Swiftcurrent Creek curse of the black pearl

forward dated a little to the 5th.

a soft start jolts caliste awake — it is not a subtle rising from slumber but a sudden one. motivated, massively, by food. someone left regurgitated meat — or perhaps it was a meal a sibling didn't finish ( she didn't know and didn't care ) and sniffs at it with a soft rumble in her belly and saliva pooling in her mouth.

she takes a small, almost demure bite at first.

then another and another until the small bit of meat is finished.

still hungry, however, she begins to sniff around for more.

Etienne would often bring food for his sister's brood if they needed it. He didn't mind the action. Some didn't like that, but he was fine with making sure little bellies were always full. He would do what he could to be the best uncle he could for the little ones.

He had just had a meal of fish. And fish was horrible coming back up. But it was also full of vitamins and things the little ones needed. So he quickly allowed a small pile of regurgitated meat for any of the little ones. Golden eyes falling on Caliste.

patience is not a virtue that the young caliste is capable of yet, knowing only that she is still hungry and expects it ( as she expects all things ) now. her sniffing pauses as she reaches her uncle, a fussy cry about to leave her before he offers her some regurgitated fish.

though it was for any of them, caliste's thoughts are only on her siblings when she is playing with them, favoring towards the instinctual child self interest. she devours the fish her uncle has left; lips smacking with satisfaction afterwards.

Caliste was one that knew what she wanted when she wanted it. And she expected it when she expected it. She reminded Eti more of Suzu so far than her siblings. Suzu had been much the same. He gave a soft chuckle who was he kidding she still sort of did. But that was one ofthe many things about Suzu he loved. Wished he could be more assertive himself.

Was dat good little Caliste? He nosed along the child's cheek if she would allow. A kind nudge to his neice. Gentle as he so often was.

caliste's salmon pink tongue darts out to draw across her jowls, in case she missed any bits of food. she wasn't the cleanest of eaters. there was no time nor place to be demure with food when she had siblings to contend with.

ears perk and her gaze travels up to her uncle after his soft nudge to her cheek.

wi! she chirrups, finding the creole easier than common — and the word wi much more fun to say then 'yes' or it's common variants.

He watches as she takes whatever leftovers she could find throughout her whiskers. And he grinned despite himself. So much like her mama. It warmed him.

Trè bon. Mwen byen kontan. Vant plen?

Etienne had no qualms about speaking creole, it was the language he himself preferred honestly. He would cycle through french too at times. He had always had an ear for languages. Hoped to learn more, but he hadn't. He would have liked to learn some of @Anselm's and @Druid's but he had not learned. And there was no time now.

Tags just for reference

mwen t'ink so, wi, she tries to speak in the many tongues she hears and is exposed to, combining them into some sort of conlang of the them; but there is a sly glint in her eye, as if she thinks she is being clever.

she considers asking for a bone to snack on, to suckle the marrow out of ... but she would make a game out of it later. something akin to finding a lost treasure. even if it wasn't lost so much as tucked away in some corner of the den.

He listened closely and had to smile. He felt a sort of small thrill at the language that fell from his neice's muzzle. To hear his family's tongue even this far in the wilds. It was nice a piece of home they held. He missed it the most, the language the love.

Kisa ou vle fè?

hmmmm, caliste half hums, a lilting rise and fall like an unwritten song that had the stirrings of a melody. what did she want to do? she wanted a snack, she wanted to play, she wanted to hunt for treasure. there were so many things! an endless trove of adventures she so desperately wished to partake in.

trezò! she chirrups with a breathless excitement; blindly assuming her uncle would understand what she meant with that single word: she wanted to hunt for treasure.

Of all the children thus far. Caliste had seemed to get his mother and his uncles accent the most. And Etienne would be lying if he said that just didn't make him so proud. And fill him to teh brim with the warm and fuzzies. Their accents, the language. It felt like home and to have a small piece of that. Well. He grinned.

Trezò ey. Oke ann jwenn kèk.

Etienne nudged his niece and then nodded and put his nose to the ground and began to walk slowly towards the creek. He was willing to bet they could find a cache or some old bones. Maybe some pretty rocks.

wi! caliste chirrups excitedly, prancing from paw to paw as he agrees to hunt treasure with her.

she leads the way, almost tripping over herself as she finds what she deems a good spot for buried treasure; where she digs until she was worn herself out and collected a few rocks that she excitedly shows her uncle but ultimately decides not to keep but stashes them away for someone else to find.