all of these stars will guide us home || private w/Freya

araceli

It only seemed like a few days ago that she'd come into the Sanctum, weak and tired. On the edge of death. Yet she'd come so far in that time, and was now nearly unrecognizable as the battered swift fox from back then. Araceli shook the thoughts away, narrowing her focus until the only thing in her sight was a young rabbit some feet away. She wasn't much of a hunter, and rabbits were among the trickiest prey to catch, but she needed the practice.

The meat was good, sure, but what she really craved was the hot, fresh blood flowing through the prey's veins. Freya's blood had tasted the best and filled her the most (at least, out of all the stuff she'd had, which wasn't all that diverse) but she wouldn't ask the kitsune for her blood, nor anyone else. Too awkward, too embarrassing. The freshkill stored at camp was too old for her--the best was when it'd been killed only moments ago. Mice were tasty, but they didn't have all that much in them. Fish blood was horrible, to say the least. And so, out of the few prey animals she had a chance at catching, rabbits were among the best.

The swift fox crept as close as she dared, hiding behind bushes and tree roots as she approached. She lowered into a crouch, gaze fixed on the rabbit, and leaped. Her paws touched down too soon--just inches away, but enough of a distance to give the rabbit a good head start. Biting back a frustrated snarl, Araceli lunged forward, barely scoring the rabbit's flank with her bared teeth before losing her balance entirely. In a few moments she was back on her feet, staring in the direction the rabbit had gone. It was probably running as fast as it could, which was a lot faster than she could go. She'd have to try again another day.

araceli

"Ah, thank you," the young cub murmurs, placing a paw on the rabbit. "You were watching?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. She leans down, biting the prey's shoulder and gratefully drinking up the blood there, as well as taking a few bites of the meat. As the kitsune continued on with her words the fox smiled up at her, flashing her slightly bloodstained fangs. "Oh? Are you offering to train me?" she asked, perhaps a bit boldly. But she had to speak up sometime, didn't she? Better that than stuttering or stumbling over her words. Maybe she didn't have perfect pronunciation, but she could use words just as well as anyone else. Use words as a facade, to cover up how small and weak she felt.

araceli

She nodded in return, letting a wide grin creep onto her face. "I'd like that," she said, swishing her tail excitedly. Ara didn't care all that much about the Blueblood position--she knew it was important, but she wasn't ambitious enough to want it for herself. What mattered more to her was being trained up by someone she knew would do a good job. A small squeal left her as Freya asked her about being adopted. "Adopted?" she murmured, surprised by the very notion.

Freya really wanted her to be a part of her family? Evidently, since she'd asked, but was Ara really good enough to have a family? She'd been told that her vampirism, what she'd been through, would always make her undesirable--this was after a kindly person had attempted to save her, but then had seemingly disappeared. Ara knew that her torturers had killed him, but there was still that uncertainty, that once he saw the rescue was impossible, he simply gave up. "I-I... yes. I'd love that."

^{♥ ― "Thank you," Ara said, nodding enthusiastically. She probably wouldn't actually stay with Freya--she much preferred having an area all to herself--but it was a nice offer. "Could we begin training now?" she asked, more quietly. Freya probably had other stuff to do--she was a Blueblood, after all, and likely had a bunch of duties--but Ara had made herself ask the question anyways. No harm in asking, right?}