She listened, grim, quiet; still sadly compassionate. And she shook her head, gently. "I think waiting and springing it on her then would make it pretty clear we were waiting to talk to her about it. I don't think it's a good idea to keep hiding things from one another. But... she is very... hm. Skittish?" she suggested, tilting her head at the word as she considered it. Yeah, skittish sounded about right. "I'm not sure how to do it. I want to ask the bones, anyway... We can do that now, if you want?"

A breath, then; there was something else that was far past time to address.

"And there's something else I've been way overdue in telling you, myself. We have to talk about it before you leave; every other time I've tried, something has come up."

A pause, again. Brief distraction as she felt for her fungus and felt a wholly dead link. It had only been a half a minute since her last check, but she grimaced, feeling a spike of pain through her head--and warned Omen to keep a closer watch.

She then looked straight at Aure. "You know, don't let the 'king' thing get you down, Bone King," she offered, quietly, gently. "If you really break it down, there isn't that much you need to do; it's still just family."

This last was warm, reassuring, as was the glance she gave him; a smile, in hyena-... face.

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

@Aure

Ah... it would seem premeditated, wouldn't it? The hybrid hummed softly, out of ideas for the time - although, he still wanted to at least grant Damask that adventure in discovery. "Let's go, then - I'll... try to think of a good way to go about it, if there's even a good way." Would just... outright stating it and asking to talk be best?

Bright eyes met dark ones, "what is it?" Hesitancy traced that, if only for just... not knowing what to expect. He tried not to anticipate the worse.

"It be nice if I was just a bone, sometimes," he laughed softly. "There's just a lot of activity. Who knew that... there was so much - stuff in the caves that would've been revealed if we'd just asked." Aure returned the smile with his own bird-face - albeit sleepier - and finally shuffled away into a standing position.

He stared wryly, adding, "like... reading and writing."

@Giggle

Giggle glanced wryly at Aure, cynicism flickering up.

"I think he offered it to pacify us. He never offered it before, and it's hardly the first time we've spoken with him." Like his explanations of the void-place,
she thought, shuddering at the memory.

The hyena began pacing toward the bone pit, glancing back at her fungal garden.

"You noticed I haven't been growing fungus on myself, lately?" she asked, glancing at Aure. "That's because I've been cleansing myself, entirely, after every time I interact with my fungal garden. I've a sample of that 'Mother' shit there," she added, her voice dropping even lower. "I don't think I've gotten infected, at any point, but it has its own mind. I can talk to it, ask it things. Mostly," she added drily, "it just whines about wanting to be spread around. But it talks about the cave sometimes. It's called it a nest, says the caves are too chaotic. It isn't very... Well, nothing new, no real revelations. That's a disappointment," she admitted, with a sigh. "Precautions-wise I have it ringed by other fungus, all enclosed in one of the shelves, but if you want me to get rid of it I will. I don't think it's as helpful as I was hoping, anyway, but I figured it might have answers to some question or other we need down the road, given what the bones said of it--which is the only reason I went and got some," she explained, pointedly. It wasn't a risk she'd have taken if the bones hadn't been so clear.

"Anyway, every time I wanted to tell you something new came up. Like... you'd made a child, or Damask was hatched." A shrug, as she came up on the bone pit; it was serious, and she half-expected Aure to take his turn at being outraged, but she'd expected that for awhile now.

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@Aure

"Our conversations with him are usually about other problems," Aure returned with a smirk that quickly faltered...

... and twisted into a grimace and wince. His heart jumped in his chest, throat running to a feeling like cotton with the phantom swelling in it. There was a cloying scent of decay in the air, and blood and rot. Trying and failing to swallow that surge of anxiety down, Aure settled for rooting himself to the spot, talons curling into the soil. It was a sad attempt at grounding himself enough to listen fully.

Giggle - his mom had gone and found that, kept it here... to ask it questions and see what it knew, but - the hybrid quivered in place regardless. There were too many what-if scenarios running through his mind, his complete unawareness and being out of touch with his own family giving rise. She could've been infected the whole time, and he wouldn't have known, and Damask had been left with her -

"... if you want me to get rid of it I will."

"Please," he croaked, bright eyes suddenly searching his mother for those grey smudges, himself for it even though he'd know if he'd been touched, searching the fungal garden for a pulsating mass. It lay in the corner, terrifyingly dense even as it was surrounded by other fungi. Neither of them were clogged with it.

Aure... did not blame his mother for keeping this to herself, for trying to find a good time to mention this, but even still - what if Astraea'd found out? He'd already stripped her of fungus once without batting an eye, he could do so much worse to her for deliberately keeping this - thing, this common enemy of theirs. And yet, the hybrid's beak drew into a thin line, and he sighed shakily, "it's okay, I... I understand."

He swallowed and followed Giggle. "If it's... useless, get rid of it and - wherever you found it. I... I don't want to go through what we did, not again."

