Idiosyncrasy

^{It had been a while since Rhapsody had last spoken to her parents. A very long time. She wasn't entirely sure how long, but it was the longest she had ever gone without speaking to her mother and father. Both of them had gone on extended trips for around a month or so at a time, but this was far beyond a month. Rhapsody had left without saying goodbye or telling where she was going. She knew that if she had, her father would have followed her the whole way and then prompted her to come home.}

^{Rhapsody tried to decide if she had been happier alone in the forest with her parents than she was here. She had freedom here to choose her own path, but at what cost? A rather great cost. Rhapsody had lost bits and pieces of herself along her journey to come to the Flights. First, it had started with her happiness and escalating all the way up to her only surviving offspring. She was alone. Rhapsody didn't have any family, besides maybe Ignis. But even he still had his mother. Everyone in the Flights had their own little family, besides her. Rhapsody tried not to show how much it bothered her, but it was getting harder and harder to hide her jealousy.}

^{The lion wasn't sure he liked the jungle. As soon as he had set foot in this place, leaves and vines had been attracted to him like glue. His usually neat mane was coated in a thin layer of pollen and sticks and the feathery wings on his back had lost a few feathers during a fight with a thornbush. He was here for a mission, which he admittedly hoped wouldn't take too long. He had better things to be doing than babysitting a fox who couldn't keep herself out of trouble. Truthfully, he hadn't spoken to Oliander in years, if ever. Oliander kind of peeved the male. He'd married the most annoying person on the planet, somehow produced something that could be even more annoying than Xena was. He'd never properly met Rhapsody, but if she had run off to the Exiles, he wasn't sure he wanted to. He definitely didn't want to come across Cessna. Something told him that he'd probably throw her into a bush. It was just a feeling he had. He hadn't planned to come back here and frankly, he was quite unhappy with how things were running now. He wasn't here for any of that though. Just to make sure Rhapsody didn't somehow fall into a canyon and not be able to get out, or worse.}

^{Rhapsody took walks more often than she probably should. During the day, she walked the borders, albeit cautiously, and at night she made circles around the camp until she could barely carry herself back to her den to collapse until morning. Having her chicken Henny around helped in breaking up the monotony of the day. That didn't stop everything from feeling like the same day, on repeat, forever. It had felt like that ever since Elowen had gone missing. Rhapsody had been sick with worry ever since and barely slept.}

^{Her ears pricked when she heard someone walking towards the border. On light paws, Rhapsody ducked under branches and leaped over fallen logs. Despite her awful eyesight, she navigated the terrain quite well. As she rounded a thick bush, she hopped back in surprise, nearly colliding with the tall lion. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you! Welcome to the Volary Flights. I'm Rhapsody. Can I help you?"}

^{Well, this was a surprise. At least he hadn't had to look too hard for the fox. She was rather petite and cute, with big round brown eyes and tiny black paws. On her chest, her fur was shaped in a little cream-colored heart. "I'm Erdrick. I was looking for you actually." He cleared his throat, gazing down at the small fox as she tensed up and took a step back. "I know your father. Well, knew, I guess."}

^{"Oh, really? What's his favorite color? How many knives does he own? How many missing feathers does he have on his left wing and how did he lose them? Where'd he meet Xena and when? How do I know I can trust what you say? What if you aren't the real Erdrick?" The young vixen immediately prompted, her ears pinned to her head. What kind of questions were those? Immediately, Erdrick knew that he was going to be stuck with a nutcase for the time being. With a soft sigh, he held his temper. "Y'know, I don't actually know every single personal detail about every angel ever? I haven't actually met half of them. That's not how it works, you know? How exactly do you want me to prove my identity to you?"}

^{"You could be from the Exiles. Someone could have possessed you!"}

^{He wondered if Pavo would have any better luck with Cessna, or if she was just as crazy.}

^{"Why would I come from the Exiles, looking specifically for you, with knowledge of your father who hasn't even set foot in a Clan since he was born?" The white lion retorted with an irritated flick of his tail. "That doesn't make sense. Do you regularly have people coming here impersonating me?"}

^{She paused. "No," Rhapsody admitted. "But you can never be too careful."}

^{"Is this how you welcome everyone?" Erdrick snorted.}

^{Her soft fur prickled. "No! Just tall lions who come here asking for me with no explanation." She defended.}

