Neverwinter Forest Just playing around

TAGS4ALL :P

He'd gone and found @Simmik before leading the way towards @Cupid's den, thus also his prime target of @Caerus. Mal had kept any recent visits pretty brief between the event and now, but it was time to go say hi to his son properly again since he was feeling less like he'd crack into a million bits at any second. And this time he'd brought along a friend. Obviously. As they traveled that last bit of distance, he talked, If Cupid pokes his head out, maybe this might be a good way to talk through like.. Whether you'd want to help out too. Caerus is good at getting into trouble already -- another set of paws helping to keep track of him might be good. Seemed reasonable to him.

He stepped forward and looked towards the den -- the boy wasn't out at the moment. Still, he was happy he was going to see him again, tail wagging slowly behind him. Still, it made him a little nervous because he hadn't brought anyone to say hi to his kid, but... Well, Mal had to get over it at some point, right? He called out, stepping forward, Caerus? He looked back to Simmik, then back to the den where expected to see a brownish blot come crashing out in approximately two seconds.

One. 

Two. 

C R A S H !

Caerus tumbled out of the den immediately when he heard his name. He was getting tired of being holed up in here! You wander just once and they stick you in prison forever. My, my, he missed exploring at will without Cupid watching hawklike over him. The man had grown ever-protective since Caerus made the great escape, and ruby eyes constantly fixated on him.

Well, at least Mal was here to entertain him. And with someone new... But Caerus had new tricks to show off, and they couldn't wait.

da!!! hi!!! He exclaimed, tail wagging as he bounced towards his father on eager feet.

She had actually been looking forward to this. Getting on with life had been kind of difficult, more so than she had expected, and spending time getting to know Mal's son seemed like a good way to forget about things for a little bit. For most of the walk, she had quietly followed at Mal's side, wondering what all she would need to say or do. She was unsure what all you were supposed to do around kids, and she especially didn't want to do anything to hurt this one. When he suggested that she offer to help if Cupid chose to join them, she nodded. Yeah, no problem, Simmik assured him. She had no issues helping at all. She knew Caerus was important to Mal, and she didn't want him to suffer anymore misfortune. So if that meant offering to babysit or keep a close eye on the borders so that the pup didn't wander off alone, then she could definitely do that. She just wondered if Cupid would be okay with that, considering they hardly knew each other. But she wouldn't know unless she asked. 

She paused as Mal called for the child. Within seconds, a blur of brown and grey came flying from inside the den. He bounded up to them, his course set directly for Mal. Simmik couldn't help but smile at the boy's exuberance. She waited quietly, though, for father and son to greet each other; she knew Mal needed this just as much as she did.

Mal's tail had started wagging immediately as Caerus popped into view. Hey little guy! He leaned down to nuzzle the boy, maybe give him a few licks to the top of his head. He didn't necessarily babytalk to the boy (he never remembered anyone ever talking like that, so didn't think to do so), but he was definitely at the very least brighter sounding, You wanna play? Mal looked at him curiously, but was totally expecting a positive response. Or maybe a bop to the nose or something.

He then pointed towards Simmik, That's Simmik. She can play too. Mal grinned then, outwardly probably seeming like it was totally fated that they'd get alone. However, inward he was totally afraid something was gonna go wrong, but he'd hold out that bad luck was passed them.

The nuzzles and the licks were appreciated, feeding his ever-growing desire for love and attention. As his dad asked if wanted to play, he began to dance on his paws, twirling in eager circles. mmm... yea!! play!! He yipped, tail wagging as he paused to face dad once more. And next to him was some pale girl, who Mal introduced as Simmik. sim-ig, He imitated quietly, the k of her name becoming something soft in his mouth. He stared up at her for a moment with big blue eyes (which were just beginning to transition, cool tones sleeping away), before he smiled at her too. you play? He inquired, hindquarters waving in the air as he bent into a playbow.

She quietly watched the exchange between Mal and his son. Caerus seemed to light up even more at the mention of play. He attempted to say her name and actually managed to pronounce it fairly well given that he had probably just started speaking coherently. 

The pup's invitation was met with a playful raise of an eyebrow and only a moment's pause before Simmik herself lowered her front half to the ground. Her snowy tail curled up and waved lightly above her. She didn't play often, and not like this since she had been a child herself; even then, she often played roughly with her brothers. She waited, bowed playfully, ready to move whenever Caerus did, and wondering if Mal would join in.

See, this is why he was pretty sure that seeing Caerus was a great idea. Like how could anyone not totally adore this kid? Maybe he was biased. Just a little. Or a lot. Look, Mal was supposed to think his kid was the best thing ever and he sure didn't mind following that instruction.

