Posts by CAIRO.

★ - More frequently than not, Cairo was fine with just drinking water. Partially it was because he didn't know how to really make anything that had the sole prerequisite to drinking it was just it being a liquid and nothing else. There were juices and milk and whatnot, but Cairo usually went for water.

Taking a seat next to Jasper, looking at the jarfuls of tea with a curious glance. Grimacing slightly at Jasper's mention of his moonshine, Cairo realized he'd only actually had tea once before, when Sir Pentious had helped him with brewing it. Ever since Sir Pentious' two demotions and general attitude toward Asimov had worsened, however, his relationship with the basilisk had become more strained than ever.

"What, uh, kind of tea is it?" Cairo inquired, trying to hide the fact he knew absolutely nothing.

★ - Books. Undoubtedly the bane of Cairo's existence.

Well, there were many things that plagued Cairo. Perhaps calling books the number one, sole cause was a little unfair to all hte hard work everything else was putting in to ruin the kitsune. But books were certainly there. Up there, even.

Cairo's inability to read frustrated him immensely, and even the lessons he had been taking with Asimov had slowed down recently, due to how tired his pregnant father was. The Underboss couldn't blame his father for how exhausted he was as of late, but it certainly didn't make Cairo happy. And he had almost gotten Go, Dog. Go! down. What a shame.

When it came to being steeped in family culture, Cairo was far less involved than even Asimov. Rudimentary Russian was all he knew, thanks to Milkyway, and he knew next to nothing about the Arcaniums and their worship and language and tradition. He was truly clueless.

Taking a seat someways away from Asimov and Dee, Cairo looked up at Pastel with an equal amount of curiosity in his gaze, though just like Asimov, he did not speak. Dee had asked enough, and he didn't want to bombard Pastel with anything unnecessary.

★ - Purposefully ignoring and stepping past the conversation transpiring between Lily and Asimov, not wanting to interfere with whatever jokes Asimov seemed to be in the mood to be telling to his former property, Cairo made a beeline to the food and drink that Pastel had been kind enough to set out. Though parties like this weren't uncommon in the Cartel, he was always happy to attend one. Lightened the mood of the whole place.

In addition to Asimov's jokes, Cairo was just a little uncomfortable around Dee nowadays. Ever since the incident with Jace's gifts, and Dee running off, the dynamic, at least on Cairo's side, had shifted noticeably. It was far more awkward to speak with the canine than it had been before.

Gathering a plate to eat and taking a bite, the Underboss did his best to relieve himself from his self-created new awkwardness in the situation. "It's really good," he commented. "Thanks, Pastel."

★ - Cairo had become significantly more aware of all the things that must have been spiraling around in Batterychicken's mind ever since the wolf had come and knocked on his door and spelled it all out to the oblivious Underboss with a rather uncharacteristic level of zeal about the whole thing. Strangely, Cairo did not find himself unsettled, or in any way perturbed by the narco's advances, but Cairo didn't exactly know how to go about receiving them, and even less so how to respond with his own.

Thus, when Battery brazenly, perhaps so due to intoxication, complimented him again, Cairo's body locked up into a flustered mess, once again unable to deal with the reality of being given praise, especially over his physical appearance.

Trying to avoid anyone noticing how truly embarrassed he was. Cairo turned back to the gift table, pretending to muddle around with nothing in particular so that his back faced the rest of the attendees present.

★ - Cairo nearly always slept soundly, whenever he did get enough sleep for memorable dreams to set in. Were he prompted, the kitsune would likely fail to recall the last time he had ever even had a nightmare wake him from sleep, probably saying that it had been at some point months ago when he still lived with Milkyway. Was that true? Who knows? He didn't.

When Battery cracked open the door to his room, Cairo was, actually, awake. Good thing for Battery that the narco hadn't even thought to consider that, because otherwise he would have not come into the room at all.

The sound of the door opening failed to wake him entirely, though the soft call of Battery's voice eventually stirred him from his slumber.

Groggy eyed and voiced, Cairo picked his head up from his bed, squinting at the barely visible visage of the Capo, his yellow eyes and white horns showing in more light than the rest of him combined. "...Battery?" he said, notably confused.

