[ P ] who would have guessed

It was midday by the time Badari was done with her patrol and the day was now hers to do with as she saw fit. She took some time to muse quietly to herself on what to do and decided ultimately to visit Leoric. He had told her where he lived but she had not yet visited and now would be the perfect time, or so she hoped. It would give them time to learn more about one another and see where their situation would end up. Decision made, Badari trailed through the streets of Rionna until she found the cozy cottage he'd described to her prior. She shook out her ember fur and straightened her back before heading up the small stone stairs and standing before the front door. She didn't know why she suddenly felt a bit nervous, but as she lifted a paw to knock the door swung open slightly. Oh? Badari hummed softly to herself then placed her paw back on the ground, unsure if she should proceed or not. "Hello? Leoric?" she called out before pushing the door the rest of the way open and stepping inside. Another voice called out then, telling her that he was not home, but not before two little bundles came bustling out to greet her. She stared at the children, her expression plain and unreadable, but inside she was feeling nothing but confusion. "Who... are you two?" she asked. "Badari Tiamat speaking."

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"I'mma duck," Hyacinth announced, keeping her forepaws close to her body and splaying her hind paws out wide. She then moved them out of sync to create a proper waddle. "Look, look!" Her green eyes blazed with excitement as she turned, hoping that her sister was watching. If she was, Hyacinth would offer a wide grin, seconds away from offering to help her Dahly become a duck too. If she wasn't, Hyacinth would make a yip noise, a tiny bark to try and steal her sister's attention back.

However, such antics would be all but forgotten when the sound of the old door creaking open caused her to stumble forward. In her haste to un-waddle her paws, she tripped over herself and rolled. But, not to be deterred, the little dust devil raced forward, brightly calling "Daddy! Daddy!"

Only, it wasn't daddy.

Hyacinth's scampering slowed and she slid against the polished floor. Her sandy nose tipped up and she stared up at the stranger.

A question was asked but it wouldn't be answered immedaitely.

"Hi!" Hyacinth chirped, green eyes sparkling with excitement.

manip + code: clae

Dahlia had been practicing using her legs lately, usually ending up tripping or faceplanting into the hard wooden boards that made up the flooring of their fathers home. Bruises covered her body; paws comically large for her form always seeming to trip her up despite her best efforts. Today was another day of endless practice, and naturally she had her best friend, her sister, by her side.

Though, sometimes she didn't quite understand why Hyacinth wasn't as big as her. Maybe she needed to eat more? Dahlia sometimes stealthily added more of her own food to her sisters plate, though her efforts seemed to always be in vain. Oh well, she would catch up eventually!

As Hyacinth squatted and waddled around like a duck, Dahlia plunked her bum down for a quick rest and giggled at her antics. Hyacinth was always able to make her laugh, and her puppy like giggles and snorts echoed through the empty halls of their home. Their father was away again, all day... again. Her ears drooped momentarily as she remembered, but the thoughts were lost as the door opened.

Father!

Dahlia leapt towards the door alongside her beloved sister, partially waddling just for comedic relief in case her sister saw.

But who came through the door wasn't a man.

Instead, it was a pretty woman whom Dahlia had never seen before. However, her naturally protective nature reared its head and Dahlia scampered to place herself in front of Hyacinth - between her and the large red woman.

"Who are /you/?" she asked back, after her sisters bright greeting, green eyes squinting a little in suspicion.

manip + code: clae

Badari was not sure what to make of this situation but she felt suddenly like she was intruding. She knew nothing about these children or why they were here. The woman who had answered her stepped into the room after them, her expression curious. She hung back by the doorway, possibly because she knew Badari was another soldier and there was a level of trust in that. As the sandy girl with a black streak approached her and offered a simple greeting. The other one, a girl swathed in a myriad of blues and greys, stepped forward to protect her little sister-- at least that was what Badari assumed them to be despite them looking little like one another. Maybe it was in the green eyes they both shared that she saw the connection. The larger pup asked her who she was and she offered a gentle smile. "I am Badari Tiamat, Leoric's friend," she offered. The woman's suspicions were confirmed and so she returned to whatever she had been doing in the next room. "Now... will you tell me who you are? And who she is?" she asked curiously. She had an inkling that these children belonged to Leoric, otherwise why would they be here, but she wanted to know if that woman was their mother and by extension what she was doing here. "Is that your mother?" she asked, clarifying for the young ones. "Badari Tiamat speaking."

