[ P ] Lesson Learned

Warnings were merely suggestions to him: do it, or don't. Laws were hardly ever abided by those who made a difference in his world. So when those that called the highlands home were told to keep out of the territories south of them, many would take such warnings in their own words. In his words: he told himself, and anyone who told him otherwise, that he was still free to do as pleased, where he wanted to, and when he wanted to. The filthy mainlanders still had riches to snag, and how the thought alone made the mainlands beckon for him.

The army was growing dull, the morale since the war, atleast personally, dwindled rather fast. Routine was not exactly his Forte, and many questioned his attendance, or lack thereof, within the fortress. That being said, it wasn't at all a hard choice to step foot over the imaginary line that the Crowned Scum had drawn after the war. His stash in the mountains was already looked over, and he gathered a few necessities to aid his travels. Those necessities? A meal to hold him over until he was further south, and some little concoction he swindled out of pretty girl in rags thinking she was tricking him into buying some "cleansing" herbs. Just something to give the adventure a little more interest, he would be alone after all, and he didn't want to be bored.

The bitter cold of winter would be the only thing to stop him however- and that was how he ended up where he was; surrounded by damp walls, in a dim-lit cave where his only company was the roaring echoes of the falls pouring over just in the distance. If it wasnt for the buzz he was still running on he would crave warmth, a break from the cold. This cave would do, but it would only offer a small break from the cold outside. A paw would swipe at the pebbles at his feet, tossing them away from him as he stepped further into the cave. Beneath his paws he would notice that not only pebbles and rocks were there; bones were scattered about, mostly smaller ones, and he traced them further and further, slinking into any light that slipped through the cracks around him.

table ; bunny

It was high time they checked in on things within that secluded oasis. They had left it rather abruptly after all upon their little student’s worried summons and had not yet found the time to return. Not that they were complaining over the arrangement they found themself in. Dwelling beneath the cover of a noble’s roof had proved rather fruitful, easily shedding a more flattering light upon the proclaimed doctor as they treated those within the estate as well as the rare interest which drifted to the temporary clinic. However, experimentation was stifled here; something they were always careful with and yet here the guard roamed with far more vigilance.

Within the braid, they were hardly present at all.

Yet there is only one they tell of their venture - darling Aurora - a warning over their departure, a promise that they would return and not to find too much trouble for herself in their absence. Lyrics which dripped from their tongue and hung against their lips in the usual grin offered within her presence. Hovering within her space just out of reach with nothing more than the passing caress of each exhale upon her coat before they’d pull back. Turning to leave upon a limped gait. They just needed to fetch a few more belongings. What exactly they sought, however, she need not worry over.

Keep that naivety of their nature. It was more fun this way. At least for now. None truly needed to know their purpose, to clear out the decay which no doubt festered and bid a den to grow putrid; fall into disrepair. Unlivable should they ever choose to return for longer stints yet at things currently stood… it was rather comfortable amongst those of power and wealth.

The symphony of cascading falls were like music to their ears, a raging beat that could not be halted and sang out like a beacon to where a den lay entangled beneath marshy roots. These lands were all too familiar to them and the perfumes which wafted only beckoned them further into the swamplands embrace. Soft earth so easily spreading underfoot, giving way to not only their own path but that of another who had recently woven against the terrain. Hardly straight in their jostled mannerisms though a trail was clear and it led toward the shadowed embrace of their home.

Had some squatter taken root? Discovered the intricacies which decorated not only the floor but the walls of a doctor’s abode? Worse yet, what damages had this unknown incurred upon what was hardly pristine? Each were questions they were all too eager to gain the answers to as a patchwork hide slithered into the depths. The clatter of fragmented stone swiftly pulled their ear, their paces quiet in comparison no matter how talons clicked in an uneven tick.

Mismatched gaze fixated upon that teetering frame, a cold smile spreading over their lips as a much smaller figure saddled alongside the unknown. Nearly pressing their hide against him as teasing phrase filled his ear, “My, my I was not expecting any guests this evening.” A crown tilted to better face this stranger as they rounded before his path, “Especially not one so delightful.” Such a towering specimen, one fit and proper fed should that hulking figure be an accurate tell, “Is there something you seek?” For they were ever the gracious host.