Citizen 66 Sirius

Artist: Vuek

Artist: Vuek

Sirius Snow had always smelled gross to him. Of water that he didn’t like. Not that water, either. Not the one he found solace in. It truly had been a bad decision to sneak out of the heated house of his foster parents. They meant well, truly, but he didn’t care. It wasn’t like he felt like an honor to raise. He felt like a storm of emotions that told him he didn’t belong. Winter in the dome never was very cold or harsh. The most was soft snowfall from the magical sky that coated the ground in only the gentles of dust. It was enough to get him in a bad mood. It reminded him of what the aoidos had sung about what it felt like to dive. Cold, dark and suffocating. Just like the winters in the dome, despite how mild they truly were. Aside, it was muddy. Sirius stopped, looking up at the sky in misery. There was so much in this word that he wondered about. Why was he here? Why was everyone else not dead? Shouldn’t they be? Something told him they should. Shivering, he reached up to tighten the tunic around his chest he had grabbed when he had snuck out. If he had stayed inside, there would’ve been a heated floor he would’ve been able to curl up on. Yet, he had chosen to get out and try to find the meaning of life. Again. He should’ve at least taken some food. Hungry and cold really wasn’t a good idea. Neither was being so lightly clothed. Cypria Though, the snow had been light this winter, the harsh and bitter winds had been anything but. Often, the wind had been so harsh as to rattle the very foundations of her taverna. Today, thankfully, had been a bit milder, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still freezing. She had half a mind to curl up in front of the hearth and bask in the warmth of the fire. Unfortunately though, the grounds needed tending to, and her stores were running low, so she couldn’t put off her errands any longer. Even dressed in her warmest clothing, the wind still cut through and chilled her to the bone, making her eternally grateful she had an extra layer of warmth in the form of fur. Cypria couldn’t even begin to imagine the sort of bone-chill her poor armored neighbors had to endure. It took longer than usual to get her stag ready, reluctant as he was to leave the warmth of indoors in favor to step into the chill of winter. Unfortunately, she needed to go all the way into the city proper to purchase some of the supplies she was running low on. The lack of variety was one of the downsides of living in a smaller community. The slush gave way easily under the stag-led cart, though the mud the wheels left in its wake was less than desirable. Cypria wasn’t looking forward to the trek back through the slush. Yet, they were only about twenty minutes down the road when she caught sight of a woefully underdressed older pup. If the sight of his pitch-black pelt weren’t shocking enough, the tunic he sported was clearly of a fine quality, designating him as someone much better off than any other rex that Cypria had even met before. “You look dreadfully lost,” She called out, stopping short with the stag’s lead in her paws. “Did you come all the way from Atlas?” Sirius It wasn’t too uncommon that an older rex was addressing him while he was out and about, hiding from those that had sworn to watch over him. Usually he would run into the other direction, fear of being returned too strong to make conversation. Today he was lost, though. And he was cold. “I’m not lost!” He called back, drudging over to the female. Still clinging to himself, he looked up when he neared her, making sure that she would see the rather fierce expression he sported. He was cold, but he didn’t need help! No! Well, maybe he did. “I’m from Atlas, alright. What about it?” He grumbled, his ears pushing back to his skull. “I just…” he turned, looking back to where he came from. “I was just resting.” Cypria Though it strained her to do so, she managed to bite back the amused smile that tried to worm its way onto her face at the pup’s words. He was clearly lying through his teeth, in a way that reminded her of her own boys when they were young pups. “This is a far way just for a rest…” She hummed, looking towards the way he came, where Atlas was just barely on the horizon. “I was planning to make the trip to Atlas, but now my paws feel much too cold… I know the cold most likely wouldn’t bother a pup as big as you are, but I would appreciate it if you could accompany me back to my taverna. I would even reward you for your efforts. Perhaps with a nice hot stew? Or, cold fish if you would rather…” Cypria trailed off, waiting for his reaction. Sirius Sirius eyed the other rex for a long moment. He was aware of what she was getting at. She didn’t want to embarrass him by forcing him to admit he needed help. He had read the stories about Agapitus The Unwise and many others. Yet, he could also appreciate the gesture. “I will accompany you and…” He looked at the deer in thought. “I will take the stew.” Cypria She allowed a large smile to spread across her muzzle at the pup’s acceptance, relieved that she wouldn’t have to force the poor thing to join her back in the warmth of her home. The stag let out a little snort, stamping its hooves a bit impatiently- or as if it could sense the pup’s strange look. Pria couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. “Do not worry, it will not be deer stew I am serving you,” She crouched to be a bit closer to the pup’s height, lifting her paw to whisper in a conspiratorial manner, “Between you and me, I think he would taste terrible. Now,” She spoke in a normal tone again as she straightened herself back to full height. “My paws are beginning to freeze, and I haven’t even been out here for half of an hour. If you would like, you are welcome to ride in the cart. Rome is more than capable of pulling your weight. You may call me Cypria- what would you like for me to refer to you as?” Sirius “Sirius,” the pup spoke, climbing onto the cart to promptly sit down. He hadn’t realized that his paws had started to hurt a while ago already. “Cypria…” he then mumbled, looking at his own hands with a frown, he didn’t elaborate more on it, though and simply turned around in the cart to look over the railing on the front and over Rome’s back. As they approached the small village, he jumped off