Silver Creek and if the whole world is crashing down

@Casmir

each morning indra eagerly arose, rushing towards the pale strangs of sunlight that dappled the den's entrance. under the soft morning glow the little firebrand waited with long ears pressed forth, her bright fur illuminant in the amber pylons of light. and each morning she was left unanswered, her little ears falling to her head in dejection and a soft frown worrying her short muzzle. occasionally a distant snap would rally her spirits and she would gallumph to the entrance expectantly, though the visitor was always the same: silence.

she was too young to feel betrayed by her mother's absence, but that did not stop her from fretting. with a quiet whine the fawn-hued juvenile slipped to the ground and rested her head on her paws with a disconsolate expression.

idek where this will fit in the timeline BUT OKAY lol

their mother was gone, and though Casmir did not know it, his own had gone away too. they were well-met in a state of ignorance on his part; he empathized with the pair of pups who had already seen too much change in their life. 

it was Indra he came upon, holding the remains of a starved squirrel in his mouth, and his ears fell back at her dejected expression. "hey, Indy," the boy murmured, falling to his belly and pushing part of the shriveled corpse toward her small paws, the other half saved for Laurel. "snack?"

oh yeah whats a timeline? sounds like an INCONVENIENCE TO ME!

with her head cradled in her large paws, indra watched the hum-drum of life about her. still too young to appreciate the calmness of quiet, indra started to hum quietly to herself as a form of amusement. her eyes picked up as a shadow crossed her vision and for a moment she looked apprehensive, her brow furrowed and knitted and tall ears folded forth. "CAS!" she declared, picking up her head abruptly and tumbling upright. he pushed a small pittance towards her and while she was excited for the prospect of food she was more excited by casmir's presence -- with a rush and a tumble the little child flocked to his feet and jumped up and down in the attempt to shower him with puppy-fection.

he was charmed when Indra ran at him; his own tongue lolled as he sought to muss her baby-soft fur, tail wagging behind his hips. the two kids provided a very welcome distraction in these dark days, even with Saena gone and Spring suddenly the leader. a low rumble of irritation began in him, but he stifled it for Indy's sake. "whatcha been up to?" he murmured, eyes bright with brotherly affection.

indra was unaware of casmir's disquiet; with a flop she collapsed onto her side and rolled onto her back wildly, paws scrabbling the empty air between her body and casmir's mouth. his inquiry was met with a wild and wide grin; as she squirmed in the dirt she yipped: "i learned about catapillers!" she had not learned how to pronounce it correctly, apparently. "and ants! and spring tol' me a story." she abruptly rolled over onto her stomach, shifting her weight onto her fat elbows. she frowned. "ab-bout a wolf and a reek."

Cas grinned at Indra's sudden explosion of cute words. "ohh, did you? and what do catapillers do?" he crowed, pawing gently at her. and then she mentioned Reek, and it took every ounce of his self-control to keep that stupid smile pasted on his face. "well, what did Spring tell you about Reek?" Cas went on in a sing-song voice, flicking a pebble gently at chubby little Indra.

indra furrowed her brows -- what did caterpillars do? she recalled the ant, carrying it along at a clipped pace. "THEY SLEEP!" she announced, delighted she found another thing that shared her profound love for sleeping. "and they get carried by their ant friends." indra followed up, her voice bright and cheery. casmir's inquiry of reek did not affect her glibness -- she perked up matter-of-factly and turned her little snout airward. "that they's bad. bad reek!"

Cas' brow quirked -- sleeping caterpillars carried by ants -- oh. OH. his ear splayed and he tried to hide a smile from Indra at the unwitting grimness she had described. he couldn't very well explain that the caterpillar wasn't sleeping without throwing RAH DEATH right in her little innocent face. 

and so, like any good parent who also wanted to avoid a hard discussion, he nodded. "that's right! how lucky are caterpillars, to have such great friends who carry them around." because they're fucking dead, he tittered inside his head.

