oh shit, i'm freeeee

^^It wasn’t really that Arcane was an ungrate little shit who just happened to run away from his slave, er his captor, er… the one big dude but male tigers could not be trusted. There was absolutely no guarantee that Rajani hadn’t been taking him to their enemies.

He would rather go back home, to the Dominion. He had not recalled how he had gotten away from his home, or why he was so alone, all the sudden. Where was his family? Their kingdom? The scents of other tigers nearby, in the distance. Here and there.

Not tigers he knew of.

So he ventured north, until he found something interesting. It was big. It was fluffy. It was his. Blacks and browns, it held an interesting scent.

It was unmoving, so.. Arcane attempted to climb on top and lay down.

^^
the staff team luvs u

The man was sleeping rather peacefully at the edge of Duskguard, a place where he slept often. That way, if anything happened, he would be the first to know about it. However, he certainly wasn't expecting what was currently happening. He awoke to something climbing him, and at first, he wanted to stand up and bark, alerting others and trying to figure out what it was, but he didn't. Not with the likelyhood that it could have been one of the pups finding him. And so, he stayed still even as he woke up, waiting to see what would happen. 

No attacks came and so, he would wait until whatever it was found comfort on his back before slowly speaking, his voice rumbling his body. "And who has used my fur as their bedding?" He wasn't angry, just curious, still not lifting his head as he didn't want to scare whatever it was, though it was clear it was a child of some sort.

the staff team luvs u

^^Was little ol’ Arcane aware that this thing was a living, breathing thing? Oh yes, of course he was. Anything was better than a tiger who didn’t talk to him; what a weirdo. Plus, he was tired from the travel and had little legs. Who knew how long he had traveled?

Seeing something big and full of floof, though? He didn’t even move when Arcane climbed on him, and waited until he’d gotten comfortable. Either he had manners or he already knew that his place was beneath him.

Could he really not tell the difference between a large tiger cub and something else? He settled down, curled up, and inhaled deeply. Should he respond?

He should, shouldn’t he?

“Me name’s Arcane, me-sss-ter.” (pronounced as missster)

^^
the staff team luvs u

Genghis had never actually met a tiger before, but as the boy got comfy, the man would lift his head, turning to look at the boy, he would finally realize that it was, indeed a baby tiger. Not that he minded, though he was curious as to where the boy came from. As the boy introduced himself though, the brute would let out a soft chuckle. "It is nice to meet you, Arcane, I am Genghis. Where did you come from?" His Mongolian accent was thick, but it didn't make his words too difficult to understand thankfully. 

He wondered for a moment if he should call for @Olive but figured he might as well figure out as much as he could first before he did so. And so, he would wait, still laying there with a tiger cub curled up in his fur.

the staff team luvs u

^^The pillow lifted his head and he didn’t move; didn’t freak out. In fact, he acted like waking up to a tiger on him was a normal, every day occurrence. Well, it was going to be from this moment on. He chuckled, and his entire body vibrated.

“Gegus. Nice meet. ” Arcane said with a nod of his head. And then he frowned, as he looked around and shook his head. “Not here.”

Well, obviously, ya little shit.

He laid down, curled up, his head on his paws with a deep sigh.

^^
the staff team luvs u

The man raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't say anything to the obvious that was spoken. Of course the cub wasn't from here, but he didn't call that out. Instead, he would speak up, at first thinking about correcting his name, but then again, he figured it didn't really matter. "Do you need a home?" He figure that he did, but also didn't want to just kidnap the child if he was simply wandering. "Hold on." He said before slowly standing up, bracing himself as he figured the cub would dig his claws into his back to keep himself on his back.  

Slowly, carefully, he would start to walk back home, figuring that would be the best and safest place for the boy. He figured that he would likely drop the kid off with Tiberius and Olive and then that would be that, but the way the cub curled into his fur and wasn't scared of him, the brute had an inkling suspicion that he wasn't going to be rid of the child any time soon.

the staff team luvs u

^^Well, Arcane totally already had a home, and he was also totally wandering — and not at all sure why Genghis was asking all these things. He blinked over at him, confused but not sure how to express confusion.

