While talking to his cousin, Alwyn kept his son in his vision, watching the tearful goodbye between him and his lizard-thing friend, Cricket. His son had often talked about her and how much she had helped him, and he remembered how she had tried to save him when that house fire had occurred. She had also helped to ground and stabilize him in the emotional aftermath of the revelation that he was his father. In return for her help, he had decided to give her one of his house keys when she had come around to see Finnian, though he did not pressure her to use it, knowing that she had likely grown up on the streets and would be leery of any more forceful directions. While he had never seen her particular kind before, he knew that lizards in general did not do well in the cold, and his relatively newly-built apartment was kept warm throughout the winter, and hoped that she would use it while they were away to Croper’s Cove at least.
I also left some some canned food and gilders for her, tucked away where Finnian would not know, and a small letter for her before we set out detailing where it was and how he does not know about it, if she chooses to use them.. She needs to be able to keep some of her pride after all.
He was also not entirely blind to the deeper bond seeming to form between them, and, watching Finnian trying to hold back his emotions and disappear belowdecks after their heartfelt goodbye, it seemed to have grown even more. He debated going down to comfort his son, but, like Cricket, he needed to retain some measure of his pride for his own self-worth and confidence. He would check in on him later, of course, but by then he suspected Finnian would have collected himself-he was a very resilient kit.
I do not think it has yet blossomed into anything more than friendship openly, but, I will have to keep an eye on them. I do not want either of them to get hurt more than is normal, and, of course, the species difference lends questions on how long-term it could last. Of course, Daniil made it work with Caden, but he is oriented in a different way, and never seemed inclined to have his own kits, and I saw how Finnian looked at that pretty server vixen, and of course, the pressure he will inevitably feel as he gets older as the heir to our House after me. Daniil never had that weight on his shoulders. ‘Gates, things are more complicated than when I was young, but no matter what happens, I still want them to remain friends.
He answered his cousin’s question first before going into more about Kinza.
“Yes, he is a good kit, just going through a lot. I’ll tell you more about that and him later, but, right now I think it is better for him to be alone. He’s strong, but Cricket is a dear friend of his and such partings can be painful at his age.”
His eyes flicked towards Lorcan once more, and he wondered if his cousin had anybeast he cared for in such a manner back wherever he came from before he came from the Imperium, or anyone special waiting for him in the Harbor, but he would have to get him know more. His eyes fell to the sprocket pendant, and then he cast another look towards Kinza as she sat closer to the edge of the ship. She, too, was still a mystery to him. Did she have anyone waiting for her?
“I confess such sciences are beyond me as well, except for how to maintain and fire a cannon, but-”
“BEAST OVERBOARD!”
Alwyn sprung into action in moments, his training kicking in even before his conscious mind was aware of what was happening, sprinting towards the edge of the ship, but Kinza was quicker than he was, dipping over the railing in a graceful dive. He reached her former location soon after, quickly scooping up her cutlass as he did so and securing it to his belt without thinking- he had been taught to never leave a weapon unattended and unsecured. He was initially a bit worried, but it seemed her parents had trained her well-she was already moving towards the wrecked ship that had shown up in and seemed like a natural.
He did not have much time to reflect as the ship suddenly seemed to screech to a halt, causing him to become unbalanced for a moment, and he had to steady himself against a nearby crate to afford falling over.
That immediate kind of stop was something he had never experienced on any other ship before, and he wondered what kind of devilry was at work to give the
Hide such maneuverability, but soon a grizzled older Marten began to bark out orders-he did not seem to be an officer proper, but seemed to know what he was doing and he was wise enough to know that sometimes the more experienced ranker-types knew better than even the officers. He turned around to look for his cousin as he shouted.
“Lorcan! You know more than me about this! What should we do here?”
@FinnianBrightfur @Lorcan Rainclaw @Kinza Rainclaw