@Giggle

Giggle paused, turning, peering at her son as he... sank down. She hadn't expected that; she'd expected anger, most likely. She was surprised--not disappointed, exactly (being soft was not a weakness, in her eyes).

"I figured you'd be more angry," she noted aloud, surprised. "You--are allowed to be, and all that; you're the King and I did it without your permission." Almost puzzled. She feared, too often, that he'd be afraid or reluctant to speak out against her, given her spot as her son; she wasn't ever afraid to point that out to him. But then again, would even Aza'zel have been angry-? No, she thought; he'd have been afraid.

"Sometimes you're more like your father than I realize," the hyena said abruptly, gently--warmly, even. She shook her head, as if to dismiss the entire thing, and kept on toward the bone pit. "You're both gentle souls. I'm sorry--I think it bothered you more than I realized. The fungus, I mean."

Half of her mind, though, was rebelling against the idea of destroying it. It could be useful. It was a part of the enemy, supposedly; it was harmless, as it was. And in secret, briefly, she resolved (without conscious thought so much as a decision already debated) to ask the bones about it, later.

"I don't know if I can find the... wild fungus, but I can try. Maybe we should both search it out," she added, thoughtful; "maybe the Bonebound in general should hunt it, work toward it. One of us can hang back, cleanse the other one just in case, once we're done. I had to search out Lessers near Cetus. Find one that had some fungus on it, lure it in with a banana, pull it off it, carry it back on a stick. It wasn't a nest on its own, or I'd have destroyed it," she explained. "I think Astraea was right when he said it'll just be lurking around, in places."

Ahh... the bone pit. She paced to its edge, looking it over with a little sigh. "Back to Damask," she said, aloud. How to bring this-

There is still nothing, Omen cut in, breaking her thoughts. It wasn't in words, but it was a tentative, shy report, almost as though the bird just wanted attention. Thank you, sister-daughter, Giggle thought back, warmly, a mental caress against the bird's mind. Acknowledgment--gratitude; Omen seemed lonely. She'd have to spend time with her later, then. For a moment, Giggle cast out her own mind, half-reminded by the Hallowed Caller. She checked that they were still well and truly alone before continuing, her senses creeping out through the fungus and finding nothing, no one, nearby.

The hyena turned her attention back to the bones, plucking out a small, robust one, a long--rib, or something like?--thick for its size, but still relatively tiny. Shrinking away, but tough, she said to herself, and carried it to the ledge above the pit.

There she turned, lobbing it in, and watched.

Her mind, as always, picked pattern from seeming chaos, and she began to speak thoughtfully. "As for how to bring things up with Damask; the bones speak of... life. Of things coming together. Maybe... a sibling? I don't see how that helps us talk to her, but they might be suggesting she gets someone younger to teach, in turn. Maybe that would help her confidence," Giggle said, contemplating half-doubtfully. "Or it might mean finding someone her age to train with. Do we have anyone-?" And here she glanced to Aure, brows drawn down in thought. She didn't think so, but...

"This bone splits off from the others, and leaves the other ones in chaos. Hrmph. I don't think it matters how we address it to her, then. I think it means she'll put a barrier between herself and us, and there'll be chaos for awhile. Maybe not permanent--the bones didn't mention that before. But for awhile, at least. She'll get upset, and maybe leave--she'd need to be alone, I think. I'm not sure why everything would get so... disjointed; maybe something else will happen, too. But I think this is two suggestions--to get her someone else, a friend, a sibling, someone; and just to talk to her however, since the end result, I think, will be the same."

Giggle paused, then glanced to Aure. "-That, or they think she's going to have a kid of her own. She's too young for that--too immature. As her father, I hope you've told her how all that works, and warned her against it until she's ready. If you haven't... you might want to," Giggle added, in quiet warning. She couldn't imagine Damask trying to raise kids, not yet; maybe it'd mature her some, or maybe it would just drive her into hiding with a child, her own fears making everything a thousandfold worse. It wasn't worth the risk, in the hyena's mind. Damask just wasn't healthy enough yet to be responsible for someone else's well-being, too.

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

@Aure

"I figured you'd be more angry."

"No," Aure chirped, then sank further into his shoulders, "maybe a bit. I'm... more worried. Having it right there terrifies me, what it could do and what it could cause. What if Astraea'd come in and sensed it? He'd -" Bright eyes broke away then, eager to dance away from the subject given an opportunity to.

Away to action, maybe - "that sounds good - the... hunting, I mean. I'd like for more of us to know how to remove it, at least." (In case you - we - aren't there, said his tone.) It, as a spell, was relatively easy to cast - one of his first ventures in magic, even. He and his mother could teach it to the others and encourage them to search regularly. If they couldn't sense it via magic, they could search through the scent alone.

