King Elk Forest second breakfast

tagging @Rowan Mayfair for visibility as i assume she would be close!

the fat little hobbit was becoming quite fast despite his round sides -- he lunged every which way and tried daily to escape his mother's grasp. mona was fun to play with but went largely ignored due to the fact that cortland tobias was hellbent on getting into the outside world, regardless of what his mother wanted.

today was one such day, but it seemed that rowan was indulgent to his whims, letting her tubby bowl of fluff-son explore the border between the packland and the sprawling forest beyond.

while cortland was enamored with the thick scent of wolf urine splashed across the ground and the surrounding foliage, his eye was caught by a flash of red in the trees over the borderline.

"mahmee," the boy murmured, staring down the figure, who had a red tail with a white tip and seemed vaguely familiar.

the stranger grinned.

The silver male had been doing some hunting in the forest, hoping to bring some food back to the pack. He hadn't yet gone to meet Rowan's children, but he did leave food for Spring to take to them. He was, most likely, being overly cautious but the whole Amber incident had also proven distracting. He missed his friend and even more hated that Spring had suffered another loss. He hoped that Amber found what she was looking for, found happiness and family. His mind was full of thoughts of the alpha Ciel sister, however, as he wandered the forest.

He was attracted to her. That was easy enough to admit. What troubled him was the desire to pull away before the attraction deepened. A piece of him longed to linger near her daily, to hear her voice and smell her scent. The other piece wanted to bid her farewell and shove off, to save himself from the boulder that he was sure would soon fall onto his head and heart once more. It was a selfish desire, a cowardly desire, and he was disgusted by the idea. He liked Silver Creek outside of his attraction for Spring, and the thought of leaving his bromance with Casmir was just as heart wrenching. No. He would stay, he would grow attached. And if his heart was meant to be torn and destroyed again, he'd just be sure that he died in the fight with it.

"It wouldn't be exactly the same as last time." He reminded himself. Spring certainly wouldn't betray her own pack. He had, at least, saved himself from that very specific form of heartache. He sniffed idly, walking slowly but doing more thinking than tracking. He was drawn from his thoughts by a voice, a small voice. For a moment he wondered if it was Laurel and his head snapped up. He saw, instead, a smaller pup than Laurel could be now. It was staring at something and he turned to look himself. The sight of the fox made his heart seize in his chest. A fox could eat a pup, couldn't it? Kill it at the least. Without a thought he swiftly surged forward to stand near the pup. His eyes did not leave the fox, but he was aware of his feet and their proximity to the pup. 

He thought not of a potential mother nearby, only of keeping the fox away. So he planted himself firmly over the pup and silently raised his lip at the fox, eyes narrowed. It was only after his promise of death had been satisfactorily conveyed did he finally glance towards the small floof. 

"Careful there, kid." He said calmly, warmly. He thought to comment on not talking to strangers, but as he himself was a stranger he quickly dashed the idea. "Things like that can be scary. Gotta stay away from them, you hear?" His voice was soft, an attempt at being reassuring. "What's your name? I'm Heston." As he stood over the boy he could smell him clearly. He smelled of milk, or course, and of sleep as well. A nostalgic scent that sent images of his mother to his mind. Most importantly, and of less reminder of Heston's mother, he smelled of Rowan. "Where's your Momma, hm?" He was sure she was near, and he felt a prickling of unease at being so close and so, from a distance, potentially threatening looking to the pup. Yet, he feared the fox too much to move away and feared Rowan's anger too much to attempt to pick the boy up.

a shadow fell across his small body, and cortland jumped; he had not been expecting the approach of another. the pup lifted a small lip, a high-pitched snarl emanating from him. and, to be perfectly honest, when the the fox unfurled and slipped into the shadows without a word, cortland grew rather cheesed off. hey! he wanted to shout, but the huge pale beast began to talk at him, using only a handful of words that the boy understood.

"mama dere," cortland muttered, gesturing with a tiny raised paw in the direction he had last seen rowan. she was nearby -- this dude didn't need to be all up in his grill about it. the hobbit frowned. "why you do dat?!" he exclaimed. why did this wolf take away the one source of joy in his life?! besides food!?

