Sawtooth Spire words in the water

@Iqniq! perhaps an outing to the lagoon?!

He was adventuring today. Well, he wanted to anyway. He'd tried to go off on his own a few times now and, each and every time, he was stopped by one adult or another. A huff left him, tail lashing behind his small form as he thought about what he was going to do. He didn't want an adult to come with him but he didn't want to chance having his almost daily introduction to his mother's teeth right now. Maybe later, he would brave that but right now... He wanted to go, and the best way to do that was...

"Atatak!" He called, turning to watch the mouth of the den for a moment. It did not occur to the boy that his father might be resting. Charging into the warm den, he beelined for the red-furred adult, intent on pouncing on his head and tugging at his ear. "Atatak. We swim??" He wanted to swim and he wanted his father to go with him.

Naps were wonderful, brilliant things. With the chill of winter lingering on the air, he found himself more prone to hibernating on the comfort of their new warm patch of earth. Not wanting to be bothered, he was huddled up with @Tonravik for an afternoon nap and was very near to dozing off when his son assaulted his ear. Iqniq grunted and nestled closer to Tonravik with the hopes that it would go away. It didn't. His ears were captured by puppy teeth in a way that made him flinch and pray Tonravik would take care of it. No such luck.

Eventually he rolled over and captured Atuaserk beneath him. Still somewhat sluggish and lethargic, he lingered with his chest pinning down the boy as he squealed something about swimming. "Mmm," the warm sound escaped him. Swim season was nearing its close and soon swim lessons would turn to ice skating. Maybe. In the mean time, he feigned ignorance as to where his son had disappeared to. "Where did Ata go? He was just here..."

His squawk of protest was muffled by his father's fur and limbs, squirming valiantly. This lasted for a moment or two until the boy suddenly changed tactics, stilling enough to press his nose against Iqniq's limbs to find a particularly soft spot. Small teeth sought to score in said location, aiming to startle the Alpha male enough to allow him a chance to break free. Whether or not his attempt was successful, eventually the boy was released, bounding a couple feet towards the den. ""Atatak, swim. C'mon!" His still pitched voice seemed to disturb the sleeping she-beast, his multi-toned eyes darting to her form for a second before he looked at his father again.

Snorting, he declared "Fine. I go by myself." Something he fully intended to do, turning away from the lounging pile of parents to head for the edge of their clearing. Which direction he would choose, the boy hadn't decided yet, but he remembered that the stream hadn't been terribly far from here. If he reached it, could he find the swimming spot that Iqniq had originally taken him to? Maybe. He would surely try, and if he was not successful, he would keep trying. With that in mind, his jaw tightened for a moment before he looked at one well worn path and then another. Which would take him the way he wished to go?

Ata squirmed beneath him and went still. Well shit. Did he suffocate the kid? Iqniq began to lift up off of him when he felt those tiny milk teeth latch on to the soft skin around his armpit. "Aaah, fu-" he started and remembered the child beneath him. "Fun times," he amended as Ata escaped and continued his demands for swimming. With the child free, Iqniq collapsed back to the ground and had a moment to press his eyes closed. It was so nice... almost nap time...

No. He couldn't let Ata go swim by himself. He grunted and slowly hauled himself to his feet as his eldest son walked off. A yawn escaped him as he stretched and eventually set himself to follow after him. The pup had only gone so far when he paused at a number of different paths. Which way to the river? Ata didn't know. Another yawn escaped Iqniq's muzzle. "If you can find the creek, we can try swimming again."