"yes," he agreed with a firm nod. "bad reek. evil reek. wicked reek." good, now they were all on the same page. "what do you wanna learn about today, Indy?"

LMFAO casmir's inward dialogue is precious

indra nodded eagerly at casmir's reflection - caterpillars were lucky! poor thing, she really had no idea.

as casmir confirmed what spring had cautioned indra drew a small nod, though she did not understand the significance of who reek was either. to her, he was a boogeyman -- a monster -- she even had no idea 'fathers' existed. or that hers was apparently one to be avoided and feared at all costs.

she paused for a minute, considering then what to do. her eyes widened in delight - there was so much to do and explore -- and afterwards, they could take a nap! "i wanna see more bugs!" she crowed, bumbling forward at a hefty canter. she bounded a few steps and swung around to face casmir, ears flopping. "though.. do you know when mommy is coming back?" the joy drained from her features and a worried frown knit her russet brow.

lol <3

she didn't seem to notice his hesitation. that was good, he supposed. "kay! more bugs it is!" Cas crowed, getting up to follow her. his stride lengthened, then abruptly paused at Indra's question. the boy's pause was obvious this time; he hmmed beneath his breath and then turned to face her more fully. "come on," he murmured gently, intending to lead her away from the densite to talk.

what was he even going to say? sorry kid, your mom is never coming back and your dad is Voldemort? no. c'mon. think, the Mayfair boy berated himself. "your mom went to hunt," he began slowly, turning his muzzle to gauge Indra's reaction.

indra's gaze fell upon casmir's shadowed features with hope, brightness -- even her lanky tail started a gentle, rope-swaying wag. she thought she detected some sort of pause but she couldn't be sure -- her smile dissipated and she followed him faithfully. she did not, and would not connect his trepidation with the truth -- that saena was never coming home.

she sat diligently at his heels, fretting while she waiting for him to explain: a hunt. her brow darkened for a moment but then a smile lifted her features -- she shot upright in a half rear excitedly: "so she'll be back soon?"

Indra's hopefulness almost provoked a sigh from Casmir, but he quickly bit it back and nodded. "yeah! sometimes hunts take days, though, so don't worry," he added, slipping deeper and deeper into the lie. it was okay to lie if it was for a good cause, right? like not making a little girl cry? of course it was -- he'd lie till his fucking tongue fell out to avoid that.

"what sorta bugs are we looking for, Indy?" Cas murmured, wanting to change the subject. a tiny white caterpillar caught his eye and he motioned for the pup to come look at it.

the prospect of saena returning chased the last vestige of dim gloom from indra's demeanor; in no time the red child's rosy glow returned. her tail beat against the soil as casmir affirmed her hopes -- and when he masterfully diverted the subject to bugs the girl's vigor had wholly returned. "STINK BUGS!" she bellowed, confidently marching forth towards the bushel of ferns she'd seen them roost in. leaning close to one verdant blade the girl looked up slowly, her voice quiet as she cautioned: "they stink, sees -- if you chase or eat them they don' taste good." indra instructed casmir dutifully, though unbeknownst to her he likely knew these facts already.

fade here? <3

he backed up a little as Indy announced they were looking for stink bugs. in Cas' experience, they were ugly little shits that squirted burning liquid into your face and made you smell like vomit and trash mixed together. uh, no thanks. but he couldn't very well tell Indy that; she was super excited about these gross-ass insects.

"okay," he decided. "but not too close. let's not get stinked on, okay?" with a chuckle he set off toward the place the pup had indicated, falling back a little bit as to let Indra go first..

insects it was! indra trundled forth happily, a wide grin across her chubby features. occasionally the pair would stop here and there and indra would dither, delightfully babbling to casmir for as long as his patience would allow. it was an idyllic, wonderful afternoon as the pair strolled through the peace and tranquility of the woods -- and in some ways the child did not know how lucky she was..