Broken Antler Fen Yeah, I'm pretty chubby; but in the best way

@Sebastian , @Pearl , Siblings, @Burke and/or @Pyro ♥

The growing, chubby ball of downy fluff and fat woke up rather peacefully. He snorted, almost choked on his own saliva and coughed as a cat would do once it's time for the hairball to come out. Yes, this was peaceful for Ben since he didn't wake up with a hindpaw stuck in his ear or something. He rolled onto his back and then on his belly after he was done coughing and recovering from the rough start of the day. Dad? Was his first instinct to call out, but soon after followed; Mom? His eyes were slowly adjusting and he slurped in his own saliva carefully this time before standing up and shaking his rolls.

He stumbled his way to the opening of the den, sticking out his wiggling nose before calling; Bird?

Sebastian trotted to his home. He carried a pheasant in his mouth. It had barely survived the winter and now with the storms being over it was too tired to find food, or run from a wolf. Sebastian proudly trotted to his home after all the feathers were fun to play with, it was food and Benjamin liked birds. As he arrived it seemed the pup was waiting for him. Sebastian placed the bird on the ground. "Yes, Bird!," he smiled at his son.

He was curious what he would do now he saw a bird up close, maybe he wouldn't want to eat it. Sebastian nudged it closer so Benjamin could inspect this bird himself.

It was surprising to see dad up and about so... early in the morning. Was it early? Benjamin really couldn't tell anymore. He barely remembered going to sleep at all - what if he had slept a whole day? A month? A year?! He quickly glanced at his own paws and legs to see that he had not grown taller in any way and he let out a sigh of relief. He looked up at his dad again and slowly rolled out of the den - landing on his fat butt. It was really a bird!

Wooooooow! He let out, moving towards the dead body and the feathers that were scattered everywhere. It wasn't moving though, and certainly not making fun sounds anymore. Was it sleeping? Birdie birdie - wakey wakey. He called out, nudging it a bit.

Sebastian looked at his son and as he tried to nudge it awake. Sebastian shook his head softly. "The bird doesn't really live anymore Ben," he explained and then plucked some feathers from its skin and spit them out. He showed him how to open up the bird so it would reveal the meat, the meat that Ben was used to eating.

"See it is food," he spoke. Hopefully he would not upset the boy too much. He seemed to like birds. But it was important to realize that they were predators and they would need meat to survive.

With big, wondering eyes did Benjamin look up at his father. What did he mean? Was it... oh no. Benjamin, for the first time in his life, felt sadness in his heart. He sniffed as tears started to well in the corners of his blue eyes, making them sparkle more than ever before. He hurried over to the bird's body, picking up one of his feathers and placing it loosely on top of it. Fly... He sobbed - nudging the bird some more.

It was despicable to think Benjamin would ever be able to eat a bird - they were so majestic and graceful and Ben loved them very much. He shook his head again and again as his cheeks got damp from his tears.

Sebastian realized that he made his boy cry. The male frowned at the pup. "Ben, we are carnivore. We eat other animals," he pointed out to his son. The large grey male sat down next to him and licked away his tear that was rolling down. He would have to talk to Pearl about this. He wondered if this was going to be a problem with all the animals they would give to Ben. "Are you okay?," he asked him.

Benjamin loved food - perhaps more than his siblings, but this? He really wasn't able to get it through his thick skull as to why his father would do such a thing. It was no secret that Ben liked birds, so what in the hell went on in Sebastian's head? "Ah - I see my son likes birds. Let's kill one and try to feed him it." Benjamin sobbed at the side of the dead bird, stroking the feathers softly with the side of his face and one, shaking paw. His underlip pouted sadly as he went to look at his father - not quite understanding what he was saying.

No... He let out softly, scampering away from the bird to face his father. No! He then almost yelled and trotted away.

