Neverwinter Forest I’m here on monkey business

Primarily for Cupid but if Caerus wants to show up at some point that's cool. :P

It was fairly late in the day as Mal walked through the forest, destination in mind. The rabbit he had caught today was fairly small -- a young one, most likely -- so maybe not a particularly shareable size for two adults, but for an adult and a kid it'd probably be fine. And so, he took it to @Cupid. It was a good enough excuse as any to stop by -- he'd done it a lot after all, but most of the time he either dropped things and continued on or stayed to play with Caerus, maybe give Cupid a bit of time to go off and stretch his legs in the process.

But nobody was out right now. He came up to the den entrance but didn't call as he might have if he wanted to pester his son, but it wasn't the boy he was seeking today. Mal hadn't been super silent about his approach -- an adult trained to listen to the world would easily hear him, but he hoped a pup would remain happily ignorant for now. If Caerus was sleeping, he wasn't going to wake him -- after all, the conversation Mal wanted to have was probably gonna be boring. This time he'd maybe thought of a few things he could say to Cupid, but he still wasn't entirely sure how it'd go. He still wanted to solve what he saw as a problem, and he felt nervousness creeping up his spine. Mal looked inside, trying to get his eyes to adjust to see into the darkness, to see Cupid and summon him out silently if such a thing were possible.

@Caerus assuming he's sleeping rn. lmk if you want me to change anything!

Cupid hasn't been feeling all too great for awhile now. Caerus' great escape had made him more anxious than he'd ever been. Once again thoughts of doubt and worry clouded his mind. A good parent would never let their kid run off like that, no matter how slippery they may be. A good parent would've stopped their son before any harm could come of him. He could've died, he thought, chest clenching as that hit him. His eyes shifted towards the sleeping whelp. If Cupid had been just a few seconds late he probably wouldn't be here now. It's a horrific thought, one that brings tears to his eyes.

Hushed sobs are cut midway when footsteps draw closer. He inhaled sharply and shook his head. No one needed to see him like this. Just brush it off Cupid, brush it off. Take a deep breath, get up, and get out.

Cupid emerged from the den slowly. The sun was.. brighter than usual. How long had he stayed in the den? He had to blink before he could see things clearly.

Hey Mal, he said all nonchalantly, as if he wasn't just crying a few seconds ago. What do you need?

Mal wasn't exactly the most clever at reading emotions, and he sort of assumed Cupid was just always gloomy. And things had been awkward between them in every other meeting, so whatever weirdness may have been lurking, it didn't strike Mal as odd enough to mention.

On the other hand, Mal was acting more like himself -- maybe not the version Cupid was familiar with, but everyone else was -- relatively upbeat with a light grin. At least so far, Mal was doing a much better job of not acting like a complete fool. He nosed the rabbit towards Cupid, Brought you guys some lunch, but I wanted a chance to talk to you. Like actually talk since I sort of messed that up last time, and I don't want that happening again. Make sure we're actually working together for Caerus. A sort of sheepish smile then, I can just jump into it if you want. Well, he kind of would anyway, but if Cupid had anything he wanted to say first, that was an opportunity for him to do so.

Well someone was feeling chipper today. There's a familiarity to the smile, but it's a thing of the past, nothing he expected to see now. He's always so fidgety and worried nowadays. This sudden joy was sort of off putting.

Ah shit, there it is, that dreaded sentence. He wants to talk. It's what a couple of parents should be doing, but that didn't mean he wanted to. Cupid was no good at this whole talking thing. Oh well, there's no excuse to dip now.

I'm listening.

Okay, since there wasn't a hint of a smile in response it made him slightly uneasy. He tried to keep going anyway, but a little wore off. He faltered a bit before speaking but blabbed somewhat coherently, Look, I want to make sure you're happy here. Get to know you better. Because as it is, right now all I've got figured out about you is that I'm scared you'll take Caerus away again and I don't want that to happen. -- I want both of you to make this your home for real. He was totally rambling again wasn't he? Goddamn it. And I'm sure I can do more to help with Caerus too. Just... make things not so awkward between us, yeah? Haha, yeah he was out of stuff he'd practiced already. Thought had pretty much poured out his ears and all he was left with was trying to bury how desperately he wanted everything just be suddenly normal, even if he wasn't sure what normal was.

Woah, woah. Mal thought he was gonna take Caerus and dip? Cupid cracked a smile. He can't be serious right? The thought never crossed his mind, and he never suggested that through his actions (that's what he thought anyways). Even if he wanted to leave it wasn't like there were many options anyways. Couldn't go back to Rusalka; the crazy one eyed man would defiantly tear him to pieces. And apparently there were psychos running around now. This was the only safe place he knew of. Caerus liked it here too. He couldn't just up and leave.

You're kidding. He tilted his head to one side. Why do you think I'd do that?

Mal had an obviously completely different take on things. The smile? Probably translated as more devious than amused. The whole thing was far more mentally weighty to him, You did it before. I practically offered you the world and you left and said I'd never see you again. And you came here because there wasn't another choice -- and now Caerus isn't just a little blob any more... Where was he going with this? It was another case of a runaway thought. Rewind a second. His ears tipped back a little. Look, man, that's not something I'd forget, that was awful. And it had messed him up for a goddamn while. Hell, he was still kind of messed up just based on the way he was acting. Mal's smile had faded entirely at some point while he was talking.

Defiantly not kidding. Cupid frowned. Fuck, he'd forgotten about that completely. He didn't think it mattered this much. Shit hit the fan, one thing led to another and he ended up back here. What he said before didn't really matter now; he's in this for the long haul. He assumed Mal would've swept it under the rug, but that wasn't the case. Apparently that shit messed him up real bad.

