Lost Creek Hollow I am flummoxed! That's a word I learned for this party, and I am it!

alright, so his ears were pretty much at their pointy point in development. he could definitely hear better, and he could see things that he'd never been able to before. his siblings were no longer blobs, which was actually kind of disappointing because it had made most of his initial interactions with them very humorous. finding out that they had real life shapes was a real oddity. he supposed that he looked something like them, only way more handsome and strong.

with his newfound strength and size, the boy had wandered to the outside of the family den. it was here that he noted the sharp smells of spring. his nose twitched with delight and he padded toward a group of flowers where a bee had rested to pollinate. aengus leaned forward and sniffed curiously. big mistake, buddy. that bee did not like having his private patio sniffed at, and promptly stung the boy's nose.

a sharp yelp could be heard as aengus reared back and snorted repeatedly to try to rid himself of the pain. in a few short seconds, his nose had started to swell. he could feel it – see it! - and he became so afraid that he was becoming the lumpy one, that he blubbered for a moment. then, he turned back to see if sionnach was inside the den. he wanted to know how to adjust to his new lifestyle and really, she was the only one he could think would help him.

Some of the kids had gotten bigger and louder, and Ibis was so intrigued by their development that she couldn't help but visit more frequently. They were no longer cute little lumps; one in particular had become a big lump very quickly, and seemed to have grown functioning limbs overnight. She spotted the dark shape of the cub as he tawdled out of the den.

Ibis was approaching with a fresh bundle of flowers and herbs as a gift for them - eager to line their den, as well as Treason's, with fresh flowers and objects that would spruce up the place. As she drifted closer she noticed that the cub had begun investigating something, and by the time she reached his position his snout had begun to swell up! Her mouth opened in surprise and out tumbled her latest gift, scattering on the stone surface beneath her paws.

Oh! Oh no, what's wrong..? She murmured as she began to look at him - but his chubby little face was starting to balloon!

the whole experience would have been incredibly detrimental to his existence... if it hadn't brought an angel to the mouth of their den. in fact, aengus had been rather preoccupied with his discovery of actual pain; he could not remove the stinging sensation from his muzzle. so, with pleading puppy blue eyes, the dark young boy turned his sights on the angel who had fallen from grace just to ask him what was wrong.

should he have been prepared for such things – or a month older – he might have attempted to whisk her away with a few dashing words. instead, aengus plopped down on his puppy rump and his eyes welled with fat tears. “owwie,” he pleaded to her, extending his muzzle toward the sandy-colored girl with his best and most pitiful expression.

The child's plump body came tumbling towards her; he was like a little boulder, all pudge and soft edges and absolutely lacking coordination, but he managed well enough. By the time he'd come up to her his snout had ballooned incredibly; Ibis watched with a mixture of fascination and horror, and when the boy murmured a word at her, she knew she had to do something to help. His sad little eyes looked even sadder and smaller because of the big poof of his swelling nose! Oh, but what could she do?!

He was standing as still as one could expect of a lumpy child, and Ibis hastily began to examine his little face. It was very hard to see the little black thorn that was wedged in to his nose - but with the swelling of the boy's snout came the rise of a tiny lump, and it looked white against the dark backdrop of his snout's short fur. Oh, I see it! You got an owwie, and I think I can fix it. Just... Stay... Really still... She chanted slowly, as she moved in to try and peck or lick the stinger away.

holy shit, he had reached nirvana. so maybe he was way too young to have the hots for anyone else. maybe he was only just a puppy and those thoughts wouldn't have entered his mind for a considerable amount of time. none of that mattered, because aengus was feeling the violent fluttering of wings against the inside of his stomach. it was something beyond butterflies – more akin to the feeling of a hundred doves taking flight from within him. all of the pain had been forgotten in that moment of sheer euphoria.

the girl worked against the stinger in his nose. all of her trouble had paid off in a matter of minutes as the sharp object became dislodged from his nose and fell to the ground to be lost in the dirt and grass. aengus sneezed quickly once it had been pulled out, and then peered up at his savior with a reverent and touched expression. he leaned toward her on unstable limbs and whispered the only word he had heard girls be called in his family den, “pretty...”

