Ocean's Breath Plateau Don't tell Dad the babysitter's dead

@Towhee


Rolayne hadn't remembered when the hunt was supposed to start. He didn't follow time like the others seemed to. He ran to the beat of his own drum, drifting where the wind took him. He was off early this morning with the rising of the sun, and returned a couple hours later to the den, a thick stick within his jaws. 

He searched the area for his Dad and brother, but neither seemed to be here. He made no nevermind of this, though, since he was fine with being on his own ever since they came to this territory. He didn't want to be here. This wasn't home to him. But, he also didn't want to leave his Dad and brother, either. He was a young child, torn without knowing how to deal with his emotions. 

He laid down a few feet from the den's entrance, the thick, short stick placed between his paws, and went to work on chewing it down. His brain never seemed to stop, even when his body periodically needed a rest. Even as he chewed, his mind was working on what he would do once he grew bored with this.

Towhee’s body ached all over, the cost of hauling poor @Massaraq the other day. She didn’t regret helping him, of course, but she hadn’t realized she would pay for it with all this soreness and stiffness days later. Even a long “yogurt” session this morning didn’t really do much to relieve it.

She stood not far from Rodyn’s den, rolling her shoulders, when Rolayne appeared with a stick. Maybe he was too focused on the stick to notice her or she’d become such a fixture these past few days, she didn’t merit any more acknowledgement than a houseplant. Towhee’s lips twitched and she made no comment as the boy settled down to chew on his plaything.

Only after a while did she plod over to Rolayne, sliding into downward dog only to flop to the ground. Towhee let out a little sigh of pain as she eased onto one side, resting her weight on her elbow and shoulder as she peered at the youngster.

I feel like you beat the shit out of me with that stick while I was asleep. Did you? she teased.

Rolayne hadn't noticed Towhee, as her scent had been lingering for a few days now, and he hadn't thought to look for her. She appeared, and his eyes zoomed in on her, watching her movements. He growled playfully with the stick in his jaws when she went into what he interpreted as a play bow. He mirrored it, always up for playing. And she had been a lot of fun when they played a few days ago.

Her stance was short-lived, and her body went down to the ground. Rolayne continued to watch her, refusing to be duped into a false sense of security. She was after his stick and he knew it!

His tail wagged at her words, and he let out a joyous yip around his stick. Rolayne hadn't spoken since he realized they would not be returning to Moonspear, but his body spoke volumes. 

It dawned on him that she might actually not be playing, but he wouldn't let that deter him from trying. He approached her, no manners in mind, and attempted to shove his head against hers, dropping the stick between her front legs. His open jaws let out another playful growl as he tried to gnaw on her neck.

He wagged his tail and Towhee smirked, muttering, Knew it.

Perhaps the playful sparkle in her eye coaxed him closer. Towhee remained motionless as Rolayne approached, going in for a headbutt.

No, please don’t beat me again! she protested weakly.

She felt the stick drop in between them, its ends poking the insides of her outstretched forelegs. Towhee let out a loud, theatrical sigh of relief, only to shout in faux horror as Rolayne pounced toward her neck.

Ahhh! Towhee cried out even as she scooped his body between her forelegs, pulling him against her chest as she rolled onto her back. Help! I’m being murdled in cold blood!

He growled playfully as he descened upon her, her protest falling on deaf ears. Towhee went from a sign of relief to a shout of horror, and it spurred him on. He found himself wrapped between her front legs with her underneath him. 

He tried to gnaw on whatever he could get to - her maw, chin, neck, chest and where her legs met her chest. His growled continued to emit with every bite, though he wasn't putting much pressure into his bites. His body wiggled almost as much as his tail wagged.

She couldn’t hear his growls, though she certainly felt them. The vibration kind of tickled, actually, leading Towhee to break character for a moment as she laughed instead of screamed bloody murder. It was especially ticklish when little Rolayne’s teeth nipped at the soft flesh of her throat.

But the pressure of his small body against hers also reminded her of her aches and pains. Towhee gently rolled to her other side, dislodging the boy as she flopped onto her flank. Her limbs thanked her when she let them all fall limp. She also let her head loll in the grass, tongue sticking out for added drama.

He heard her laugh and it delighted him just as much as her screams had. Apparently, any sort of noise would evoke similar responses in him. The adult under him rolled to her side, and Rolayne scrambled to his oversized paws thinking she was going to come for him.

Instead, she went limp, tongue comically hanging from her jaws. She could play all she wanted, he knew she wasn't dead! He would prove it! A playful yip ripped from his throat as his front legs waved in the air, his intent to bring them down on the side of her chest to goad her into moving.

She debated about closing her eyes before deciding to keep them open, staring straight ahead. It might spook the kid, though Towhee was totally okay with that. She bit back a snicker.