“Hold on?” Huh? What did that mean? He didn’t know. He laid his head back down and.. wheee Arcane let out a surprised grunt, as he quickly grabbed on; harder than he should have, if he had known.

Hopefully not enough to cause damage to his new… person. “Where’s we go?”

^^
the staff team luvs u

The man knew that claws would likely pierce his skin, but it wasn't until it actually happened, harder then he had expected, that he would hiss out softly, though made no other move to show that he was in pain. It only was the first sting that hurt really, and he quickly got used to it. As the boy asked where they were going, he would explain quickly. "We are going to my home. You can leave whenever you feel like, but at least you can spend the night." He didn't want to kidnap the child of course, but he figured he might as well give the boy a home for now, right?

the staff team luvs u

^^Arcane was glad that his new companion was okay with being ridden instead of carrying him around all the time. He slowly and carefully stood and wiggled his way through the fluff, resting his head on a soft, little ear.

An ear that he could slowly begin to nibble on; had to mark the boy with his scent, after all, right? A cat was a cat. At least he didn’t get the butthole.

“Is home nice?” Arcane asked, between his nibbling, of course.

^^
the staff team luvs u

As he got closer to the border, he would call out for @Olive requesting that she come meet him if she was able. Of course, he didn't want her to be going too far from her den and her children. But, he also didn't want to bring the tiger cub into her den. So, he would walk a little further before moving to sit himself down, waiting for the queen to show herself. As the boy asked about home, he would chuckle softly before nodding. "Yes, home is very nice. It is called Duskguard and I help protect it." He didn't know if that would help ease the tension that the cub may have.

the staff team luvs u

Somehow, Olive went about this day fully knowing that something weird was going to happen. Upon heading off to an early-morning nap, Lounatuuli mentioned that there was a strange miasma to the day. The children were acting up (of course they were, there was an entirely new pup within their midst), and the woman couldn't find it in herself to eat, or really get up from the floor of the den at all. There was just a pervasive, all-around sense that something was about to happen, and she was just waiting to find out what. When she heard Genghis elicit her forth, the Priestess wondered if this might be it.

Eyes alighting upon a tiger cub with the burly canine, Olive realized that this indeed was. "Genghis,” she greeted the guardian with curiosity, and a dip of the head. Olive had no barometer to measure tiger cub growth, and had trouble placing the age of this child. All she knew, was that it was far bigger than her own children. "Who is your friend?” she questioned, leaning her fine head down, and tipping it curiously. At least, now she knew what was going to happen this day, and she could shed the gray cloud that had seemed to follow her around.

the staff team luvs u

^^Arcane was not familiar with the way canines worked. Or how they talked, or how they smelled. They were like this new toy that he wanted to explore, so when the dog voiced out some sort of sound? Well, that looked interesting, and new and fun, didn’t it?

And so he tried it. Several times, until a woman made of the tundra itself came over. Oh? Did roars mean new faces? He blinked. Then he went again. Several more times, until nothing happened.

“Geegus! There be a pretty lady! Who’s she?” Why did she smell like him? Why did she know his name? Wife? If tigers had those, doggies did too, right?

“Hi there, am Arcane.” Arcane stepped forward annnd down he went, face first into the snow.

Plop.

Way to impress the girl you like, Arcane. Good job.

^^
the staff team luvs u

He felt a little bad about calling for Olive, knowing that she was likely busy with her children. However, he was quite shocked to see her appear rather quickly, flicking his head down slightly in greeting. Normally he would have bowed his head as he typically did, but he didn't want the tiger currently climbing on his head to fall off. "Hello Qu-Miss Olive" He caught himself, remembering what Tiberius had told him before about calling them King and Queen. 

