|
|
Post by Lucca on Mar 7, 2010 21:40:10 GMT -5
Arkady definitely wished he could sink into the library floor now. Look how much worse he'd made Castiel's day! She was obviously distressed and it was because of him! He could feel the other boy's eyes on him, and his ears pressed so tightly against his head that all of the words the little girl spoke to him came out a bit muffled. No, no giving up allowed! Solandrians did not give up. Father did not give up.
Slowly, an ear lifted, and then the other, as the puppy bravely stood back up. "O-okay," he said, fighting to keep his voice even. He tilted his head to the side, then, looking at Cas..."Your Father is...the Queen, right?" he asked hesitantly. "We...I'm sure she...doesn't really have time..." His paws shuffled nervously. Either way, they should get out of the library soon, since Laika wasn't here. They needed to...go somewhere and do -something- useful before Ark's paranoia and failures could get the better of him again.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 13, 2010 15:20:58 GMT -5
Castiel stood back up to her full height. Her smile had returned now that he was up. "Yep, my Daddy is the Queen of Hearts. But I'm sure she'd be willing to help us and take a break from all that tough work she has to do." She gave a small shrug. "Though maybe we could ask one of my half siblings. They might have seen her. Maybe Xander would be willing to help us? Unless you just want to go to your Mommy right away. That might be the best solution."
Conall was surprised at how well put together the cheerful little girl was. Even if she seemed a little silly most of the time, she almost always knew what she was doing. Maybe he should just remain silent or... perhaps he should put his two sense in? "I think going to talk to your mother would be the best solution. But if you don't want to bother her we can talk to a few more people around the palace."
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Mar 13, 2010 23:35:39 GMT -5
Arkady wasn't sure about that. He'd seen the Queen a few times, and she'd always looked very busy and important. After all, she had so many of her own children already, did she have time to worry about anyone else's? But he didn't really know for sure...how could he? His eyes darted nervously from Castiel to Conall, almost but not quite able to meet their eyes. His tail wagged slightly, then drooped. So many choices...he didn't know what to do, or what was best...he just wanted to find his sister! That was all!
Arkady knew he wasn't really meant to make tough decisions...he was a follower, a protector, a backer...not a leader or a schemer. He swallowed thickly, trying to think. "Whatever you think would be best," he finally said, trying to keep the waver out of his voice. "If the Queen might be able to help find Laika, then that's where we'll go."
|
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 14, 2010 15:34:05 GMT -5
Castiel blinked and looked to Conall. Apparently it was their decision as to what they were going to do. They had quite a few options, and none of them involved standing here and doing nothing, so they might as well get walking. "All right, let's go!"
She stood up to her full height and started walking towards the door. "We'll see who we can catch first. I think my Daddy's office is the closest, but we might be able to catch Xander!" He was, after all, supposed to be taking care of banders. It was surprising that they hadn't run into him in the garden, but there were a lot of gardens...
Conall really couldn't argue. He seemed to be along for the ride if he liked it or not. It wasn't like he had anything better to do either. "I guess Her Majesty is our best option according to Castiel. You're going to be okay right?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Mar 14, 2010 15:58:51 GMT -5
Arkady let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as Cas cheerfully took the lead again, and he easily fell to following. His literal dogging of the little girl's footsteps settled into its normal, controlled rhythm and his tail actually picked up a bit as they began to move towards other places, other people who may be able to help. It was hard to believe, that so many people would want to help him...a little Spade, just one in five, quiet and unassuming. But then, if he thought about it helping Laika more than himself, it made a lot more sense. He was sure his sister, at least, left a good impression on everyone she met!
He wasn't actually sure who this 'Xander' person was, and the thought of meeting anyone new was...oddly not as scary as it might normally have been. Maybe it really was good for him to be making other friends his own age...
Conall's question, though, caught him off guard quite a bit, and for a moment he was left with no idea of how to properly respond. Was he going to be...okay? Really, he wouldn't feel all was truly 'right' until he was back at Laika's side again...but was that a no? Only if he thought they weren't going to find her, and he desperately hoped they would, and soon!
"I...I will be," he said eventually, though his voice sounded unsure even to him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 14, 2010 18:21:18 GMT -5
Castiel paused at the door to let them catch up. She frowned a bit at the idea of Arkady not being all right. She was sure that his sister hadn't really gone and wander outside of the palace or anything. Daddy probably knew exactly where she could be, or at the very least Daddy could have someone help them.