the cart, walking past it and next to Cypria to look at the buildings. They passed some other rexals, which made him come closer to the kind female rex that had been so nice to him. It didn’t take long before he reached up to get ahold of her thick coat while they walked to attempt to hide in the folds. Cypria He was a quiet little thing, very shy. It was adorable, but a bit worrying for a young boy. She was used to boys being a bit more rowdy and loquacious. Her own boy, Kostas, had been a bit soft-spoken himself, but not quite to this extent. She didn’t force him to converse with her either though- hopefully, once he was warmed up with some food in his belly, he would be a bit more open and forth-coming. There was not much she could do about the way Rex’s heads turned to stare at the dark furred boy in the nice clothes, but it was a small town, and everyone knew that Cypria had an eclectic collection of young pups that needed a roof over their head and food in their stomach. Anyone who stared a bit too long earned themselves a heated glare with the promise of a strong worded lecture once she got them alone. Unconsciously, she reached down to pat Sirius reassuringly on the head when he buried further into her clothes. “Here we are, it’s a quiet day here,” The tavern was empty, expectedly. Not many people were traveling during the winter season, and she wasn’t looking after any stray pups at the moment either. Though she didn’t have any fancy heating to warm the building, the insulation kept it warm against the elements outdoors. “Sit where you would like, Sirius, I need to stable Rome, I’ll be right back inside to start the stew. If you are too cold, you are free to light the hearth if you would like.” Sirius The tavern was at least warm enough to not have to constantly shiver. Sirius could appreciate that, even though the way here had been rather unpleasant. Still, he preferred being inside much more than outside currently and much more so because he wasn’t home inside. He didn’t hate his foster parents - not by far, but he just felt it wasn’t right when he did have actual ones. Ones that didn’t seem to care about what they had created. Sighing, he let his head fall on the table he sat on, dangling his legs from the bench to wait for Cypria to come back as he felt already a little lonely. She had been so nice to him that he felt a little bad that he had been so short with her up until now. He just didn’t feel like he had anything interesting to say… Cypria Entering the tavern again, she smiled at the pup who had his head laying on the table. “Are you warm enough?” She asked gently as she crossed the kitchen, crossing the threshold to wash her hands in a bowl of water. “Here, for your paws before you eat,” Pria placed the bowl on the table Sirius sat at, before returning to the kitchen to light the hearth. “Sirius, do you have any preferences?” The pot was set over the hearth to warm as she began to prepare the ingredients. “Do not worry, I won’t think you to be a picky eater if you do.” Sirius Sticking his paws into the warm bowl, Sirius sighed in bliss. Usually he wasn’t big on washing them before he ate, but today had been cold enough that it felt like he was melting an ice cube, rather than cleaning anything. “I won’t mind anything,” he said, remembering what he was taught at home about politeness. If that really applied here, he wasn’t sure, but he also didn’t want to seem like a mere pup. He was already grown, after all! When the water got cold - which in his opinion was way too quick - he finished up and shook them dry, placing them between his legs to keep them warm instead. Cypria Humming in response, she began to chop up the onions and bay leaves as she left the broth to simmer over the open flame. "Now, Sirius, why were you out today? It's a bit cold for errands," She inquired. The aromas from the stew quickly began to fill the room, and Pria's joints quickly began to feel much better as the hearth warmed the indoor space. Every so often she stirred the broth, adding a new ingredient to contribute its own individuality to the scent filling the room. After pouring a bit of olive oil around the insides of the dish, she used a ladle to scoop a generous portion into the bowl, going out of her way to make sure the stew was more chunks of boar rather than broth. "Here you are," She said, placing the bowl in front of the boy's snout. "Ah, one moment-" Cypria soon brought out another plate with a loaf of bread, placing it down next to Sirius as well. "For dipping, it's from my son's bakery, he's very talented," Cypria said, unable to keep the pride out of her voice. "Would you like a drink? Perhaps a bit of wine?" Sirius Sirius took the bread first nibbling on it, before eying the stew with curiosity. He had had it before and he knew that he didn’t like it all that much. But it was warm and that was the first thing he had in mind when he took the bowl in his hands, noting how it warmed his paws which had gone cold again. “Thank you,” he said, lifting the bowl up carefully. “I don’t need a drink,” he added, before taking the food to his muzzle to sniff it tentatively. The smell was certainly different from what he was used to. It smelled homely instead of fancy. Taking a sip, as he realized quickly that there was no spoon on the table - notably another fact about that this household wasn’t as wealthy as his own - he let a chunk of meat roll onto his tongue. Chewing it, he eyed Cypria, his eyebrows furrowing. It tasted so much better than he was used to. The meat was just as tender but there was something about it he couldn’t place. “It’s good,” he mumbled, looking into the bowl with his ears pinned back. Soon enough, he couldn’t hold the tears anymore that rolled over his nose and right into the strew. “It’s better than back at the place.” A place he didn’t want to return to. All it proved was how much of a plaything he was. “I need to go.” Lifting the bowl up in a rush, he swallowed the rest of the stew quickly, ignoring the heat, before slipping from the bench and rushing out. “I’m going back now! Thank you, Cypria.” The door closed behind him quickly as he ran through the village on all fours now. It had been the best food he had ever eaten. And he knew he wouldn’t ever let himself eat something so good again. It wasn’t made for him.

Author: Vuek