She felt something tug at her tongue, something hard and small, and thought of thorns; she had been right after all, and tugged the object free. As it fell to the dirt she pulled back to inspect his snout - but Ibis was no healer, not really. She knew about some plants and some dangers associated with those plants, but nothing beyond that - so she couldn't stop the swelling or help in any way, except to lightly dab at the welt on his nose with the tip of her tongue.

The boy seemed to be fixated on her but Ibis didn't notice until she felt satisfied enough with the wound to draw back and relax a bit, and that was about the time he gawked at her and said, Pretty... Heck, he was such a cutie! But she couldn't understand what he was talking about -- and as she missed the mark completely, she replied, I bet it was a pretty flower you were looking at! That little thorn was from a bee, can you say bee?

She enunciated, her front teeth flashing like a tiny smile as she said, Bumblebee!

the stunning girl talked at him, and all the boy could do was to nod his head with wide eyes and an even wider smile. his face still kind of looked like play-doh with eyes, but at least she had removed all of the pain from his nose. she was also talking to him about something called a flower and a bee, which she later added an additional word to. the young bull was really lost, but he did what he could to seem enthralled with her words and teachings. he nodded again and returned the smile that she had flashed while demonstrating how to properly pronounce the word she was introducing.

too bad she was dealing with least bright of the latest frostfur litter.

“bumbee,” he yapped back to her with a wildly wiggling rear end. his face was still dramatically swollen and would likely remain that way for a while. because of this, his words were not the clearest, but damn if he hadn't tried to impress this wonderful angel of a woman. sionnach would be so jealous when he told her all about the kindest, sweetest, warmest stranger who had come to visit him and tend to his battle wounds.

He was adorable — and if she'd been older, this one little moment would've convinced Ibis that she needed her own children because they too could be so very very very cute. It took every ounce of her self-control not to giggle in his face as he spoke, and she managed to catch herself before she could utter any sound — essentially looking like this:



And her eyes gleamed with such love and mirth, for a moment she couldn't focus on the boy with his swollen proboscus. Her heart fluttered a little bit, and she finally grinned and gave him the positive affirmations that he deserved: Yes! Very good! Very, very good! Bumbees don't want to hurt you, but maybe you scared it? They are very small, and you are very mighty! Her tail wagged behind her uncontrollably, utterly smitten with the child.

she made a wild face at him, but aengus wasn't the best at reading body language yet, so he simply attempted to repeat the expression back to her – he assumed this was best practice in that type of situation. plus, she followed the face-making with some mighty fine praise. that was some good shit right there. the small bull really was enjoying the doting that was taking place, whether he had a lumpy nose or not. he had started to wonder if being lumpy would draw people like her to him. couldn't be that bad of a fate, right?

she made him happy, though, and this was evident in the way that he could not control his back end from wobbling him in the same place. she said he might have scared the bumbee, which seemed totally logical to him because he was pretty fucking fierce. the boy looked up at her with giant blue puppy eyes and smiled. “gus scary?” he asked her softly.

Im sorry this took forever and is so short omfg I suck.

The sweet tone of his voice made her heart melt in to a puddle, and for a moment Ibis didn't know how to respond, but she couldn't just ooh and awwwe over him forever (that's a lie, she totally could).

To something tiny like the bumbee, yes, but I don't think you're scary, she tried to clarify, and poked her cold nose against his cheek as a sign of affection.

no u do not <3 i never rush threads so ur okay to take as long as u need

well the beautiful angel didn't think he was scary, but she did explain that the bumbee probably thought he was. this was alright by him. if aengus could only be frightening to things that weren't stunning women, then his life was certainly working out for the best. this showed in the bright glow that swept across his face. as the girl leaned in and touched her nose to his cheek, the bull laughed with delight and wiggled himself so fiercely that he toppled over to the side.

from this point, aengus did what he could in an attempt to make it seem like he'd totally meant to do that. his paws were too big and his body wasn't quite caught up with the rest of him. it was more comical than anything else. when he had found his footing, the boy peered up at her with wide eyes and a wider smile. “was name?” he asked of her.

