Honeyed Pasture d r i f

Young Silktail tumbled out of the den with nary a care in the world, promptly tripping over her own feet and tumbling down the slight slope. She rolled to a stop and sat up, blinking owlishly. Speaking of owls, her head twisted almost 360° as she took in the big ole world for the very first time.

Green grasses swayed as far as the eye could see. From her tiny point of view, they brushed against a vast blue sky vaulting endlessly overhead. Silktail craned her neck so far back, she toppled over backward. With a grunt, she flipped onto her side, pushing up on her elbow and righting herself again.

She continued gawping at everything but somehow missed the shadow that flitted across the pasture. Eventually, she climbed onto her feet and turned to face the den, opening her mouth to call out to @Waxwing to come outside and play with her.

Before she could make a sound, the air around her darkened as an eagle swooped down with talons outstretched.

@Gunnar

Gunnar was farther into the bay today. Looking for some more gardens. The amount of gardens his mother and Nerian had, was getting a bit exhaustive, though some of it, may have simply been wild's that had grown from the garden seeds being blown all about willy nilly. 

Though he couldn't ask for better weather. The breeze stirred the grasses and the sky was blue as blue could be. Gunnar froze as he heard a small sound, but lifting his head, he couldn't pin point it. There was a sell of wolves, near, and milk and pups, but it wasn't as strong as he thought it should be were there little ones and mothers about.

He saw nothing, and it was then with surprise he saw a eagle diving from the sky. He looked towards it's aim of direction and his heart dropped to his toes, what at first look he thought was a hare, he then saw the tiny ears and with a howl of fury, he dove towards the eagle and the pup. Paws tearing up the ground, unsure if he could get there in time, but hoping above hope that he could.

Gunnar, bless his heart, did not get there in time.

The eagle’s talons closed around her with a mighty pinch, earning a surprised squeak from Silktail. Then she found herself rising into the air, though it felt a bit like she’d left her stomach somewhere down on the ground.

It should’ve frightened her, but as the pasture began to recede and she felt a great rush of air, Silktail could only yell, Wheeeeeeeeee!

Oh my god I shouldn't but I loled so hard at that first line. southern woman for Fu** you and that's all i can think, this little old southern woman going and bless his heart, but. he shoulda tried harder!!!

Gunnar snapped and growled at the bird, as it started to grow airborn. He hoped he could grasp a wing or a tail or even one of it's hellish claws. It could nto have this baby! What kind of eagle went after a baby.

Fear stirred his heart as he remembered the wounds on his mother and junior from the Gryfalcons in the bay, and he tried harder. Growled louder.

LOL, I hope you are enjoying these shenanigans as much as I am.

She abruptly noticed the wolf down below, leaping and snarling wildly. Silktail waved a paw, wondering if he could fly too. But she thought not, as he stayed down there on the ground as she soared higher and higher…

Still oblivious to the mortal peril of the situation, Silktail squealed in delight until her stomach—it had come along for the ride, after all—very suddenly rolled. Without any warning, she opened her mouth and vomited, a stew of half-digested meat and milk spewing in the air.

Even more suddenly, the talons loosened and little, barfy Silktail was in freefall.

LOL, I am.

Gunnar's frenzied state was added ten fold as the pup waved, oblivious to the danger. Sweet gods. He prayed to all of them, as hard as he could.

A vile concoction of meat and milk fell into Gunnar's open mouth, and eyes. He growled and gagged himself, as the taste hit his tongue. He retched and tried to rub at the mess in his eyes. Oblivious to the child plummeting to it's death. 

Finally, with cleared eyes he dared a look up and gasped at the child falling towards the ground. He rushed, hoping to at least stop some of the descent with his own body.

Wheeeee! she cried again, though the ground was rushing up so quickly that it also earned a, Whoa, right before the kid instinctively shut her eyes.