Sebastian's ears fell back when his son yelled at him. Sebastian thought that Benjamin liked birds because he wanted to hunt them, and play with the feathers. As it turned out his son had a bigger morale than even his father had. Sebastian frowned when Benjamin trotted away. Sebastian let out a growl in warning. He moved after the younger and grabbed him by his scruff to correct him. It was very light but enough of a warning.

"Ben. You don't walk away from me. We are a family and we talk," he spoke strictly. Then Sebastian sat down and lowered himself more before his son. "You can tell me when you don't like something," he spoke more kindly. "You can say, 'Dad, I don't really like it when you kill a bird. Would you please not do that again?'. In which I will say. 'I am sorry. I did not know. I will keep it in mind.'," Sebastian explained.

Sebastian looked over Ben's face briefly. "Doesn't that sound nicer? We don't yell at each other in this pack, understood? We treat everyone with respect. And if you don't want me to kill birds I won't. Just tell me, nicely."

His fat little body was swiftly pulled off the ground and Benjamin kicked around - sending his rolls flailing everywhere. He slapped with his paws and shook his head again and again. He didn't want to go back to the bird! He could already imagine the nightmares that the sight of the bird would bring that night. Sleeping was nice, and he didn't want to lose his little sanctuary in his mind.

No! He said as he was put down again and the lecture of his father began. I like birds! I like 'em flying! He then yelled, hopefully clearing things up for Seb. The rest he ignored - stubborn was the way any Rochester would do it, right?

Sebastian realized that his son didn't really get his correction. Or his lecture. Though he was still a child Sebastian didn't want this matter to go unresolved. He wanted to end this on a good hand not one where Ben was upset with him. He was stubborn as well and didn't want this matter to just fade. He wondered if displaying him again would make it bad. Sebastian bared his teeth towards the youngster, letting him know that he disliked the yelling.

"I won't give you birds anymore. But don't yell," he corrected, his own voice staying calm after he showed his teeth for his rebelling son. He didn't want him to learn that yelling towards someone was okay. "Does that make you feel better?"

Benjamin was not one to get upset often; he barely knew his own strength as the family huddled and cuddled for the night to come upon them. It was rare for him to yell - to lash out at someone bringing him food. But father had taken the one thing he admired more than anything and killed it - presenting it as more of a present than anything. A little gift from Hell.

Still sobbing, Benjamin nodded, flopping his fat butt into the grass that tickled his butt-cheeks.

Sebastian felt bad that he made his son cry so much. He pushed himself to his feet and stepped closer, trying to comfort him. Sebastian licked his tears away. "Don't cry. I didn't know you liked them that much. I thought you were just fascinated by them," he tried to apologize and licked him over his cheek once more. "Don't be mad at me now," he hummed trying to make the other feel better.

Little, fat Ben didn't shun away from his father's touch. He wasn't really mad at him - just a bit shocked because of it all. He knew father hadn't meant to mock his small dreams and desires (he was almost too sweet to think anything bad) and was pretty sure he had gone a little overboard with his reaction as well. He sniffled, leaning toward his father instead of away and sighed. 'Not mad... Just sad. He murmured lovingly.

Can we do something boot-I-full with the flappers? With flappers, he of course meant the feathers that birds used to fly.

Sebastian was glad his son didn't shy away from him. The father licked over the top of his head to comfort him. He seemed to turn his sobs in to sniffles. Sebastian frowned briefly when his son asked him if they could do something with the 'flappers'. Did he mean the wings? Or the feathers?

Sebastian looked at the bird and then turned to his son. "We can. What do you want to do with it?," he asked. Maybe if Ben was more specific then he could understand what he meant with 'Flappers'.

Benjamin frowned in thought for a moment. He had hoped father would have some suggestions, but he guessed he had the smarts to come up with something too. The tip of his tongue lolled out of his mouth as his left, hind leg scratched his neck for a second or so. Then, his face lit up.

We canna make the den pretty! For mommy! He chipped with a wide grin.

