Heron Lake Plateau a boogie wit da hoodie

Deep snow drifted across the plateau, scintillating despite the sparse moonlight. Bat trudged across the white wasteland, returning from a very brief foray in the thicket due north. She held a fat grouse in her mouth, intended as a gift for @Tegan. She had meant to bring it back in time for dinner but... well, that hadn't happened. Hopefully he was in the mood for a midnight snack.

dumb ass fucking question.. yeah tegan was in the mood for a midnight snack? like? the fuck? duh. so when bat tumbled in with a fat grouse, tegan lit up. he had been laying on his side like a pancake, and shot up onto his stomach, feet patting against the ground like some sort of ritual dancer. "oh shit oh shit," he said with a wagging tail, beginning to sign as he spoke with the hope that bat would start learning more, "please tell me that's for me, i haven't eaten in like four months i think my stomach's concavin." though tegan didn't pronounce it concaving... instead it was like, konka - van. so. okay.

Her eyes gleamed as she ranged closer and Tegan reacted with plenty of excitement over the dead bird. Gently slapping him with the carcass, she dropped it on his legs even as she inquired, "Did you just say cock van? The fuck is that?"

She fell back onto her haunches and licked her right forepaw before rubbing it over her muzzle, a lot like a cat, to get rid of some tacky blood she felt sticking there. All the while, her silver eyes lingered inquiringly on Tegan's face, waiting for him to explain cock vans.

"what?!" exclaimed tegan immediately, not wasting a second to be stunned, "you just fuckin talked! you motherfucker!" ignoring the carcass now, tegan used a paw to abruptly shove her back. despite the aggressive response, excitement was lit up all over his face. she was talking!! holy fuck! she was okay!! and since when? and why was she being so casual???

*smooth*

Rather than explain himself, Tegan reacted to her audible words. Bat paused in her catlike washing, a grin slowly unfurling on her muzzle. "Yup. Right before I killed it, this magical chicken granted me three wishes. One of them was to get my voice back," she replied, her beaming smile growing when he shoved at her. She enjoyed Tegan's reaction very much.

tegan stared at her in awe, his tail wagging wildly. this was bonkers! "you whackass," he said with a hearty laugh, giving her cheek and quick nudge, "that's fuckin great -- as much as i love hearing myself talk it's good to hear another voice." which was true. 

unfortunately, the first thing he thought directly following his excitement was less exciting, and actually incredibly selfish. but hey, that's tegan. silently, tegan wondered if... now that she could talk... if she would repeat what she tried to tell him the day she returned. or if that was just an in the moment thing and she's over it now. maybe she forgot she even tried. tegan had tried very hard to forget she'd said it. 

he gave her a look then. "what were the other two wishes?"

"So," she replied without missing a beat, "right after I wished for my voice back, it occurred to me: I should wish for a thousand more wishes! So I did that. That was my second wish." Bat paused for effect before continuing. "My third wish was for something delicious for dinner. The magical chicken immediately dropped dead at my feet. Think he'll still grant my remaining 997 wishes if we eat him?"

tegan squinted at her story, finally turning up his nose. "whackass!" he scoffed, "if you wished for a thousand more wishes, you should have 999 left!" duh bat, jesus christ, i know you're a wolf but learn simple math for god's sake. but then, ugh, tegan scowled.

"wait -- if you killed the chicken it can't grant you anymore wishes anyway," he said with a glare, "how'd you fuck that up, pup?"

Tegan called her out on her inability to do math, then the chicken's death. "Oh, shut up and eat a cock," Bat said without any hostility, smirking a little as she nudged the "chicken" toward him. "I don't need wishes anyway. I make my own luck. I defeated death and now I stole my voice back too. I'm fucking magical all on my own."

Following that declaration, Bat flopped onto the ground unceremoniously. She had no interest in sharing the meal; it was intended solely for him. While he gobbled, she could gabble, smug with the knowledge that her voice was probably music to Tegan's ears.