|
Post by ealasaid on Nov 8, 2009 23:57:11 GMT -5
Vingo raised his eyebrows at Caden, his smile fading somewhat. He hoped he hadn't done the wrong thing by coming here. The kit seemed unsure and rather surprised. Well, wouldn't you be shocked in his situation? Vingo had to remind himself of the shock and surprise he had felt upon first hearing the news of his family's demise. It was no wonder Caden was hesitantly looked up at Ladorak for reassurance.
When the younger marten finally clasped Vingo's paw, or rather placed his white paw in Vingo's, the older marten was careful not to be too enthusiastic, for the youngster was obviously still rather shocked. However, Vingo did not believe in matching a weak pawshake with a weak pawshake, and so made sure that his grip was firm.
"Do you.....do you know what my mom was like?" Caden asked as they broke off from the pawshake. Vingo was contemplating an answer when Ladorak spoke. After Caden requested his juice, Vingo nodded.
"Aye, a mint tea for me," the marten said, wondering at what the stoat meant by 'his condition', but too polite to inquire. As Ladorak went to fetch the drinks, Vingo leaned back slightly on the couch, placing his paws on the worn knees of his pants. He looked at Caden, who was still staring at him with some sense of scrutiny.
"O'course I knew what your mom was like, 'leastways up until she was a teenager, a few years older'n yourself. That was right before she joined up with the Navy. See, the both o' us were fixin' t'run away 'cos we didn't much like the idea o'growin' up in a noble family without havin' any adventures. Doesn't sound like much fun, does it? I wanted t' wander the land an' she wanted t'explore the sea, so we parted ways. I went first, an' I believe she ran off an' joined the Imperial Navy several months later."
He sighed, giving a somewhat sad smile and shaking his head. "An' by the sounds of it, she certainly found herself some adventures there. Now," Vingo brightened and turned so that his body was facing Caden.
"I can tell you all about her when she was naught but a babe, crawlin' about in her diapers, when she was a toddler an' would escape from her bath an' run about the house stark naked, covered in soap bubbles, or when she got older an' me an' her would play in the big oak tree in our yard while our mother turned blue in the face yellin' at us t'come down.
She was a good creature, your mom, always ready for an adventure. She was downright smart, too, could read your mood plain as day an' was always stealin' our dad's books on seafarin' so she could be ready for the day when she ran off to sea. She certainly kept me from goin' stir crazy or gettin' too mad at our father. If I hadn't had her, I expect I would've been much worse off than I was. Even though me an' Nuori weren't much alike in personality, we had many o'the same dreams an' wishes for our lives an' kept each other company through the worst o' times. She really was a right an' true beast, your mom. Couldn't have asked for a better friend or sister."
Vingo wiped away several tears that had fallen from his eyes while he had been speaking. He smiled at Caden. "An' I'm glad that you're her son, for if you weren't here, I would be the only one o'the family left, an' that'd be lonely indeed. It's right an' fitting that you should be the other, for you have some o'your mom in you, I can sense it. It's a comfort t' know that part of her lives on."
|
|
|
Post by Ladorak on Nov 9, 2009 0:36:51 GMT -5
As Caden listened to his uncle speak, he could feel a sense of longing but also of pride when he heard of how she had a sense of adventure and how she had been a "right and true beast" according to her brother. He could picture all of it in his head...from when she was escaping from her bathtub covered in soapy suds to her escapades in the tree to wanting to head off to sea...and also being at sea.
Smiling now, Caden no longer felt tense around this jack. He was glad to be able to hear about his mother, and how he shared similarities with her, even though he could barely remember much save for distant and blurred snippets. Holding up his book proudly, he showed it off to Vingo. "See this? I'm getting ready to go to sea too. Ladorak says that when I turn 13, I can officially join the Navy! I've studying basic stuff for it, and I really can't wait! Ladorak said there's lots of benefits about being at sea....and sometimes I like to go into that backyard...there's that big old tree out there....and pretend I'm already in the Navy and we're fighting off the Rosferians." he grinned now, his pink eyes almost sparkling a bit with excitement.
