Witch's Marsh the cry of a loon

A flush of guilt washed over the boy as he noticed the obvious disorientation in this new friend, doubt soon trying to flood his ears as quickly as he could force himself to ignore it. As always the only way for K to silence any negative thoughts was with a beaming smile, his snaggleteeth glistening bright against the pearly white moonlight. The chill of the night seemed to slip away with each passing moment, her own smile soon joining his, and a quick sigh of relief sent a soft plume of white from his lips into the cold. Already he felt warmer, a long-lost comfort nestling itself into his chest, his core.

"Oh no it's okay, I-Ibis!" Her gentle enthusiasm resonated with K, and he felt it turn into added enthusiasm of his own. A subtle puffing of his chest and the male stood ever so slightly taller, confidence brimming. "Like the bird?? I really love birds, heard one jus' a second ago," Words rambled and ran without pause, K finding himself looking to the side where he had heard the loon, and then he was brought short by her voice again. "You?" Oh oops.

An awkward grin and a short shrug later, Kukulkan cleared his throat briskly before taking a step closer and giving his dramatic bow again, "Kukulkan at yer service, lady Ibis! Prince of pirates and empires alike!" A quick pause as he pursed his lips, clicked his tongue, and then added a short, "Though m'brotha could never say it right, so he jus' called me K."

The weight carried in his bragging was bold and proud, as though he had forgotten how irrelevant his family and their conquests were in this region. Sea-loving tropical bastards had little stake in a world filled with tundra, taiga, and dark winters. Pride, however, seemed to be the greatest sin in his family, and he was no exception.

"Been on a sorta pilgrimage I guess ya could call it, been 'round these parts for a year 'r so. Dunno how ya stand these winters, heh -- Ooh oh lemme help ya there," Outstretching his neck, he'd offer his towering form as leverage to hoist the frail thing off the filthy ground, "Yikes sorry 'bout that. But yeah you should go south sometime, it's like yer summers but yearround!"

@Ibis