Dragoncrest Cliffs you're a very attractive young lady

Grrrahahablah! was Stingray's fearless battle shout as he charged from the den with his head lowered like a bull. The sun was dazzling and warm, inviting the young boy outside to frolic. He should have listened when his parents warned him to watch where he was going, but being young, excitable, and brash had its major drawbacks, including a very short attention span. He never looked up, so he couldn't see the stone in his path before his paws snagged on it and sent him crashing into the long grass.

For what felt like eons to the cub, he lay there, stunned. His chin smarted and there was the taste of blood in his mouth, but there was a long delay between when he hit the ground and when his brain finally buffered. The second that happened, Ray began to scream at the top of his lungs with his tongue hanging out, the tip sporting a crimson spot where he had bitten it.

erzulie had come for another post-partum visit on behalf of @Meerkat. but it was the boy stingray who caught her attention as she came up toward the den. the obsidian watched as he romped, then drew closer quickly as he began to cry.
"it be all right," she clucked to his little ears. "let me see." she had been here before and so was familiar, but who knew how a hurt child would react in the moment. erzulie kept her posture warm, intrigued that the child was brother to her own boys.

Strangers were a foreign concept to Stingray; he had all the budding confidence of a young rising star, so there wasn't a single wolf around whom Ray was shy or uncertain. He went to Erzulie as easily as he would have his own mother when she clucked to him, eager for the warmth and comfort of an adult.

He fell into Erzulie more than anything, blubbering through snotty nostrils and smacking his sore tongue against the roof of his mouth between upset whimpers.

the boy came to her. erzulie nosed over little stingray. "you bit your tongue, sweet t'ing," she told him softly. "say ah, very good." she swiped her own tongue over his mouth, offering an immediate attempt at relief as she had no dandelion honey at current hand.
"you were running. were you running away?" she asked the baby, hoping to distract him.

Jaalanana, he said conversationally with his tongue still hanging from his jaws. The pain was not so bad now; he even giggled a little when Erzulie swiped her own tongue over his mouth. Ossasasasapa, he added, twisting and peering intently up at her for a response.

Well, he couldn’t just say he was running with no destination in mind, could he? Erzulie deserved a dramatic retelling of how he received this manly battle scar, even if it was a bit of a fib.

"mm, i see," erzulie rejoined with a sage nod. "well, we cannot be havin' dat now, can we?" she blew air over his forehead and bumped his shoulder. 
the obsidian, still spry, sprang sideways next, inviting the pup to play with the age-old bow of their kind. her plume arched against the sky. erzulie mouthed the air. "pretend i be de monster," she suggested with a laugh, eyes bright.

Baaah, he said with finality. He was glad they had this talk. Now if ma asked him how he hurt his tongue, Erzulie could corroborate his story.

Ray jolted when his leader bolted away, but his shock and confusion faded as soon as her chest met the ground, as did the lingering sting of his bitten tongue. Those were fighting words! He was on his paws in an instant, and with a challenging yap, he charged for Erzulie.

With his head down like a bull again, because learning from the first mistake wasn't in style today.

he tucked his head and bowled forward. erzulie too rushed him, darting aside at the last moment. she passed her paw over him with a whoosh, whirling around to nip at his tail.
oddly enough, she felt like an aunt to the new children of meerkat and njord. their arrangement was not conventional but so far it had been well. the boys and their father still shared a packland, and now her sons had siblings of their own.
it felt joyous to first appearance.
erzulie snapped playfully at the air.

Ray pulled out of his charge and spun when he felt Erzulie's paw whisk over his back, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid a nip to the tail. With a shriek that was one part indignant and one part delight, he bunched his body up, gave a little anticipatory wiggle, and sprang for a cream-coloured paw.

he was quick and she laughed. his sharp little teeth caught her roughened paw pad. the obsidian rumbled lowly and gently patted his muzzle, keeping her toes just out of reach. "one day you will go to fish wid me," therefore he must understand bait, and she laughed at her own half-said joke.

No sooner had his teeth found their mark than Erzulie tapped his muzzle and danced them out of reach. Stingray rolled in the dirt, reaching with flailing limbs and parted jaws alike. He wriggled like a grub to try to get closer, but Erzulie proved too quick for him.

All the excitement and frustration bubbling up in his gut came out as a growling yap. At least he had forgotten all about hitting his chin on the ground.

he rumbled a fierce little sound. erzulie laughed and let him catch her sea-hardened ankle with his milk teeth. 
"be strong, little one. in no time at all you will be part of de sea, as we all are."
the crash of waves along the shoreline seemed to confirm this in confidence.

Hope you don't mind me wrapping this here, I'm experiencing some major whelmies and want to close out my older threads! Feel free to post again or archive as is!

Stingray had a lot of energy, but he burned through it fast. He caught Erzulie's ankle and gnawed on it for some time, heedless of her words and the roar of the waves alike, but it wasn't long before his strength flagged. He grew slow and lethargic, and soon he was drooling rather than gnawing.

In mere minutes, Stingray conked right out. His cheek hit the ground with a soft thud, punctuated by a loud snore. His sleep was immediately deep and dreamless; he did not even wake when he was carried back to the safety of the den.