Eyes for the Blind

[Sera]

Thinking about his father, well, their father, right? It made him uneasy. Gryvern society was rather strait-laced, and in view of what Geil could do and had done. . . He just didn't know what to think of it. Or how to react.

He lay his head down to one side of Lacere and used his other hand to continue to gently scratch along her neck. His ears lifted up at Rei's sound of irritation, but he wasn't certain what she had just attempted. Oh, right, her fish was probably about done. He smiled just a little that the other hybrid had stopped before burning herself again, but his mind went right back to his parentage.

"Do. . . you know him?" the male asked very softly, afraid of what he would learn if her answer was yes, but too curious to just let it go.

[Thalron]

Lacere smiled as he let his head rest beside her, giving her a good chance to return some of the petting. Her hands were likely a bit more dexterous, and she very gently ran one along his head... tracing down past the ear gently as she sought out the areas that he liked the best, the first thing that became obvious though was that she was very good at this. Luckily it was pretty innocent.

"He raised me until I was old enough to go out on my own... My mom was another sin, a wrath, it was too dangerous for me to be near her." She didn't mind talking about her heritage, even if she dreaded the fact that it meant she'd lose control upon growing into her powers... She didn't want to be forced into a focus of sin, she wanted to do whatever she felt like. Perhaps envy was her secondary sin...

[Sera]

He couldn't stop the small sigh that escaped at getting to be fussed over a bit. Natalya had loved them, but as they grew older it had become obvious to him, at least, that she was nervous around them. Though, perhaps that was more directed towards him. He wondered if it had to do with the fact that he was male and she was afraid of his powers. Well, he was equally afraid of any would-be powers, so that had left both of them on edge.

He listened to her with some surprise; he wasn't that well versed in tsume, especially not the sins, as though hearing about them would cause something in himself to react. "That must have been hard," he murmured, thinking about having a Wrath for a parent, but it couldn't keep his attention for long. ". . . What is he like?"

[Thalron]

Lacere was all too happy to continue 'fussing' over him, even moving so she could groom into a few of the harder to reach spots. It was hard for her to avoid... Escalating, but the thought of him being her half brother managed to keep that in check thankfully. She did have to wonder if he had any powers other than being blind, personally she was just a bit... Empathic, nothing too scary yet.

She rested her head against his for a moment as she thought about that question... It was difficult to sum someone up in a few words, especially someone like Geil. Although she had never been effected by his powers, she was glad he had some deep rooted morals. "He's nice, and funny sometimes." She paused as she thought some more. "He used to bring me lots of toys and things, and taught me how to paint." she giggled a little bit as she thought about it, things weren't always so good though. "He usually had someone with him though, they rarely stayed more than a week... It was funny, watching someone fall in and out of love so quickly, and yet he genuinely felt that way with everyone he met." she felt... oddly reminiscent when she said all that, her eyes glazed over in thought, though she quickly shook it off and began to stroke him again.

Rei, of course heard all this and hopped up to announce what she knew about Geil, which was far less than either of them probably. "My mom says he's a funny man!" she stated, then plopped back down to prod at the fish in front of her. She probably didn't know that the reason Jaradka thought he was funny was that his powers merely caused amusement in her rather than lust, her brain was just too odd for him to effect the right ways.

[Sera]

Milovan would stretch his shoulder or neck so she could reach a spot better. His eyes slipped closed as he let her work, listening to her talk. The picture she painted of Geil was much different than what he had expected; especially after all those years of hearing the Gryvern talk about him. His tail twitched idly as he thought about it, especially when Rei piped up with her observation.

He wasn't certain if speaking about his experiences would be difficult for Lacere, and so, instead offered only, "My mother didn't speak of him." Natalya had dodged his younger self's questions and only mentioned the Sin when she thought her children couldn't hear. As it was, Milovan mused, she'd only really discussed him with Mozer.

[Thalron]

Lacere purred to him as she moved a little bit again, tucking herself partially under one of his arms while resting her front half over and across his neck to continue. Her small and rather dull claws working in through the fur of his neck, and gliding their way across the spots that seemed to get the most of a reaction.

Chances are she wouldn't be too bothered by his experiences, she had to deal with a lot of similar ones... Only she was more purely the object of peoples hatred. She didn't urge him to continue on that line though, and instead smiled a bit as she nuzzled behind an ear. "Mm... What was your mother like?" she asked with a bit of curiosity, she... well, never really knew what it was like to have a mother. The people that came back with Geil definitely did not count.

Meanwhile not so far away there was the sounds of carnage as Rei finally dug into the fish, tearing chewing and overall making a horrible mess of the meal. It would be pretty surprising if she didn't need another bath after this... Although now, it was getting a bit too dark for that to be a good idea either.

[Sera]

A small sound of contentment came out when she reached his lower neck near the little feathers there; it was a spot he didn't dare scratch often for fear of ripping out the small feathers.

He opened his eyes to stare at the fire, trying to think of how to answer that. His ears tilted briefly towards Rei and the sound of her eating, and he smiled lightly again. It was easier to be amused by the other hybrid when he wasn't the only one enduring her erratic presence.

"Well. . . she is a Healer. She's naturally very soft-spoken and kind. Even after we were born, she was often sought out for healing." He paused again, wanting to be honest yet hating to make Natalya sound like anything but an excellent mother. "We. . . were a difficult reminder for her," he finally said quietly. "I don't think she meant to get caught up with. . . father."