He was about to speak up when the child stepped right off of his head, landing face first against the ground. Instantly he would rush to try and pick up the child by the scruff of his neck in order to set him down properly. "You alright?" He asked before sighing and looking up at Olive, a clear cry for help on his face. He didn't know what he was doing. "This is Arcane. I found him." He would shrug before speaking again. "I know you have your children, but I was hoping someone would be able to take him in."

the staff team luvs u

The woman was easily taken by the small tiger, and the interesting scene he had stumbled upon. A tiger cub, riding upon the shoulders of a dog — it was certainly one of those scenes that only happened in this land, wasn't it? Curious how this all came to be, the woman stuck her nose out and tested the air, scenting the cat and seeing if anything registered within her memory bank. Just as she did so, the poor thing fell right off, on his round little face.

Olive immediately glanced to Genghis the way he glanced pleadingly at her, both entirely unsure what to do. She had only just accepted a rogue puppy into the fold of her own trueborn litter, and it seemed a little surreal that another child would be thrust upon the shoulders of the pack so soon. She thought of what Tiberius might say,  and then strangely she thought of Kuhn and how he might have more insight into the needs of a tiger. "Hi Arcane," she said in a sidereal intonation, hovering the flat of her nose of the snow and striding towards him. "Welcome to Duskguard." If there was any part of the young creature that worried for his own safety, let it be gone. There was no way they would cast out a child. 

"Say, how... old are you?" she asked them, lifting her head and tail, as if to seek this answer from either the cub, or the stalwart guardian. The breadth of information the midwife knew about wolf children, was relatively zero when it came to tigers. "Do you have family around?"

the staff team luvs u

^^Just as quick as he’d hit the ground, he’d been placed right side up by his dear ol’ dad, or uh, whatever their little relationship was developing into. His own father had been, well, not that great. He even went to ask if Arcane was alright after his fall. How nice. How kind.

He turned to look up at him as he was introducing him to the pretty lady, who was coming near him. Should he move? Should he walk towards her? She seemed nice. “Hallo, uh, Miss.. ” Arcane paused to look at Genny, then back at Olive. “Qu-Me?” (Qu-Miss). Arcane would attempt, unaware that what he’d just repeated was a slip of the tongue and not an actual name or title. Wolves were weird.

When Genny asked him he if was okay, Arcane looked back to him with the arch of his brow. His real father would have never asked such things. Were all fluffy smol creatures this nice, or did he pick the best one?

The pretty lady was addressing him, however, and Arcane glanced up at her, then back at Genny. “I’s abouts four mumths (months), with no fam-wee (family) but you’s around, me sa’ppose. If, um, if you’s otay with day, ‘course. ”

^^
the staff team luvs u

The man would fall silent, letting them discuss between themselves. Glancing down, the man felt a soft spot for the cub, though he had absolutely no experience with children, much less feline children that would likely grow up larger than him. Sitting himself down rather comfortably in the snow, he would flick his ears around, listening to everything around them. Even though he was still paying attention to the current conversation, he needed to make sure everything else was safe.

the staff team luvs u

If Olive had a soft spot for anything, it was for children. The very next thing on that list was anything related to Duskguard, so Olive found that her nervous system was easily calmed in this situation. More children could never be a bad thing; but of course Olive had only ever had experience with infants, not teenagers, or god-forbid adult children. For the time being, Olive could reasonably justify this, and she welcomed it with open arms.

"You can just call me Olive," she gently corrected, unsure exactly what noise both he and Genghis had used as a prefix. Then, listening to his small please, Olive couldn't help but usher a warm chuckle. "Of course you can stay with us," as if this was an obvious, unquestionable fact. "We would love to have you here, Arcane." Sure, she would have to run a thing or two past Tiberius, but for the most part, she could do what she wanted.

— and at that moment, she wanted to give this sweet little kitten a home of warmth, security, childhood companions, and tigers to learn from. All this she had in droves, and felt no reason not to give it unendingly. Leaning in close, Olive acted as if she were telling him a small secret. "I don't have my mom or dad here either," she said softly, alabaster ears swiveling backwards for a moment. Despite this, she wrinkled her nose good-naturedly at the boy. "We make our own family, here."

the staff team luvs u