Dragoncrest Cliffs gambit

open to anybody who would be at the den!

his world was simple.

the harshness of saltwater and the softness of his mothers' sides. the sweetness of milk and the sourness of sand.

these were things he knew and he took great pleasure in all of them. so it was no surprise that when he was awake, he was awake. a lively child who only succumbed to sleep when his limbs could not flail like a turtle anymore.

this morning, he was extra lively. singing his songs of protest and worming against the ground. bouncing between sister and mother in his rolling ways.

it was only a matter of time before he burned out, but for now he was a sight to see.

it was mireille's first time around babies since she had been one herself. and then she had scarcely been older than the two children born to the husbands who had disappeared. she missed them in a way, but now she had infant siblings which would steal her focus.
today she pulled a piece of driftwood toward the mouth of the roja den. 
"ah, quennell," she greeted her little brother, dropping it somewhere in the grass. "sa k pase, ti gason?"
he and aminthe were very small, and very cute. mireille's tail wagged furiously behind her.

quennell did not understand the words that were said.

merely that somebody rumbled to him, the scent familiar as any other might be. he could only express emotions in very limited ways. so unfortunately, mireille's kind words would be met with baby sounds.

a cry that varied in octaves, limbs flailing to try and make work against the ground. he was frequently hungry and although it was rare he went unfed for very long, he still saw this as the greatest tragedy to mankind. so if anything of hers was in reach...well. he would suckle upon it.

quennell made baby noises and began to gum onto the side of her paw. mireille stilled all movement, eyes widening larger and larger at the odd sensation. she was honored to have been chosen for this.
"you are very cute," she mumbled, sliding deeper into the den until half her body was housed there. 
she nosed aminthe and then turned her focus back to quennell. "you bot' have so many brot'ers an' sisters! when you be older, i will teach you all dere names."

bUuUH, he poorly mimicked. mainly because at this point in time, his skills were limited. and his sounds were mostly whimpers, whines and cries. soon he would pick up the language and words of his parents and many siblings.

what he did know was he had grown bored of the toe he gummed upon.

so he made way to nose through the fur at her belly, unaware that he'd find further disappointment there.

oops.

mireille's eyes boggled further as quennell began to nose against her belly. "tcht!" she snorted, using her ginger red paw to gently scoop her little brother away. "not'ing dere for you! only maman can do dat."
mireille chuckled. "you do not fear anyting, do you?" she bent to ruffle between his tiny ears with her muzzle.

oh...if only she knew.

quennell might have sought to angrily worm his way back to her belly had she not touched his crown. instead, he flailed stubby limbs. mumbling nothing but baby sounds against her.

i am fierce! a pirate of the harshest seas! son of sapphique!

instead it was more like....

buuHh!

nice try, big fella.

she tickled his fat belly in retribution and then drew back with a grin. "you have lots of brot'ers an' sisters, you know. an' you will have to learn all their names. but do not worry. i will teach you."
mireille hummed and hugged the pup close, smoothing his back with a push of her muzzle.

he had worn himself rather quickly. from all the movement and flailing and babbling. quennell would have been thrilled to hear more of her mystifying speech but...

he fell asleep, head mushed against her cheek. mouth suckling at nothing but his own tongue.

it was in the moments of nap that his family would only know peace from quennell.

mireille held him close, her heart full with love.
eventually she would deposit him back where he belonged, but for now she only existed in the lulling love of sapphique's family.