She made impact (with Gunnar). Her landing wasn’t soft but it wasn’t hard either. Silktail grunted. She bounced and rolled, several times, and came to a sprawling stop in the grass.

Miraculously unharmed, she tried to sit up but found herself too dizzy to manage. She threw up again, all down her own chest.

Gunnar hit his belly as the child his his head, and he lay there groaning. The child wasn't heavy, but plummeting at however many speeds and landing on top of his head, was not the nicest feeling in the world. 

He attempted to stand, and fell forward, eyes unfocused while his head pounded. Finally, he managed to walk with crooked steps to the child, just in time to watch the child yet again, throw up all over it's coat. 

Gunnar groaned, but leaned forward to tentatively sniff at the child, calm it down if it grew upset.

The stranger came over to her. He was much bigger up close! Her eyes went wide and her head reared back when he reached out to sniff noses. Mindless of her bib of puke, she eventually craned forward so their snouts booped.

Ag’in! she chirped. Ag’in! Ag’in!

Gunnar sneezed when her nose connected with his. Though he tried to avert his nose from hers, she probably got snot and regurgitated puke all over her, with his open mouthed sneeze. Horror froze his insides, and he mouth if possible dropped open even further.

Again, Child. I just lost months off my life, something I couldn't spare and you almost lost yours. He knew this little one would have no idea what he was saying, but well he was both confused and in awe of her resilience. He supposed from a purely idyllic and child like stand point, it had been a exciting time.

When he sneezed in her face, splattering her further, Silktail’s eyes flew wide. She froze for a few beats, before sitting up on her haunches and clapping her forepaws together, burbling and giggling happily.

A’GIN! she cried insistently.

Gunnar couldn't hide the endearing smile that lit up his face, at the child's happiness. Only a child could be happy with such disgusting things. However, it was adorable. With a happy smile he stuck his tongue out and made a Pfft sound. (Danni doesn't know if he could really, but creative expression!!)

He made a funny face after the sound to see if the child could giggle harder, while secretly looking around for the child's home. Perhaps he could lead it back to it's den.

He blew a raspberry at her. Silktail squealed in delight and did it right back: PBBBBBT! Little flecks of spittle sprayed the small space between them, making the youngster’s eyes dance in amusement.

Her attention span was short, though, and she suddenly wondered: where was her brother? Why wasn’t he out here playing with their second dad? That’s how Silktail had already come to think of this male stranger, since he evoked many of the same characteristics as her first dad.

Gunnar chuckled, at the child. But saw as soon as she lost interest. He wondered what sort of adventure she would put him through now. He certainly would think of this fondly and maybe a little disgusted once it all settled, he definitely needed a bath and some mint. Definitely some mint.

Shall we find your home, little bird queen? Gunnar asked quietly unsure if she understood. He looked around again, trying to find a den, but if any mother was worth their salt they would make it so it was difficult if not impossible to find.

Her new dad spoke to her, some of the words familiar. It didn’t matter that she didn’t fully understand, though. Silktail beamed at him, enjoying the deep timbre of his voice. Her mother spoke to her more than anyone and her voice was a lot higher. There was something pleasant about these baritones.

Burp keen! she parroted, tail wriggling in the grass. She leaped to her feet as she added, Nooooo! Despite the petulant nature of the word, she grinned and batted at the man.

Gunnar returned the girls infectious smile. She was cuter than anything. And she seemed to enjoy her moment with him. Though he glanced a look to the sky. Wary now of nasty birds. 

Gunnar couldn't stop the low chuckle from his maw. He caught her paw with his own and gave a gentle jab to her other side.

He retaliated by grabbing her paw and poking her in the side, which tickled! Silktail let out a noise that was part laugh, part shriek, wrenching out of his grip and falling back onto her haunches in her haste to escape his touches.

She noticed something damp and smelly in the grass next to her. Distractedly, Silktail bent down to sniff. It was quite the pungent odor, though something about it reminded her of her mother. The youngster threw herself down, rolling in the drying puddle of urine, which paired well with the vomit still clinging to her downy chest.

