Neverwinter Forest it feels like I can fly anywhere

@Mal

Cupid tended to Caerus well and often kept a close eye on the ever-curious boy. Caerus would gaze up with wide childish eyes when Cupid tried to warn him of the dangers beyond their den- but the boy's brain was not wired to understand any of that yet. And everytime Cupid fell asleep and wasn't there to grab the boy by the nape, he'd find himself at the edge of his world, sitting just outside the den. 

But what lied beyond the edge of the world? 

One day this question wormed itself into Caerus' brain, and it would never leave him for the rest of his life. On one white paw and one chocolate, he carried himself in unguided steps, a few yards past the den, oversized head bouncing with excitement. Tail wagged eagerly, so far there was nothing to see- but the scents! Cupid, Mal, Valkyrie- and more! How many people lived in the world? Five? Ten? His eyes lit with excitement at the thought of a new playmate, and he sat down onto his haunches here, sniffing the ground like a detective.

He'd hunted a few small things, but nothing worth sharing. So he went to the cache and picked out something to bring to Cupid and Caerus that was more significant than the few rodents that had made up his own lunch. Look, regardless of what may or may not have happened, Mal was still gonna make sure they were taken care of -- because obligations or something.

When he got there, a familiar little figure was sniffing around a distance from the den entrance. Hah! Tail wagging behind him, Mal trotted forward, putting it down close to the den entrance before turning his attention to Caerus (who assumedly had followed him), ready to lick the top of the boy's head. More quality time with the kid, please!

Suddenly a familiar figure came into view. He was scarcely aware of the man until he walked right past him, which is when Caerus turned his little face upward from the ground, eyes widening as he chirped buh!! It was his playmate! He scampered excitedly after Mal as the man dropped something curious-smelling which made his mouth water... and awaited his father's turn around with a wagging tail.

Assuming Mal would lick the top of Caerus's head, the little boy would squeal with delight. He fell into a playbow- or the closest thing he could manage, considering his stubby little legs, before shouting out h-hai!!! with a big smile on his face.

See, this was way better than other stuff! Tail wagging, he replied, Yeah, hi to you too. He crouched down into a sort of play bow too (except he wasn't going to be stretching back to full height any time soon, Caerus was still too small for that, but hey, he was a little bigger this time). Whatcha wanna play, huh? He thumped his paws on the ground, then leaned forward to boop him with his nose.

eheehee! Caerus giggled with childish delight at the nose boop. pay! He shouted- not really knowing what the word he was trying to say even meant. He then imitated Mal, thumping comically oversized paws on the ground. pay! pay! His tail wagged in a whirlwind, and he broke out of the playbow, trying to bat at Mal's face gently with chocolate paw.

This whole thing was perfect, just one little perfect moment that he was afraid would get ruined. Mal laughed too, Yeah, play! When the boy batted at him, he pushed forward slightly, nose into the boy's chest. Mal's mouth parted in the most gentle of play-attacks, accompanied with an equally harmless play-growl. Gon' getcha! A brief pause for a moment there just to make he hadn't gone and freaked out the boy or something. It was all supposed to be a game, but it was only a game if Caerus was having fun.

Oh! Something cold and wet in his fur, the familiar end of Mal's face which had booped his own in the past was now pushed against Caerus' beating heart. He could not decide whether he enjoyed the sensation- the touch was comforting, the coldness of it was not. Still, he had little time to make his mind up on that, because Mal's jaws had parted, with some noise he needed no knowledge of language to understand. Nature's language, grrr!!!!! He managed in response, lip curling as if almost by instinct. He gave in to the canine urge to bark then, so in a little voice, WOOF!! WOOF!!

Yeah, he was sort of getting it! Mal yanked his head back, uttered a whuff as his face was lit in a smile. After a beat he leaned forward again quick, play-growl returning as he tagged Caerus on the shoulder -- had he been older perhaps it would have been an actual nip, but instead it was just the touch of the front of his muzzle, too afraid of actually hurting him. Again he leaned back, deep into the play-bow, another whuff tail wagging behind him as he grinned away like a fool, C'mon kiddo! He kept his head within pup-reach.

wuff!!!! wuff! He responded with excitement, tail speed increasing as dad bumped his shoulder this time. Harmless enough but he could understand the game at hand- it was more instinct than critical understanding. He bent back into playbow, grinning comically before tensing his muscles and pouncing like a tiny kitten that seemed to think it was a jungle cat. He aimed for dad's forehead, no teeth or claws, just the tumble of his own tiny body with another grrr!!