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Hyacinth's brow creased slightly when Dahlia sprinted ahead and planted herself in front. Now Hya couldn't see anything! It was impossible when Dahli was so much bigger, her black-blue fur creating a fuzzy blob that Hyacinth had to crane her neck to peer around. While a part of her instinctively knew that Dahlia was doing this to be nice—to protect her from strangers and whatnot—Hyacinth couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated. She wanted to see what was going on too! Putting her paws on Dahli's shoulders, Hya stretched her neck as far as she could so that she could finally see past Dahlia's big, pointy ears.

It didn't occur to her that she could just look over her sister's shoulder.

"Bwadawi," Hyacinth said, nose scrunching as she tried to say the woman's name. However, it was impossible. Dahli, Hya, Daddy Leo. Those were the names she knew best. But.. this was an impossible. "Who named you?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. Only, that immediately obscurred her view and her head shot back up straight.

When the woman asked if their nurse was their mother, Hyacinth started giggling. "No, of course she isn't!" Her light giggles seemed to bounce off of the walls and fill the air. "You're silly."

- exit hyacinth chatting -

manip + code: clae

Dahlia drew reassurance and comfort from her sisters touch, even though she was using her larger body as a jungle gym. It didn't occur to her that she would obstruct Hya's view of the large pretty woman, as their size difference was still something Dahlia was getting used to as they grew.

The woman introduced herself with an interesting name, mentioning being a friend of their father, and her dark head cocked to the side as Hya asked a question - and Dahlia couldn't help but ask her own as well. "Were you born bad?... or... were you bad as a pup?" the gears were turning in her tiny head as she tried to figure out why a mother would name their child a name with 'bad' in it. So weird!

Then Hya giggled as Badari asked if the nurse with their mom. Dahlia also shook her head, her sparkling green eyes losing their shimmer for a brief second.

"We don't have a mom," she responded with an uneasy solemnness that a pup shouldn't possess. While Dahlia wouldn't admit it to anyone - not even her sister - it bothered her that they didn't have a mom when all the other pups at the playground did. She felt left out, like there was something wrong with them. Why would their mom abandon them, like dad said? How could they have done anything wrong when they didn't even have their eyes open yet?

A frown pulled at her gentle features, but she tried her best to fake a smile and shake the impending sadness that threatened the edges of her innocent mind.

Then, she had a brilliant idea! Badari said she was dads friend, so....

"Are you here to be our new mom?" it was heartbreaking how hopeful the young girls voice was.

manip + code: clae

The way the girl tried to say her name was cute, if anything, and so Badari simply offered her a small smile when she was asked who named her. "My mother, of course." she said, as if it was quite obvious. She was greeted by the other girl, who ran up in front rather quickly, and she glanced past her to the smaller one as she told her that the woman in back was not her mother. As if that was obvious. A sitter, then... or something of the like. She had to wonder where their mother was but she didn't think she'd get such information out of these girls so she let it be for now. Her attention was drawn to the blue and gray pup as she asked about her name, and this pulled a small and gentle laugh from her. "No... it's just my name. I'm not bad and I wasn't bad as a pup, either." she promised. With that, she decided she should probably go and speak to Leoric about all this but that was when the bigger girl piped up and asked if she was going to be their new mom... since they didn't have one. Badari blinked and her expression softened a bit as her smile warmed her face. "We'll have to talk about that with your dad... but I should go. I'm sorry for intruding, little ones." she murmured. If she was to wed Leoric then she would be these children's step-mother. She'd not even known of their existence until today. It was a lot to take in but she supposed she could do worse... and with that she nodded to the children and turned to leave back the way she'd came. -exit badari- "Badari Tiamat speaking."

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