[

Gunnar couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled from him. The liw snorting kind. This was by far the best day he'd had in sometime. The little one lively and vibrant. 

His nose wrinkled at the acrid smell that now came from the child. Though it could be useful to fond the pups den. This was probably one of her parents markers.

Drenched in her scent now, Silktail couldn’t help but think of her mother. She flopped on the ground and sighed. It wasn’t an unhappy sound, though it was a little wistful. Where was her mom? She was getting kind of hungry, now that her belly was empty…

She pushed up into a sit, peering at her second dad. Her mother provided milk, though both parents had started bringing another dish to the table lately. Perhaps her new dad could do the same?

Rising onto all fours, she waddled up to him and reared, trying to lick at the corners of his mouth in the hope he would regurgitate some meat for her.

Gunnar was entirely unsure how to peoceed. He hadn't had much rhyme or reason to hang out with pups. And this one quite suddenly seemed sad.

She stared at him and his fur prickled uncomfortably. What did she want. And could he even provide.

Her next movement he drew back in surprise. And realized instinctually what she wanted, but he hadnt eaten and she wasn't his. It felt wrong.

Could she chew on dead rabbit? He wondered

He didn’t indulge her. Instead, he backed away, causing her to drop back onto all fours. She gazed up at him with her big doe eyes, confused. Why wouldn’t he share with her?

Although she slumped a little in disappointment, Silktail wouldn’t let it get her down for long. There was always mom or OG dad to feed her! She began to look around for them, starting with her eyes and then switching over to her nose, which dropped to comb along the ground.

She wasn’t really consciously aware of what she was doing, though she managed to track their scents right back to the entrance of the den. Silktail thrust her head inside and saw her brother curled up in the back, sound asleep. There was no sign of their parents, though.

With one paw raised in the air, she looked over her shoulder at her new dad, brow furrowed. Who was going to punch her meal ticket?

Gunnar felt a momentary flare of guilt. At her downhearted expression. He wasn't sure how to fix this one. So with ears quivering he took another look around.

He trqcked her with his eyes. And he saw her head momentarily disappear. There was the den mouth.

He looked around and with a gentle chuff he slid towards the nearby tall grass and stumbled upon a small rabbit. He felt bad raiding a nest, but desperate measures.he tore a tiny chunk out and with quiet feet dropped it and then kept a close didn't want the kid to choke.

Her new dad moved out of sight. Silktail blinked, then took a seat there in the den’s mouth, pondering what to do now. Her lower lip pooched out a bit because she was still hungry and now there was nobody around to provide for her…

Then the man reappeared, setting a carcass at her little feet. Silktail blinked and bent to sniff it, then straightened and gazed quizzically at him. It smelled like food, yet it wasn’t in any format she recognized. She whined a question under her breath.

[
He didn't really know what to do out of his element. Maybe if he chewed it first is that what his mother had done. Gods he couldn't remember.

He bit into the soft thing and chewed it to a pup. Then hocked it onto the ground unsure if he'd done it right.

She watched, fascinated, as he tore a piece from the carcass and began to chew. Her eyes then dropped, fixing on the pool of red ooze spreading from the shorn flank. Paying no attention to the adult now, she dove forward and began to lick at the blood and accompanying viscera now leaking from the kill.

Silktail glanced upward as her new dad made a choking sound. He deposited a chunky mess of pre-chewed meat beside her. Tail thrusting upward in pleasure, she pounced on the slurry and began to eat it instead, grumbling happily under her breath as she ate.

It didn’t take long to fill her belly. She sat back and wiped at her mouth, smeared with goop. Her chest was still crusty with drying vomit and the rest of her fur stank of piss. She badly needed a bath, though Silktail couldn’t have possibly cared less.

Nigh’ nigh’, diddy, she sighed to her second dad, slouching into the den to sleep off her exciting afternoon.