"Right-... Here we are. Can you lead from here, Vivilene? You know where home is, right? I can go with you," Azure added, as reassuring as she could be.

The last mention of something negative had left the kid a combination of sobbing, choking on a banana, and glowing from said banana, which had been various layers of tragic, horrible, confusing as hell and the tiniest bit funny. A year in retrospect, maybe. But Azure didn't want it happening again, and for now, she kept it positive: her tone, her reassurances, her lack of mentioning anything about her murder-death-family.

"I could call out-? Ask if anyone's here who knows you? Unless you can give me a name, maybe?" she offered then, peering at the child.

@Vivilene

VIVILENE
i make a mess
and you'll be there
to help me undress

It should be noted that Vivilene felt all kinds of groggy. It turned out that crying and choking on a banana really took a lot out of a kid, and she slept fairly hard.

And, luckily, she couldn't really remember what she was panicking over, so perhaps it was nothing all too important.

And! They were in Eridanus. Vivilene knew exactly where she was for the first time in a while-- a few days or so --and knew where to go from here. There was no real sign of the anxiety-banana-cry-choking child from the night prior when she nodded at Azure and skipped forward.

Calling out wasn't necessary. The camp wasn't that far and there was a good chance that they'd come across her father or one of her siblings on the way over.

She led Azure fairly excitedly through ferns and snaked through tree trunks with a shake of her head in response to the other hybrid. She was quick, but she was cautious not to go too far or too fast where Azure would lose track of her.

When the cervitaur did reach the camp she let out a strange mix of a bleat and cat's mrrp, stepping carefully out into the clearing to look for her family.

@Attikias

A dull, repetitive thunk! noise was probably the first indicator of the camp, if one didn't have the olfactory sense to smell the lingering scent of fire almost always about the place. Attikias was not particularly within it- he'd had the unfortunate situation of having the perfect wood-cutting stump being outside of its range.

He'd have to fix that, sometime. But, for now, he had a bundle of firewood in his hands as he heard the faint rustling. Was someone home? Was it an intruder? Hoping for the former (or, at least a friendly visitor) he continued on the path at his own pace, tail lilting up in faint excitement.

He first saw Vivilene glancing around the empty camp. "Viv!" His daughter was home! Oh, how he was worried for her- She had gotten into trouble before, and the anxiety of it gripped his throat when he thought about how long she'd been out. He was going to give it a day or so before he went out to look for her. She wasn't Asteri or Hunter, though- she was vulnerable emotionally to the world.

A soft rumble of a purr rose from his chest as he placed the firewood down by the firepit. "You're okay." It came out as a sigh as he squatted, arms out to offer Vivilene a hug which was reciprocated by the cervitaur barreling into his arms. "Hey hey, I'm glad to see you too. Where ya been?" His hand brushed between the silvery tines of budding antlers.

He noticed in short order that she was leading someone too, though. "Oh-" He ahemed, briefly, resetting his emotions and stood, offering to still hold Vivilene's hand from an upright position. His eyes flicked over their form in a brief catalogue. "Hello. M'names Attikias- Attik, if it's easier." A hand twinged in a want to handshake (caves, muscle memory, please stop) but instead he only offered a brief bow of the head. A brief assumption came to the conclusion that Vivilene managed to make a friend all on her own. "I hope my daughter didn't give you any trouble?"

Of course she wouldn't, but it was the best way to give an assessing question of should I trust you?

(faint pp permission given by april!)
@Azure

Ahhh.

It looked like Vivilene, almost--purple, tall. But with-... fewer limbs, really. Azure shook herself, and blinked. For a split second she felt ashamed, though she hadn't strictly done anything wrong; something about Attikias' demeanor, his faintly-standoffish wariness, had her eager to assure that she was good and kind and-...

Wait a fuckin' minute, is that- "-Is she your kid?" Azure asked, surprise now evident in her tone, boldness suddenly found. She opened her beak, took a breath--then glanced at Vivilene, and fixed Attikias with a firmer stare, quieting her voice. She didn't wanna scare her all over again. "She was lost. In a more dangerous part of the cave," Azure added, very pointedly.

But she didn't come any closer; she lingered at the outside of the clearing, unwilling to draw closer. Untrusting. It was nothing personal to Attikias, just-... most of the people she'd met has been assholes. Except-"You look a lot like Dip," she blurted, in realization.