Admittedly, Heston didn't know much about children. Food goes in one end, waste comes out the other much like anything else. He knew they were born not able to talk, and then one day they could. He didn't know about developmental stages, but he soon realized the boy didn't understand what he'd said. The fox vanished into the forest but Heston still felt uneasy. He stared at the little floof as it imitated a snarl, amusement rising within him. He didn't show it, he knew enough to not offend.

His eyes followed the direction of the point and he sniffed the air in that direction, but couldn't ascertain where Rowan was. He returned his gaze to the angry pup, thinking for a moment. He took now to move from over the child, placing himself between it and where the fox had been. "Red thing bad." He said, attempting to be simple. "Eat you. Hurt. Ow. Then Mama cry." Surely that served? He felt like a caveman, but if this was how you spoke to children he'd do it. "What Mama call you? I'm Heston." 

in spite of himself, cortland's small rounded ears flicked toward heston's deep voice. he could make sense of it now, what the man was saying. had he been a bit older, he might have sneered, but as it was, the boy was suddenly afraid of the red thing that had looked at him. "bad?" he piped, glancing past heston. "ea' me???" his voice was incredulous.

"cowtwand," the mayfair said then. "mama name wow'n. n' mona sisser. hes'n," he muttered. "what wed fing?" would heston knew what he was talking about? stay tuned.

His simple words seemed to make sense to the boy and Heston watched fear cross his face. He didn't want to make the boy afraid...but that was better than dead. He nodded silently as the pup repeat his words. "Eat you fast." He said, attempting to convince the young one, giving a loud chomp of his own teeth to emphasize.

For a moment Heston had no clue what the child was saying. Rowan tipped him off, though, and soon he was piecing together the sentence. If wow'n was Rowan, then he was Cortrand? Maybe? Monasisser was something else entirely. What was a monasisser? He recognized his own name, and found himself a little touched at the cuteness of his name on the youngsters tongue and then, realizing that was decidedly unmanly, shoved the emotion down. The question that he ended with was easier to piece to together, though it still took some thought.

"Fox." Heston rumbled, glancing back to the forest once more. "Red thing called Fox. Not friend. Heston friend." He smiled a little, wagging his tail slightly. "We go find mama?" He was eager to get the boy as far away from the forest and the fox as possible, now that he was seemingly in charge.

cortland flinched as heston snapped his teeth, the long white spikes quite fear-inducing. but in the next moment, he recovered himself and waved his tiny tail behind himself. "FUCKS," he repeated loudly, grinning at the large male for confirmation that he had said the word correctly. he glanced around for his mother then; he sensed her nearness but did not see her, or mona, and frowned.

"find mama," the pup chirped, moving to sniff at heston's forepaw, then lifting his muzzle to bump the man's chin. "hongree," he whined. rowan fed the pups meat now, already minced and prepared in her gullet -- surely his new friend was carrying some, as well.

The boy seemed pleased by the name of the animal, and Heston's lips cracked into a wide smile at his attempt. He snickered, nodding. "That's right, Fox." Rowan couldn't very well get mad at him for teaching the boy a new word, he hadn't told him to say fucks. Heston himself found it quite funny.

The young one parroted his question back to him, and Heston watched as he approached him and sniffed his foot. He was surprised at the closeness and watched the child with soft eyes. He wouldn't mind to have a munchkin around, one that got his eyes or his handsome smirk. He hadn't managed to mess anything up with this pup, so certainly he could handle being a dad?

The pup bumped his chin, breaking him from his thoughts with the contact and the whine that followed. He might be slow with some things involving pups, but he'd seen adults regurgitate meat for their children. He'd always found it rather gross and had firmly decided that he wouldn't repeat the act with his own children. But now the little floof was staring at him with wide and pleading eyes. He winced, glancing away. "Oh...you uh, you're hungry? We could tell Mama? Go find her, and eat?" He wondered if that would be enough for the boy, and hoped it would be. If he insisted, Heston would have no choice but to give in, as distasteful as he found it.

he seemed to have amused his new buddy, and this made the little hobbit giggle. but heston didn't give up the bounty that cortland tobias was quite sure he was carrying, and a frown creased his velvet brow. he was hungry now -- why didn't the huge snowy beast understand that? cortland's ears pinned back against his skulll, and he cast a searching glance for his mother. senses revealed she was close, perhaps even barreling down upon the man to sweep her son away, but for now he didn't see her, and this made the boy wonder if she would ever come back.

