Lamb on the Lam! A Hellish Communion!

[Sam]

Klaus remained silent as he listened to his daughter and Diango speak. It was odd to Klaus that Diango, such an acerbic person, was so kind and gentle to Mina. It was no wonder she had become so fond of him. Then again. Klaus was reminded of something he had been told long ago by his uncle while hunting in the woods. Even the apex predators of his home island dared not lay a finger on a helpless child even if said child belonged to a rival pack. So then even viscous beasts had a degree of compassion for the young. It was understandable that Diango could possess something like that.

The exiled noble cut into the meat gently with his knife and placed a piece slowly into his mouth savoring it proper. Then again Mina had been sold by soulless slavers who could give a rat’s ass about endangering children. Point being? Maybe he had to give the wanted man before him some credit. Regardless he would part ways with Diango with the criminal on Houma.

“By the way, Javier. The course is set for Houma, correct?”

Klaus leaned toward Javier mentioning it to him in a hushed voice. By comparison to the summer resort island they had just left behind, Houma was a rather unpleasant autumn island. An odd thing to say considering Klaus enjoyed autumn a lot. But Houma was different. It was dreary and harsh. A foul place full of miserable people. But he needed to come here to know what he must do next. That's what his Great Grandfather Faust had done. He sought fortune from the witches and fortune he was granted becoming the King of Grimm-Luna.

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Klaus | Grape #6F2DA8 (post count: 6)

[Fox]

“Oh yes! It was bigger than me, Uncle Diango!” Mina stretched her arms out wide as she explained before picking up the salad fork and eating her greens too. They weren’t her favorite, but both Papa and Javi said they were good for her and would make her really strong. She wanted to be just as strong as them! And Uncle Diango too! She delicately munched away at some leafy greens. Mina’s ears flicked forward when Diango mentioned his mama’s soup.

“That’s the soup spoon! You got it! It’s extra big to scoop up more soup!” Mina cheered, more than pleased that Uncle Diango seemed to know a little about it, “This one over here is just a spoon. I think it’s supposed to be used for the main course? And this little one here is the dessert spoon!”

Mina was even more delighted when he asked her about forks.

“Oooh! That’s the salad fork. There’s also a fish fork, but we don’t have one of those here… The big one’s the dinner fork. This little one here is the dessert fork for cakes and stuff? And then the trident!” Mina picked up a fork even smaller than the dessert fork with three pointed ends instead of four. “You use this for seafood like crab cakes.”

As if to make her point, Mina jabbed a crab cake very gently with the trident fork and gingerly lifted it up and over to Diango.

“It’s really yummy! Try it, Uncle Diango!”

It took all of Javier’s strength not to correct the little miss on her table manners. It really didn’t matter in a close intimate setting like this. He’d just replace her seafood fork if Diango ate from it. Thankfully, Master Klaus distracted him briefly from his internal struggle by asking him a hushed question.

“Indeed, Master Klaus. Not to worry.”

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Mina | #fffacd | Post Count: 6
Javier | #483d8b

[risaka]

Just... watched Mina do Mina things, which was always an absolute blessing, the lanky tall fishman had this soft smile that he rarely showed, and despite his large mouthed features he tried his best to seem as friendly as possible by not revealing too much of his large teeth.

"Whoaa, you don't say? Something that big is not a common sight, you lucky lil."

He takes a brief sip from the wineglass, skipping the tradition of swirling the wine and let the air flow up for a whiff, he just went for a big one and gently puts it down. As he drank he had his eyes follow her hand pointing out the many utensils laid out, nodding to each one getting their own introduction by the tiny batgirl. He could not help but to let out a small chuckle when she got to the extra tiny fork called the trident.

"Snrk, akaka.. so tiny and cute, I doubt I could hold that thing with my big hands, gyakaka! Hmmm, you really want me to have a bite of it? ... hm, let us cut it in half shall we? It's important to know the value of sharing with those you care for, right? Here, let me help."

He picked a knife and a form, regardless of size, and gestured Mina to put the crab cake on the plate for him to cut. After making a perfect cut between the two he picked his own piece with the fork, which he made sure to was the trident! He wanted to follow Mina's example and not to be nice infront of the grumpy posh geezer. He gently lifts his piece up and flung it into his large mouth, slowly chewing it to taste the savory yet sweet ting of crab meat.

"Mmmmh, hm hm!" He quickly swallows before speaking. "No kidding, it's delicious! You know what taste the best dontcha? You're a smart one, gyakaka!" He then proceeded to take a couple of swigs of the soup presented before him, just trying to enjoy the time on this boat, luckily Mina made that far too easy.

