Neverwinter Forest trusting you totally

@Caerus

mathieu grumbled through the territory, kicking undeserving stones unlucky enough to be in his way. there wasn't anything that he could do about his missing brother, and that was the part which really bothered him. what if yves needed help? his brother could be somewhere, dying alone, and matty would be none the wiser. he sat down at the rendezvous to wade in his sea of teenage emotions.

An odd noise caught Caerus' attention, and he stumbled dumbly towards the source. A rumbling of the throat was emitted by a boy who sat alone. Was it Mal? It certainly looked like Mal- and so Caerus shouted out h-hai!!, dropping into a tiny playbow. That ought to get his attention! Yeah- he wasn't very inventive.

mathieu looked over his shoulder — huh? — and watched the baby toddle over. who are you? he asked. figuring he wouldn't get any (cohesive) response, matty settled into his own play bow, lifting a paw to bat at the child's head.

how was he supposed to do this? the thing was so little; what if he hurt it? mathieu looked nervously over each shoulder to ensure its mother wasn't anywhere nearby.

HUH? He imitated with a grin that was almost knowing. Maybe this was Mal! Mal said huh a lot- but then, so had his own guardian... did it mean something? He latched onto a sound he liked, repeating hoo!!! before a giggle tumbled out of him, paired with a wildly wagging stub of a tail. 

Mathieu batted his head, and the boy stumbled with an unf! of surprise. Had he done something wrong? His tail slowed and he stared up into the man's face- only to notice blue eyes. Mal didn't have blue eyes, did he...? Caerus frowned a little and batted at the stranger's leg with a little white paw in response.

mathieu hadn't meant to offend the baby. this was him playing; that's what the kid wanted, right? he responded to the little hit with a timid smile, repeating the action with an apologetic woof. 

play? matty asked, seeking to confirm. he lifted a paw in the air and said, look, before bringing softly down atop the baby's head.

pay? He repeated. He remembered Mal saying the same thing- and they had had fun together. The stranger smiled, and Caerus couldn't hold back his own smile then. When the man touched his head gently, Caerus' tail began to wag again. p-pay!! He shouted enthusiastically, wondering if he could reach Mathieu's head. He tried to stand up on his back legs to gain height, but fell backward onto his back. Maybe not.

presque, he laughed. mathieu stepped forward and nudged the baby's belly, parting his lips to reveal the tips of his teeth. he nudged at the boy's side and, if allowed, grabbed gently onto his scruff. matty's goal was to toss caerus into the air (just out of reach), turning onto his side to give him a pillow to land on.

some pp for flow, lmk if I should change anything

Mathieu poked at his stomach, which elicited a giggle from the small boy. The grabbing of his scruff was familiar, and so the boy did not object- but the throw was, needless to say, a surprise. weee!!! He squealed with dual fear and joy, before gravity pulled him back down to earth... and he landed on something softer than expected with an oof! If @Cupid were here, he certainly wouldn't be happy- lucky for Mathieu, he was somewhere else right now. The boy wiggled his way off of Mathieu's side unceremoniously, plopping to the ground beside him, filled with new energy.

surprisingly enough, this baby carried some weight. mathieu felt the air forced from his lungs with more force than expected. it took him a moment to recover, but he pushed through the pain to continue their little game.

mathieu moved to stand over caerus, hoping to gently trap him beneath his weight. chouet drôle! he cooed to the child, adjusting his stance so that the baby might still be able to move.

Caerus was blissfully unaware of the way in which he had forced the air out of Mathieu. He'd never experienced such a sensation, and so could not conceptualize it. Instead he is intrigued by the words uttered by Mathieu- they were different, somehow. He would've liked to imitate and yet they were not sounds like hoo and yoo and pay and huh- and so his head tilts to the side with interest. The man stands overtop him, and he laughs, smiling ear to ear while he wiggles playfully beneath him. buh!! He crows, certainly his favorite perceived word by far.

mathieu continued trying to trap caerus. he hadn't imagined that their game could be this fun, but wasn't displeased to have been proven wrong. he'd been able to avoid thinking about yves; mulling over the negative was nearly impossible around such a tiny bundle of excitement.

he rolled onto his back, giving caerus free reign.

He was free! Caerus stumbled back to his feet, excitedly staring down upon the field of soft fur before him. Grinning in a way that was almost mischievous, he climbed up the hill and settled himself upon Mathieu's chest, before booping his nose with his own in the way Mal often did to him. He curiously sniffed at Mathieu's face for a moment, before passing his tongue over one of the man's cheeks, tail wagging a mile a minute all the while.

pleased with the kid's review, mathieu laid his head back against the frozen soil. he lazily lifted one paw to stroke down the boy's spine, hopefully helping to release some of his energy. from his throat came the soft rumblings of an old lullaby, once sung by his caretakers.

Mathieu brought a paw to Caerus' little spine gently, and the boy shivered with surprise before a happy smile settled on his face. The stranger then sang- which was like nothing Caerus had ever heard before. Neither Mal nor Cupid were the most eager to put on a show, so the boy's tail wagged at the joy that a good melody could bring.

A patient, listening child would've paid attention longer, maybe considered falling asleep- but Caerus was not that child, and after a few moments of listening he felt that he understood the game enough to join in. hmm, hmm, hmhm, awoo, hmm, hm!! He sang. The notes were completely random and there was no melody. But Caerus was pleased with himself, and he wiggled excitedly atop Mathieu's stomach.

mathieu assumed that accuracy wasn't caerus's goal. he listened to the baby's performance with forward-cupped ears, impressed by its ability to mimick. were babies always this smart?

he took each paw and placed one at either of the kid's flanks. you're not sleepy? mathieu asked. he didn't think caerus would answer, and so continued: i'm tired, little man.

He only watched observantly as paws were placed at either of his sides- and Mathieu spoke again. Caerus was slightly disappointed the song was over, and stared wide-eyed and unblinking, expression unreadable, at the man's face. seepy? He murmured in imitation, head tilting to the side and tone bright as ever- telling his answer to that question without him having to do so with words.

yeah, matty replied, sleepy. he closed his eyes slowly, trying to coerce the child into doing the same. after a moment, he snuck one open and peeked through, immediately closing the eye afterward. this routine continued for a few moments until he was sure that caerus either was or wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon.

Mathieu closed his eyes and Caerus figured it was part of the game. So he closed his too, not opening them again, and before he knew it he was drifting into gentle sleep, content to rest on Mathieu's soft tummy until returned to the den.