Glancing around the room for a tiny bit longer, the disoriented, tired Underboss then asked, just after yawning. "...Do you need something?"

★ - //the link is here: click

Laying on the border of the Solaris Kingdom was a letter, courtesy of their ambassador from the Cartel, Cairo. It wasn't actually written by the kitsune in question, it had been dictated, but the Solaris Kingdom both did not that know that and did not need to know that.

Dear the Solaris Kingdom,

You have been cordially invited to the Cartels' masquerade ball. Formal dress is encouraged, but only a mask is necessary for attendance. Come join us for a night of revelry, food, and drink.

Sincerely,

the Cartel.

★ - Despite a desire to help, Cairo had decided to sit out on the rescue party. Though the impulses in his brain told him to do it, it was far too unsafe. His spar with Battery had been one thing, but going into enemy territory with undoubtedly more skilled fighters who were out for blood would be beyond reckless.

However, he was more than willing to help, medically, any way he could once Champagne returned. Even if Cairo wasn't to be a part of the raid, he had no doubts that Champagne would return to the Cartel.

Thus, he was more than prepared when King called his and Wavepool's names, to provide help as a backup to the Capo.

Recognizing that Wavepool was more than sufficient by herself with Champagne, Cairo turned to Sir Pentious, offering his help. "Sir Pentious, would you be okay with coming a bit closer?" he asked. "I'd like to patch up your wounds, as well."

★ - Cairo had no experience when it came to potions whatsoever, so he'd be lying if he were to say that he weren't intrigued at the prospect of an alchemist coming to their border. Cairo's reaction to the appearance of the new arrival was not as strong as his fathers', likely due to some lack of paternal instinct that Asimov had and he did not.

Not exactly sure what to say on the potions (again, he knew nothing about them), the Underboss instead decided to simply greet the stranger, 'Sibbi', was their name, and introduce himself as well.

"It's nice to meet you, Sibbi," Cairo smiled politely. "I'm Cairo."

★ - Cairo could not, in reality, be the Lieutenant of the Nurse Division. Whether or not that was an actual rule in the books, he did not know, but it was certain that it was at least a rule that was unspoken and very, very heavily implied.

Nonetheless, Cairo was interested in observing the selection process for himself. Cairo still cared about medicine, healing, and the like, and even if it was no longer (and hadn't been for a very long time) his responsibility, he wanted to see the future of the Nurses in good hands.

Taking a seat, the kitsune waited for further words.

★ - Cairo was glad that Lily had made a name for himself, and had already started his path of climbing up the ranks. The hybrid had started just about as low as was possible, so seeing improvement was, of course, to be expected, but it still made it nice to see.

It also was nice because the relationship between Lily and Asimov had always given Cairo something of an awkward feeling. Even though the Underboss had been at the interrogation of Lily, when the feline had first arrived, and Lily seemed perhaps a little too willing to accept the agreement of becoming a servant, it still felt weird. He questioned how necessary servants were to the Godfather, given how he was, you know, in charge, but he never voiced his opinions. Even though Lily worked hard and a lot, he didn't seem terribly upset.

Hearing King's comment, and shooting an awkward, sidelong glance, Cairo took a seat more nearby Dee, waiting for Lily to arrive. Dee's parties never disappointed, and Cairo was happy to be able to be on the other side, celebrating someone, this time.

★ - Cairo was simply glad that everything had gone back to normal.

Normal enough.

Asimov was still bloated like an orange, but it was normal enough. It wasn't the first meeting after Cairo had hosted one, and it was simply a comforting sense of normalcy, evenness, and peace.

A little tired, Cairo seemed perhaps a touch vacant throughout the duration of the meeting. Luckily it was a shorter one than certain weeks prior, so Cairo didn't end up making a total fool of himself.

Congratulating those promoted and commended, Cairo leaned back in his chair, seemingly staring at the ceiling, or perhaps nothing at all. Someone watching from a distance perhaps may have questioned whether or not Cairo was feeling well, given his outward behavior.

