Ouroboros Spine because chaos is all they know

Stratos hums through the early misty morning, picking with a tune he’d heard @Callyope singing earlier, and putting his own little spin to it. Her words had been quite different than the ones he jotted down to memory… and far less pretty being the boyish bootleg they were. But he likes them, none the less. Better, even, than his sister’s (though he will never tell her!).

“Kivaluk!” he recognizes the sulking figure and the firebrand rushes to catch up with him. He notices something different about the way his cousin carries himself, and Stratos chalks this up to tiredness. Something that Stratos isn’t feeling. With a broad grin, the boy asks, “listen to the song I’m making, cousin!”

And though not phrased as a question, he waits a beat, with an expectant smile, to gauge the other’s reaction. Chances are he’ll sing whatever way Kivaluk’s own smile turns, but to wait at least a second is only polite.