Passion makes the world go 'round. Love just makes it a safer place.

^^

happening directly after Tiberius thread ~ @Kuhn

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After a nice talk with Tib-daddy (because calling him Tib-daddy was somehow less intimidating than actually calling him Tiberius), Archon had decided that it was time to get something to eat himself and off he’d gone, making a mental note that his mother was in Elsewhen.

Which was, heartbreakingly, the neighbor of Frostchant, and still a world away from Hawking. Er, Elkshire. And because Archon had befriended the boy, it didn’t sit right with him to be able to hunt other deer. So he had come upon a rather fat piggie - doing piggie like things.

Ah, but Archon was not a hunter. He did not really know how to hunt, and lord, he didn’t have the patience to track it down and wait for an opportunity. So instead, he decided that he’d just chase the thing down and run at it until he grew tired - in his head, that seemed like a wonderful game plan.

It was perfect.

However, Archon was not familiar with how the boar was, and well, things did not go according to plan..

No, no.. no, instead, the thing gave a really loud demonic squeal and charged right at him.

Oh.

Oh no, this wasn’t good.

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On his way to the festivities of Elysium, the striped predator was on the lookout for something to bring with him.  So, when the scent of boar touched his senses, a detour was in order.  The scent grew stronger and stronger. Once close enough, the cat began to creep low to the ground, trying to stay silent and move undetected.  At the same moment that he got his eyes locked onto the prey he saw and heard something peculiar. 

The boar let out a curdling warcry and was charging at a young boy, who had likely offended it in some way. An angered boar was nothing to mess with, its tusks where formidable and could leave one gutted if not careful. For the ease of the kill, it probably would have been better to let the boar, trample the boy a bit before killing it.  Regardless, now was the time.  Bolting from his cover, a few heavy strides took the tiger up behind the distracted boar. 

The charging wad of angered muscle and tusk was about to reach the youthful wolf, when suddenly in a flash of orange and white, the boar's cries changed from anger to fear. On the ground the tiger had enveloped the beast in a claw filled grapple, sinking his fangs down into the base of its rear neck.  Though just as he was about to sever the creatures spine, Kuhn's eyes met those of the lupine boy.  He was a capable looking hunter, though he carried the stature of a pup in a way.  He had an idea

For once, the tiger let his prey go.  

Scrambling to its feet the bleeding boar was looking for an exit, still squealing in horror.  Not bothering to stand up, the tiger had only rolled out of the way to avoid being kicked.  Aiming a bloody smile at the boy, he addressed him directly,  "Come on... you look like you can get this..."
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^^Welp, this was it, folks! Archon was going to die here and now at the hands, er paws… er tusks of a very angry boar who had decided not today satan and was going to gut poor Archon like a fish.

And the boy had screamed, cowering for dear life when alas, suddenly, there was a flash of color an attack (on Archon) never came from a tusked piggie. There’d been another squeal, of fear, and then the smell of blood, and the sounds of the creature dying and -

Archon slowly blinked up, glancing at this heroic tiger who had stepped in and saved the day! His eyes slowly lingered on the tiger, expecting him to totally steal Archon’s kill that he totally didn’t earn when alas, the tiger released the kill and offered to give Archon the killing blow?!

W-what was happening? Was this a normal tiger thing to do??

He looked to the tiger, then looked to the boar, then looked to the tiger. He licked his lips and quickly got to his feet, nodding his head and going in for the kill with the mightest growl he could muster, grabbing the boar by it’s open wound and just shaking him until the thing stopped moving.

And then he dropped it, and looked back over at the tiger-teacher with the wag of his tail, and glancing the tiger over. It'd been quite sometime since he'd been this close to a tiger. At least this one didn't seem aggressive with the food.

“T-hank you, Mister. I thought I was a goner!”

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Staying where he was at laying in the ground, the big cat watched as the boy quickly rallied, going from afraid to practically rabid. Not doing anything to help Kuhn silently looked on watching the boy tear into his prey. Tilting his head back a bit as blood spattered about, the boy shook and tore, the cat patiently watched the savage process that wolves used to finish their kill.

The boar continued to shriek out in horror as the youthful wolf opened it's wounds, spilling large amounts of living blood. The final protests of the animal began to die down as it lost more and more of it's vital fluid. Until finally it was silent.

Scratching at an itch with his hind legs, the cat replied, "No problem, we have all been there..."

Curiously, the tiger's fur seemed to puff up as if he was ready to fight with his instinctual rival over who got to keep the kill. Though, the pleased look in his face mismatched to his puffy hackles.

Standing to his feet, the cat circled around to take a sniff at the broken prey. "So was that your first boar?"
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^^When he was done, Archon looked like a mass murderer; blood soaking his pelt from his face, all the way down his neck, and belly.

“No problem, we’ve all been there,” the tiger replied and Archon tried his best to picture the same scenario, but with a fleeing tiger and simply could not. His brows arched, a smirk on his lips until he noticed the change in the tiger’s coat - it didn’t quite match the pleased look in his eyes, though.

