial." He knew that, for certain. "Even if the only way is up."

Even if the only way is up. That very sentence was ironic. He was just talking about yet another tumble down, yet another mistake to make up for - but this was irreparable, even for Aure, because it hurt him, this time.

"She won't change on her own," he admitted softly, wings rustling despondently at his sides, "and I can't sit with her and try to change her." Bones, he wished he could. Aure wished he could just take all of that away and wipe the slate clean. Fix what was wrong and let himself feel better for it without having to draw a line and set a boundary.

Giggle pressed on, gently disengaging from the subject. "Mom, I wouldn't come to anyone else," Aure smiled weakly, shoving to his feet and stumbling from the shakiness that seemed to occupy them for a moment. Steadying himself, he chirped, "but, I know..." His throat ran a little dry at the sight of water, but he didn't want to cross the distance to take a drink. Distracted as he was, he still felt a little nauseous.

Wings going a little slack at his sides - preemptively to catch himself if he did fall taking those meager few steps (he wasn't confident in his otherwise even strides, apparently - Aure shuffled forwards, head shaking slightly, "I don't think she means to -" (Should I be defending her so much?) "I don't know why she would've been anywhere close to... that. Why she'd go all the way to Cetus and just - not say anything." Bright eyes drifted, "and I haven't seen her since all of that."

No more than he had before.

"She'll come back eventually and -" the young King exhaled, "you can look into her mind, then. I'll..." He shifted uncomfortably, and shook his head once.

Labeling his anxieties and worries as trauma made them neater, somehow. Like it was just a little easier to process. It had sharp handles, still, but the suffocating weight of it eased up just slightly. It was enough to loosen that knot in his throat and grant him the confidence needed to move ahead, forge a path towards Giggle. He gave her a grateful look, but didn't say much else on that topic.

"No, not at all. I - need to tell you something, too. Show you, even."

And, Aure let her lead the way: young King after his Advisor; son after his mother.

@Giggle

Giggle listened in silence, as she walked, and when Aure expressed his question--why had Wilder wound up tainted?--she huffed a quiet, thoughtful sound. "There's no way of knowing why or how she got that shit in her aside from asking," the hyena answered, blunt as ever. "As for changing her..." She glanced back at Aure, solemn, as she padded up the trail to the bone pit. "That's not your job."

Another pause, meandering up the trail; a glance at the pit, ensuring all was well. Kera's old mushrooms still bloomed bright--Giggle saw to that daily--and the bones lay pristine, or as much as the burnt and battered ones could be. "That's what I do--I'm advisor, seer, and I can look after the Bonebound members, their health, their minds, for you. Just bring them to me. Bring her to me, if you like, and I'll see what I can do. She wouldn't be the first I've mended," she added wryly. Her mind twisted back to Kerberos--a wonderful son, and a success, though certainly his own as much as hers--and Baratheon, a failure. The deciding factor? "But she has to want to change." Assuming change was even necessary. Wilder had hardly ever spoken to her; she didn't know. Not without talking to the cat, first.

Giggle paused at the edge of the bones, and turned her dark eyes to Aure. "So--what is it that you wanted to tell me? And show me?" she added, curiously--imagining that it must be some form of magic. She waited, though clearly was preparing to do a bone reading, afterward--but the King's revelations, apparently, came first.

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@Aure

He had to ask - it was that simple! - why Wilder'd gone off on her own and wound up with that, why she'd come back (mind control, that's obvious.)

Even if it were so easy, Aure... hesitated to think of himself doing as much. Maybe he was pushing too much of his anxieties about the whole situation - it'd all been fairly traumatic for all parties involved - onto the little cat and unfairly searching for an outlet -

"That's not your job."
"Wh -" his breath whistled out as he flinched, brows quirking and furrowing in repetition before settling into a... rather gobsmacked expression. Aure missed a few steps, claws on one foot knocking clumsily against the incline rather than sprawling to adapt. Giggle pressed on, though she - thank the Bones - paused to glance around. The wyvern steadied himself on level ground, mind immediately running through all of the reasons he shouldn't push such an integral thing onto her, even if that was what she was to do. His own grasp of his role as a Bone King was dubious, but - he wanted helping to be a part of it. He thought this was helping; this being giving endlessly and expecting nothing in return.

Aure tried tentatively to articulate as much, "I... still want to help. I just don't think I can - help her any more than I already have." He'd tried.

His gaze flickered to the bones, murmuring distantly, "if I do see her, I'll send her your way."

The wyvern shook himself off, as if clearing clutter out from his mind and replacing it with thinly-veiled enthusiasm, perhaps a bit of apprehension. His ears finally pricked forwards, a hint of a smile on his face, "well - I... have to show you in a moment. Before all of this happened, I left something with Dad." Aure danced from foot to foot, gazing at the bones, "I - was worried about what would happen when Astraea came back. Rezik was in a chrysalis and we had his attacker, but... who knew what would've happened? Nobody could've guessed that."

Ah, let's just get to it - "I... took off some of my stone, in case everything went sideways." He blinked, a swell of pride coming as he finally announced, "since we're okay, I think... I'm going to be a father."

@Giggle

Despite Giggle's constant use of the word "cat" as a pejorative, she gave Aure's words patient consideration. She seemed to be trying, at least, not to be a total ass about it all.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not telling you not to help her. I'm saying, Kings--anyone with a lot of responsibility--you need to delegate. She's your friend, sure," (and Giggle bit back the urge to add, "at least you think she is") "but that doesn't make every one of her Bonebound problems yours to handle. Speaking of delegation, you might want to consider training up guardians at this point. Bonebound's been threatened in the past, and Kerberos won't always be there to protect us."

Then Giggle waited, patiently. She was itching to talk to Aure about the fungus--to discuss, to ask ideas, even permissions... but the bomb he dropped struck all of that from her mind in an instant. She turned, blinking wide eyes--"-Your stone?" It wasn't accusation; it was shock. But why hadn't he told her-? Asked her, even, her thoughts on it first, not that she was controlling but she found her feelings hurt, a little, and--wait, how was it possible?

Critical thinking kicked in, and the hyena's brow furrowed, just a little. "...Is the stone actually growing, Aure?" she asked, wary about tone and phrasing--she didn't want to panic him, if it was not. "You need someone to bring it alive..?" She trailed off--he knew that, didn't he..?

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Aure