Being impolite...

"I'm Azure, anyway. Good to meet you, Attikias, but I won't keep you busy. The necklace was a gift," she added, with a firm nod--one adult's promise to another that their child had not, in fact, stolen the pretty shiny.

Then, more gently--"Stay safe, okay, Viv?"

@Vivilene

VIVILENE
i make a mess
and you'll be there
to help me undress

Seeing Attikias filled Vivilene with the kind of relief that would make her never want to leave Eridanus again-- that is, until some days later when she would leave Eridanus again.

She turned to the sound of her name with another little bleat and a flick of her tail before she went bounding, once, twice and then three times, straight into her father's arms, throwing her own around his neck. She'd missed him, and she'd missed being home, and she missed her dumb siblings.

When Attikias pushed back up to talk to Azure, Vivilene promptly zoned out. Her hand was being held but it didn't stop her from pacing around Attikias without letting go of his hand, twisting his arm around if he didn't turn or let go. Not out of rudeness-- merely, not realising.

What they spoke about didn't entirely matter to the cervitaur. She recognized their tones as being warm, at least-- friendly, but Vivilene was more concerned trying to spot Hunter's tail, or one of Volta's feathers, or Asteri lounging in the camp.

Her name brought her back to attention, though, and the sudden realisation that Azure was about to leave already. Only then did she release Attikias of her grip, stepping over to the other hybrid.

The wish that she could speak never left her. Telepathy was never the same, and the noises that Vivilene were capable of only seemed to alarm and concern Azure. She couldn't say thank you, or ask her to come and visit, because they were friends now.

Instead, she tried to hug Azure's neck, too, gently but firmly.

It was the best she could do.

@Attikias

Attikias's eyes followed Vivilene's excited pacings. "Go ahead and put away the satchel, hun," he offered with another tussle of hair- if she wanted to, of course. His arm twisted like a tangled leash when she went around him, but she didn't want to let go, and so he didn't either.

"She's mine, yeah," he answered with a tilt down to her. He felt warm at that claim- she was his daughter, and he was her father, and they were family. Even just a few words coming to fruition to his brain was like a shot of dopamine.

But, her voice lowered and gave warning. Lost? Attikias gave another glance to Vivilene, worry prickling his skin and tugging at the tip of his tail. "Ah- thank you for finding her, then." His tone matched hers in wariness. "If you need anything, please, let me know. I don't have much, um- carvings..?" He made to walk towards his hut as he let go of Vivilene's hand.

He paused at the mention of another name. Dip..? "I... Don't look like anyone-" Brief worry snapped his mind to Astraea's words. This wasn't someone imposing their facts on him, though, not like that being from before that insisted on performing magic on him (what was their name again? hm). It was an honest remark, and he tried so hard not to stare.

Was Dip trying to cover her past like Astraea? But Azure had moved on, gave her name, and seemed to try and excuse herself, and Attikias could feel himself puffing up with self-righteous emotions. 'Hold on. Don't get defensive,' his mind pleaded. 'Too late,' his soul responded. His mouth opened to nearly interrogate, but Azure pointed out the gift and drew himself away from the thought of others like him around. Even Vivilene went to her. Vivilene... One of the few beings like him, and then he found out there were more?

He gave a soft laugh with nervous undertones. "Sorry, I- Don't think I've ever heard anyone say I looked like anyone but my family." He made to approach slowly, hands out as he reset his emotions yet again to one of friendly open-mindedness. "Vivi, you did thank her for the nice gift, right?"

He wanted to ask more about this 'Dip', wanted to tear away the information and wrench it from the caves, but the interpreter was simply one being who he wholly felt like he was intimidating a bit too much. "The offer still stands- if you need anything from us, let me know. If none of us are at the camp just leave a little sign or something and we can try to find you..? Where can we find you? Or, if you just want to see Viv again, you're always welcome." If he needed to ask about Dip, he could find her at a later date, when she didn't seem like she needed to be somewhere else. Besides, the little kid seemed to enjoy her presence. It'd be good for her to have some other adult figures around her life.

@Azure

Azure's logical mind, and her emotional one, were at war. And it was chaos in there.

