[FIN] My Sign is Vital [Kari]

[Lucca]

Arkady's large ears panned forward, neck held straight toward the little girl as she spoke. He took in her words with the same meticulous attention to detail that he applied to every area of his life, from the exact position he fell asleep in to the way he washed his paws before eating. Now that the little Coyote had it in his mind to learn about Banders, nothing was really going to stop him until he felt he knew enough to be around them -- and to defend his family against them if he ever needed to.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Akane, not wanting to let his guard down around her even when she seemed content and calm. Ark frowned at the mention of feral Banders potentially being anywhere. He'd definitely have to know how to fight them, then, if that were the case. But he couldn't help but wonder something, and the question was out of his mouth before he could stop it. "What about the Solandrian Glacier? Isn't it too cold for them there? Or do some have real thick fur?"

Arkady's ears went back as he realized he was sort of interrupting. "S-sorry to interrupt," he muttered by way of apology, head drooping until his nose was practically in Castiel's lap.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel blinked. She hadn't really thought about the Glacier. Really she hadn't covered that in her school books, and no one ever talked about breeding banders in a place like that. She waved a hand dismissively about interrupting. Her cheer was still bright like sunshine. "I don't know.... I've never heard about anyone breeding show or fighting banders in the Glacier. But I guess that's because everyone focuses on the Highlands and the Yarrows. Or maybe because it's too cold for most things to actually live there?"

She didn't know. She glanced over to Conall. "Do you know anything about where Bander's live?" She asked him with her brow furrowed.

Conall shrugged. He didn't know that much about the creatures, and the one bit of information that he knew was probably upsetting. But she had asked... so he might as well share. "I don't know about the Glacier, but I know that in the Bog they eat Banders. That's pretty much all I know about them."

The little girl gave Akane a ruffle on her head at the comment. They ate banders? How could they eat such cute things?

[Lucca]

Castiel wasn't angry about the interruption? Ark's ears perked back up and he lifted his head, nodding at her. "It is really cold there...the books didn't say anything about Banders, but the other animals that live there have to be really hardy to withstand the ice," the Solandrian said, but he turned to listen to Conall. He hadn't said he knew much about it before, but apparently he did know other random facts.

Arkady wasn't grossed out or shocked at the thought of eating Banders, since he really didn't have much attachment to the creatures and had never seen one up close before today. Though he couldn't imagine they would really taste very good, though he'd certainly heard of stranger things that that half of his heritage cooked into meals. Had Mommy ever eaten one? Probably. Had Daddy? If he was still alive he could have asked him...

Seeing that Cas was a bit upset at the thought of eating Banders, Arkady thought he should probably change the subject, and a few seconds of racking his brain turned up a different question. "Do Banders ever have poison in their teeth, like snakes?" It would definitely be an important thing to know if he ever had to fight one.

[Kari Muffin]

The question was enough of a distract for Castiel to cheer up. Of course it was hard for her to be any more cheery than she already was, and the fact that people at Banders wasn't that depressing. People ate all sorts of strange things if she liked it or not.

"No, I've never heard of a bander with a poisonous bite. Then again I'm sure a Corvie could manage something like that. Oh, but a bander bite can get infected really badly if it isn't cleaned properly." She reached over to slip a finger into the bander's mouth. The creature protested very little as Castiel was able to part the bander's mouth. "The teeth are really sharp, and Akane's look terribly clean but there's still bacteria and stuff throughout her mouth."

She slowly released the bander, who snorted in reply. Curling up and ignoring the three children for now.

Conall curious peaked at what Castiel was doing. He was thoroughly surprised that her bander was so well tempered that she could actually do that.

[Lucca]

Arkady whuffed in relief at the news. That was good to hear...though yeah, Corvies could do some pretty strange stuff. He wouldn't be surprised if one was crazy enough to give a dangerous creature further weapons just to see how it would work out. He flinched instinctively despite himself when Cas put her hand in her Bander's mouth...but to his amazement, the creature offered little resistance. Curious but cautious, Ark leaned forward just slightly to look at the rows of sharp little teeth, a frown on his muzzle as he looked.