★ - Cairo's relationship with sleep wasn't the best, either. At the peak of his injuries, Cairo rarely slept at all. Laying down was too uncomfortable, and walking hurt more, but it was at least something he had gotten used to. Laying down on his bed was a milder pain, but one much more foreign to the kitsune. Because of that, Cairo spent a concerning amount of time roaming the halls, checking inventory in closets and surveying empty ballrooms that hadn't been used for weeks for no discernible purpose.

Luckily, with the improvement of his physical health, his sleep schedule had slowly, but surely, been inching more and more towards something normal and healthy. It wasn't perfect, still, mind you, but it was progress nonetheless.

Squinting still, Cairo asked again, perhaps a little confused by the wolf's vague wording. "...Huh?" he questioned, before putting the two together. "O-Oh. You. Um. You had a nightmare...?" he asked, pulling his head off of his bed, his fur sticking up in all ways from sleep.

"N-No, I don't... have any poppy seeds," Cairo spoke. He never used drugs, and Battery was aware of that, so the Underboss thought that was a bit of a strange question to ask Cairo.

Hearing Battery's next response, and following the path of his muzzle, Cairo pondered for a moment, and figured why not. Battery wasn't terribly large, and hadn't been smelling bad recently, so Cairo saw no harm in him sharing the room for the night.

"Ah, um, yeah," Cairo's tired voice said. "I don't mind," he finished, laying his head back down before a further response.

★ - Perhaps because he wasn't here when Sibbi had arrived first, he hadn't gotten a full grasp of just how childish Sibbi's general behavior was. The referring to the self in the third person really drove it home to the Underboss.

However, it quickly became clear to Cairo that yes, Sibbi was childish, and bubbly, and had a zest for life, but was also a little... strange. Someone so young making potions, saying she 'liked voices', and then saying that 'mortals funny'. Truly eloquent, and also mildly terrifying to hear come out of someone so youngs' mouth.

Unsure how to even begin to know how to respond, Cairo cracked an awkward smile. "...Well, um. It's very nice to meet you. The Cartel would love to have you."

★ - God, King was very much a fan of standoffish behavior toward new arrivals, wasn't he? Gritting his teeth, and still too uncomfortable with the situation to address it in any public sense, Cairo instead decided to just go up with a more polite, professional demeanor, as he always tried to when addressing strangers. Even if they themselves weren't the most uppity and stiff-collared, it was still never a bad thing to make a good impression.

"I'm Cairo, the Underboss here," he introduced himself, purposefully taking a seat next to King despite the inherent awkward atmosphere between the two. "The Cartel would be happy to have you," his answer was more concise and kind than the perhaps slightly inebriated Jasper's, but Jasper's was more than sufficient enough. More truthful, even. It just felt weird for Cairo to approach someone and not introduce himself.

★ - Cairo was similar in Ilya in many ways, he figured. The two were both raised outside of the Cartel for a significant amount of time in their lives, and had been raised with a set of morals that perhaps were a bit at odds with the laissez-faire approach to ethics the Cartel seemed to have most of the time.

Although, even there differences arose. Ilya had been raised among knights with a firm moral code, something far more honorable and majestic than his upbringing of being the son of a pacifist, nomadic doctor who was only really a pacifist some of the time, and other times invariably terrifying.

Cairo, too, had a family he knew so little of in the Arcaniums. He'd met a few Arcaniums other than himself, and had had at least decent conversations with them, but that did not change the fact that he knew nothing about them. Not the language, the traditions, nothing of the sort.

The door opened, and Cairo was greeted with far too formal of a title. Eyes widening, and a sheepish grin spreading across his features, Cairo spoke. "Ah, um, just 'Cairo', is fine, Ilya," he replied. "Uh, yeah, thanks," he said, stumbling over his words as he accepted his brother's invitation into the room.

"So, um, uh, this is... kind of awkward, but," he swallowed, turning to face Ilya once he was in the room. "I was wondering if you wanted to... do anything? Some brother bonding, or something? I'm not close with many of my brothers, so..." he chuckled, trailing off into silence.

God, he was bad at this, Cairo told himself.

