If the girl had known the disdainful way her aunt thought of her excitable antics perhaps she would not have been so, well, excited! But it is her very nature to be overly enthusiastic, thrilled at the possibility of new things and new friends and any trepidation her beautiful aunt might show was overlooked entirely. At the praise, however reserved, her small tail gets to thrumming once more like electricity run across her entire, small body until, of course, her lessons start. Etiquette was decidedly not something impressed upon them at the den. Mommy was not one to overly concern herself with appearances and manners and Daddy downright tried to get as much dirt on his dark coat as possible, so the idea that there was a ‘right’ way to conduct herself was entirely foreign.

No doubt she looked a mess as she kept trying to correct one thing or another at Celeste’s instruction only to forget the last. Her tail would wag evenly, but then her brow would furrow. She would focus on relaxing her face only to have her tongue poke out between her teeth in concentration. Thinking about tucking back in her tongue would sent her whole back end to waving with the motion of her tail once more. Ultimately she is saved by the appearance of her sister, abandoning the tail wagging tutorial in lieu of greeting her sister, enthusiastically of course. She looks back to her aunt as she instructs Asa on how to stand and tells her how much she looks like their grandmother, who they hadn’t met yet.“Ooo who do I look like?” she asked eager to know, personally she thought she looked like her Daddy which she was quite proud of, but perhaps she looked like some other family member.

The question may go entirely unnoticed however as their father emerges from the trees as well, as if summoned by her very thoughts of him and everything else is forgotten. The next bit is a blur, with Astraea running to greet her father, followed by Astraea before leaping to prevent the assassination of Celeste’s pristine coat. While her words had been serious she dissolves into laughter as she tackles her brother, giggling as she licks at his face. Only when she pulls back and sees the look of confusion and perhaps some sadness on his face does the joyful look on her face falter. She backs up off of him quickly, her tail lowered as she makes room for him to stand, her mouth parting to apologize when Celeste beats her to it.

Her slender head snaps up, eyes growing wide at the barrage of words that are being thrown at her father. For perhaps the first time in her life she can feel the small hackles on the back of her neck standing up as the attack on her father and brother. Family was the most important thing to the girl and it both hurt and confused her that her Aunt would speak like this. Unconsciously she took a step back toward her father, ready to say something though she didn’t know what, when she looked back to Vortigern who had made himself unbelievably small.

With a low whine she walked back over to him, stepping over his broader shoulders with her right foot so that she stood over him slightly before leaning down to nuzzle her dark nose in the his brilliant, white scruff. She kept this up, a comfort for both her brother and herself, until the rant ended. Only then did her white-streaked eyes dare to raise back up to the familiar comfort of her father, but what she saw there surprised him as much as his words. They were cold, dangerous words that she had never heard from his mouth before. To her Zaphkiel was a dark marshmallow, all fluff and yet there is a dangerous tone in his words that indicated what her father might truly be capable of.