Heron Lake Plateau Something smells fishy

Perhaps @Screech or someone else unknown?

Growing much too bored with staying inside the den, Tywyll snuck out alone again. He knew he would get in trouble for it but he didn't quite care. He headed toward the lake and sniffed around some bushes, catching wind of a really disgusting and awful smell. He followed it and found a rotting fish carcass by the water, sniffing and poking at it. A evil thought crossed his mind and before he could really think it through he dropped and rolled in the fish, coating his fur in the disgusting stench of rotting seafood. He could only imagine the shrieks Cinder would give as he tried to flop on him while smelling like complete and total death! He began to giggle to himself as he rolled once more, stood up and shook off whatever loose pieces of fish guts he could.

The lake didn't have much besides birds, and sometimes fish. Screech didn't know how to fish that well but he knew that the bigger birds did - he'd watched various herons in the days since coming to the plateau, so he knew there were fish, just that they were pretty small and quick and much too skilled at evading the wolf. So he set his sights on getting one of those herons instead — he'd staked out a portion of the lake and watched as one of his targets (a very old, dingy-blue heron) snapped at the water, walked around a bit, and snapped some more. When he felt like he might be able to get close, Screech slunk towards the shore with his body hugging the shallows.

Within the hour he'd taken out the old bird. Maybe the creature had been slow to react to his charge because of its advancing age, or its full belly, but either way Screech was proud to pull its carcass from the water and towards the pit he'd dug earlier in the day. As he worked to gut the bird (which was the whole point of the experiment), the smell of the half-digested fish made him want to vomit. He wasn't usually a picky eater, but something about eating a partially digested fish out of a dead bird just... Didn't sit right with him. So, he began to scatter the contents of the bird's belly across the territory.

By the time he'd covered the heron's grave (er, the cache), he was pretty tired and a little frustrated that things hadn't worked out better. If he wanted fish, he'd have to learn how to move quickly in the water and be patient, both of which were things he was absolutely not suited for. Screech decided to give up for the time being, and turned from the lake in order to tread across the plateau — he now hunted for a good place to nap.

Instead, the scent of rotten fish carried on the air. He didn't think much of it until the scent grew thick, and he thought he saw something small roaming around in the grass. Seeing as the experiment had left him without a meal (or really an appetite), he almost bypassed it— but then he caught sight of the small bundle of black fur rolling about atop one of the discarded bits of the ex-heron's meal. Gross.

Hey, kid — stop that, he instructed with a scowl, striding closer so that he could usher them away from the pile of nasty. He didn't think to look around for the kid's parents, knowing that this must've been one of the newest member of the Blackthorn family and also knowing how much trouble he'd be in for involving himself. But oh well, Screech resigned himself to being in the wrong place at the wrong time months ago.

So involved in laughing at his mischievous plot was he that he hadn't realized there was another wolf around until he was instructed to stop rolling. He lifted his head quickly and whirled around, eyeing the white furred male curiously. He seemed familiar and it took Tywyll a bit to remember that this was the guy who almost fought with Towhee when they first arrived. 

Unsure what opinion to have, Tywyll decided to just be difficult and puffed out his chest "Why?" he asked. It was his favorite word and he ofteb used it until others grew annoyed by it which made him laugh.

The kid was nimble and avoided his swiping paw, and even leveled his little face towards Screech in order to squawk a, Why? which — well, it should've resulted in some kind of answer from the almost-adult but Screech didn't know what to say. He couldn't lord any power over this little blob. He couldn't even say because I am an adult and you're not and you have to listen to me, because... That wasn't true.

So he resorted to a big fat and juicy lie, and with a half-bored expression on his face he said, Rolling in fish guts makes you smell like fish guts. Y'know what eats fish guts? He leaned in as he asked this, and left a small pause in case the kid wanted to try and answer — but then he cut in with, The megalo-teryx. I know, big scary word. But its a big scary monster!

Tywyll remained puffed and arrogant, blue eyes staring Screech down relentlessly without answering the question asked. The response wasn't one he had expected, a new crearture was named, one called a monster. His eyes went wide and he inhaled, tail dropping for a second as he feared he had made a stupid choice by rolling in the putrid mess of rotting fish. Then he gave Screech a once over and decided he didn't want to look small and scared in front of him so he snorted. "I faced a scary monster once" he said, a total truth in his eyes. Of course he was speaking about the eagle, not really a monster in reality but to Tywyll it surely counted. Then he began to feel the need to brag a bit so he lifted his chin and tail "Big claws and nasty sharb beaked thing. I can take on a...a mega rex...or whatever!" he said proudly, stumbling over the word before simply giving up and resuming his childish front of big bad tough guy. Then he stared at Screech's missing eye and settled down a bit, sobering slightly. "Is that what got your eye mister?" he asked curiously.

The kid fought a bird and lived? His first thought beyond that was of Towhee's stupid pet, and that made the fur on the back of his neck stand up. How stupid could she be to have something like that around little kids? But he reminded himself these were Blackthorns — so that calmed him down somewhat.

Yeah kid, he murmured, but then took on a very serious expression and got down low so that the soot-blob could look at his healed wound. I went huntin' one day, but the megalo-teryx started huntin' me. His eyes went wide, which made the sunken hole-and-eyelid combo flex grossly. It's big, kid. Really tall, with a long stabby beak and big feet! It could'a crushed me but I was too fast.

His first response at being eye to eyehole with screech was to recoil with a wince that was both disgust and pity. That really must have hurt. Then as Screech told hos tale Tywyll began to shake and his pupils dilated until he looked purely terrified. Slowly he began to back  up, ears flattening and tail tucked away between his  legs with a slow whine  "I gotta...Um...Go make sure momma and poppa know of this monster." he lied. In reality he would bolt back to the den and then hide against Finley's belly for a few days until he forgot his fear. With a slow nod in screech's direction he turned and raced off.

He didn't see the look on the kids face at first, not until he'd whirled about and made to run off to the den. In that moment, as Screech stood up properly, he caught a brief glimpse of big-eyes and tucked-tail, which he thought would make him feel bad... But it didn't. He hadn't meant to scare the kid so horribly of course, but he'd get over it. How many shitty situations had Screech been in, and survived? Being confronted with the mere concept of a monster (and one that didn't exist) only to become scared and go running for home — that just proved to him this new batch of Blackthorns were just as lame as the others. But he shrugged, and went on his way. There'd likely be fallout for this little storytelling session later, but whatever, he'd handle it.