Dragoncrest Cliffs Albacore

Swordfish had found that he enjoyed watching clouds.

There had been several sunny days since the children’s eyes had opened. The kids had even had chances to romp about outside. Swordfish had enjoyed these days, but he had always been rather quick to settle into a sitting position to watch his siblings or his parents. All the effort of jumping around had only ever made him more tired, but he knew that there was fun in it… somewhere.

Swordfish rested on his belly, chin at his paws. His eyes were fixed on the clouds that rolled over his head. Half of his frame was inside the family den. The front half was protruding out the front door. The boy didn’t appear to mind that he was blocking the entrance. He was comfortable.

Tags solely for reference!

Along came Stingray to disrupt Swordfish's pleasant afternoon.

He wasn't fussed at all that his brother was in the way of the den because if it was up to him, he would never go inside or sleep again. There was just too much to do outside to be wasting time inside, you know? Ray knew. He spent as much time as possible staying awake, which meant his naptime and bedtime routines had become a new kind of hell for @Meerkat and @Njord.

He would have been happy to leave Swordfish lying there, blocking up the den, but he just had to show someone the nasty, kind of slimy, kind of velvety thing he had found, and his brother was right there. It was fairly small, covered in an eye-catching sheen of some slimy, sticky substance, and very delicate, which he discovered upon obliterating the first two he tried to pick up.

Ray pranced right over to his brother, proud as a peacock he had managed not to destroy this one, and unfurled his tongue, dropping the saliva soaked mushroom right on his brother's muzzle as though to say, hey, look!

There was Ray, padding over on eager paws to where Swordfish was basking. The sleepy boy turned his eyes to his brother with only a fraction of interest on his face. He didn’t know what Stingray was up to, but that look in his eyes told Swordfish that he might not like it very much. Only when the gold clad boy had drawn nearer did his brother realize that he had… something in his mouth.

It didn’t take long before whatever was in Ray’s mouth was plopped onto Swordfish’s snout with a satisfying little sound. The boy blinked and looked down his nose at the glob that sat there, covered in his brother’s saliva. Little Swordfish was transfixed by it, until the smell became something that he couldn’t get a good hang of. He pushed his torso up off the ground and watched as the mushroom slid and then slapped against the earth at his paws. Then, he bent his head to sniff gingerly at it. The boy’s eyes squinted curiously.

One scoop of his tongue and the little treat was in his mouth. He cringed at the taste of it. Was this what Ray liked to eat? Swordfish looked at his brother, eyes watering from the flavor of the shroom. After a few moments of swishing it on his tongue, he opened his mouth and HYEUCKED it right back out again in front of his sibling. Then, he blinked and looked up to Ray with a curious tilt of his head.

When Ray first brought the mushroom to his brother, it wasn't his intention to play a mean joke by pretending it tasted good. It tasted downright vile. He just wanted to show someone his discovery and Swordfish was the most eligible candidate on account of being there and not otherwise occupied.

When Swordfish unexpectedly slurped it up, Stingray stared, stunned, then sank to the ground with uncontrollable laughter when Fish's eyes lifted to his and he spat the mushroom back out. Ray couldn't help it. He didn't mean to make fun of his littermate, but hot damn, was that betrayal in those baby blues? No one could blame Swordfish for being utterly confused, and no one would blame him if he gave Stingray a swift kick in the head, either.

Gasping between fits of laughter, he reached out a shaking paw to try to bat the slimy, saliva-soaked shroom back at his sibling.

Stingray laughed heartily. Swordfish watched him from the corners of his eyes, betrayal burning hot in his heart. It wasn’t that funny! It was gross. It tasted like dirt and Ray’s spit and other things that he did not know how to describe, even in his mind. The sensation of having the mushroom on his tongue had been difficult enough without the other boy wheezing from laughter.

Fish frowned thoughtfully. He shuffled on his paws before bending over to sniff at the glob of mushroom and dirt. The smell was worse after it had come out of him. The back of his throat lurched before his eyes grew wide. He hyucked again and spit out a dirty glob of saliva.

With defiance in his puppy gaze, Swordfish turned to his brother and pounced.

Sop it! The child’s voice yapped.

There weren't many things that could rouse Swordfish when he was determined to lay about. It was Stingray's lifelong mission to suss out every one of his brother's buttons and push them repeatedly. They weren't easy to find. Swordfish was so chill about most things that riling him up took some sleuthing. Ray expected Fish to just sulk about the taste and then resume whatever boring thing he was doing, especially when he approached the mushroom for another gag-inducing sniff, but then he sprang!