Seriously, Caerus was a cute little kid. Adorable little monster. And he launched himself at Mal's face -- he did his best not to flinch, though he did close his closest eye just in case a stray foot went for it. Once he landed, Mal moved again swinging his head towards the boy, kind of hoping it roll him onto his back with another playful growl. Even just now, these little games were fun. What would it be like when he was older, bigger, and able to talk?

im SO bad at visualizing physical scenes so if I messed something up here lmk

He took the swing and went with it, tumbling onto his back with a force that almost knocked the air out of him (but not entirely). He stumbled upward, grinning, panting slightly. It was a good thing that Caerus knew this was a game- and he was quite enjoying it. Another little ferocious grr!! and he was racing at Mal again, this time hoping he could make it all the way around dad's gigantic body- and maybe bat at that alluring fluffy tail that swung behind him.

He'd started to reach over to boop the boy on the stomach but he'd skittered away as fast as those little legs could carry him and instead Mal was left sort of folding himself into a tightly wound C to see what he was up to. Tail, huh? He gave it a wag, but then flopped onto the ground so he could actually play better -- otherwise the tip of his tail might end up going bald, and Mal couldn't have that happening, he liked his nice spotty pelt too much.

He made sort of a growly noise again, swishing his tail around to make it more of a challenge for the little predator. But Mal was still ready to take the attack if Caerus turned around to attack his face again.

He was like a cat with a feather-toy, Mal brought it closer to where he could reach, fluttering it around as if it had a mind of it's own. And in Caerus' imagination, it did- the moment Mal had obliged with his wishes, the tail was no longer a tail, but rather a strange beast he had to defeat. Dad could watch on, but Caerus no longer gazed at him, only flickered two-toned ears in his direction as he growled. hhgrrr!!! Came the vicious, high-pitched response, as he batted excitedly at the fluffy thing, chasing it this way and that as it moved.

Yeah, if this little guy didn't turn out to be a heartbreaker as he grew up, something was wrong -- as it was he'd almost melted his father into metaphorical a pile of goo. Of course, it had the side effect of making Mal wag his tail more whether he wanted to do so or not -- it was kind of tied in to that whole honest smile and laughter thing, all brought on by Caerus himself. The one positive to the wild tail-flailing was that when Mal had turned to watch him, he'd turned on his side enough that it was more of an up-down motion and less likely to smack Caerus right in the face -- unless he went and stuck his head right under it. You gonna be be a great hunter? He really wasn't expecting an answer to that, or even him noticing in the first place.

Heartbreaker indeed. Caerus would steal every heart he could, and it seemed his father's was already grasped between his tiny paws. Words came from dad, his ears flickered backward to acknowledge them, taking in the knowledge of language. Sinking into the brain. But no real response cane from him, not that he could, anyway- just another little woof!! grrrr-woof!! as he batted and batted. The boy would likely be entertained by this for hours even if nothing changed. For him, this was the joy of life, and he was content to savor it every chance he got.

Wanna wrap?

Mal watched him play. It was just so peaceful and perfect and in a way self-sustaining. It was a very enjoyable way to spend part of a day -- Mal could get used to it, but that would also kind of mean slacking on all his other duties, and he definitely was gonna have things to do as time went on.

But after watching it for a time, Mal curled into a tighter circle so that he could reach out and nuzzle the boy's back, a minor interruption to the game he'd been playing. He wasn't sure how long Caerus was planning to play, but to a certain point Mal also didn't want to push his limits -- Cupid could still come barging out and be annoyed at him again. How're you doing? he said quietly.

The nuzzle to his back caught his attention- he turned wide blue gaze upwards to the nameless man, staring quietly for a moment without moving, like a brainless goldfish. To the words he responded, hmm quietly, a hum like music, and then he returned to his prior activity, content to play until dad led him home.