[PRP] Stoking the Flame [Second Star x Nothing]

[So Long Gay Bowser]

It was a pleasant surprise to Second Star to the right that a number of her brother's children were competent kin. They had good heads on their shoulders, strong bodies. While she loved Laughing Sky, it seemed that he was good for little more than populating their numbers. ...It was not the leadership skill she had necessarily hoped for.

Stepping through the underbrush, Second Star made her way to where she knew one particularly... productive member of her brother's brood would be. He was strong. Determined. And... oddly attached to their Salamanders. It was nothing that Second Star would complain of. The High Holy needed tending, after all, and he was perfect for the job. A fierce protector and a loving taker. There was no-one better suited.

"Nephew? Nephew, are you here?" Second Star called into the caves, hanging at the mouths. While one of The High Holy technically was hers, it was Returns to Nothing who knew their ways better. While she had not been forbidden, she did not dare set hoof in the caves, lest she disturb them in any way. Not without invitation from her blood.
 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Returns to Nothing rose to his feet as carefully and smoothly as he could. "I am!" he called from within. His voice echoed in the cave; it was little louder than a strained whisper, followed by hoofbeats as he approached the cave mouth to greet his guest. The buck stood tall and walked with a precise clip. He was a regal-looking fellow, and he bore himself accordingly; stern and stone-faced and decidedly stoic. In groups, he was cool; in battle, he was hot; but in everything, he was somber and sober, cultivating an air of dignity.

This, of course, was all undone by the fact that Hot Damn was currently sprawled over his horns. The salamander was motionless, save for slow, steady breathing. The little creature's tail was draped over his left eye; the rest of her body snaked around his face and up into the spiral of his horns.

"Hello, Aunt. It is good to see you. I must ask you to be as quiet as you can; my charge has been having difficulty getting to sleep, and she's only just now made herself comfortable. I must refrain from a bow of greeting; while I am muchly glad to see you and have nothing but respect for you, I also do not wish for her to wake up. She gets upset when woken suddenly, and upset salamanders often flame... and she is currently on my head." Too Hot was also present, riding on the buck's back; he wasn't trying to sleep, however. He was eating a slug. It looked to have... was that parsley stuck to its back?  

[So Long Gay Bowser]

"I see you've been flavoring your charges' food. Again." Had Returns to Nothing not been her (fondest) nephew, the remark from Second Star may have seemed bitter and condescending. The doe was as cold as she was strong, and took pride in her regal appearance. For her family, however, she held nothing but the upmost fondness. Particularly for dear, devoted Returns to Nothing, and the salamanders he tended. Rather than look upon his calling disdainfully, Second Star nodded.

"I have no desire to wake them," she agreed, looking from Hot Damn back to her nephew. "Is she not feeling well? You know that anything within my power, I can bring her if need be." She did not quite share her nephew's dedication to the little salamanders, but it did not mean she was not fond of them. They looked to her fondly as Warlord, after all.

"Please. You know you needn't bow if it may affect the salamanders. Really, you need not do anything against their best interests," Second Star supplemented, watching as the back rider chomped away on its meal. Vaguely, she wondered if her nephew had caught the disgusting slug. The answer was yes, of course. He had a tendency to... spoil the beasts rotten.

At least they were happy.

"And what of you? Does your health fare well?"