"Mmmh say Mina chan, do you have a dream? You got so much life and good energy that I am bit jealous! What are you looking forward to? Hope it's not the next piano lesson with your father gyakaka!" He of course just wanted her to do what she likes to do, knowing how the posh lifestyle can be he did not hesitate to assume it was a bunch of strict list of things she had to do throughout the day, children needs to have fun too!

[Sam]

The nobleman continued to silently watch the exchange. There was nothing harmless about it as far as he was concerned. Mina was doing what she loved doing and Diango was following along. It was in fact rather pleasant to watch but Klaus didn’t make that obvious instead pretending to be focused on his meal not wanting to interrupt them. Hell the man was even teaching her about sharing, that was good.

“Puru, puru~”

“Puru, Puru~”

It was unmistakable, the sound of a ringing Den Den Mushi. Klaus turned to Javier as he cleaned his mouth with a napkin. He put one hand up at the fishman taking the moment to stand up while he was at it.

“I’ll take care of it, Javier.”

Klaus paced toward his quarters where the dark purple snail wearing a draculine coat sat on his desk. He picked it up without hesitation. Though he did wonder who it could be… in these waters it could be anyone.

“Archduke von Grimm, Guten Tag.”

He gave his introductions, the stern look on his face however disappeared, his face losing any color that it may have had. He could feel his hands going clammy. The voice on the other side was all too familiar. It was like meeting a ghost.

“It's been a long time, Nikolaus. I can’t believe you’re harboring criminals though. Oh how the mighty have fallen.”

The gruff voice on the other line said, Klaus didn’t respond. He was extremely shocked. Part of him half expected this. Sort of, he expected the marines to be on him especially after leaving the resort. It was a toss up truth be told on whether the hag would rat them out or if the marines decided to pursue at all. But it seemed they did and they chose someone Klaus thought he’d never have to see in his life again.

“Cat got your tongue, Nikolaus?”

The voice came back, it taunted him. It knew how he felt. It read the silence well. How could it not.

“No. Hrudolf, my brother. I’m afraid that's not the case.”

There was a cackle, the very same his brother always had. The very same that had haunted his youth echoing through castle halls. The very same that was ever present. Prince Knight Hrudolf, leader of the Evergreen Order. Third eldest son of King Ludwig von Grimm. Commodore of the Marines. The Red Hart. Klaus’ older brother.

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Klaus | Grape #6F2DA8 | Post Count: 7

[Fox]

Mina nodded enthusiastically at the offer of sharing their food, huge bat ears flicked forward attentively as Uncle Diango cut up the crab cake perfectly evenly. Mina took her trident and stabbed the crab cake, imagining it was some great sea monster that she’d slain with the stab, and gobbled it down in one bite. It was a bite that was just a pinch too big for her, which made her struggle a little to chew, swallow, and breathe.

Her face went a little blue before she gulped the last bit down and gasped for air, going for her glass of water to wash it down. She heard a sigh from Javier. She turned and looked up at him apologetically, her big ears folding back against the sides of her head. She knew that wasn’t the best manners, but she was hoping that he wouldn’t scold her.

Fortunately for her, Uncle Diango commented on the food, allowing her to avoid the confrontation altogether. She nodded and smiled, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“You really like it?! Javi is our chef, and his food is always so yummy!”

Javier looked mollified by the compliment, so Mina was happy to sit back down into her seat and keep eating - this time with a bit more table manners. She paused when Uncle Diango asked her about a dream. She tilted her head to the side, big ears and golden hair flopping over to one side. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and thought about it.

“Hmm… a dream? Well, I… don’t know! I just wanna be with you and Papa.”

Mina smiled as she answered. That was really all she wanted at the moment. She didn’t know where they were going next, but she was sure it would be fun! Maybe she could play the piano some more, or maybe she’d find a fun game to play. As long as her loved ones were with her, Mina didn’t really want for anything.

“Hm?”

Mina’s ears swiveled to one side toward her papa as he talked on the phone. She hadn’t noticed him get up, but she definitely heard him say something interesting. Brother? She didn’t know that papa had siblings. Actually, she wasn’t familiar with any family outside of her papa. So, this came as a surprise to her.

“Uncle Hrudolf…?”

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Mina | #fffacd | Post Count: 7
Javier | #483d8b

[risaka]

"If I like it? I am lovin it, you got good people with you so always make sure to be grateful to what ya have, ye?"

