Redtail Rise paradox

what was this? she was not giving him food, no matter how much he licked and licked and nudged and licked some more at her face; he was going to take the fur on the corners of her mouth clean off at this rate. there was nothing! his disappointment was immeasurable, and his day was ruined.
just as he moves to back away thinking that perhaps this was punishment of some kind, he is jostled and pulled closer, and then there is something slimy and warm against his cheek. ah; this was what father did. this... grooming thing.
he tolerates it for now, averting his gaze away and pressing his lips into a thin line to show that one wrong move will send baby teeth flying at her at the speed of light. she shifts from his cheek to between his ears, and then — aha! there it was! she was trying to steal his bug! or, at least what remained of it.
he rounds upon her with a sharp, irritatingly loud growl of dismay, tucking his sticky paws up close to his chest and shifting so that his back is now facing her. my bug guts! mine!