Neverwinter Forest against warmth embrace

Mal went on to explain a lot, and some of it flew right over his head, but the general idea there made sense. And so when Mal asked if it did, Caerus nodded. He perked up, head tilting, playful smile meeting his face. so if... if i wunna be a girl, can i?? He questioned. As for his father being under that type of classification- Caerus would never think to call him by the wrong terms. He was raised by him, respected him, loved him- and already saw him as his primary representation of a man, whether or not the other wolves thought he was something else. an- an my udder qwes-ton? whaddabout dat, da'?

Okay, so Caerus got 90% of it. Now what about the other 10%? How was Mal to better explain that? Hmm. Not so much want. But more like if I said that you're the coolest boy around and you thought it sounded really wrong to call you a boy. Your dad might be a better one to ask more about it. Mal had done his best to describe it, but he didn't have first-hand experience. He was just making educated guesses from what he'd seen.

Well, he'd kinda hoped Caerus would forget, but oh well. Whatever. He wasn't going to lie. Okay, other question. I'm their dad too. But I don't know if I get to hang out with them like I do with you, because I have to listen to Miriam too. A quick flick of his gaze to her (let's be real, he was also talking to Miriam now), then back to him, So if she wants to do stuff on her own, I have to let her, but she hasn't made her decision yet. He'd offered his help multiple times in their one-sided conversations -- probably plaintively at times. He wanted to be there equally for all his children, but there was only so much he could do if their mother wasn't interested. Mal was still waiting for her answer, floating in this weird void of helping but from not-quite-a-distance.

A thought, though, But hey, if you get to help and I don't, I can teach you all the awesome hunting tricks and stuff like that and you really will get to be the best big brother ever if you sing and can bring food! His ears pricked up, thinking that'd end up being a pretty sweet deal for Caerus -- he'd get to look like some epic hero. And well, Mal was gonna help teach him to hunt anyway, so might encourage him there.

The more dad explained the boy-girl thing, the more confused he felt. Not a want, but... the wrongness of being called a boy? Caerus imagined what it felt like to be called a boy. It felt right... and so he figured, maybe he was not the same as da' after all. It was okay- he liked being a boy, and liked that both of his dads were boys. Girls seemed boring anyway, if these two told him anything. 

If he thought the first part was confusing, boy was he in for it. It was kinda like the first part speared through him suddenly, and for a moment he could not hear anything else da' was blabbering about.

I'm their dad too.

Caerus hadn't ever stopped to think that he wasn't Mal's only son. Sure, maybe the boy was a little selfish for having two dads, he decided- and would understand if Mal had one more son to balance things out. But two more kids, on top of the first? Even Caerus wasn't that selfish. The boy thought to himself- he would never get a third dad for no particular reason. Two dads was enough for him, and they were perfect, and he was happy. Was Mal not happy with one son, or two? Why did he need three? How had this even happened? 

He could feel his expression fall to a sort of deadness, and so he blinked himself back to life a couple times, hearing the tail end of Mal's words about singing to them and hunting for them. oh, um- okay, He mumbled in agreement, suddenly seeming rather awkward as he shuffled his feet on the ground and avoided dad's gaze.can we go home now, da'? He questioned, eyes finding the man again- not able to stay here any longer as he needed to process what he'd learned. He'd be back to sing, sure. But there was a sort of boiling in his tummy that he felt churning, a weird pain in his chest, all so unfamiliar. And suddenly dad felt like a stranger too- how many other kids was he hiding behind his back? And how long until he treated them the way that Caerus thought only he would be treated?

It hadn't gone over as well as he'd hoped, though Mal wasn't entirely sure why. It should have been good. Happy. Mal, after all, loved having his sisters even if they weren't as close to him ever. Maybe some day they'd come back... Or not. Anyway, his chance of having a brother had pretty well evaporated not long after... Maybe it just wasn't to be. But Caerus should totally have the chance to have siblings.

Still, Mal was gonna do his best to put a bright spin on things, Yeah, of course we can. He reached out to nuzzle Caerus' head if he was allowed. With a look to Miriam and a bob of his head, Mal then started to back up the tunnel to wait for his son. At least to Mal, the existence of other children didn't change anything -- he still adored Caerus and would always have time for him, the family would just be a little bigger than the boy might have expected.