Wandering the Halls [Kitty]

[Shinigami]

Mommy Vessa was doing Jack-like things wherever it was that she did them, and Mommy Quinn had disappeared...somewhere. There was a distinct possibility that she was actually still somewhere around in the Court of Spades, but there wasn't any sort of garuntee that she would be recognizable, because it wasn't like she kept the same form all of the time. Heck, the guard right there could be a mischievous otter in a different shape, though it wasn't like she liked to stand still for a particularly long time.

Aphasia trotted down the corridors, sometimes pausing to look into an open room and figure out what was in there - not much, really - and then continuing on. At one point he stopped dead in his tracks at the sound that was drifting from one door, because there were moans and groans and all sorts of things that sounded like Mommy Quinn when she "played" with Mommy Vessie. The black-and-purple otter stared wide-eyed at the closed door, and was just glad that it wasn't open, because even though he knew what sex was, it didn't mean that it didn't embarrass him hideously.

[Kitty]

There was one and only one word that could accurately describe the weasel-right at present, bored. Osias was out doing ... whatever it was he did, his father wasn't really an option to bother and he couldn't find that best friend of his either. Honestly, what could Mia be doing that was more entertaining then he was? Pfft, surely nothing was!

And thus, he was trotting down the halls, well, it was almost a skip really. And then he froze, mid skip, and stared at the otter. His ears went forward and he tilted his head curiously, ignoring the sounds from the door. It wasn't like his parents always shut their door all the way. That had been terribly disturbing at the time, but it wasn't really anything he'd dwell on.... it was better to be erased actually.

The otter smelt kinda like Mia, only different of course, was this one of those siblings he talked about? Otter?, check, bindings? check, Right age? Check. However, he'd just have to find out for sure, wouldn't he? He puffed himself up a bit, displaying the red 'Q' on his chest proudly as he all but strutted up to the slightly older boy. He'd wait to be addressed though, something his mother often did.

[Shinigami]

Aphasia was locked in a rictus of horrified fascination as he stared at the door, from behind which the moans and groans were getting louder and louder, and there went the whacking of the headboard against the wall in the same general rhythm as the squeaking bedsprings. If he hadn't been determinedly focused on it, his own breathing would probably have begun to pick up the rhythm as well, but he made sure that he was just slightly off from them, and staying slow, instead of gradually speeding up like they were.

Then he caught sight of something approaching him out of the corner of his eye and proceeded to have a heart attack, or something terribly close to it. He jerked around like a cat on a hot tin roof, and he was lucky that otter fur tended to stay sleek and smooth under almost all conditions, or else he'd be puffed up like an idiot. He stared, wide-eyed, at the...Lowlander? weasel, panting to recover his breath from the startled, instinctive gasp.

Suddenl something snapped together in his head - Lowlander weasel. Wasn't that who Mia was spending all of his time with...? And a Queen as well, which made him all too aware of his own marking of a Nine of Spades. With a shake, he settled himself, composing his expression as he'd seen Mommy Vessie do all the time, and tried to ignore the cries coming through the near-by door.

"Er...yes. Hello? I'm, um, Aphasia. Uh, your Majesty." Children were still called "your Majesty," right? He'd heard a few people call Mia Excellence, after all. It was the rank on the chest that really made the difference, anyway.

[Kitty]

The corner of one side of his muzzle twitched downward, threatening a frown if the otter didn't notice him soon. This was so trivial, why on earth did mother insist on this? Yes, it gave you an edge and a small power trip when your and your rank were noticed but.... it was annoying. He'd practice this a bit longer, until he was big enough to effectively bully said rat, and then he'd go about things his own way. His pretty little head was filled with such delightfully destructive ways to get people's attention, he deserved it after all. He did so love it when others used his title, he'd been born worthy of it after all. Saying the mix had an ego was certainly an understatement.

However, the otter managed to redeem himself and in return got a neutral, if not scrutinizing look rather then the scowling of a youthful Queen. He had very similar bindings to his dearest Mia, didn't he? Well, that just might work in the Torquehelmite's favor, or it might frustrate him further, time would tell.

One side of his muzzle twitched up in a crooked, but bemused smirk as he mulled the similarities over in his mind, there weren't many, for sure, but he'd work with them. Pity the otter didn't share a similar rank to whom the Weasel-rat believed his brother was.... it might've made things more interesting.

Hello.... you're one of those siblings of my Mia aren't you?

He flicked an ear forward, not realizing he'd added the possessive before the ferret's name.

[Shinigami]

Morpheus may not have realized, but Aphasia certainly did.

"...your Mia?" he said blankly, staring at the Queen - he still wasn't anything close to being composed again, but he managed to quickly suck it up and get on with his life. That was what Mommy Quinn always said to do, at least - just suck it up and get on with it, whatever "it" was in the first place. Because otherwise you got bogged down in your own mistakes until you were struggling madly in them like they were some sort of icky, clingy sludge, and that particular image had always quite effectively grossed the hell out of the younger otter, so he'd made sure to remember it so it wouldn't happen to him.

"But yeah, Mia's one of my brothers," he finally managed to spit, out, his head tilting to the side as he regarded the mix. Definitely a mix, now that he thought about it. He didn't quite look to be one thing or another, though the lack of rotting made the Lowlander coloring seem almost...odd. "What's your name? Uh, your majesty. Sorry, I really don't know why I keep forgetting that, it's kind of obvious and all."