[Thalron]

Lacere murred slightly as she ran her hands through the soft feathers, before leaning in to very gently groom, and preen them. She hadn't had a lot of experience with feathers, but some of the creatures she spent time with had large feathery wings... She always wonder what they felt like. As for the sounds of carnage nearby, she didn't really care. It was how Rei normally ate, she imagined that the hybrid was probably imagining it as some sort of horrid beast.

"She sounds nice..." one free hand traced over the four on his arm idly. "Not many people mean to get caught up with him." She played with a feather slightly, before smiling and nuzzling his neck. "Atleast it means I got to meet you though huh?"

[Sera]

Milovan's smile turned slightly sardonic, as he said softly, "So I've heard." Still he turned his head as though to look up at her, though his peripheral vision wasn't any better than the rest of his vision. "It's nice for someone to find that a good thing," his tone held only the barest edge of hostility; that wasn't an emotion he could sustain for long. Therefore, it has already disappeared by his next question.

"Was it. . . strange growing up with him?" Somehow it was easier to not refer to Geil as 'father'.

[Thalron]

Lacere folded her ears back when she heard that hostility, she hadn't meant to cause any bad blood between them... He reacted oddly to some things, at least as far as she was concerned. But overall she thought he was pretty nice, and very calm. She thought about his question for a moment, but didn't really know the answer. "I don't know what normal is really..." she sighed and rested her head over the soft feathery part at the base of his neck.

She shivered a bit when the breeze picked up again, it was getting pretty dark now. "Umm... I know where one of his hide outs is around here... He's probably not in it." she offered, it was a better idea than sitting out in the cold here anyways... So far as she was concerned.

Rei looked over, from where she was... Standing watch? It was really hard to tell, but she had been attempting to get up high enough to survey the whole area over the fire. Of course she promptly fell over when she stopped paying attention, nearly landing in the fire. "Oooh ooh is there a bed there!?"

Lacere nodded hesitantly as the other hybrid literally began bouncing around... Maybe she shouldn't have said anything.

[Sera]

Lacere's shiver reminded him that he wasn't exactly warm either, except where she was pressed against him. He lifted his head at the sound of Rei falling, but she didn't say anything to indicate she had re-injured herself, so he didn't even bother asking.

"It might be wise for us to relocate there," he said in agreement to the apparent general consensus they already had. Not that he necessarily wanted to spend the night there, but his emotional unease was certainly worth being protected from the elements and creatures that roamed the Chaos Hills.

He was not, however, looking forward to walking across the landscape when it was dark. "Is it far from here, Lacere?" he asked, turning to look in her direction. He would stand whenever she did.

[Thalron]

Lacere was thinking, trying to figure out the best way to reach it when Rei ran over and lifted her up onto Milovan's back, and promptly grabbed the leash. The little tsume gave a momentary squeak of protest, but then settled down on the larger hybrid somewhat meepishly. "O-oh it's not too far that way... Just follow the river up and it's in the side of the cliff just before the shore ends..." she pointed out which way, luckily it didn't involve crossing the river.

Rei giggled and tugged on the leash impatiently. "Comeon! Unless you want to get eaten by horrible mooonsssttteeerrrsssssss." she said, while making spooking noises and puffing up a bit... Although almost on queue to this, there was a rather loud 'crunch' of some branches breaking out in the woods. Causing Rei to freeze in place, before much more timidly, and quietly trying to lead them on.

[Sera]

The male was surprised by the action, but immediately realized he shouldn't have been. He did heave a little sigh and turned his head back to make certain she could hold on easily, before facing forward again, prepared to start out after Rei.

The loud crack of breaking wood saw him drop slightly into a semi-crouch, frozen with ears up to listen. He tried to calm the racing speed of his heart as he followed cautiously after Rei. Never an easy prospect in daylight, moving through the twilight woods as nightfall closed around them with a rider made Milovan even more careful of where he put his feet. After every stumble he would rather anxiously check to be certain Lacere was still okay.

[Thalron]

Lacere found it rather easy to hang on to Milovan, her little arms wrapping around his neck as she snuggled in tightly. Her heart began to beat rather rapidly when she heard that crack as well, but she didn't make any sound. Instead just clinging as best she could, even through the occasional stumble.

Luckily enough though, as they were going down the shore of the river there was little to trip over, and the sound of the water helped to mask any of the stumbling. Whatever it was that they had heard in the woods seemed to find the fire not too long after they had departed, and it rather abruptly went out.

Other than that nothing seemed to chase after them.

[Sera]

Milovan was certain he had found every single rock, branch, and root sticking across their path and knew he'd be sore and maybe bruised later. At least there were no trees to run into. He was stil walking a bit faster than he was used to going; thanks to Rei's leading.

He wasn't actually entirely certain about the fire going out; he heard something back at their fire site, but he wasn't looking behind him-- that would just guarantee he'd fall-- and even if he had, their small fire's faint glow through the bushes would have been too vague for him to make out anyway.

He did not ask 'are we there yet' multiple times, though he certainly wanted to; he'd forgotten how much longer and creepier travel was in the dark! He wouldn't even be able to tell when they got there. Still he kept checking as well as he could without slowing too much to make sure Lacere was still all right.