"It's not like she ran away or anything, right?" Conall said as he stepped in line behind Castiel, who was back to skipping down the way. "The palace is a big place for three people to search alone. I'm sure her Majesty would know who could help us." Even if he didn't want to bother her... Dad always wanted him to call her mother. So why not ask for a favor as her somewhat... son. He tried not to frown at the thought. His mother was a Joker and a Hisstor, not the Queen of Hearts no matter how much is father wanted him to forget.
Enough of that. It was time to focus on the task at hand.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Mar 14, 2010 20:32:13 GMT -5
The way that Conall put the situation was odd, and made Arkady unsure whether he should feel more worried, or silly for worrying as much as he was. On the one hand, the other boy was right...Laika -was- somewhere in the Palace, and therefore very much findable. But on the other...well, it would take practically all day for them to search, especially if his sister was (as he was starting to fear) actually moving around herself, either looking for him or else wandering on her own.
He stopped a little behind Castiel, and sat, waiting for her to move on, anxious...hoping this went well and that the Queen would actually care. "Yeah," he said quietly, unsure what else he could really say...all he wanted was to find Laika. All he wanted. Was it really so much to ask? He scratched at his side with a foot; so much movement made him really feel all those extra layers of fur. He might have to try and find a drink of water if this went on much longer!
|
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 14, 2010 22:17:23 GMT -5
It wasn't very long before Castiel came to a sudden halt. "Xander!" She yelled before bolting after a the bright yellow form. The said form stopped in it's tracks, turning around to see the girl hurdling towards him. Conall watched in mild amusement, refraining from chasing after the Yarrow. She practically tackled the older boy who seemed to be walking two banders. The red one jumped happily around the girl, obviously it was her "pet" or at least it seemed to like her more than the boy. It must have been nice. After a few moments of chatting the girl hurried back to the pair of boys with a large red bander on her leash. "Xander said to check the play room. He hasn't seen anyone running around, and he's only heard people talk about us." The large bander sniffed curiously from behind the Yarrow, sneezing rather violently at the Bog boy before burring it's face in the girl's dress. "I suppose we should have checked there in the first place," Conall said with a small sigh. He edged away from the bander. He didn't really like the things. Or rather, he had never actually had a good experience with them. |
|
|
|
Post by Lucca on Mar 15, 2010 11:22:49 GMT -5
Arkady nearly jumped in alarm as Castiel loudly called out to who was apparently her half brother, if he remembered what he heard correctly. He looked quite a bit older than them, though, and he had Banders with him. Ark shuffled a bit on his paws, debating if he should follow or not, but the Banders made him slightly nervous so he stayed still with Conall.
So when the little girl came back WITH one of the strange creatures in tow...Ark bristled slightly, and backed up a step or two. And he was immediately ashamed of this fact. How could he hope to protect Laika well enough if he was nervous around a tame Bandersnatch? Hesitantly, he moved closer, sniffing at it.
"The play room? Okay..." the Coyote muttered, remembering that he and his siblings (the whole lot of them, usually) would sometimes go there to run around. It was cooler than doing so outside with how many of them were Solandrian. He eyed the Bander again, a bit warily. "I-is that your pet, Castiel?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 18, 2010 18:50:40 GMT -5
Castiel blinked in surprise. Was Arkady afraid of Akane? It wasn't like she was a nasty bander most of the time. Maybe he had had a bad experience before? The little girl tugged on the creatures leash before wrapping her arms around the bander's neck. "Yep! She was a gift from Xander. His bander Sprinkle had babies and I got one after he trained it. Say Hello Akane!"
The bander didn't flinch when the girl wrapped hear arms around it and proceeded to rant in it's ear. When it heard the words "say hello" and it's name, the little creature snorted at the Glacier dweller before trying to hide it's face in it's master's all to tiny arms. Clearly it wanted nothing to do with anyone other than her.
Conall gave it a curious look. For a bander it seemed pretty tame. Not to mention it was actually letting Castiel manhandle it. "She seems really nice."
"She is! She only bit me once!" The little girl gave the bander a squeeze. "You can bet her if you want. She won't bite strangers unless I tell her to."
Conall gave the bander a light pat on the head, only to receive a rather confused look from the creature. Maybe they were nicer than they appeared to be.
|
|