Of course, what he really wanted to know, was why the heck was there a Queen of Diamonds in the Court of Spades.

[Kitty]

He arched a brow at the first sentence, had he really said that? He gave a soft roll of his shoulders, it wasn't like it really mattered. If he'd said to to Mia though, he'd probably get a swift hit from one of the ferrets paws. That was an interesting thought though ... perhaps he should try it sometime and see what kind of delicious agitation he could elicit from the somewhat older boy? The thought made him give a fangy grin, oh that would be fun!

It was kind of amusing to hear the otter stumble over his title, how could he not be perfect at such a thing when one of his parents and a brother were both jacks, and he lived off and on in the palace? It was kind of ... strange, actually the boy himself was kind of strange once he thought about it. A part of him also wanted to tug on those bindings of his as well, would he cry out or would he just squirm? Mia would hit him, or a little worse, but the otter didn't have the same luxury of familiarity with the young Queen as his brother did. Oh how very tempting ....

No .... we're going to play nice like we're supposed to.

Oh yeah, that was right, mother said he was supposed to be nice to those in the palace. Damn him and his logic. He twitched his long tail and flicked one ear back, a rather bored expression crossing his features. So, what was he going to do? Wait, yeah, his name might be a good thing to start with... he gave a droll little chuckle, by the Queen how could he have forgotten to give his own name?

Morpheus ... what do you do for fun around here?

The palace was boring, this hallway was boring.... Morpheus was bored, there had to be an end to it somewhere and he hoped at the very least the otter could be entertaining. Mischief was a dish best served with a side of a certain pink ferret, and he really just wasn't in the mood. What did everyone else do for entertainment? He hoped to find out soon.

[Shinigami]

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty," Aphasia said, bowing as gracefully as he could, because when Mommy Vessie beat polite manners into your head, she beat them into your head, and you had damn well better remember them.

"Uh, m-me? I, uh, I guess I don't do too much. Try and stay out of Mommy Vessie's way, I guess. Try and spend time with Mommy Quinn when she's here, but Ari's usually got her attention more than I do," he said, but Ari got to spend more time with Mommy Quinn probably because he was a Torque/Tulgey mix like she was, and she had an uncommon fondness for him. She'd even given him that necklace, while he and Sae hadn't gotten anything from either parent; he expected Sae to get a present like that before he did, if only because she was Mommy Vessie's darling little girl. And Mia was a Jack, and Ari had the Tulgey. Leaving Aph all by himself to be the "normal" sheep of the family, with nothing special about him at all.

"Sometimes I read, if there's an interesting book, and sometimes I'll go exploring for the heck of it - that's what I'm doing now. I guess I just sorta lead a pretty boring life, though..."

[Kitty]

He flicked his other ear halfway back, arching one of his brows. He resisted the urge to be a complete and utter smart ass when the otter asked if he was addressing him, really who else was in the hallway? His brow arched further when he heard the list of things the otter did for, well... fun really wasn't a word that could cover any of that. That all sounded so terribly dull he could throw a fit just thinking about it, well, almost.

That's not fun at all! Come on, I'll show you fun.

If the otter was afraid, it probably would be warranted. Morpheus had a strange view of fun, but he could promise that, at the very least, the days escapades would be entertaining. Morpheus was also fully prepared to drag the otter along by his bindings if he needed to, these things weren't fun by yourself and this boy certainly needed a good dose of it. He'd make sure he followed as he turned and headed toward the kitchens.

[Shinigami]

Unfortunately for Aphasia, he had absolutely no clue that Morpheus' ideas of "fun" didn't exactly fit into the average dictionary's definition of "fun," and so his ears perked up a bit in surprise and anticipation. Okay, so maybe he was a dullard almost all the time, but that was mostly because he wasn't really a leader all that much, and he didn't really have too much motivation to get anything done. Or at least, he'd never done anything to develop that motivation, though doubtless he would have a good deal of it if he ever tried to do anything about it.

"That's really nice of you," he said softly, almost bashfully. "Thank you!" A Queen was taking an interest in him, if only because he was the brother of one of the Queen's friends, and a horribly boring person that he obviously thought needed to become less boring. Aphasia would take that, if that was all that he got, because he really didn't have all that many friends and so even a bit of companionship would be nice.

And at least he wasn't constantly being chewed on during the whole thing, like Sae would be doing if she were along.

[Kitty]

He had his ears tuned to the otter and once he was certain that he was following he picked up the pace and curled his tail up into it's happy little s shape. He continued toward the kitchens for awhile before turning down a hallway and heading toward a stairwell at the far end. He could probably walk this part of the palace with his eyes closed and two paws tied behind his back, but that would certainly be silly wouldn't it? Perhaps Mia would be interested in it sometime, he seemed to like to see the weasel hybrid's clumsy side come out.

He hopped up the stairs confidently, his ears having long since come back to stand forward. He then turned left and headed down a few doors before sitting on his haunches and pawing at a doorknob, the door creaking open when he'd hit it just right. Here he paused, looking behind him to make sure the other boy was still following before he slipped inside and trotted toward his bed. Here he dropped to his belly and all but slithered underneath it, his tail poking out and moving like a serpent.

When he pulled himself back out he was dragging a pillowcase which had various things inside it and he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Today he wanted to try something out, something entirely inspired by Mia's coat. Oh this would be fun! He almost felt bad about excluding the ferret... almost.