Ray was equally surprised and delighted. Swordfish's cry and the weight dropping on him choked out the last of his laughs. Oof! Not one to squander an opportunity for a playfight, Ray began to roughly mouth at his brother's snout and cheeks, seeking a good grip so he could tug on his fur.

Regret bubbled inside of the boy.

It would have been better to have simply gone back to sleeping in the sunlight, ignoring the laughs and the stupid look on his brother’s face. Swordfish was not certain had had compelled him to try to force Stingray to shut up, but he didn’t like feeling like he was the butt of a joke… especially when that joke tasted like slime and dirt.

Fish tried to pull his head away from Ray, grunting and growling softly in his attempts. He didn’t much like the idea of being slobbered on. Shaking his head, the boy reached out with a single paw and attempted to push at his brother’s face. He just wanted a chance to breathe before being faced with Ray’s own puppy smell.

Swordfish exhaled wearily through his nose and – keeping his snout pointed away from Stingray – he peered at his brother from the corners of his eyes.

Swordfish had the upper hand, which a less stubborn puppy might take as an indication they had lost. Not Stingray. He lost the chance to close the gap between his mouth and Fish's cheek as soon as his brother planted a paw against his muzzle. Swordfish pushed him away, eliciting a grunt from Ray.

He couldn't work out an easy way to get at his brother's face now, but that was okay. He met Fish's sidelong glance for a moment and huffed. A challenge, was it? Stingray began whipping his head side to side in hopes of dislodging the offending foot and snatching that up in his jaws instead.

Horror became clear on the boy’s face. One moment he had been shoving against his brother’s face and yapping mouth, the next thing he knew was that his paw was planted firmly between Stingray’s teeth… and it was not an enjoyable sensation. Swordfish made a noise in the back of his throat.

In truth, the pup had seen the way his brother hungered after their mother’s milk. He had watched with an expression of lethargic interest as Stingray had guzzled down mouthfuls of sustenance. Maybe the milk wasn’t enough anymore… maybe Ray wanted to try out some real meat for a change. Swordfish found himself growing more and more horrified as his mind ran rampant.

When he could not stand it any longer, Swordfish reared back to stand on his hind legs. His front paws churned at the air, swinging slobber between them. The movement had been far too abrupt and he toppled to his side, fearfully turning his eyes toward his brother… who was sure to devour poor innocent Swordfish in a single bite.

Hope you don't mind me wrapping here, I'm looking to close up some older threads! Feel free to post one more time or archive as-is!

Stingray remained unaware of Fish's growing horror as he drooled and mouthed on his brother's foot. Consuming his sibling never crossed his mind, but he did bite down a little harder in an effort to keep ahold of Swordfish's foot when he reared up. The result was his bottom teeth snagging on his sibling's toes, which cause Swordfish's head to be yanked painfully forward when Fish toppled.

Yapping in protest, he lurched after his fallen brother, intent on punishment, only to whip his head up at the sound of a twig snapping nearby. His ears swivelled wildly atop his head. Moments later, a fox darted across the clearing, capturing Stingray's attention entirely. He shoved away from Swordfish and streaked after the wiry red creature, which was larger than either of the pups and had no trouble outrunning him.

He went crashing back into the undergrowth in clumsy pursuit, and when a butterfly crossed his path and redirected him once again, he had already forgotten his tussel with Swordfish and the strange slimy mushroom, too.

I do not mind at all! ^^

Swordfish did not even try to squirm. He remained laying on his side with his eyes wide upon Stingray until – fortune’s favor – a red streaking creature drew the gold-cloaked boy’s attention. Ray immediately lost his interest in Fish. He turned to where the fox had vanished and began his pursuit.

Swordfish panted, sending plumes of dirt from his nose so near the ground. He thought it sounded fun to chase after his brother and the mystery creature, but he also thought that he had only just been spared a cruel fate. It was probably best if he slept that off and tried another day to adventure alongside Stingray. There would be many others in their future, he believed.

Pushing himself up, Swordfish glanced after where Ray had disappeared. He sent a small howl to his brother – godspeed, you crazy fool. After waiting to see if Ray might appear again, Swordfish meandered back to a quieter area.