tags for reference
there wasn’t anymore room for him inside of the whelping den; vanity’s pups were constantly growing larger, forcing him to find a new uncomfortable sleeping position almost every night. although this arrangement had worked for a while, he could tell that the situation wasn’t ideal for anyone involved, and decided to acknowledge that himself before
@Vanity got the chance.
like every morning, he rose at sunrise to fetch their breakfast from the nearest cache.
not much to pick from
, he laughed to himself, ignoring the uncomfortable reminder that he would soon have to start providing for the pack, too. he sighed and grabbed two muskrats which were sitting closest to the surface, then turned back toward the den with a nervous wag.
quiet chuffs were meant to draw vanity outside, were she not already there. he offered her one of the rodents before blurting,
i’m going to find somewhere else to sleep
, and turning to look inside of their den.
it’s getting too cramped, and i don’t want to get in your way.
some goofy smile spread across his face as he used his tongue to wipe away food debris.
after finishing his portion, he chewed the remaining scraps to leave for vanity’s pups.
can they eat this yet?
he asked as an afterthought, but then figured it didn’t matter; anything that might help vanity would be worth trying. he thought about going for seconds on his way to the rendevouz site, but saw the outline of a belly pressing at his sides and continued straight on his path instead.
hey-o!
he called,
anyone around?
anyone here?
he called again, h- oh, hey.
one of vanity’s pups (quickly identified as arwen) seemed interested in tagging along, so he slowed down to give her time to catch up, then gave a proper greeting: hey, winnie. are you old enough for this yet?
if she wasn’t, then he assumed that her mother would soon arrive to make that point clear.
sunlight struck through the canopy and onto the forest floor, providing the pair proper lighting to wander deeper into the rendezvous. i’m your guard. do you know what that means?
he asked. violet eyes studied the girl’s expression while he followed with an explanation: it means i’m gonna keep you safe, but we can probably have some fun, too.
guardian stopped beside a small collection of low-lying ferns and stepped his hindlegs back to lean into a play bow. do you wanna play?
he asked, curious to see how well she could speak.
Cameo post, skip her
Once she'd awoke, Famine was already getting breakfast. At the chuffs, she moved outside, Arwen in front, Leshen behind.
Famine spoke as she watched Arwen snatch up some food, and Vanity smiled.
Her children were all growing.
"Don't make your den too far away, you're still my son," she smiled, her tail waving softly.
She was always grateful for the boy's goodwill and helpful, swift paws.
"And they'll try," she chuckled softly.
As Famine left for whatever duties he saw fit for the day, she saw Arwen's sooty form trot up behind him.
Vanity finally had her Family.
Vanity would catch Arwen later. And knew Famine was smart enough to not let her follow him to the borders.
guardian hadn’t really expected compliance from his current ward but didn’t complain when it was given. you’re smart
, he complimented, then reached out a paw to tap against her shoulder, but.. are you quick?
without further warning, he buried himself deeper into the foliage, trying his best to hide a large body in some very shallow ferns.
this was the smarter decision, anyway. play-fighting was too risky with his size and apparent strength, and hurting arwen wasn’t something he intended to purposefully do. this game of hide-and-seek would do just as good, maybe even teaching the girl something about the hunt.