"You can see it out the back door." he pointed a claw in the direction of Ladorak's vast backyard. There were gardens and landscaped paths that ended in a grassy field with a huge tree on top of a hill. "I've got a wood sword and everything. Ladorak tells me about famous battles the Welkin Navy's been in, and I like to imagine I'm there....fighting off boarders, firing broadsides into enemy ships....do you like to play Navy Vin?" Caden asked, talking nearly a mile a minute. He slowed down though as he caught himself. "Ladorak does sometimes. He doesn't work now so has lots of free time." He finally stopped his rambling narrative, realizing he'd never been quite so comfortable with a stranger before.
He gave a very small smile up at Vingo as Ladorak returned with their drinks, pawing them over to their respective owners. "Heheh...oh yes....my backyard can become a vast ocean sometimes Jal Sken." Ladorak explained, having caught the tail end of what Caden had said. He could see the kit was far more relaxed. His bushy tail was swishing back and forth behind him on the couch, and he had that ever so slight smile upon his snout.
Hearing a knock upon the door however, Ladorak groaned. "Oh....great...excuse me for a minute." the ermine said apologetically, and disappeared from sight around the corner, heading to answer his front door.
|
|
|
Post by ealasaid on Nov 9, 2009 1:13:24 GMT -5
Ah yes, just like his mother, there, Vingo thought with a sparkle in his blue eyes that were so very much like his younger sister's as Caden spoke excitably about his plans and adventures. But if the kit were to go to sea, Vingo knew how torn he would be at watching over his nephew and keeping his paws on dry land. Never do quite understand the excitement and romanticism that the sea brings upon creatures. It's far too wet, wild, and unpredictable for my tastes. Though, I guess many seafarers would say similar things of traveling the wilds of the land.
This was all happening rather differently than Vingo had expected. He had been thinking all the while that Caden was not in the best of circumstances, but now that he saw the kit and met his caretaker, Vingo was hard-pressed to find anything wrong with the situation. His first impressions of Ladorak were good, though it would take time for the marten to completely come to trust the ermine with his sister's progeny.
When Ladorak entered, Vingo took the mug of tea and sipped down some of the hot liquid. He nodded appreciatively at the flavor. A knock on the door took Ladorak from the room once more.
"Do I play Navy, you ask?" He chuckled at the memories the question had brought into his mind. "Your mother an' I certainly did. She was usually the one who started the game an' knew more than I did, for she had far more interest in the sea than I, but I played along well enough. Nowadays, you probably know more'n I do after all your studyin', but I'm a quick learner. Maybe we could practice some swordplay together, too. I'm not much of a fighter, nowhere near as feisty as Nuori, but I'd be willin' to try crossin' blades with you, though I expect you might be just as fierce as your mother."
|
|
|
Post by Ladorak on Nov 9, 2009 16:32:08 GMT -5
"Oh I'm good alright." Caden bragged, not in the least bit humbly. He was exaggerating a bit too, as he had a long ways to go before he would become a pro at sword fighting. He had mostly been taught how to fight dirty in street combat, almost all of it by Helandria. Ladorak had been teaching him some less unorthodox methods, but of course he had a long way to go.
The kit tended to be impulsive, and to not always pay attention to what his opponent was doing. Of course the real training Ladorak intended to start next year, when Caden got closer to hitting his birthday. In fact, the ermine planned to start training sessions for all kits in town who were interested in joining the Navy so that he could get them ready for life at sea.
Speaking of Ladorak....he had swung his thick door open again, seeing some beast who looked like he was from the city standing on his stoop. "Yes?"
