"babies! i am back!" chani declared with a loud voice. she dragged a living snail with her into the tangle, carrying it laboriously up the side of the hollow until she could hold it above the pups' heads.
"look!" she cried, voice muffled. "slimy!"
oops; she dropped it, the poor thing shell-clattering all the way down until it thumped among mireille's brood.
Tousaint lifted his head when a voice called out, causing him to drift back into reality from his daydreams. His ear flicked as a deer fly hovered around it, tickling the soft fur along the edge.
His cousin was an interesting visitor- energetic, friendly, but…Quite a bit more enthusiastic than what he typically preferred. And when she came carrying a monstrous, slimy thing that had a shell on its back, he recoiled. He gasped when she dropped it, and skittered backwards to avoid being touched by the repulsive creature as it spun and settled to a stop, soft side up.
He inhaled, looking at its writhing underside, and choked out ”—-eeww—-“ with a sneer.
chuckling with the self-importance of a much older (not) child addressing a literal embryo of a cousin, chani descended and spun the poor snail like a reluctant breakdancer on its shell once more. "se jis yon kalmason, tousaint," chani teased, though good-naturedly.
"maman says you can eat them!" she peered at the boy. "sobeille be your sister, oui? well, guess what? my maman an' yours be sisters! ah? what do you be thinkin' of dat?"
His shoulders raised and ears flattened when the little, slimy creature was spun in circles upon its shell. For some reason, the way Chani spoke of the creature she seemed to imply that the creature had no dignity. He wished, then, to smash the creature but could only imagine what kind of mess that would cause.
He moved forward cautiously, lifted a paw, curled it, and then gave the snail a flick with his paw, sending it scuttling away from the both of them. He knew if Sobeille were around, she would eat it but he didn’t want to hear that happen either.
He listened quietly while she spoke about her mother, and then about his mother. He’d heard the term “cousins” passed around a bit, but didn’t really think much about it. He would have been happier as an only child, anyway.
So to her answer, he merely looked up at her with his brow raised, lips pulled into a pout, and shrugged his shoulders.
tousaint had nothing to say! chani huffed a little, reached out for the snail, then paused. it felt halfhearted. she peered at her cousin and flicked her tail against the inside of the den. "maybe your maman will let you come out, with me! would you like that, tousaint?"
chani wanted something from him, some sort of reaction.
His eyes lowered as she reached for the snail again, and his ears flicked back; cautiously expecting her to try and make him get close to it again. His siblings could be annoyingly persistent, he expected cousins would be no different.
She left the snail, and mentioned going out. He gave her a sidelong look, trying to gauge what sort of adventures she’d have in mind, and whether they were as disgusting as the snail.
Only one way to find out.
He slithered beneath his mother’s chin and posed a quiet question, before receiving her blessing. He, of course, was one of the most likely children to be obedient and turn away from mess and danger. He looked to Chani and raised his eyebrows expectantly.
mireille glanced between he and his eager cousin. "pa ale lwen," she told each of them. "an' not near water, chani." the obsidian quieted, considering that if all four of them were so often out and about, perhaps moving early to corsair beach might be in order.
but not now!
chani grinned at tousaint, climbing her way out of the mossy little hollow where he had been born, and helping to haul him if he needed as well. "we will be back soon, auntie" she said, dropping back down to kiss mireille and then rejoin her cousin. "come on. i see a yellow butterfly yesterday. we will go back there."
His ears fell back when they were instructed to stay close, and the corners of his eyes tightened slightly as he rolled them. It wasn't like he was a rule-breaker, not like his sister. He didn't feel he should have the same rules, but he would respect his mother's wishes regardless, knowing that Chani would keep him safe.
Butterflies were nice things. He'd forgive Chani for bringing a slimy snail for now, and follow her in search of much more pleasant things.