★ - For his weekly task, Cairo had been saddled with the responsibility of hosting a barbecue for the Cartel. Lily thought he was going to get at Cairo by giving him a task that he'd fail at, because he was so 'privileged', and 'didn't know how to cook', and guess what?

Lily was correct.

Cairo was a dreadful cook. Or perhaps, he would be a dreadful cook if he had ever made anything in his life that required any actual preparation beforehand. So he was a step below dreadful, really. He had no experience to speak of whatsoever. In any capacity involving cooking. So he was beyond prepared to be hosting a barbecue for the entire clan, obviously.

Having met up with his literate friend whom Cairo dictated all of his letters to and who read any letter, book, etc. to him, the two had gone off to the library to answer two questions of Cairo's: how to make food that is at a barbecue, and also what kind of food is served at a barbecue.

After having more than a few cookbook recipes and words on food packaging being read to him, he had managed to whip up something after what must have been about fifteen hours of straight work in the kitchen. Luckily, it had been a slow day, and not many people had walked in on him barely managing to make all the food that had to have been made, but it was nonetheless strenuous work.

Fast forward a few more hours and plenty of help, Cairo's food was all present on the beach, on tables with red-and-white gingham tablecloths set against the image of the setting sun. It was pretty, undeniably, but the Underboss, more than anything was scared.

Glancing over at the food he had prepared- burgers, chicken, corn, salads, and mac-and-cheese- Cairo waited anxiously for people to start arriving. The food, when he had tasted it, had been fine, but what if he had, like, faulty taste buds, or something? What if it was just monumentally awful, and Cairo didn't know? What if? What if it killed someone?

Stewing in anxiety, Cairo sat on the beach, near his absurdly full table of food as he awaited for any arrivals. He'd asked his friend if he could write flyers for throughout the mansion, and Cairo promised to give credit to his friend, but it was still frightening. Cairo was the face of this whole operation, even if he was only one part of the work. Sure, he'd made practically all the food, but his friend had given him the recipes. If the recipes were wrong, they were both screwed. They would have to retire to the woods, live out a nomadic life and never see their families again.

Gritting his teeth, Cairo continued to wait, praying someone would come quickly and just rip the band-aid off.

★ - A bit off-put by his new sibling's steely demeanor, Cairo tried to approach the newcomer to the Cartel's border with a bit more of a welcoming aura about himself. Sure, it was a little weird of them to be talking to themselves, but the Underboss saw that as no reason or invitation to be rude to them in response.

"Ah, hello," Cairo greeted, dipping his head. "Is there something you need from the Cartel?"

★ - If Battery were to be enamored with Cairo's visage even now, it truly cemented the fact that the canine was undoubtedly head over heels with the Underboss. Even if Cairo was perhaps, to an objective viewer, and attractive member of society, he was right now perhaps at his least visually appealing, with messy, ruffled fur and bloodshot eyes.

His tired disposition growing even more so at the sudden, sweet flourish of warm vanilla throughout the room, eyes still shut as he listened to Battery speaking to him, really only half-listening to what Battery was saying despite his better efforts. In fact, he'd grown tired enough to the fact where he hadn't even noticed the the narco's touch. "I..." a yawn. "I don't know. I just kinda... do," he fell back into a sleeping position, inadvertently bringing his body significantly closer to Battery, perhaps somewhat cramming him into the corner in doing so.

★ - Cairo also had had unfortunate experiences of his own with fire, but certainly not to the debilitating, perhaps traumatizing extent that Pastel had when dealing with it. Cairo had burned off half of his father's face, but he had managed to not see said image in his nightmares.

Yet, at least. Taking a seat nearby King, Cairo was glad that the Capo's comments, for once, were actually resembling something positive. "You can do it, Pastel," he urged on quietly, trying to make sure that Pastel felt supported.

★ - Cairo had been able to tell that, even though Sibbi was perhaps a bit of an oddball, her kind mannerisms were nothing short of absolutely genuine. When she had said that she would trade her potions for friendship, it was clear that that was exactly what she intended to be doing.

"Oh, hello, Sibbi," the kitsune greeted with a smile, taking a look down at the potions laid down in front of him. "Do the different types have names?" he asked, tilting his head to accentuate the question to the younger.