"Announcing His Royal Highness, the Prince of Elkine, Finnigan Ayersi Faustus!"

The one murmuring din of the banquet hall quickly lapsed into a hushed whisper as a number of guards parted to reveal the boy in question, the prince of the kingdom. The 10-year-old hybrid stepped forwards with his escort in tow, a tight-fitting suit clasped to every curve of his stocky, semi-average frame. He moved with a certain degree of grace and elegance, but the wobbling of his lower lip made it clear he was having to force himself to make an effort-- frankly, Finn wasn't the type to enjoy the formal talks of a banquet...there was only too much pompousness and etiquette surrounding them for him to be comfortable. However, it was his father's birthday; it would have been an insult not to attend, and he didn't want to upset his father, who he looked up to immensely. Speaking of the man, the King of Elkine sat on a throne at the far end of the room, as was customary for birthday banquets for royalty: the recipient sits, and those attending come up to greet him one by one, and offer gifts. Even the Prince is no exception, so he made his way over.

"Finnigan," The tall, fluffy white-furred canine greeted his son as he approached from across the hall. "I'm glad you put in the effort to wear some traditional clothes. That alone is gift enough."

"I greet the sun of our glorious kingdom," Finn put in as much effort as he could muster and dropped himself into a formal bow, putting one knee to the floor whilst the other bent to keep him on the ball of his feet. "...And thank you, father. This suit is stuffy, but I know it makes you happy."

"You know me too well, son," The canine, Harold Ayersi Faustus I, beamed with a sort of smile that Finn rarely saw himself, before he waved a hand. "You've made enough of effort; go enjoy the party. Though...do stop by to say hello again to your old man, would you?"

Finn rose from his spot and approached the couple of steps leading up to the throne, ascending them to get close to his father; such a thing was only possible due to his status as the prince, for anyone else would have been pushed back, or worse struck down, by the surrounding royal palace guards. As Finn approached, his father swept out his hands, and Finn stood on tiptoes beside the throne, lifting his arms to wrap them around his father's neck. Harold leant in towards him instinctively as Finn giggled against his father's cheek, nuzzling him briefly as he felt that large, adult arm sweep around his back and squeeze him tight. Finn eventually relented and so did his father in turn, and they separated-- Finn didn't hug him to keep up his father's reputation of a benevolent and loving leader, though the sight certainly did help to sway the hearts of those at the banquet hall; he merely did it because he loved him.

With that, Finn withdrew with a final bow, and he turned to mingle with the other guests at the party. There were some familiar faces; notably a floppy-eared, black-furred canine that he recognised as the prince from the neighbouring Kingdom Ukrys. Their gaze met and the canine winked, but Finn didn't make an effort to approach, aware of where things might lead if he did. The court's magician was there, as was his apprentice, and Finn made a point of at least waving over at them as he mingled; much as he would have liked to go and say hello, greeting the surrounding dukes was probably more important. He might only be 10 years old, but he did have some political knowledge, thanks to his recent lessons.

For the most part, they were all much of the same; the earls and dukes of the kingdom liked to grovel, and they spared no expense in drowning Finn in compliments. Were he any other normal 10-year-old boy, he might have been easily fooled, but not only was he a prince well-taught in navigating difficult conversations, but he was also quite the dominant and authoritative figure. He took their praises in stride, and they did fuel his ego somewhat, but he didn't get swept up in them and offered polite conversation, just to keep up appearances. He didn't linger with each noble for too long, wanting to meet with everyone as quickly as possible so that he could relax, but when he met a certain duke, he couldn't help but pause.

"Your Highness." Duke Alto's greeting was customary and pretty normal for him, and he bowed to show his respect to the prince of the kingdom. He was a auburn-furred bear who owned many businesses around the city, but was mostly known for his meat imports, thanks to his workers and farmers in the far reaches of the kingdom. That, however, wasn't what surprised Finn-- instead, his attention was drawn to the boy who was standing beside him, a cub about 2 years Finn's junior. Unlike the duke, he was a new face; he had similar auburn fur, but he also bore a thick, striped trail and slightly longer ears. His auburn fur was worn like a mantle around his shoulders, and the front of him was predominantly dark brown in colour, with a smoke reddish hue to it. White fur covered his muzzle and cheeks, but single stripes of that dark brown fur splitting it into segments. His purple eyes were alluring, and ultimately, that was the problem; where the duke bowed, the boy did not, and remained frozen on the spot. Duke Alto noticed immediately.

"M-My apologies, Prince Finnigan," The man fervently tried to cover for the boy. "This is my brother's second son, Short Alto. My brother works with more down-to-earth folk and married a commoner, so he never received etiquette training."

"Ah, so you're new to the capital?" Finn addressed Short direction and the cub looked flustered, unable to respond. "That's a unique fur colour...is there a name for your species? How old are you? How long have you been in the capital for?"

Finn's piercing questions caused Short to spluttered and he couldn't find the words to answer without getting tongue-tied, intimidated in the presence of the prince. It made Finn smile and he couldn't suppress his amusement-- his toothy grin diffused the duke's anxiety somewhat, and he laughed along with Short's shyness.

