Neverwinter Forest i don't want to regret the past

for @Cupid . prior to Caerus finding the birth den

Beside Caerus, dad slept. His son awoke with a start from a dream or something other- feeling lonely, he gazed upon the dark man whom he knew to be his parent. Caerus was old enough to move to the rendezvous area, and yet, he did not want to- he wanted to stay here with dad, in the same spot where he was born. After some moments of gazing at Cupid with these thoughts, he began to nudge at his face and cheek, prodding with his dark nose in hopes of awakening the man.

Cupid hadn't gone far from the den it what felt like weeks. The only time he got some sunlight was when he went out to piss or shit or watch Caerus. He's been keeping a very, very close eye on him as of late. The lastest escape incident—and what the man had told him that day— made him a paranoid mess. As long as he's alive no one would come close enough to hurt a hair on his son's head. If that meant keeping him close and being a helicopter then so be it.

One of his latest pass times was sleeping like a rock. The only thing that could wake him up was his son. Eh? Cupid let out a yawn. Hey kiddo, what's up?

Hey kiddo, what's up?

Caerus' face expanded into a childish grin, tail wagging as he looked upon his father. i'm borddd, He complained in a whine. you wanan play, da'? o dell me a stowy? Either option would be delightful, and lately he felt like he was in the doghouse because of his wandering paws... and so he wanted to lift the tension he felt on his shoulders by getting Dad to lighten up too.

Smiles are contagious, especially his son's. He can't help but smile too and wag his own tail. Bored huh? He'd have to entertain him sooner or later. If he had a bit more time to wake up he would've gone with the first option. Cupid was too groggy for a play session right now.

How about a story? Hmm.. lemme think of one.. He lifted his chin and hummed softly. Damn, the longer he thought the more he realized he didn't know any cool stories. Mama never had the time to tell him mystical fables and his life wasn't filled with a lot of kid-friendly tales. Cupid squinted and tapped a paw. There had to be something in that memory of his. Think childhood.. hmm.. 

Oh! I got one, I got one. He looked down at the boy and grinned. Do you know what honey is Caerus?

His father agreed to a story, and Cae's tail began to wag excitedly as the man pondered, likely disturbing his concentration. He was thinking an awfully long time- if it were Caerus' story to tell, he would've improved something on the spot, using his imagination to carry it as it went. His father seemed to have something more clear-cut in mind... but soon there was a question, and Caerus' head tilted. hunny? He questioned to his grinning pa, brows twining themselves together in a perplexed knot. wuz dat?

He waited for the inevitable questioning. Cupid was 99% sure his son had no clue what it was. If he did, well, this story would be significantly less mystical than intended. Luckily—and not to his surprise—Caerus didn't know.

It's like a uh- a special sort of food. How would be describe just how great it was? Man, this was harder than he thought. It's super sticky and really really sweet. Very delicious but hard to find.

Cupid laied on his side and outstretched a front paw. It's usually trapped in a weird casing way waaaay up in trees. Wolves like you and me can't get to it. But if you're lucky and you look real hard, you can find it near the ground.

But even then you have to go through... Pasue for dramatic effect. The bees.

Though Cupid was making a strong effort to explain how good it was, he didn't need to do all that- Caerus was interested from the moment he heard food. He'd never seen nor tasted this stuff, and his mouth was already watering at the sound of it- sweet, hard to find like a precious treasure... and painfully far away from the reach of wolves. Any great goal had hurdles before it; otherwise it could not be deemed a worthy goal- simply a task. But this honey, no, it was something more- a shining princess, kidnapped by criminals. A precious bone guarded by pirates. A slab of meat at the bottom of a river. 

Speaking of hurdles... BEEZZ??? WHUZZAD???? He questioned with great surprise, for his father made this part sound the most daunting of all. The boy's eyes had widened to huge saucers and his curiosity deepened, pulling him to even lean closer to dad, hungry for more information.

Welllll... He turned his head towards Caerus and a mishevious grin spread across his face. They're bugs, but not just any bug. They got these little needle things on their butts. And if you get to close the honey, they'll poke ya.

Was that too scary for a kid to handle? Probably. Alright, gotta make sure this story was trauma-proof with a little bit of fun. They poke ya like this! He leaned over to jab at Caerus with his snout and paws. That lasted for a good minute before laying back down on his side.

When I was your age I was lucky enough to come across some honey just within reach. I just had to ask my momma to get some. And she said- Cupid stood up and puffed out his chest just as his mother had. -No Cupid! I done told you how dangerous it was! And I said- He crouched down and looked up with the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster. Please momma, I just want a little! Please, please, please!!

He flopped back on his side (holy shit. who knew acting was such hard work!). Well she gave in eventually. Told me to stay back and said 'don't come out until I say so'. So I did. Watched her sneak up to the casing reaaal slowly. My heart was racing.

And then she ran forward all of a sudden, ripped a piece off the casing and yelled 'GO GO GO!' He rolled over on his back and flailed his legs around. We were running for ages. At some point I looked back cause I was like 'why the heck are we running?' And you know what I saw? The bees!! They were chasing us!

Caerus listened with wide eyes, and when Cupid said poke ya, the boy audibly gasped. Dad assaulted him with a mock version of the bees then, and Cae giggled like a toddler being tickled until the 4D experience was over.

As his dad continued the story- geez, who knew Cupid was such a good actor? Caerus placed himself in his dad's role in the story naturally- he was the protagonist, and of course, in this story he was Cae's age! 

Cupid moved the story towards the peak of interest, when Cupid's mama dared to get close to the honey. Caerus was practically biting his nails, hanging off the edge of his seat. And then the excitement came, anf the boy gasped dramatically again, ears perked forward as he awaited the hearing of whether they would be safe. And then Dad spoke of the BEES again! didja ged away from 'em??? Caerus gasped, because children were too silly to put two and two together about the fact that Dad was here in one piece today.

He enjoyed seeing Caerus so invested in the story. Maybe it was because he was impressed by the little things (understandably, at his age) or maybe Cupid was a great storyteller. He’d like to think it’s the latter, even if it was for a moment.

Well I got away, but Momma? Well, she came out with a few stings. But that wasn’t a problem. She was the best healer around, taught me everything I knew. I was able to patch her up just fine. She could’ve done that herself, but she insisted Cupid do it instead. Said it was his fault she ended up that way, which was half true. After that we got to enjoy our honey. One of the best things I’ve ever tasted.

Cupid was certainly a good enough storyteller for his son. So Cupid's momma was stung! Caerus widened his eyes with shocked, but his bunched shoulders fell when Cupid explained that he'd healed her up. wow!!! da', you're so smart!! Caerus exclaimed in a squeal. And honey... well, that sounded good. The boy was already livking his chops imagining it. mmm, i wanna try honey too!! you could scare the beez and i'll get the honey and if you get stung i'll take care o' you too, 'kay? The boy offered as he curled up beside his father, set to fall into a nap and dream of honey. The boy was already drifting off before he could hear the answer.