A loud wheeze escaped her when Rolayne called her bluff by planting his feet on her chest with force. Towhee rolled back the other way, genuinely struggling to breathe as he’d very effectively knocked the wind out of her. Her free paw beat the ground as she rode out the horrible sensation.

Damn, kid, you’re a savage, she coughed when she could manage.

Pushing upright—and ignoring her body’s protests—Towhee gave herself a little shake before holding out a balled-up paw for a fist bump.

He was not fooled. The open, empty stare of her eyes did nothing to phase him, and he was still convinced that she was not dead. He figured jumping on her chest would either confirm or denied that fact. If she stayed still, maybe she was dead. Could he eat her???

That question didn't matter, since she huffed out the confirmation that she was alive. Rolayne sat back on his haunches, his tail sweeping the ground behind him as he watched her struggled to breath while she sat upright. His perked ears and open maw left no doubt that was proud he had proven she was not dead. He tilted his head at the word "savage" but quickly decided it must have been a good thing!

It took a fraction of a second for him to figure out what the outstretched rounded paw meant. He lifted one leg and bumped his own paw against hers, his expression elatedly happy.

Towhee beamed when their fists touched. She, of course, suddenly opened her paw and mimicked an explosion with her mouth. It was probably obnoxiously loud, knowing her.

And then, very suddenly, Towhee’s eyes zeroed in on Rolayne’s chest as she exclaimed, Oh my god, what is that?

She flung out a paw, her toe just shy of touching him as she pointed at a spot just below his little sternum.

His eyes watched as their paws touched, his gaze going to her mouth as it expressed a loud noise. His eyes opened wide, as his maw made an "O" in surprise, before quickly going into a smile when he realized she was being goofy. 

His smile faded quickly when she looked worried, and pointed to his check, his gaze automatically going down to try and look at his own chest. What was there?! Was it a bug?!

He fell for it so easily. Towhee laughed gleefully when Rolayne pointed his snout down toward his own chest. She flicked a toe against his chin and up over his nose, making a point to wiggle it into one of his nostrils because she was obnoxious that way.

Gotcha! she crowed. Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?!

Towhee's laugh registered in his brain a fraction of a second before her paw came up and a toe flicked into his nose. Not nearly enough time for him to understand what was about to come. 

He was taken aback, and his head jerked back in response, his eyes instinctively closing. The foreign touch into his nostril was unpleasant, but not painful. It was over in a moment, and with his ears perked and eyes wide, he looked at Towhee, briefly confused while he tried to understand what just happened.

He blinked once, and then he narrowed his eyes. His gaze said she was going to pay for that. His smile said he wasn't angry. From his sitting position, he leapt at her, his front legs extended as he tried to wrap them around her neck as he growled. His open maw went for her neck, as if he was trying to bring down prey.

She could see that he intended to exact his revenge. But Towhee’s body protested the idea of another murder reenactment. She didn’t want to totally discourage Rolayne, so she held still and let him try to tackle her… but Towhee was built like a brick shithouse. If she wasn’t willing to go down, he was going to be hard-pressed to push her over.

Okay, Roly, she said after tolerating his attempts for as long as her aches and pains would allow, it’s time to quit our shenanigans and refuel. Are you hungry?

Rolayne did try to take her down, but he was no match for the adult. He could tell her muscles were set in stone and unmoving against his advances. He was hardheaded, however, and too stubborn to just give up. He even attempted to go for her front legs, willing them to bow to his gnawing. 

Even with her verbal command that the game was over, he persisted in getting his revenge. Until, that is, she mentioned food. As a growing pup, Rolayne was always hungry. It was what got him in trouble with Rodyn when he was stealing from the caches. 

His aggressive play attack changed instantly into a beg for food. He licked at her maw, his tail  wagging as he whined with excitement. Yes, yes, he was hungry!

He persisted a few seconds longer. Towhee was just contemplating giving him a karate chop to the neck when Rolayne deferred to the promise of food. She smirked at him, wondering for a moment why he never seemed to speak.

-“Thought so,”- she said to him, remembering to add Ptero, in case he picked up on that instead. -“Head inside and I’ll bring you something tasty,”- Towhee added, pointing, wondering if Panuk was still asleep in there. -“I’ll be back in about twenty with a scrumptious brunch…ous.”-

Fade here? :)

Sure <3

He assumed that he would be going with her to get the promised food, or at least simply wait here while she retrieved it. Instead, she instructed him to go inside the den to wait for her. His gaze turned towards the entrance as he contemplated her order. He didn't often go into the den, and even when he did, it was to see if anyone was in there, and to come right back out. The internal room was simply a reminder to him that Sialuk was not here. 

He whined in protest at first. Then, assuming Towhee did not give in, he went into the hole, turned around and laid in the tunnel. His nose laid just inside the hole. Technically, he was in. As soon as she returned, he would dart from it to devour the food.