Puffing a bit, the beast, a shrew, pawed him some sort of official document. "Admiralty Notice, begging your pardon Commander Fugate." Ladorak could feel his heart pick up it's tempo just a bit at this news. "It's nothing major....just a notice that Rosferia has overrun most of Eastern Mordenz, and is threatening some of the Channel ports now." raising his brow at this, Ladorak heard the messenger out. "His Majesty, King Poynt III, is putting the Navy on alert....but as of yet has not called it to duty. Which means a lot of the ships will remain in ordinary until then, but you might want to keep this in mind as it means a possible reactivation and a post." A possible post!? A possible....post!! Such a thing was enough to make the ermine's heart leap into his throat.
"Thank you....I'll be sure to keep this mind." Ladorak replied with no hint of emotion save for a smile he could hardly contain breaking out on his snout. He clutched his gin in his one paw, and the other now held the notice. Nodding, the shrew turned and began jogging off for the road again, as he probably had a coach of some kind he'd come in. Shutting the door with his footpaw, the ermine gulped in a pleasing breath of air. This....might be it! All of these years of doing nothing! They might finally be paying off!
When he re-entered the living room he was absolutely glowing, a happy look upon his face as he partook of more of his gin. He glanced contentedly down at the conversing Caden and Vingo, no longer feeling ill at ease that Vingo was here.
"Well I'm just starting out too" Caden was saying, in reference to his studying. "I mean about two days ago Ladorak picked this book up for me." he tapped it again as he took a big gulp of his juice. "So you and my mom....you ran away from home. Why didn't you travel together?" the albino asked, the thought suddenly popping into his head.
Taking a rather comfortable armchair and pulling it over to face the two of them, Ladorak took a seat but kept his distance too, seating himself about fifteen feet from the two. He was still all smiles, but settled himself down to just listen in and join in on the chat if needed, but he really didn't want to intrude between uncle and nephew either.
"I know you said she liked the sea and you wanted to travel by land but why not travel together? You said you really liked her right?" Caden queried. He was still young...he didn't fully understand that sometimes two beasts had differences that would go beyond what was immediately visible, even if they were brother and sister. He thought more in terms of absolutes and black and whites. Good guys and bad guys so to speak, not much in between. He was learning, but not quite there yet. Helandria hadn't really been the best life teacher after all, and mostly just taught him survival and fighting skills and how to take what he needed in order to live, but not about creature interaction and understanding others and their emotions and feelings. Empathy....he was lacking in empathy, though Ladorak was trying his absolute best to show the kit the ways of this subtle art. To take other beasts into consideration rather than himself all the time. To see the world in different shades of gray (and colors too). Caden Freemont was still a work in progress.
|
|
|
Post by ealasaid on Nov 10, 2009 1:47:32 GMT -5
Vingo hid a grin at Caden's boasting. Ah, to be young again. The older marten had never been the sort of youth to boast about himself, tending to be the quiet type who stuck to daydreams and singing. He had, however, traveled with beasts who he suspected were similar to Caden when they were kits, most of which had grown into their boasts quite well and actually now had something to boast about. Then again, in the line of work those beasts had been in before turning to less...violent means of making a living, the beasts who made empty boasts were likely to have died very early on as soon as they were found out to be frauds.
When Ladorak returned, the stoat seemed happy about something indeed. Vingo quirked an eyebrow at him in a manner very much like Nuori, but continued to listen to Caden.
"I know you said she liked the sea and you wanted to travel by land but why not travel together? You said you really liked her right?"
The older marten frowned slightly and rubbed his graying chin. He and Nuori had had a conversation about the very thing when they were younger, several conversations, really, all over the course of the years as they planned out their adventures.
"Well," he began, attempting to find the words to explain to the kit. "We certainly did love each other, an' going our separate ways was hard for both of us. Sometimes, though, Caden, two beasts are just meant t' go in different directions no matter how they feel about each other. Our hearts were pullin' us each in a different way, an' if we were t'compromise an' go together, neither o' us would've had what we'd really dreamed o' havin'."