"Allow me to answer on his behalf," The duke insisted. "His species is a variant of our own lineage known as a Red Panda. He's only 8 years old, and he's only been in the capital for a couple of months."

"So that's why I don't recognise you-- this must be your debut, correct?" Finn raked his gaze over the Red Panda's form. Like Finn, he was dressed in a fairly tight suit, but his was predominantly black in colour as opposed to Finn's pristine white which, unfortunately, blended a little too much with his own fur. The 10-year-old grinned even wider and Short shifted awkwardly on the spot, before he lowered his head and body in an attempt to bow. He wobbled a little, as if he were too nervous, and Finn reached out a hand, bringing his fingers into Short's view. With a gesture, he told the boy to straighten up and Short did so, looking a little flushed in the cheeks.

"May I borrow your nephew for a moment, Duke?" Finn asked, and Duke Alto fervently bowed and stepped back, giving them some privacy. When the man had retreated completely, Finn deflated just a little and reached out to grab the boy's auburn-furred hand. Short didn't understand at first, and let out a quiet cry when Finn pulled, leading him across the banquet hall. They moved past the waiters and several dignitaries towards a door nearby, out of sight from his father who, thankfully, was in talks with someone at that moment. Finn cast a glance to make sure no-one was watching before he dipped Short in through the doorway and swiftly followed after him.

The corridor beyond was eerily quiet, but that was what Finn wanted. Short tried to let out a splutter of complaints and protests, but ultimately allowed himself to be dragged along-- Finn, however, didn't lead him that far. On the right hand side of the expansive, wide corridor were a number of doors that all led outside onto one central balcony overlooking the gardens beyond, and the prince took the closest door out there, leaving it open as he went. The dim light of the moon above on that dark night illuminated their path and Finn walked slowly across the stone towards the heavy railing, pulling Short along to stand beside him.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Finn remarked, and when Short didn't reply he continued. "...My servant's a commoner too, you know. He's my best friend...I've developed some mannerisms from him. I know the banquet is stuffy and uncomfortable...so out here, feel free to speak comfortably to me, okay?"

"O...Okay." Short mumbled awkwardly, unsure if Finn was being truthful or not-- the prince understood that. After all, they were effectively strangers, but Finn liked to make friends quickly and easily, where possible.

"So what's it like? Where are you from?" Finn questioned, and Short shifted nervously, but leant across the railing and looked out to the gardens. With it being just the two of them, he appeared to be a little more at ease.

"Um...I'm from Treen," He answered, and Finn recognised the name as a fairly bustling, yet distinctly merchant-oriented trade town. "My dad's always busy so my mom raises us...I kind of like it better there than here."

"You don't like the upper class politics?" Finn remarked dryly and couldn't help but smirk, and in response Short shook his head.

"My dad sent me here because the Duke thought I'd be good at being a merchant in the future, but..." He trailed off and pursed his muzzle, and in response Finn leant for the side, nudging the younger boy with an arm.

"Well, what do you want to do?" He beamed. "If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?"

"...An entertainer." Short had to pause and think about it for a moment, but his answer was confident. However, Finn couldn't help but splutter, catching Short by surprise.

"With how nervous you were to address me, a prince?" He half-laughed, half-sympathised. "Well, being confident in front of a crowd is a skill you can hone."

Short weakly smiled at him and Finn couldn't help but feel that he'd touched a nerve with him, but the boy took it in his stride and continued.

"I like making people smile," He continued. "And...travelling around the kingdom and entertaining others sounds so freeing. To feel the wind on your face...it reminds me of home."

Finn stared at him for a moment, taking in the sight of him looking up at the moon, where the light glowed those white parts of his face, and his purple eyes twinkled in the moonlight. There was something about him that drew Finn in, something...remarkably genuine. His simple upbringing was refreshing and alluring, and Finn couldn't help but to reach out and hook an arm around him, pulling him in, much to the Red Panda's surprise.

"Consider this an experience, then," Finn suggested. "Learning etiquette is like putting on a mask in front of the most powerful people in the country. Once you can master hiding your emotions, you could use that same skill to be...well, anyone. It would help with being an entertainer, wouldn't it?"

"...You're right," It dawned on Short fairly quickly and he smiled in response. "Uh, thank you...your highness."

"Just between us, you can call me Finn," The prince continued. "And should you ever need assistance, I'll help you."

"But...we've only just met," Short frowned. "Why do you want to?"

"Are you surprised that a prince could be so nice? I should be offended," Finn smirked as Short started to awkwardly retracted his statement, and the 10-year-old waved a hand and giggled. "Because you are interesting, Short Alto. I feel drawn to you."

Short stared wide-eyed at the boy, and for a moment it felt like the two of them were lost in time. Finn felt the urge to pull him in, to hug and keep him close, but he instead retracted. Short was right, they had only just met...even if just talking to the boy felt so achingly familiar.

"This is the start of a new friendship," Finn assured him, gesturing to the gardens beyond. "The world shall be our oyster, Short, and we are but pearls, waiting for the right moment to shine."