Sebastian smiled. He liked the way his son was thinking. The male hummed and then nodded. "Excellent idea, Ben," he encouraged. They could use a clean up and perhaps some fresh beds. Pearl would be happy with them. Sebastian was very proud of his mate and he realized it was not easy being a mother. Yet, Sebastian was convinced Pearl was doing an amazing job. He nudged his son. "Lets clean," he smiled. "What do you think needs to go?"," he asked. This might be good for Ben to think about.

The kind glowed up when he got the approval of his father and was soon to forget the ordeal with the bird had ever happened. Ben was just a sensitive pile of soft puddy and he guessed the ones who truly loved him, like his family, would just have to deal with it. He smiled brightly; waddling his fat body to the den to inspect. The ol' leafs. He nodded with a thoughtful expression. Nu - all of it! He nodded again, looking back at his father. 'n then we canna add the flappers - soooffftt. He explained.

Sebastian watched his fluffy butt make his way into the den. Sebastian let him decide what needs to go out. "Okay, the old leaves. Yes. How will we get them out?," he asked. He was curious what the pup would think of. It was great to see him think about these things. "Oh yes, they are soft. Good thinking," he encouraged. "Do you think we should get new leaves too?," he asked his son.

Benjamin's face morphed into an expression that could only be described as "hhhmmm" and looked questioningly at his father. Then, an idea hit him right in the face. He waddled back over to his father and retreated to behind his hindquarters. He poked his father's tail with his nose and waggled his own. This! He answered, hoping Sebastian knew what he meant.

To father's question, he shook his head. Mosss! He chipped.

Sebastian chuckled and then nodded. "Alright," he smiled after his son told him they needed moss. It was a good thought. Sebastian turned around, careful not to hit his son when he did. Sebastian started to grab pieces of it. "Ben? Would you be interested in healing others?," he questioned. Ben seemed compassionate. He seemed like someone who liked to help others. He wasn't even sure if he knew his dad was somewhat of a healer. Moss could be a first lesson for him.

Benjamin had meant for his father, with the big fluffy tail he had, to clean out the old stuff. While he could do it alone, it would take him days to clear out the junk with his tiny excuse of a tail. Daaaahd! He called out when Sebastian turned to get some of the moss that was part of the second step. Cleaaan first! He said, waddling up to the den and giving a nice example; he swept some forest junk from the entrance of the den with his wriggly tail.

Dunno. He answered then; he hardly knew what healing included.

Sebastian watched how Ben tried to clean the den with his tail. He watched his son with a curious expression. The male stepped closer and started to make a digging movement. Brushing all the old bedding towards the entrance. He looked at Ben. "I usually do it like this. With your tail takes forever," he explained with an encouraging smile. He continued doing so, then at least the den would be clean.

[table width=80%][tr][td]He looked at his dad with a frowny face as he still didn't do what Benjamin had initially planned, instead flinging out the old bedding with his paws. It was a move Ben knew, but was hard to do with all his rolls. It was also fair to mention that while the mess was now out quicker, it made it a mess outside quicker too. But now the outside is dir'yyyyy! He whined. Mommy deserves best![/tr][/td][/table]

Sebastian chuckled at the boy. He liked his way of thinking because Pearl definitely deserved the best. The gray male nodded in agreement that it was dirty outside. "I know it is dirty now, but seeing that spring has arrived the birds you like so much have to make homes. They make nests from those pieces we just threw out," he explained to his son with a smile. "So basically we are helping the birds with this." Sebastian hoped that Benjamin would understand that it would help others by leaving it outside.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Ben's chubby head raised as his head swivelled around to look at his chuckling father. He didn't know what was so funny, but at least he had made his point. Neeests? Ben questioned, head cocking to the side and one brow-dot high upon his tawny face. He didn't know birds made nests, but now that he knew he had to help them out! Everyone deserved a home, right? He smiled then, picking up a piece of junk and holding it up as far as his little body would allow him.

Biiirtttss! Coommme, m'ke hoommmme! He called around the piece of den-junk.[/td][/tr][/table]