^{"I gave you an explanation! I am here, looking for you, and I knew your father. Geez, do you need my financial statements too?" He couldn't tell if she was paranoid, dumb, or a mixture of the two. He sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry I startled you. So, you're Rhapsody? Oliander's daughter?"}

^{Nodding once, Rhapsody attempted to force herself to relax a bit. If he wasn't from the Exiles, she shouldn't have to worry. He had a point. No one knew about Oliander besides her. Not even Absinthe knew. "Yes, that's me. Have... you spoken to him? Did he send for me? Is he okay?" She couldn't stop the flood of questions. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind. He didn't seem to appreciate her questions.}

^{Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the winged creature look away for a moment and the back to her. "Yes, I've spoken to him. He sent me to you. Well, I came to you after speaking with him. He's... fine. Xena's fine as well. "}

^{"Can I see them?" Rhapsody had the feeling that he was holding something back. She wasn't as dumb as she let on.}

^{Erdrick paused again, thinking about his answer. "No," He sighed. "Rhapsody, they're dead." He was obviously trying to break the news to her gently, but Rhapsody wasn't exactly helping the situation very much.}

^{Taking a few steps back, Rhapsody shook her head. "No, they aren't. That's impossible. They were both so young. Sure, Xena was hurt, but Oliander said that with care she'd be fine. Did... something happen?"}

^{"Yes, something happened. They were killed. I'm here to search for who did it. I was hoping you'd help me, so is Oliander."}

^{All of Erdrick's words were lost on Rhapsody in the moment. She fell backward, steadying herself against a tree. This week just kept getting worse and worse. First, her daughter had ripped out a man's eye and sent it to their border and now the only people who care about her had died. Turning away, Rhapsody shook her head. "No, I can't."}

^{"What do you mean, you can't? Of course, you can!" Erdrick followed after her, all the way to camp until he cut her off and sat in front of her. "Are you just going to refuse your father's last wish?" He prompted, staring down at the fox. He did feel bad for her. He wasn't heartless, just a tad grouchy. With one large paw, he pulled Rhapsody close. "He wouldn't have asked this if he didn't believe in you. He's worried about you, y'know. He doesn't hate you. He doesn't hate Cessna either."}

^{The blonde lion let his new ginger fox friend lean against him. He spoke close to her ear, watching her face lose all of its. previous brightness. From the moment he laid eyes on the fox, he could tell it was a ruse. He irked him a bit that no one had noticed just how deep within herself Rhapsody was. Perhaps it was because they had never known how bright and warm she could be. He only knew what Oliander had told him, but it was enough for Erdrick to realize how off Rhapsody was. Using his emotion projection, the winged man wrapped her in calming warmth. As he felt Rhapsody relax against his chest, he became glad that he had come to see her. Closing his icy blue eyes, Erdrick reached into Rhapsody's thoughts. "They've died because of me. I should have never left them. I never said goodbye."
His heart ached for her. She was so young and yet her soul was weighted with so much misery. He would try his hardest to show her the good in all of this, that Rhapsody could still find happiness and didn't have to hole herself up in her grief and drown in it. If he could move on, there was no doubt that she could as well.
Clearing his throat softly to get her attention, he took his arm back from around the fox. "Are you going to introduce me to everyone, or are you just going to let them figure it out on their own?"} 

^{Rhapsody pulled her head up, confused at first. She had forgotten where she was. Looking Erdrick up and down, she came to the conclusion that the winged creature wasn't going to go away. Somehow, she was fine with that. Rhapsody was getting a bit tired of being alone. The lion wasn't the most friendly creature, but she could make do. She knew her father had looked up to this man with high respect. She could trust Erdrick. They all could. Rhapsody gazed up into those gentle blue eyes, searching them for any malice or distaste. There was only the slightest hint of tiredness. "Come on then, they'll love to meet you. I promise they're friendly. They might ask you a bunch of questions though. We like our questions here."
"I can tell." Erdrick mumbled, getting to his paws to follow the red fox. They made quite a pair. A winged blonde lion and his little ginger fox.
"T-this is Erdrick. He's my friend. He knew my father. He'll be staying with us." Rhapsody announced to no one in particular. She didn't know if her new lion friend would be staying, but part of Rhapsody hoped he would. At least he wasn't a tiger.}