Vingo grinned and winked at the kit. "An' besides, I don't think your mom woulda been happy livin' my sort o'life. She liked conflict far more'n I did. She wanted t' see battle an' grin in the face o'death, just like the characters in the books she read. Me, on the other paw, I wanted nothin' t'do wi' that sort o'thing. Though, I did find myself lookin' death in the eye several times in my travels, but I certainly wasn't grinnin'. Oh no, I was turnin' my tail an' runnin' as fast as I could, 'leastways if runnin' was an option. Sometimes it wasn't, an' I didn't much care for those times." His demeanor softened slightly, becoming more somber as he looked at Caden.
"Fightin' for your life isn't everythin' somebeasts say it is. When it's either your life or your opponent's, sometimes you wonder why you should be the one t'win when they're livin' an' breathin' just like you. Respectin' your opponent an' havin' a value for life are two things that a good creature should never forget."
Did you ever learn that lesson well, sister? Sometimes I wondered about your motivations. If you took after our father, then I suspect that some of the stories I heard about your life were true. It pained Vingo somewhat to think of Nuori in such a way, almost like a child faced with the corruption of their parents for the first time, but he knew well enough that she was just as fallible as any other. In the end, though, he could only hope that she had come to terms in understanding the value that lies in a creature's life other than her own. His gaze, which had wandered from Caden, now swiveled back to the kit, and a smile tugged at the edges of his lips. And perhaps, through the bearing of a child, she had come to see what it meant to love another unconditionally.
|
|
|
Post by Ladorak on Nov 10, 2009 2:12:40 GMT -5
Caden tried to understand his uncle's reasoning in this, but his concepts of this or that with not much in between had been reinforced for years by Helandria, and the marten wasn't able to fully comprehend why his mom and uncle had to part ways. How could traveling apart help them accomplish their dreams? Vingo had just admitted that they'd loved each other so...why couldn't they just accomplish their dreams together?
Caden was naive, but not to the point where he was completely clueless. He just couldn't fully wrap his tail around this one. The part about not being happy with his life he could at least grasp. So....she didn't like him because he wanted to live on land? It was in simplistic terms of course. It wasn't just "not liking" him. It was more than that.
And then there was the bit about killing....and respecting life. It was funny because...Ladorak had said the same thing. He didn't like killing, but he did it to keep himself and others safe. If he didn't he'd be the one to die, and there was something else about duty to his country, but Caden hadn't understood that part. It went against everything he'd been taught from before. Helandria had always told him to trust no one, and if you had to kill them then so be it. He was a hunted marten, and he had to kill to survive.
Ladorak had caught Vingo's brow quirk, and it reminded him so much of Nuori. He felt nostalgic in that moment, but motioned that he'd get to the good news later.
"I....you and Ladorak say the same thing....about respecting life and that sort of thing." the marten admitted, looking from the ermine to his uncle. "But Helandria always said I had to trust nobeast cause they were after me...just like they were after mom. I had to kill to survive....and take what I needed without asking."
"And she was wrong." Ladorak quickly cut in, nodding with a tight smile. "You've learned that right Caden?"
He looked at Ladorak with his head tilted to one side in the most adorable posture that the kit could manage and one that always melted Ladorak's innards. Caden could be cute without even realizing it. "Well....she always told me that...all the time."
"But you know you can trust me....and you can trust Vingo right?" Ladorak added.
Looking back at his uncle, the marten nodded. "Yeah...and you've been showin' me ways that don't involve fighting." Ladorak smiled in more of a warm way now at this.
"That's right...conflict is not always the answer...in fact for me it's always last. So what are your impressions of your nephew so far Jal Sken? How are you finding everything so far?" Ladorak asked calmly, folding his forearms and shifting his gaze to Vingo now, curious as to the marten's thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by ealasaid on Nov 10, 2009 2:32:32 GMT -5
Helandria. Vingo's jaw tensed as his teeth gritted ever-so-slightly. He could honestly say that, despite all the beasts he had met and known, Helandria was most certainly his least favorite. In fact, she was one of the few, besides his father, that could really make Vingo angry. What Nuori had seen in her, he still did not know. Had it been a momentary lapse of reason on his sister's part?
