Milokaross the Rousel

Milo Cerasonie gracefully stepped into his family's garden, tip-toeing around the beautifully blooming flowers. He was cautious not to disturb the petals, slowly but surely inching his way towards his favorite spot amidst the flora. Finally, he made it to his picnic blanket he had set out days prior, the lovely sun dappled upon it under the shade of a cherry blossom tree. He knelt down upon his blanket and sighed, "How troublesome..." His ears laid flat upon his head, showing off his dislike. Milo grumbled and took another quick deep breath before gazing out upon the valley, full of bustling pollinators making the most of his prestigious family's garden. It only made him feel better for a moment, as one of his younger siblings had found him- the main reason he had escaped to his favorite spot. He quickly ducked below the flowers, watching his sibling scream and yell as he passed by.

Finally, it was silent again. Milo often gets worked up by his family, notably powerful and renowned, so much so that he must excuse himself for hours at a time. He is always expected to be graceful, grateful, and generous. He rolled his eyes as the Cerasonie family motto popped into his head, repositioning his tail to wrap around his body.

Adorned with many flowers and his Cerasonie trademark attire, Milo couldn't help but be tied to his family. He got up after a while of thinking, and looked across to the property across the valley- the Vindettas. His brow furrowed at the harsh, stone-ridden landscape. The Vindettas were the Cerasonie's enemies, constantly battling for the valley and for resources (power). Milo did not particularly enjoy the way they acted, even if they were not his family's enemies. He scoffed and traveled down the hillside to reach the stream in the valley, the meridian of the family feud. Neither family owned it and merely agreed to not overuse the resource. Milo chuckled to himself remembering his mother's disgusted expression as the Vindetta head, Hades, growled, "Fine, but don' you expect us to not shake hands. It's how we do it 'round here," his hoof extended towards her.

He trekked along the hillside, often having to stop and detangle his robe from rose thorns, but continued to think about the feud. His mother, Belladawn, is known for her grace- but to him... known for her sharp attitude. His whole family is uptight towards each other. Milo grit his teeth as he remembered his harsh manner training. He wasn't even allowed to cough in public. 'COUGH IN PUBLIC! What if I'm freaking CHOKING?!!' he thought to himself, kicking a small rock down the valley. He heard it splash and knew the stream was close by. A soft smile appeared on his face and his ears perked up. The only thing that gave him any comfort was nature. When he was younger, him and his father, Nerius, would often adventure to the stream and bird watch or catch butterflies. His smile stayed put as he quite liked his father- he was less of a snob and way more understanding of what individually meant. Nerius is the only reason Milo ever stayed at the family stead, other than the fact his mother would hunt him down since he was the next to take over. The "prince," if you will.

With that thought he scoffed and rolled his eyes for a moment- but long enough to trip and tumble down the rest of the hill, landing very ungracefully at the water's edge. He grumbled and sighed, "Fantastic..." He slowly rose to his feet, but as he looked up he saw a pair of claws on the other side of the stream. His eyes widened and his head jerked upwards to make eye contact with none other than a Vindetta. He snarled and rose to his feet in a snap, whipping his tail angrily. Milo pinned back his ears and grumbled, "What are YOU looking at." Even though Milo was always taught to be kind, even to the Vindettas, he couldn't help but have a sharp tongue. The Vindetta stared at him, his red eyes calculating his next move. His long black hair that was tied into a manbun sort of style covered up some of the skull on his face, making for a pretty menacing look. He softly chuckled to himself, "Well that ain't very nice, now is it, Cerasonie?" Milo huffed and turned away from the black furred monster in front of him, brushing the dirt off his baby blue robes. Milo had never formally met any of the descendants of Hades and Aurora (the female head), but he did not particularly care to do so. The Vindetta stopped smirking and looked down, carefully eyeing the bones and rocks he had collected for the family house decor. He looked back up at Milo, who was staring at him with one eyebrow raised and a very deep disgusted frown. The Vindetta's eyes widened slightly and he pushed the basket full of bones out of eyesight of the Cerasonie. He cleared his throat, "What brings ya down to the stream?" Milo looked at him with a confused face before closing his eyes and speaking softly, "Seems as though that would be none of your business, now would it."

A long pause held out for far too long, the tension in the air thick as mud.