He shuddered anew at the thought of all that bacteria. Eww. That was just nasty, and he really didn't want that mouth anywhere near him. He knew how to clean cuts out, though, and he made a mental note to use the strongest disinfectants he could find if - Suits forbid - he or Laika ever got bitten by a Bander. "Akane really is quite tame," he said quietly, watching as the Bander went to curl up. She was lucky to have such a good pet. Plus since all Banders could fight, it would probably protect her if she ever got in trouble. The thought made something in him lighter for reasons he couldn't put a paw on.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel nodded with a mile wide grin. "Yep, she is. Xander was the one who trained her, so I can't take credit for it. He did a really good job, and I just think Akane has a really wonderful temper to begin with. Though... she only really behaves for me and Xander some of the times. She doesn't seem to like boys very much--or at the very least she gives Othello a hard time. He's another one of my brother's, part bog but mostly Torquehelm. He has mist coming out of his eyes and smells like mint all of the time. He also has a mechanical arm and talks with a funny lisp."

There was a strong chance that he'd seen the boy, since Othello lived in the palace all the time. And really, he was hard to miss.

Conall knew who was who in the palace, for the most part. Just from what he had gathered from his not Mother, Xiven, and his father. He had seen the boy in passing once or twice, but never really paid him much mind until he had run straight into a closed door. They had interacted very briefly as he had refused to go to the doctor despite Conall's protest. "So do most Banders only like one person?"

Castiel shook her head. "No. Some banders are just particular. Some are pretty loving."

[Lucca]

Arkady nodded, remembering Xander as the boy that he'd seen from a distance earlier when Cas had first brought Akane back to meet them. Didn't she say he might be out here, as well? It would be nice to make more friends, and Ark glanced around once, eyes peeled for a yellow-and-white form, but not finding it he returned his attention to Castiel as she described another brother (she must have nearly as many siblings as he himself did).

Ark nodded, remembering a time he'd seen the boy in the halls before. He seemed nice enough, though a bit creepy...especially the weird mist. There was nothing natural about that; he'd never heard of or seen another Torque or Boggie with something like that. Technically, though, he supposed the boy was related to him. A son of his long-lost oldest sister who no one really wanted to talk about for some reason. That made Cas almost a sort of family too, didn't it? Maybe not by blood, but perhaps that explained Ark's desire to protect her.

But he was learning about Banders right now. More questions...something relevant.

"Akane seems okay with me, though, and I'm a boy," Ark said, tilting his head slightly. Or would the little Bander be more friendly with a girl, like his sister? Would she be going up and actively seeking attention from them?

[Kari Muffin]

"That's true. But normally she's more friendly to girls. Like she's really fond of my sister but doesn't seem to like my other brother very much." The girl shrugged. She really did have a lot of siblings when she thought about it. Most of the time she didn't associate with the older ones (or Nerissa, because she was just plain mean). But when it came down to it the girl hadn't had a lot of contact with people her own age. She had only watched her bander try to bite male servants and her sibling Othello once or twice.

Conall had no doubt in his mind that the bander would probably try to take a bite out of him. The little creatures just seemed nasty no matter how well tempered they were. Even though Akane seemed well mannered he wasn't sure that he wanted to take the chance. Though he was sure that the bander would regret biting him and only do it once. He couldn't imagine that his fur tasted all that good.

[Lucca]

Arkady nodded. That made sense. So perhaps he was right that Laika would get along better with this Bander than him. Though could that give her a skewed view on how dangerous Banders really were? Would she think that any tame Bander was all right to just run up and say hi to?

...or were most tame Banders friendly? He glanced a bit shyly at Castiel, wondering if she was getting sick of talking about Banders and explaining things to he who knew so little about them. But she still looked as cheerful as ever, so he chanced the question. "So, um, this...this may seem like a stupid question but...are most pet Banders fairly friendly? Or would you want to be careful around them even if they were obviously owned?" Arkady looked earnestly at the little girl, waiting for the answer.

He wasn't quite sure what he expected, though personally, he still would be wary of approaching a strange Bander and trying to make nice even if tame Banders were the norm among pets. After all, they were bred for fighting, apparently...among other things.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel grinned. In her book nothing was stupid. Probably because she was so young and had plenty of questions to ask herself. She shook her head. "No, not all pet banders are nice like Akane. There are some that only like their owners, and some that don't even like their owners. It depends on their mood and breeding like... I heard banders with super long fur are angry all the time because of inbreeding."

She shrugged. "I think as long as you don't provoke them you should be fine. I've never had a bander chase after me before."

Conall refrained from giggling of the thought of anyone being chased by a bander. Considering how much damage their bite could do, he shouldn't laugh at something so serious. "Do you know anyone else in the palace with banders?"

Castiel shook her head. "Just Xander, but then again I'm not here all the time..."