#[ caitlyn pre canon verse ] — a wild young spirit .

[ferinehuntress]

˚ * ˙ ⭒ ⊱ @shimmerbeasts　 ⋯ 　Unprompted Ask . 　　⸻　Piltover was not an easy hunting ground. While the high houses had plenty of children, most of these merchants only focused on giving birth to one precautionary heir to their family and nothing more. It was far more likely to find families with more than one child in the upper crust of Piltover as they needed to fill the position of intelligencer, sword and shield. Ahri remembered the days when the position of the house, outside of the head, was only divided into two: The head and the chevalier. However, that tradition seemed to have fallen out of fashion. Ahri was wandering through the wide open streets, keeping to one side so that she was out of the way of the expensive cards, which carried their precious cargo from one important meeting to the next. Her black ears swivelled around as she harked for any possible stimuli. Any child left unattended. Hopefully with a brother or a sister or some other peer their age. Their bonds were always so intriguing and created strong flavours, which only children just couldn't match. Polite stifled, yet high-pitched laughter caught her attention. Ahri froze, tails curling upwards before she swiftly looped them together into one thick, bushy appendix. Her ears shifted around and she diverted her path. Wandering over towards a beautiful mansion with high walls and thick, towering, evergreen bushes, concealing vast grounds, Ahri peered through a hole in the fence and thicket. There was a small gathering of people on a blanket, upon which someone had placed a basket with warm crusted sandwiches, cupcakes, ripe peaches and small cups of tea. The quartet of people was led by an imposing, stern, yet charismatic-looking woman with sleek, black hair. Her robe of black satin, the white blouse and her satin gloves easily marked her out as the owner of the house. Next to her sat a little girl, maybe ten years of age, who had to be the matriarch's daughter. She shared the same dark hair colour, though hers had a hint of blue. She was dressed in a white blouse of her own, with puffy sleeves and a blue skirt. The girl was sitting there and made earnest attempts to make conversation, however, she seemed to be in the process of shrinking in on herself. The reason was what had caught Ahri's sense. Three children a few years older were half-heartedly engaging in the conversation. They seemed almost like they were on a timer of some sort. Not sure how to really communicate with the girl in front of them. The energy in the room was a bit bitter for Ahri's taste, however, she could tell this was worth investigating. Morphing into a sleek, snow-white fox with amber eyes, Ahri squeezed through the hole in the fence and hopped into the yard. Gliding underneath the twigs and branches, the fox kept her target in view and decided to make her move. Locating a few branches, Ahri wound them tightly around her paw and gave the bush a few shakes. She let out a heart-breaking whimper, drawing the tea party's attention.

  　　⸻　𝐓 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝, 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 　talk to her the entire afternoon tea time event. Her eyes rolled when she heard the clearing of her mother's throat and glanced over at her. Sharp blue eyes stared at her daughter and then a tender smile. It didn't help, Caitlyn looked away from her mother and crossed her arms. Did she truly think she was that blind? She might be a child, but her eyes were sharper than most.

　　T he girls passed around the sweet pastries, gossiping about the next line of outfits, or of their accomplishments before them. Caitlyn couldn't care less, it was always about the next fashion statement or the next ball. Did they even notice how silent she sat, not saying a word while the trio gossiped over these frivolous materialistic specialties. Her eyes cast downward, looking at the pads on her hands. Silence filled the area as she glanced back up and saw one of the girls staring at her hand. Almost immediately, Caitlyn grabbed one of her gloves and pulled it over her hand, trying to hide her claws and pads as if something to be ashamed of. The white covered it, but the imprint against the cloth could still be seen.

　　H owever, something caught Caitlyn's ear as she turned her head almost in the same movement as her mother while the other three girls didn't seem to notice at first. It wasn't until the little whimper caused them all to look over and Caitlyn frowned. Quickly she stood up while the other three girls didn't even care to make a move. ❝ You poor thing, ❞ Caitlyn whispered as she lowered down to her knees, dirtying the edge of her skirt as she lifted her hands. ❝ It's okay, I can help, ❞ Caitlyn smiled, as she reached over to pull off her glove. She flexed her fingers, and sharpened claws for nails as she carefully reached down toward Ahri.

　　❝ Easy there, easy, ❞ Caitlyn spoke and then cut at the branches and brush that had tangled around the little fox's paw. ❝ There, all better. You must be so scared, getting tangled up, ❞ Caitlyn turned her head, hearing the girls gossiping and chatting up a storm again despite her being nowhere near them. A growl lingered in her throat, clearly knowing the truth. Those girls weren't here for her, they only cared about what was in it for them. ❝ You are a far better company than them, ❞ 　Caitlyn whispered as she looked back to the fox.

　　❝ Can I... pick you up? ❞ Caitlyn questioned opening her hands but not reaching to grab the fox. If the fox decided to run, she would accept it. It was a naturally wild animal after all, but she tried to show she meant no harm, that she was a safe space to be around.

[ferinehuntress]

[ caitlyn pre canon verse ] — a wild young spirit . [ caitlyn default verse ] — the rogue enforcer out for truth . [ caitlyn post canon verse ] — a maverick detective . [ caitlyn mob boss verse ] — chem baroness of espionage .