Most likely one of those female attachment things, he thought spitefully, most of the spite directed towards the memory of the awful rat nurse. No wonder the kit was confused. At least now he had a good mentor in Ladorak. The ermine was most definitely the sort Vingo would be glad to have for a friend, at least from first impressions.
"So what are your impressions of your nephew so far Jal Sken? How are you finding everything so far?"
Vingo nodded approvingly. "I think he's done good with the cards he's been dealt, that's for sure. From what I've heard, I'd say your mom would be right proud of you, Caden. You're very much like her when she was your age an' I'd say you'd do well t'keep listenin' t'what Mr...or Jal Fugate has t' teach you. He seems t' have your best interests in mind." He nodded a silent thanks to Ladorak, for he was indeed grateful for the ermine's rescue of Caden from Helandria's flawed tutelage.
"An' what's it that brought you back in here so happily, Jal Fugate, if it's my business t'be askin'?"
|
|
|
Post by Ladorak on Nov 10, 2009 15:04:36 GMT -5
Caden's chest visibly inflated and bulged a bit more, the golden tags hanging from that green collar poking out from his white fur and catching the sun's rays in order to gleam a bit on the proud marten's breastbone. To hear Vingo say such things about how he resembled his mother at her age and how he had her sense of adventure (among other things) made Caden feel a connection with the deceased Nuori.
"Thanks!" he exclaimed happily, his face lighting up as Vingo told him his mother would be proud. "You know.....you're a nice jack Vin..." Caden said softly, as he was still a bit shy around this adult who claimed to be his uncle from out of the blue. If the skies had opened up and dropped this marten on Ladorak's front porch then the kit probably still would have had the same reaction he was having now. It was still all new to him, but at the same time he liked hearing what Vingo had to say about a mother he could but dimly recall, and it made him feel as if he were connected more strongly to her than he had been before.
Ladorak too, felt inner peace when he heard Nuori's brother thank him with a nod. The ermine returned the gesture and gave an anytime look. "Ah yes." He was being addressed now, about none other than the news he had received earlier.
"Well I'm not sure if you're aware of my occupation or not Jal Sken," He had smiled at Vingo's quick pickup of the use of "Jal" for Mister. "But I hold the rank of Commander in the Welkin Navy. Also you may have noticed but I am here and not serving at sea. Despite my long service in the Navy," and because I'm not exactly popular with some of the higher ups either , he didn't add, "I and so many others like me have been placed on shore leave because of the peace that has been reigning for about ten years now. Ship captains are just out of work in this day and age, and I've been yearning for my own command again, but badger and pester the Admiralty all I want, work is very slow right now. However.....perhaps good tidings are on the horizon."
With a flourish, the bespectacled ermine produced the sheaf of paper he'd been pawed. "Contained herein is a royal directive from his Royal Majesty King Poynt III, putting the Welkin Navy on alert. Now this does not mean necessarily anything at the moment, as the King must also reactive many of the ships that are currently in ordinary as well, but it could mean potential employment is on the horizon for this seajack." he couldn't help but to grin now at this, at the prospect of it all.
"Really!?" Caden's large ears stood on end and he snapped his head over in Ladorak's direction. Nodding solemnly, the ermine folded the paper back up and stuck it into his pocket.
"Yes....the Rosferians have apparently been making aggressive moves into Mordenz, and that's a big no-no when it comes to Welkin's foreign policy. Part of preserving the peace is to ensure that Mordenz's ports remain in neutral paws. If they fall into an aggressor's clutches however, it represents a threat to Welkin's security." the ermine Commander explained, for both Caden's and Vingo's benefit.
"So you might finally get a job!?" Caden demanded again, rising up to his knees on the edge of the couch. The ermine responded with another nod.
"Aye might...is the keyword here. This whole situation might just blow over after all" but Ladorak was secretly hoping he would get a chance to return to the sea, even if it did mean a time of war. The excitement...the chance to redeem himself was just too much to pass up. The chance to gain retribution for Welkin's previous defeat to Rosferia was there as well.