"mama gawn," he muttered confidently. "i hongree naow." to punctuate his words, cortland reared up on his chubby hindquarters and bumped heston's chin again, now a bit frustrated his pleas for food were going unanswered.

"Mama gone." Made him frown. Rowan wasn't gone, he was sure. She was distracted. Or perhaps asleep. This little floof had probably wandered off when he wasn't supposed to. She was likely looking for him, worried and afraid this very minute. Or else, about to wake to fright when she found him gone. The next words made him frown for a different reason. 

The pup pawed at his chin and he felt guilty at the sadness and the whine in the child's voice. He didn't want the kid to cry, because that would surely bring Rowan and light a fire in her as well. He'd have a hard time explaining he hadn't meant any harm if he had to do so over the wails of her child. In fact, he'd likely just get bitten for it.

Swallowing thickly he looked back down at the floof. "Alright, alright. Food now, then." He blinked at the kid for a minute, unsure what to do. "Uh, hold on." He spun his back to the kid, uncomfortable retching directly in his face. He made a few comical faces, stretching his lips back in a wide awkward smile, in an attempt to bring the food up. He'd never had to make himself sick before. Finally, he felt his stomach flop as he opened his mouth wide and forced a gag. With a wet plop he deposited a nice portion of the meal he'd had earlier. It wasn't like actual vomit, he tried to remind himself as he wiped a paw over his lips.

"Here you go. Food." 

the man turned around and made some weird noises, but cortland was quickly distracted from them by the offering of chewed meat the adult delivered. cooing happily, the boy descended on the heap and began to eat, smacking his lips with loud relish and growling from time to time at nothing in particular. "gud fude," cortland mumbled, packing his jaws tightly and tightening his belly, until he could eat no more and sat down heavily. "how you do dat?" the boy inquired; how did heston, or any adult really, make this sort of magick? "i kin do?"

The boy leapt towards the food and while Heston at first winced and wrinkled his nose, as the child ate he took a measure of pride in the fact that he'd provided food. Plus, the kid was closer to eating real meat now. This was his stepping stone to getting to real stuff, and he was sure that it was likely more filling than simple milk.

He smirked as the boy grunted and grumbled as he ate. It was cute, good to see he had such an appetite. His ear flicked at the question the child asked. "Takes practice." He replied. "Mamas are much better at it than Heston." He had to stop himself from saying Dads as well. "You can do, when you're bigger. Like Heston and Mama." He did not want the pup running around trying to get up the food he'd just eaten. "Nap time now?" Did a child this old still take naps? With a full belly he might, even Heston felt the pull of sleep after a good meal.

fade after another round? <3

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heston was talking again, and cortland perked up at the mention of his mother, but otherwise gazed blankly at heston, his small mouth agape as his body began to urge him to sleep. "yah," he piped. for that he needed his den, and so toddled resolutely off in the direction he thought rowan had gone.
his mother was rightfully worried, and swooped him into her jaws with a misgiving glance toward the imposing heston. "mama, heston m'fwend," cortland mumbled as she shooed him toward the den and a sleeping mona. when he had settled alongside his sister, heston was given a more welcoming look and a gentle murmur of thanks that the pale man had tended her child.[/tr][/td][/table]

Sounds good to me

The boy stared up at him with a dazed expression. He responded in the affirmative to the idea of a nap and Heston followed slowly behind him, ears and eyes trained for any sign of Rowan more than any lurking danger. When they reached the nearby den, Rowan fell upon him and Heston backed away a little to provide her some ease of mind.

"Have a good nap, buddy." He called after the boy, smiling softly. He glanced back to Rowan with a more wary glance, worried that she would be displeased with him. She gave him thanks for tending her child and he smirked and nodded. "My pleasure. Sweet little boy. There's a fox in the woods, just so you know." He gestured to the woods from where he and Cortland had come. "I saw it watching him, might be good to steer clear until they've grown a little more." He didn't want to scare her, but she needed to know. Had he not stumbled upon the kid when he did, he didn't want to think about what the outcome might have been.

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rowan nodded, brow furrowing, and thanked heston before she joined her children in the den. and if she did not sleep, keeping a watchful eye, cort would never know, as he had bought a time share in lala land and was happily making his way there.[/tr][/td][/table]