"You took quite the tumble earlier," the Vindetta rasped, "are you alright?" His tone was surprisingly soft, thought Milo, and he graced him with eye contact. He chuckled, "I'm quite alright. I'm not that delicate," he snarled, "unlike my pompous family." The Vindetta was shocked by Milo's sentiment and chuckled at it. Milo's pinned back ear twitched, "What are you laughing at? And anyway, I didn't see you the whole journey here- were you hiding?" He glared at him suspiciously. The Vindetta blinked and shook his head, "Oh! No, I- I was jus' in the shadow of the trees. I dinnit intend to surprise ya like I did." Milo's ears perked up at the sound of genuine honesty and guilt. He hummed, studying the Vindetta's demeanor. He was still hiding his disgusting basket full of disgusting things, and seemed to be standing in a non-aggressive way. Milo readjusted his body language accordingly, turning back towards the creature in front of him. "I'm Hellgar," the Vindetta blurted, "by the way." Milo cocked his eyebrow at the strange and demented name. Oh well. "I'm Milokaross Cerasonie. The prince of my family." Milo had an air of pride surrounding him when he said that, but it was all fake. Hellgar smiled, "I knew that. I've heard a lot about you and your family." Milo cocked his head at the friendliness. "Of course you have," he scoffed, "your family keeps stepping on our toes. Anyway, I have never in my life heard of.. you. And your... lovely name," he spat sarcastically. Hellgar smiled and chuckled nervously, "That's- fair I 'spose, but I am also the so called 'prince.'" Milo's eyes shot open and widened. HUH?! Him? This nervous, awkward, less than pretty to look at BEAST was the prince? Milo grimaced, "You sure don't look like you are fit to fill such a role. Or maybe you are, because you are down here playing with bones and rocks." All politeness has left his body. This is a competition. This is his rival.

Hellgar's ears drooped, "I don' particularly wanna be, I guess," a light gleamed in his eye as he smirked at Milo, "But hey, if'n ya think tumbling down a hill while muttering about how much you hate your family is becomin' of a prince, by all means, continue ya ways." Milo growled and his fur bristled, but Hellgar wasn't wrong. His pink fur subsided back to normal and he cleared his throat, "So that is how it's going to be, Vindetta?" Hellgar just rolled his eyes and turned to pick up his basket, tossing it like a pack mule over his shoulders and around his sides. "Nope, jus' what you're makin' it to be there princey," Hellgar chuckled. Milo yelled in frustration, "Well if you want to play it like that- I'll crush you!" he growled, "Don't think a Cerasonie can't get his hands dirty, coward." Hellgar had his back turned to Milo at that point, but slowly let the basket slide off his flank. He stood there, and sighed for a moment. In a flash he turned, sprung over the stream, and landed directly in front of Milo. His hooves pierced the ground and he looked dead in Milo's eyes, steam escaping his nostrils in a dragon-like display, his teeth bared, "Then show me," he bellowed. Milo flinched but held his own, recoiling for a split second before raising his head and staring back at Hellgar with every bit of pride he could muster. They stood there for a moment, challenging each other. Suddenly, Hellgar looked away and turned to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Milo shouted, stomping his foot at the Vindetta. Hellgar turned and circled Milo, his tail occasionally whipping towards Milo in a menacing manner, before coming back in front of him and softly chuckling, "That was pretty impressive. You're strong, Cerasonie, real strong." Milo blinked and moved his body away from him, and his face began to heat up. He shook his head and watched as Hellgar easily hopped over the stream and picked up his belongings again. Milo's ears were up and pointing forwards, an indication that he was very curious and quite frankly astonished at this Vindetta's behavior. His wide eyes and cherry blossom pink cheeks were unknown to him before Hellgar turned around to give him a smile and a goodbye, and at that point Milo glared at him and snarled to cover up any interest that colored his face.

"What a loser," Milo grumbled, turning to head back up the flower-filled hillside.

Meanwhile, Hellgar turned back on his own charred, stony hillside to watch Milo. He smiled to himself and laughed loudly as he trekked towards his house. He has never felt so intimidated by the color pink before- no way he could admit his resolve shattered as soon as Milo looked at him with sharp eyes at the bottom of the valley.