And then the tiger circled him, and Archon watched him closely, in silent wonder if he was in danger.

“Uhhh, y-yeah. I’m not a very good hunter; I usually take from the pack’s pile, but a mean girl chased me out here, and then I met with Ma’s Tib-dad - er.. T-tiberius. Do you know many other tigers? I seek a fierce tiger and his fire lady!”

Archon, having already thanked Tiberius, was on a mission! That, and he really liked tigers, ever since he met that really nice one in the plains. “Ah, not that you’re uh, not fierce! But, um, that’s the only thing I gave to go by, Ma didn’t really say much about ‘em, other than that he saved her from a nasty walrus.” Archon nodded his head and then leaned forward, nearly falling over the dead boar.

“Mister, do you know what a walrus is? And um, would you like to share this with me? I don’t think my belly is big enough to uh, eat everything, and you did most of the work anyway.”

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After a moment or so burnt orange hackles began to fall back down, with no real intent to take anything from the child.  Still looking pleased, the cat heard that this was the boy's first boar.  A slight smile cracked on the tiger's face, happy to be a part of furthering the art of the hunt.   But, his ears really perked up at the mention of Tiberius. A dad, a mom, a walrus, a tiger and a fire lady?

For a moment, the cat couldn't help himself; invading the boy's personal space.  He didn't smell like olive or Tiberius, but the scent of his friends did linger.  

Pulling himself back, Kuhn let out a gaping laugh, showing the size of his fangs as he was taken by the humor of the situation.  Sitting back on his haunches, he was still unable to speak through the confusion and entertainment.  "I...", he tried to get out, still struggling.  "I - have a feeling... you found your tiger..." More composed but still smiling, "Ya... I know what a walrus is!  I was there." 

Semi settling down, the cat lowered his frame to the floor near the mutilated boar at the offer.  "Sure, why not! Don't sell yourself short though... You tracked it, and killed it. You just needed a little help."

Ears perking up, he had an idea, "Actually, I was looking to take a boar, I was going to bring it to some festival over those mountains, i'm sure they wouldn't care if you tagged along, especially if you brought your kill along with you."   In reality, Kuhn really didn't know if this was ok to bring along someone uninvited, fuzzy on the whole concept of a festival.  It would probably be fine. 
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^^And suddenly, the tiger was in his personal space and Archon froze for half a second, unsure what to do, so he just… nuzzled the cat and inhaled his scent. He was right there, so why not, right?

The tiger pulled back and showed off his teeth. Was this some sort of exchange? So Archon opened his mouth to show off his teeth, too! And then he’d smile some more, wagging his tail. “What exactly is a walrus? Ma didn’t really tell me, but she did tell me about you and the fire lady! Thank you for saving my Ma.”

As Kuhn semi settled back down, Archon rushed forward to semi-tackle him. Or rather, pushing himself into Kuhn’s side to aggressively nuzzle him some more, in thanks. Funny how he was more scared of Tiberius than he was Kuhn, but in his eyes, the tiger was a hero. “You’re my hero, mister. Thank you.” He would say again, though this time, his voice was quivering with emotion.

And then he slowly backed up and cleared his voice, nodding his head. “Oh hey, yeah, I would love to come with you to this festival! I’m Archon, by the way! What’s your name, mister?”

^^
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It was funny how trusting this boy was, just willing to sit and chat with the cat like they weren't two different kinds.  As the boy came charging in Kuhn was only partially able to react, softly swatting at the boy's side as he rolled on to his own.  Warmly chuffing, "A walrus... It's a fat sea creature, as big as a boulder and with tusks as long as your tail.", putting his paws up under himself, he rolled onto his stomach, putting some force into rubbing his muzzle into the boy, jostling his head around in a show of rough play but also to mark that the youthful wolf was under his protection.

The striped beast didn't think to call himself a hero. In feline manner he told himself: he was only there because he wanted to be.  Choosing to let the boy's comment go, he sat himself back up as the wolf pulled away.  "Archon...  I am Kuhn, good to meet you.", his tail now lashing behind him playfully.
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^^He was most definitely a little too trusting, but that didn’t stop him from nuzzling into Kuhn as though they’d known each other forever. And sure, Kuhn was this big, massive tiger, and Archon was itty bitty compared to him, but size had never mattered to Archon. What mattered was the respect that Archon had for his new family member: Uncle Kuhn. Wait until he told his new dad about his new uncle! He couldn’t wait. “Good to meet you, too!!”

For the moment, Archon slowly looked over at the length of his tail, and then back up at Kuhn. He took some steps back, as though to try to visualize Kuhn going at it with Benry, at this fat boulder with tusks - whatever those were - and somehow coming out with very little injuries. He would assume that Kuhn’s scars had come from such a creature.

“Woahh, I bet that was super scary! I’m glad you made it out okay.”