Even as she leaned down, gently nudging into Vivilene's hug, there was one voice screaming at her that Eridanus was terrible and horrible and Blackberry was probably here and she wanted to leave right now and, hey? Remember all that bloodshed and hunting and trauma-

-And the other half was pointing out that that'd been a long time ago, that bailing suddenly was rude, that Attikias was friendly enough-

-but he was big, and a stranger, and-

Azure took a breath, briefly closing her eyes. Despite her gentleness with Vivilene it was clear that she was deeply ill at ease, here: tense and lingering back a ways.

"Thanks," she answered, bluntly. She wasn't quite sure what to make of Attikias denying that he looked like Dip-? She eyed him. "You're both purplish. You both walk upright and have hands. And tails. And flat faces and hair on the top. You both wear clothes and have tools and stuff." Her tone was flat, not out of rudeness, just nervousness. It was almost fearful conversation. She nodded, then, down to Vivilene. "She sure did say thanks. She's very polite. Anyway, uh. I had a home in Orion but the dragon burnt it. I don't like being here so if you need me, I'm usually around Monoceros, if you know where that is--but there's dragons around there, too, and at least one of them's tried to kill me so be careful."

It had a reason, though; are you gonna tell him that? -No, rather not go into it...

She paused, hesitating, and then went on, almost reluctantly: "If you ever need things... made?" she suggested, looking briefly over the clearing, and the things within, "I can make... jewelry, and stuff. I'm gonna-... go back and keep working on that now. Take care, Vivilene," she added.

Her nervousness was blatantly clear, her steps slowly shuffling her backwards even as she spoke.

@Vivilene

VIVILENE
i make a mess
and you'll be there
to help me undress

Vivilene was a little sad, but she knew that Azure wouldn't stay. At least she could visit, if she could find where the creepy junk-tunnel was. She could ask her dad, at the very least, surely?

The hybrid offered Azure a little squeeze before she let go and peeled away. She nodded in response to Attikias meanwhile. She was mute, but she wasn't without manners. She looked up to Azure, and then back to her dad again.

The other hybrid was backing away-- a discomfort that, vaguely, Vivilene recognized. She stepped backwards, too, and then moved for Attikias with a faint, muted grumble.

Unsteadily, she started to pace around Attikias again, waving a little with her hand towards Azure in silence. She hoped that everything would be alright-- she hoped nothing was wrong, or would go wrong. Distantly, she recalled the conversation they had prior. Azure's family was bad.

She looked up to Attikias for a moment longer, and then continued pacing. Not her family, she hoped.

@Attikias

So, he was a bit like someone else. The news shook him for a second, stopping his brain and his idle motions as he attempted to even contemplate the other person. But- the more she was around, the further she seemed to get into anxiety, and Attikias's senses slowly attuned to it as her actions grew louder. "That's, um-" His hands clasped and his thumbs tapped together. No- let the other elf existing process at a later date.

"I'm sorry to hear about the dragons. Monoceros. I'll... Find you if I need you." Dragons- well, he knew Dread, and Bug (did Bug count), but were there more? He couldn't see Dread intentionally try to attempt murder. His brain snapped, briefly, to the knife weighing at his hip. Its curse held only societal implications and a must with no deadline. If only he could free himself of it in good conscience.

But, Azure still wished so desperately to be free of the conversation. "Um- Good luck." Maybe he could bring Vivilene to visit, just under surveillance the next time. His hand reached for Vivi as she approached to pat at her shoulder, glancing down to her. 'Say goodbye,' he almost directed, but she was nice enough to do so anyways, and Attik gave a soft nod and smile down to her.

He felt like he should say more and he shuffled in place. Should he wish her luck? No- he just did. His eyes darted to the side and he dragged his attention away to try and exit from the conversation for her while still remaining in place.

@Azure

The hybrid dipped her head, and backed away.

"Thanks. You too. Be safe," she said, and--as she turned away--realized she'd repeated herself, sort of.

Were 'be safe' and 'take care' too close? Did she look like an idiot, now? -Was nervous anxiety catching?

Azure turned, picking her way through the leaves, vanishing quickly back toward Orion. She didn't want to stay here, amongst unpleasant memories, any longer than she had to.

exit Azure
@Vivilene