all welcome~

For the first few days of their life, they had been stifled. First by those that wished to see them, for as Odyssey understood, they were new blood in a group set in dust and bone, numbers stagnating on their flawed and war forged intentions. Then by those that remained close by want, not obligation. They didn't see much of Louie, in fact most of their time was spent with Illiad or with Mother. It was Mother who suffocated Odyssey with her ever watchfulness, though they came to realize that Mother could not see. That didn't seem to stop her from knowing of Odyssey's every action though, each time they had tried to inch away to some other curiosity, each time they had accidentally played too roughly with Illiad, each time they wished to follow Louie to where ever the fox was going. Each time, Mother had stopped them with a cold command to return, and Odyssey knew nothing else, so they obeyed.

But then Mother had gone to do something. For the first time, Odyssey was free. It was a stark instruction to stay rooted in the den that they had been born to, among the comfort of their broken chrysali, the bright lime green and pale dusty white. Alongside the warm body of their brother, where Mother knew they would be safe, or perhaps just reassured by her presumed control. In her absence, Odyssey craved stimulation, but Illiad was asleep. Or at least, seemed to be asleep when Odyssey prodded him, and reaching to their sibling's mind they found it closed, indisposed.

They rose and their gangly legs took them along the ledge that led to the den, peering curiously down the trail and then to the side. They had come to recognize the gentle roar of the twister as the sound of home, and they had been told to keep a good distance from it, but they craved the pull of wind on their fur. They wanted to feel it in its fullest, greatest force, wanted the sensation of a strength beyond theirs pulling their paws out from under. Perhaps they would come to be a thrill seeker, wouldn't Mother disdain that - there was a pinprick of guilt for that feeling. Odyssey loved Mother dearly, and even now as they protested against her demand, they feared what worry would course through her to come back and find Odyssey gone. They wouldn't be out for long. Just enough to see.

The child made their way through the trails, long tail dragging behind and catching dust. Their pink nose rose to the air with a sniff, and from their new vantage point - another ledge jutting out of the wall, some ways away from the den - Odyssey had paused to look out over the room again. Would Ody be able to make it all the way down to the main ground before Mother noticed? It was hard to tell... even harder to tell if Odyssey wanted to chance it.

@Illiad

Nemesis

Nemesis knew that Magdalena had been busy with her children... And so to had the rhinoceros been busy with her own children. Things had finally started to settle down, or well, settle down enough to catch up with her Princess once more. As it happened, today the white angel had business to attend to and of course Nemesis had more or less silently volunteered to babysit the fluffy fox hybrids.

The rhinoceros did not know much about them, having only seen them and not actually spoke to them. She knew their names, and their parents as much as one could... The mole-fox was a disgrace, something that hardly deserved Magdalena's motherly love, but Nemesis wasn't going to argue. The other child... Odyssey.

Now, that one was perfection reborn. As Nemesis hovered closer, she found herself taking in every detail. She was not pale and sickly like her mother-- Nemesis had always had a bizarre attraction to those who were on the brink of death-- but more fleshed out, softer, with fur like flames. A quiet part of Nemesis sometimes liked to pretend that somehow, Odyssey had come from her and not from Louie. If only.

"Hello," she called out softly, all too aware that the strange mole-one was blind like their sort-of mother, but this blindness was unnatural. It was not a genetic problem, but a manifestation of improper gem growth. No doubt because the child had ended up as physically unstable as their father was mentally unhinged. "Your mother had to go do some things..." She explained, vaguely, her large tail brushing against the loamy earth.

"I'd be happy to keep you both company for a while." It was less of an offer and more of a firm statement. There was no suggestion, no chance for them to wiggle out. Nemesis was going to keep them safe and that, children, was that.

She followed the borzoi-hybrid's seeking gaze and snorted softly. "Do you want to see the twister up close?" She pondered aloud, unafraid of offending anyone with the whole "see" thing. She wasn't careful about that around Magdalena and she wasn't going to be careful with it for the mole kid either.

table by shax