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Able to see the glint in the young man's eyes, Kuhn didn't see himself as anything to admire.  Downplaying the story for himself he needed to elaborate, still wanting to give the kid a good tale. "Actually, it was... the beast was strong, he was able to toss me like a cub.  But, I wasn't in it alone, I just helped for the food.", smirking.  "There where others that I would call heroes,  you should have seen @Tiberius, take its throat, or @Ragnar's move to take the beast to the ground."

Looking around, the tiger scanned the treeline looking for @Valmúa,   "and the 'fire lady', without her strategy, we wouldn't have been able to take the winning shot, there was even a great white bear,  @Thraximundar, who makes my kind look small."  
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^^As the tiger joked about going only for the food, Archon began to wonder what walrus tasted like. He kind of wanted to venture more north to discover what a walrus was, and why they would want to mom-nap his mom. Something told him it was a bad idea, though.

“Oh, yes! I’d like to thank all of the heroes. You, Tiberius, and the bear are the only ones I’ve met so far,” Archon nodded his head. His mother hadn’t mentioned anyone named Ragnar, though, and Archon would make a mental note to seek them out.

“What does Walrus taste like, though??” Unable to fight his curiosity, Archon grinned over at him.

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"It's skin is horrible actually, thick putrid and chewy. But, once you get inside, it mostly tastes like belly fat with a a bit of the way you would think the sea tastes.", He relied happily, obviously interested in sharing his experience of the hunt, especially to this kid who seemed genuinely interested in trying new things.

"Where are you from anyway?" The cat asked leaning over, his ears cupping to the young lupine.
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^^There were not many things in Archon’s life that he disliked to the amount of hate; he was a good natured boy who loved just about everyone and everything - but for some reason, he didn’t like being asked about his origins. Perhaps it was because he felt like his origins defined who he ought to be, and simply that he wasn’t up to par with those standards.

“Does it take long to get past the skin?” Archon guessed probably not, at least not with Kuhn’s claws, as large as they were. “I would be interested in tasting one, though.. ” Archon licked over his lips, wondering if he could find a small one to slay, or maybe find one that was already dead.

When the question came, Archon lowered his ears and looked at his feet, uncomfortably. “Uh, here and there, I guess? I, um, I move around a lot. I try not to, it kind of just happens. A mean girl chased me up this way, but I’m glad she did, or I wouldn’t have met you and Tiberius. W-what about you? Where are you from?”

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Rolling the pad of his paw upward, the cat's tongue cleaned some boar skin from his extended claws. Slipping them back into their hiding place, he returned his paw to the ground. "Well, it definitely takes longer than your average deer, or boar..."

Licking his lips and side glancing at the boar, all this hunting talk was making him hungry. "You would have to get a group together for a walrus. I wouldn't try it alone. Though... for a small seal, you could probably do it alone, and it tastes much the same, if not a bit better."

Cocking his head, at the young wolf, he heard that he was chased off, he wondered who would do that? He must have been even smaller then. "I wouldn't worry about it, not everyone is going to like you." He hummed, using his muzzle to motion to his scars.

"I have been here for awhile. But, like a lot of people, I woke up here..."
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^^Observing Kuhn, Archon tilted his own head for a moment, his eyes glancing over Kuhn’s large paws with the arch of his brows. How often did food get stuck between his toes? “Well, maybe you can join me in hunting one down, someday?” You know, aside from the fact that Archon was a piss poor hunter.

He licked his own lips, tilting his head. He didn’t know what a seal was, but now he wanted to try one of those, too! “Are seals like walruses?” Archon wondered, his eyes following Kuhn’s motion towards the scars.

“You mean you didn’t get those from saving Ma?” He blinked, stepping closer, to look the tiger over. Not everyone is going to like you. Who couldn’t like Kuhn? He supposed now, he was glad that he'd been chased off instead of attacked. Archon was sure that he was a pretty pathetic fighter.

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"Yes, seals are like walruses.", Kuhn answered quickly, figuring there might not be an end to the questions. If one was perceptive, it would be noticable that the big cat's social battery was starting to drain. "But smaller...", He added with an exhale, figuring he owed the kid an answer.

If they did happen to cross paths again, and there was a seal hunt involved, that would be great, but right now there was too much on his mind to make any promises.

Pivoting, he realized the boy caught on to his recent injuries. "Oh? No, these where just from some stupid people...", He replied in short, not wanting to involve the boy in his issues. Though, his tail lashed subtly behind him in anger.

Looking over at the position of the sun, it was getting to that time. "We should probably get going... They will be expecting us soon." Grabbing at the neck of the boar, he lifted from the ground in his maw. Now, the big cat's mouth was full, not the best for conversation, what a shame.
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^^Kuhn was correct; there would probably not be an end to Archon’s curiosity. He would take Kuhn’s answer, nodding his head and storing this information. He wondered if he’d ever get the chance to meet these types of animals.

Stupid people, the tiger had responded. Ah, so stupid folks were dangerous. Were zombies and sinners stupid? They had a touch of evil to them, as Warwick had said, but the prince had never said if they could be stupid or not.

Probably so.. Archon mused, with a huff, though nodding his head as Kuhn remarked that they ought to get going. He would follow in silence, a few steps behind him.

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