But, enough of that -

The Bone King settled at the edge of the pit, near the overhang and looking out across it. His mother - his Seer - lobbed a bone in, and she watched. (Someday, maybe, he should at least try to learn how to read them.) Her voice rang, speaking of teaching - training. Maybe someone impressionable, with few prior standards to worry about? "I hate to force a... student or sibling on her. We can - keep it in mind?" Aure verbally shrugged, pitch rising on the last sentence with each successive word, "I'm sure that a child'll emerge here or some other Gembound will come and join us at some point."

Inevitable conflict, though? Aure physically shied from it, ears pricking back. No matter the address, there'd be... that. Another break. His conscience immediately began looking for excuses to never let that necessary conversation - related to herself or rearing children - occur. But, it'd be a miserable existence, perpetually in unrest, even if it wasn't visible. The hybrid shifted weight to either foot, chirping, "... I don't think I'll have to worry about her - having kids. She's definitely proven that she's not interested." At least, not yet, given that Masquerade had come around (and vanished) when Damask was some two cycles old.

Regardless: "do the bones say that... one method of bringing it up is better than another?" Quietly optimistic, wasn't he?

@Giggle

Irritation, disappointment, flickered through her at the words "force." "I'm not suggesting you force anything, Aure. But let me put it to you this way: if she refuses to confront any of this shit on her own, forever, she'll just stay the same. It's up to you what to do about that, in the end. You made her; she's your kid. Your responsibility," she added, a little pointedly, though without any heat to it. "Either you'll have to push her, at some point, or find another way, or just leave her to be a fucking mess for the rest of her life."

Damn cats.

At his question, she looked back to the bones, studying them. She didn't expect to find anything, but an answer jumped out at her at once, and she laughed--a short, amused bark. "Yes. Tell her it's the word from beyond. Tell her it's what the bones are saying. I guess it's true, too. She can't really take offense with bones. Or if she does, she can't argue with 'em. Just better not make it a habit of an excuse," Giggle added. Resenting said bones wouldn't help anyone, either.

Better than resenting and refusing her father, though.

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

@Aure

"I know," the hybrid turned away, ears pricking down, "and I do want to help her." He suddenly became very interested in the jagged fold of the floor beneath him, the way a layer of rock gave way to another in sweeping curves and spines. Damask and himself'd fought before, but at least they both came out better for it, a lesson learned. Aure knew he was a father on shaky footing, but he could do his best - to push where needed and... to make himself available as a listening ear. He was better at the latter than confrontation.

Best to do it before he lost the nerve or it straight-up just slipped out of mind like many other obligations and responsibilities of his.

As for putting it on the bones - Aure laughed softly, "just this once, then." He regarded the bone pit for a moment, dipping his head in silent thanks to them, as he always did.

A fairly long pause stretched afterwards (full of him trying to figure out if he had more to say, more to do, but they'd covered all their current bases) before he took wing to get closer to his mother. Despite his initial upset, he pressed his beak into her cheek and chirped, "thank you, Mom." Leaning back, he added, "do you... think there's anything else? I'll - be back to see you in a few days about organizing a meeting - and for dinner, of course." Dinner was said with a soft smile.

@Giggle

She felt... weary, then, tired with her poor son there emotionally exhausted, with his damn child such a drain on him. She's selfish, she realized then, abruptly and completely. The child was so self-centered that she thought only of herself. She was afraid, imagining everything revolved around her. She thought of herself first. She did not imagine that she was wearing down her family, exhausting Aure and his kind heart, putting up a wall that her family struggled to take down--or at least to see past.

She hated that.

Giggle sighed and shook her head. She mentioned none of this aloud. She'd bring it up to Damask directly--when it was more appropriate to do so. "You're welcome, Aure, for what it's worth, and... No. Go do whatever you need to do. I'll be here," she added, and there was the faintest touch of bitterness in it--for where else would she be?

She missed when family had meant family. Giggle turned away, pacing back toward her den, but her thoughts continued, rampant. Family still means family, she chided herself, even with the shit-cat. The past isn't the present, you can't always want to go back to having Aza'zel. And he wasn't perfect, either. ...Bones, I hate all of this, she thought, wryly, and then--Maybe if I just leave to Monoceros for awhile. A vacation. That'd be nice.

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

exit Giggle
@Aure

If only Giggle knew that any form of pushing would feel like force - Aure'd done little as far as discipline. He hadn't thought he needed to; Damask was a good kid, well-behaved, independent. Or... he thought she was independent. Perhaps that was to a fault? Or...

"You're welcome, Aure, for what it's worth, and... No. Go do whatever you need to do. I'll be here."

The hybrid frowned slightly, feathers lifting and flattening. Before she paced off, he delivered one more nudge, a brief, "I love you, Mom." Simple, sweet, so so genuine. Aure would do better to make that known through his actions instead of passing words like these.

He stared out across the bone pit a few moments, longer, bright eyes roaming in search of his father's keel, and then he took wing.

exit