Fennick hadn’t aspired to be many things. He’d hoped to have some kind of purpose, something to fill his days with so he didn’t have to spend them aimlessly wandering from useless thought to silly notion. In all those wild dreams, however, he’d never aspired to be king chipmunk. That being said, king chipmunk still seemed infinitely more likely than king of the Valley. Fennick grinned at her, enjoying the image of himself with a big bushy tail.
“Then I suppose I would have to be a kind and benevolent ruler, and endeavor to lead them to many nuts.” He said that, of course, because he couldn’t imagine what else a chipmunk king would do. Perhaps a ruler amongst the monks simply had a particularly bushy tail? He could only hope that they weren’t so shallow creatures.
Fennick’s smile turned softer as they talked of siblings. He wouldn’t say he knew them exactly. There were enough of them that it was impossible to miss their coming into the world while he was still loitering at his mother’s side. Fennick hadn’t been particularly quick to leave the nest. He tilted his head curiously when Shiya spoke of Eight.
“Ah well, knew is a relative term.” He referred to his own siblings then, and paused to consider how to ask Shiya about her memories. The snake mare was unusual, like a twisting labyrinth of memories and past. He didn’t want to go crashing around in her thoughts.
“You have no memories before Eight? Do you remember coming to the Valley?” That would at least be a start. Perhaps, if she remembered coming to the Valley they could tease out how she got there.
Fennick smiled in response when her face lightened. It was good to see the frown ease from her face. He groaned a little, but it was for show, a wry smile that tickled his lips. Of course, he had to bring up the whale thing. Still, it had made her smile, and so the purpose was served. He pretended to scrutinize her, narrowing his eyes and looking her up and down.
“It would have to be a particularly large snake, and a charming one. What do you think? Are you venomous?” He leaned in close, inspecting her fangs. Perhaps, if she wasn’t venomous, she was derived from a strangling species, like a boa. He chuckled, more at himself than at his poor excuse for a joke. Sometimes it was the best thing to do, to just give up and laugh at the futility of it all.
OOC: Sorry this took so long!