I didn't mean it Mal. I wasn't thinking straight then. Cupid averted his gaze. He was a hot mess back then, and he said and thought of a lot stuff he regretted now, but to say he didn't mean it was a lie. He was just saying that to make Mal feel a little better and to make him feel like less of an asshole.

He looked up again. You don't need to worry about that anymore. Caerus loves it here. He loves you. I'm not taking that away from him.

It didn't magically fix everything though. He'd trained himself to be wary of Cupid to do more than weakly smile, kind of hopeful but that's about it. It was still a little relief at least. If it hadn't been totally obvious, he adored Caerus. Maybe it would at least make things more normal as time went along.

He took sort of a half step forward, reaching out slightly but not going to touch him or get closer than he was, There anything else I can do? For Caerus or for just you -- you're important here if you want to be or not. If you just wanted to hang out with someone who isn't a little kid I can even do that. Slightly more personality to his grin again, but it was still a little hollow. Give it time.

That seemed like enough to soothe him. Good thing too. The more they talked about this the more likely one of them would say something that'd cause everything to go to shit. Cupid was not a good talker.

It must be Mal's lucky day. There were more things he could do than just being present. Oh, how should he begin? Caerus snuck out the other day. And he went hella far. It hurts to think about, let alone say aloud. I don't know how he pulled it off. He was with me for one second and then the next—poof—gone. There were some strangers with him when I found him. They told me there were dudes running around hurting people or some shit. Great, now he's rambling. He sighed. I don't want that to happen again, but I can't watch him 24/7. I'm not saying he can't explore or anything, just—god—when he does, make sure he stays here.

But what was said made things a bit more serious. Aw hell. I found your track a while after it happened -- by then it smelled like you had been with him at the time. But yeah, I heard about some of that trouble, but at least it hasn't bugged our members in a while. I'll keep an eye out for him getting a bit too adventurous though -- he definitely shouldn't be left alone yet. I brought him back that other time a week before -- he'd only gone far enough to find another packmate here, think you were out cold at the time. Maybe he should have woken Cupid up and told him what happened. But that had kind of seemed like..  mean maybe? He obviously must have needed the sleep.

Still, it was obviously weighing on Cupid, so Mal would do his best to share some of it on his own shoulders. How? Wasn't sure yet. You can always call me over -- I don't want you to stress out about any of this, you aren't raising him alone. I'm always here to help. Or you could call Simmik for help too. She's the one who just became beta, if you heard the howl. 

Which actually brought him to another idea, Are you guys gonna stay here in the den for the foreseeable future? I mean.. If it gets too cramped or something, you're welcome to come stay at my place again. Comes with at least one extra pair of eyes. Though currently included a bonus set! At least until Simmik was ready to head back to her own den -- Mal wasn't going to rush her, he liked company.

In a while. Cupid didn't like that. Why couldn't it have been 'they've never bugged us'? If they did something before, what's stopping them from doing it again? And when they strike—god forbid— they'd get Caerus. His defenseless little baby. Here he goes, worrying over everything again.

Oh there's more. He knew Caerus loved slipping away and he'd catch him every time, save for the recent attempt. That and another time, an attempt he didn't know about until now. His ears fell back. Was he not as alert as he used to be? He had to step up his game. There can't be a next time.

Thank you. He really meant it. Sure, letting someone other than himself or Mal watch his son was a scary thought, but lord knows he needed all the help he could get. If Mal trusted her enough to be beta then Cupid could put a little faith in her.

And then another problem is brought up, one that hasn't crossed his mind yet. Living arrangements. Caerus was small now, but he'd get bigger soon. Shit, their den was getting a little cramped already. If it ain't too much trouble we'll pop over.

Though maybe what Mal had said stressed out Cupid more (though he wasn't wise enough to entirely see why), Mal was starting to feel more like himself. He smiled, Whenever you're ready, feel free to come by. Simmik's staying with me for a little until she feels ready to move back to her own den, so at least for that period of time, got an extra set of eyes included with the space. A slightly goofy grin with that -- albeit subdued.

He stepped forward, reaching out to give Cupid a friendly bump to the shoulder with his nose and a couple of wags of his tail. And don't be afraid to call if you need to relax and get time to yourself -- you deserve a break too. It had sounded kinda like Cupid was carrying a whole different pile of worries on his shoulders. Mal would help if he could. Mal at least had worked on lightening his own load of troubles -- he'd take a few of Cupid's if he could.

It's a good thing it was "whenever you're ready" rather than a "right now". Cupid wasn't ready to up and leave just yet. There was something holding him back. That feeling had no name, not now anyways. He'd deal with it later.

Cupid wasn't used to playful gestures. He does a terrible job at hiding that fact. His eyes widen and he "oofs" like it hurt (it didn't). Yeah, uh, of course. In fact, he could really use a break right now.

Hey, I need to go walk around. Stretch my legs. You got time to watch him now?

Wrap this one, make another somewhere? >D Though IDK if slightly backdated or current, I'm cool w/ either, just depends on whether there's one litter of pups or two, heh.

Oof? Have some open low-grade confusion look in reply there. Okay, yeah. Cupid really needed to relax. Mal would have to figure out how that could be worked on. The only thing he could think of was to just flirt with him and see what happened because he was otherwise socially inept, but that wouldn't be this conversation. That'd be way too fast given the history between them, even for Mal. So, he wiped the look aside quickly and bobbed his head and accented with another tail wag, Of course. Always. He'd never turn down hanging out with Caerus.