Her tiny kiss managed to bowl the boy over, and he flailed in the dirt for a few moments. Ibis was amused by his inability to control his limbs—and wondered idly if her own clumsiness had started in much the same manner. Would he grow out of it? Maybe he'd grow up to become a big, beefy warrior-type. Maybe he'd be cursed with akwardness and a lack of grace, as Ibis felt she had been. He struggled back to his feet with as much fluidity as a child could grasp, and beamed a smile at her that felt more like a spotlight.

It was a beautiful smile.

Was name? The babe urged, which Ibis intuited as being a question—since he didn't follow up with his own name, she had to assume he was asking for her's. What good manners! My name is Ibis. What's your name?

the boy was pretty sure that he could have spent the remainder of his days listening to the stranger talk to him. there was something about the seafoam color of her gaze that made him feel as though that was exactly where he wanted to be. she did not seem to be bothered by his puppyish antics. even when he had lost control of his balance, the sandy woman had only waited patiently for him to correct himself before moving on to the looming question. aengus needed a name; he was going to rub it in sionnach’s face that he had met a real fucking angel or something – this girl was unreal, that was the point.
 
ibis, was the introduction. the boy gaped at her, unsure how to repeat that sound she’d just made. “eeebs,” he attempted with a furrowed brow and a shake of his head. he looked at her with an expression of hopelessness before realizing that it was his turn to share a moniker. the boy puffed up his chest real big and drew back his crown – like a true prince. “aengus, i aengus,” he offered her with a nod.

Aengus.

A very pretty, very strong name! A good name. She praised and smiled, her tail waving to-and-fro behind her. A glimpse around the boy gave away that Ibis had noticed his siblings, and she opened her mouth to ask for their names too, maybe even invite them all to play a game, but then there came a familiar howl on the opposite end of the territory; it sounded like her father was calling for her.

The girl was elated, but looked to Aengus and felt sad that she was being called away. Maybe she could come back later and get to know the rest of the litter? Her smile remained but it was a bit more serious. She didn't want to leave her daddy waiting for long but she also didn't want to leave the boy all alone again - he was so cute. Aengus, can we play later? She asks, voice bright. I have to go for now, but I promise I'll be back — okay?

She booped his nose with her's, and carefully, tenderly, flicked a kiss of her tongue upon the spot where the bee had pricked his snout.

the boy could have gotten used to all of that attention. it definitely helped that he was getting doted on by one of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen in his life. it didn’t help that the comparison was all his family. sure, his mom was a stunner… but that was his mom. this was a girl who had come from an entirely different set of genes. she was like sand and seafoam, and it would be a long time before the proud little prince ever managed to forget her beautiful features. had it been up to him, aengus could have sat there with the girl for the rest of eternity and listened to her talk to him about whatever it was that crossed into her mind.
 
when the sound of a voice rang overhead, the young bull drew his ears into a stiff tent atop his head. he canted his skull to the side several times before ibis made mention that she needed to be off, but that she would return. aengus did what he could not to seem hurt by this. he understood that most of the adults in the pack couldn’t waste all their time hanging out with puppies – even if the opportunity presented itself to chill with the coolest and most regal of all the pups.
 
in a show of his princely manner, aengus rose to his large paws and bowed to her. it was unsteady and awkward, but he was doing everything that he could to cinch that first impression. when the sandy woman turned to leave, he followed her with his gaze until she had disappeared from his line of sight. then, he turned back to the family den and opted to rush inside and tell sionnach all about the beautiful new friend he had made.