"So you see Jal Sken." Ladorak concluded. "Though I am personally against warfare as a whole, I have to admit this news has gotten me just the slightest bit excited about the whole thing. It's a chance to get my job back, the chance to feel the wind in my fur again, something I have been sorely missing. The sea can be such an alluring mistress after all, and while there's nothing wrong with shore leave.....I yearn to get back out there....to feel the creak of the wood beneath my hindpaws....to hear the sails billow and flap as they catch a good wind." Of course, Ladorak knew that Vingo mentioned he was more of a landsbeast, but that was a minor difference between the two of them as far as Ladorak was concerned. "Forgive me." he added, smiling sheepishly. "I just can't help myself when it comes to the sea. Even hearing the mention of a possibility of getting my job back it just.....it sets my heart to soaring." he was able to confess to the marten.
Soaring.....like the very wind itself as it tumbled and played across the back of the ocean.....
|
|
|
Post by ealasaid on Nov 10, 2009 18:02:47 GMT -5
Glad to have cheered the kit, Vingo smiled warmly at Caden, inclining his head slightly. Hard as his sister's death was for Vingo, to be able to have a connection through her child made the grief easier to deal with. He wasn't alone anymore, and he suspected that Caden felt similarly, judging by his reactions.
Vingo nodded as he listened to Ladorak. He knew well enough what it felt like to be stuck in one place for too long when the heart yearns to be back on the road, or at sea in Ladorak's case. Oftentimes, Vingo and the players he traveled with for many years would be forced to remain in one place for the worst winter months if they were in a country with a harsh climate. And that was only for a few months. Imagine going years without being able to have new land under my paws and the unknown on the horizon.
"...Even hearing the mention of a possibility of getting my job back it just.....it sets my heart to soaring."
The marten tipped the edge of his hat back slightly and winked at Ladorak. "No need t'apologize. I understand you well enough an' would be sharin' the same sentiments were I in a similar situation." Though how you seabeasts can stand being cooped up on a wooden tub for that long without settin' paw on solid ground I'll never know. And I'm certainly glad my lifestyle doesn't entail waiting on the whim of another to decide where I go and what my duty is. Each to his own, though. If everybeast took to a wandering lifestyle, who would grow the food or cook for us vagrants when we come into a town to entertain?
"Oh!" Vingo suddenly remembered something he had brought to show to Caden. He had initially brought it as evidence of proof that he was indeed who he said he was, but because they had taken him on his word, he had forgotten about the object. "I nearly forgot; I brought something t' show you, Caden."
He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small object wrapped in a clean, soft cloth. Uncovering it revealed a flat oval of polished whale ivory bordered and backed with ornately decorated brass, about four inches high and two inches across. Painted upon the ivory was a skilled likeness of Nuori in her early teenage years. Vingo reached out to hand it to Caden.
"There's your mom lookin' about the same as the time I last saw her. She's fifteen or so, judgin' by the date enscribed on the back, which is when she ran off t'join the Navy. Actually, let me think..." Vingo looked up at the ceiling for a moment, mouth moving slightly in silent calculations. He looked back down, pointing to the miniature portrait held in Caden's paws. "You were born four years after this was painted, when she was nineteen."
((I know the ages are different than those we discussed, the reason being Caden aged more quickly on the VI that real-time, so I did my best to make things work. Talk to me if there's a problem.))
|
|
|
Post by Ladorak on Nov 11, 2009 0:29:35 GMT -5
With widened pink eyes the young marten reached out to slowly grasp hold of the ivory portrait. An actual painting on ivory....Ladorak had only heard of such things before. It wasn't scrimshaw...it was an actual painting.
Leaning forward a bit in the armchair, Ladorak craned his neck to get a look at the artwork as well. "Oooh that's gotta be valuable Caden..and not just in a monetary sense. A real treasure you've got in your paws now." Swirling his drink in one paw, Ladorak could see that that was definitely Nuori, and a good likeness of her it was at that. Taking a sip from his drink, the ermine wanted to speak to Vingo in private, but it could wait.
