Of Cats and Dogs - rp

[spirit_queen]

"I almost felt bad for him- but then laughed anyways," Star said.

[Miranda_]

"It's nice to remember all that," Aleta said. "We were happy back then, even if Ave was poor."

[spirit_queen]

"Mhmmm; we were lucky," Star agreed.

[Miranda_]

"Luckier than some," Aleta said, looking sad for a moment as she remembered the street kids from Ave. Even the ones who came to the temple for food were hard done by; some, like Victor, were addicted to opium. Others simply were homeless and poverty stricken due to being abandoned by their parents.

Child abandonment was extremely common in Ave due to contraceptive potions being largely unobtainable for the vast majority of Avians. Such things were expensive and therefore were outside the reach of most Birds. There was also a high level of women dying in childbirth or miscarrying due to the prostitution and drugs. Those who survived often couldn't afford to raise their babies, so abandoned them or, if they were informed, gave them up to the temple.

Victor, for example, had seen many of the street girls dying on the pavement cuz their drug and starvation ravaged bodies simply could not stand up to the rigors of pregnancy and birth. There were too few healers to cope with the flow and of course the King of the Cats couldn't care less about the suffering of the Avians, just about how much money he could wring out of the stricken country.

[Shmiley]

Originally Posted by spirit_queen

Nedakh cleaed his throat. "Kioren, Azarael? Would you mind watching the little ones for a while?"

Kioren stopped in mid-swoop, large eyes a bit wide from being caught doing something not many would think he would do.

Aza smiled and looked up from the activity he was doing, "Yeah, we can watch them."

[spirit_queen]

Nedakh grinned a nice, infectious sort of grin; his eyes twinkled and the corners of his eyes crinkled in a way that revealed that he smiled often.

Star shuddered. "I- I was one of the luckiest, really; I could have been another street wh.re. I mean- I was abandoned, but dad took pity on me and brought me to the temple."

[Shmiley]

"As Azarael said, we can watch them, you two go off and have your time together, they'll be fine with us," the red-haired tiger said, holding the little boy close.

Kayden smiled wide and released a squeal, "You two are just the best!" He swooped in, giving Aza, Alanna, and Arianna a kiss on the forehead, followed by Kioren and Xeno. "Have fun! Just don't make too big of a mess while we are gone."

[Miranda_]

Aleta nodded sympathetically. "I was lucky, too," she said. "My mother didn't want me; if Daddy hadn't taken me on, I would have been abandoned."

[spirit_queen]

Nedakh snorted. "This place is never much of a mess, even when they're at their worst," he said.

"How- how's my dad doing?" Star asked anxiously. "I miss him so- so much."

[Miranda_]

"He's as well as can be," Aleta replied. "He's being kept busy."