A final boop with his nose to Caerus' head and Mal turned and comically pranced off to give them all a little more room between them, stopping to play bow from over there. They all could play, but being right on top of each other didn't really allow for much room to properly goof off -- he also didn't want to dominate Caerus' attention, so if he went to Simmik first, that would be best, he figured.

Though da' booped him and scurried away to playbow over there, Caerus' attention was locked on Simmik right now. Her front half lowered to the ground, and Caerus thought STOOPID about her to himself, because he was SO gonna win this! She didn't make the first move- so he totally had the upper paw as he scampered forward without warning, hoping to 

scale 
    her 
        face 
            like 
                a
                  hill.

Things did not go as smoothly as he imagined, as the boy essentially tumbled directly into her face, front paws grabbing between and above her eyes for leverage like he was rock climbing. But he hadn't the strength to lift himself to the top of her head, slid downward like a sad banana peel, thumping back onto the ground on his back. Uh oh. His creative genius was a fail- would dad be disappointed in him? He shot a nervous glance to Mal as he found his feet again, shaking out the dirt from his little pelt.

Mal riled the boy up some more before totting away somewhere behind her; she wasn't sure because her focus was on Caerus. She watched and waited for his attack, so when he slammed into her face, she was already braced for it. What she wasn't prepared for was his trying to climb her face once he was there. His nails scraped against her muzzle and forehead as he tried and failed to make his way up. It was uncomfortable, but nothing that too bad. 

As he slid down, she remained still until he was fully on the ground. He looked nervously to Mal, but she was unsure why. Maybe he thought he would get in trouble for something? To show that she saw nothing wrong with what happened, she shifted onto her side and pawed at him playfully, hopefully pulling his attention back to her.

Blink. Okay. That was a bit of an odd attack but whatever, at the look back, Mal guffawed a little, then bounded forward a little and crouched down behind Simmik. His tail flicked, catlike, and he tried to give Caerus a sort of devious look, trying to encourage him to try again -- he'd totally back him up from her other side. 

Maybe it was a little unfair to Simmik, but he wouldn't be at all surprised if the tables turned in a minute or two and suddenly he was under attack. It could change sooner, sure, but that was just the way things worked, right?

A look to Mal revealed the everything was still okay, even if he'd kinda screwed up there. Okay. Good. While Simmik rolled to her side to bat at him, Mal gave him a sly look from behind her, a promise that he was on his team. Cae grinned, then reached out to pummel Simmik's cheek with his paw, alongside his a battle cry of RAHHH!!! When she reached to bat at him, he took one of her paws in his jaws, gnawing at it with his milk teeth.

She was unaware of Mal's conspiring with his son, focusing only on the boy and taunting him with her paw even after he lunged for her face. She playfully nipped him back, as he did the same to her cheek, his teeth causing no discomfort to the skin of her face.

He moved next to her paw, chewing on it as he had done her cheek. She watched him for a few moments, planning to reach over and mouth him playfully again, but waiting for the right moment.

Gotta be patient. As long as she didn't look his way, he was free to do whatever he wanted. He sorta had a plan, depending on what she did. He shifted slightly to show Caerus he was ready to pounce, then once his son made the first move, he lingered another few seconds then pounced onto Simmik (or maybe just artfully flopped), trying to pin her down where she was with his front legs, mock-gnawing on her shoulder with a noisy-but playful growl. He wasn't too determined to keep her there, turnabout was fair play and he couldn't make it too hard if Caerus wanted to tip the balance.

All the while as he and Simmik nipped at eachother, Caerus shot shifty-eyes to dad, trying to hold back a sly grin that threatened to show itself on his face. As Dad shifted, Cae knew it was time, and pulled his mouth away from his prior target, as if he planned to return to nipping- and then backed up and pounced. It was not aimed, and so he would likely not end up anywhere incredibly beneficial, but with the help of Dad of his team they would surely defeat their foe- or so he thought.

She had been too focused on what Caerus doing and missed any cues Mal might have given that he was getting ready to pounce. So when his weight was suddenly on her, she went down easy with a laugh. She returned his playful growl with one of her own, nipping his shoulder and neck and whatever else she could reach. 

She felt Caerus next, taking advantage of the situation and landing against her rear leg, his puppy teeth gnawing playfull at her knee while she was "held down."

so sorry! this got lost in my threadlog

Wrapping!

Get her! he cried, overacting his "wounds" from Simmik's nips in return. It was all in good fun, and Mal would certainly try to make sure Caerus could be the hero of their escapades here. They continued to play a while longer, and once Caerus was good and tired, Mal made sure the boy was nicely tucked away for a nap and Mal and Simmik could head off with lighter hearts. Just too bad these weren't the darkest times they'd have.