Holding it delicately, as if it were an egg, the marten looked down the picture of his mom, enraptured by the image. She was just a few years older than him in this snapshot in time. He stared at it with amazement and awe, able to finally get a picture of what his mother looked like....albeit when she was much younger...but still...only four years later and he had been born. And then four years after that.....
His eyes misted up, a solitary tear falling on top of the picture, right about where Nuori's snout was. "This is mom....." he said in a hoarse voice. He had meant to ask but it came out more as a declaration. He sniffled through his nostrils, his snout scrunching up a bit as he did so. Yes...it was her. This wasn't fake...this was a real actual image of his mother....four years before he had been born. Ladorak hadn't gotten around to giving his "birds and bees" lecture to Caden yet, though he had planned on that very soon, seeing as how the kit would be thirteen in half a year. Caden could still understand though that it was four years before he'd come along into his mother's life.
Frowning in a sympathetic manner, Ladorak reached a paw out to rest upon Caden's knee. His mother.....he hadn't been there for her death. But from that yellowed parchment of a newspaper he'd gleaned that Nuori Sken Freemont had taken her troops to secure the Imperial Throne...not for herself but to prevent Vladimir Ullyanov from seizing it. Ullyanov.....Ladorak had always hated felines...and now he knew why. They were treacherous....backstabbing...but ah then again that was prejudiced wasn't it? Still...the time for confrontation had come...and Nuori had been the loser of the contest. Unknowingly, Ladorak's paw tightened around Caden's knee. It should have been the other way around....why had justice not prevailed that day? Why had he read about it on a years old newspaper? Why had events transpired to force him away from his commander's side.....
Caden seemed not to mind Ladorak's increased grip, as the ermine spoke now. "Caden....Vingo....I want to tell you something. Neither of you would know this story. But when I served under Nuori.....there was this rebellion in town.....and well see this?" Ladorak pulled his paw back to lift up his shirt, revealing to the two of them a scar where fur didn't grow, just below the left lung. "I was run clean through...I should have died that day...." Caden's eyes widened again, tears still within them as he gazed at the scar. He had never seen this before on the ermine. "I was in so much pain....I felt like I had failed.....but then there was Nuori.....standing over me as I lay against some wall. Heh...I.....memories are hazy...I was on the verge of passing out after all....but I recall I killed so many beasts....young ones....I was enraged....I lost control of myself." his own eyes were watering up now as well, but he maintained a very firm composure, refusing to let the waterworks start.
"Anyways....I finally paid for it...and had it not been for Nuori Freemont...I would have...died. I was losing too much blood.....but she was able to locate my wound and stop the bleeding in time....I can be so reckless in combat." the ermine admitted, giving a very nervous, jittery laugh. "I owe her my life." He stated, thinking about how he was unable to return the favor....how she had died when perhaps he could have been there to save her. "I wasn't able to repay your mother before then Caden.....and for that I'm sorry. She saved my life and I....." he shook his head very minutely, pursing his lips and knowing it was probably something he would regret the rest of his life.
But he realized something too....Caden.....Caden perhaps was how he had managed to repay Nuori. By saving Caden....Ladorak just might have cleared his debt. It might not have been the life Nuori wanted for him...but there was no doubt that had Ladorak not done what he did...had he not taken Caden from that house.....the marten kit would be dead by now. Several minutes after Ladorak had exited the premises that room was nothing but splinters and rubble.....courtesy of the exchange of gunfire in the night. But Ladorak was far too humble to tell Caden outright about his feelings in this matter. It wouldn't seem right. Maybe Vingo he could tell...but then again if the marten had done his digging he probably realized that that sleazy tenement had collapsed shortly after Ladorak had left with Caden...so who knew?
Had he made it up to Nuori for her deed? The ermine sat in his silence, pondering this, offering a very small smile down at the albino, who too sat in silence, realizing his mother actually might have had....no she did have a soft side to her as well. He had never heard this story before, and had not had knowledge that Ladorak's life had been pulled from the brink of death by Nuori.
|
|