He may be a snob, but a tolerable, and in the lanky fishman's book that's good enough to have in this world. To think only mere days ago someone nearly snagged Mina away into a world of darkness, it truly boiled the blood within the tall fishman, but he kept his composure in his appearance, focusing on having a pleasent time with the bat girl.

"Hm?"

Just after shrugging off the thought of such a dark timeline, he got his answer from Mina, of her dream. Well, to many it'd be the minimum, but to Diango? Yes, that is a good dream. It got the big lad to smile, almost reminding him of his long gone siblings, those who just wanted to spend time him and nothing else. For a very brief moment Diango lifted his hand up to 'adjust' his hat, but really it was to cover his eye that began to sting, a tiny tear forming after remembering those good times.

"Gya... yeah, yeah that is a really good dream. Not many has the fortunate chance to live that dream."

Once feeling the sting in his eyes going away he straightened his back and silently exhales right before taking another bite of the crab cakes. As he chewed he quickly glanced over at Klaus, squinting. I don't have much time left, so you better ensure that dream of hers stays the same, okay?

Is what he'd say if he didn't have a mouthful of crab cake, but at the same time it did not feel right to say those words now. However, Diango at least felt assured that the tolerable nobleman did his best to give Mina the best life she can have. And with him being on a Den Den Mushi call Diango returned his attention back to Mina, not even wanting to listen to Klaus having a 'nobly' chat or whatever it may be!

But Mina's reaction got even the lanky fishman to raise a brow, not fully realizing she was referencing the call.

"Eh? Uncle Hrrr-udulf? Who's that?"

[Sam]

Klaus grit his teeth, the last thing he wanted was Mina to refer to Hrudolf as Uncle. Ever since his father gave him away as tribute, Klaus made an effort to never reconnect with his toxic family. Especially once Mina entered his life… she was simply too fragile in his eyes to endure such vile people. Klaus wiped his brow, now even the annoying fishman was aware of these arrangements.

“Uncle? I have a niece and you never introduced her to me?”

This was going from bad to worse. Klaus let out a pained sigh. He needed to figure something out quickly. Get rid of Hrudolf and the Diago at once. Klaus locked eyes with Javier, a wordless way of telling the butler to distract Mina in any way possible while he handled his estranged brother on the phone.

“I’m sorry, but I was unaware he was a criminal. Regardless, I’ll be dropping him off on the next island. Mistakes happen, don’t they Hrudolf?”

There was silence on the other end for a minute, Klaus had almost thought his brother hung up on him. His red eyes flickering from side to side as he held his breath intently.

“I’m afraid I can’t consider it a mistake, Nikolaus. Besides, it’ll make a more dramatic story. Exiled noble murdered by bloodthirsty fishman! Defeated by heroic marine.”

That was expected, even in his exile he was a threat to the throne. It was no surprise that this was the opportunity that Hrudolf had been banking on. A means to get rid of one of his brothers to further secure his position. This was Klaus’ greatest fear. The pale man took a deep breath.

“It was good talking to you too.”

With that he hung up and didn’t let the man even finish a sentence. Klaus returned to his table to finish his meal and didn’t even comment on the matter further. He honestly couldn’t believe it. These last few months had been more than terrible. Now harboring a criminal had dragged the past back to him. No matter, this would have to be handled the old fashion way.

“Javier, sharpen my axe, please.”

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Klaus | #6F2DA8 | Post Count: 8

[Fox]

“I dunno…” Mina muttered, still looking over to her papa on the phone. Her papa sighed though, and Javier swiftly appeared in front of her. Mina blinked, looking up at him only to realize that he was holding two plates of desserts, Mina’s favorite part of the meal, of course. Her eyes went wide and sparkled with excitement as he put the plate down in front of her and Diango.

“For dessert, I’ve prepared a chocolate souffle and vanilla ice cream. Please enjoy, my lady and esteemed guest,” Javier said with a small bow.

“Thank you, Javi!” Mina beamed and looked over to Diango with excited eyes as she waited for him to take the first bite out of his dessert. It took an immense amount of restraint not to just dive into her own dessert. Javier smiled fondly at the young miss, allowing himself this moment of affection instead of his usual stoicism.

As Klaus returned to the table, Javier set down his dessert in front of him as well and bowed his head to him as he issued an order.

“At once, my lord.”

Javier ducked away, leaving Mina, Klaus and Diango alone. Mina bounced in her seat as her papa returned, looking at him curiously.

“Who was that, Papa?” she asked, tilting her head and huge bat ears to one side.

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Mina | #fffacd | Post Count: 8
Javier | #483d8b