Sunbeam Lair you think you should swallow the moon

@Airi and/or @Shiori?

Ukko had managed to catch a small squirrel earlier and pick it clean, leaving the hide separated from the bone and mostly in one piece. He hopes to present it to the girls as an alternative chew toy than his tail and legs, little scabs here and there through his fur, as they get through their stage of teething. He hadn’t spent much time around children outside of his own little girls and so he’s piecing together what he figures out along the way.

As the man approaches the den, he exchanges a few words with Asterr before she departs for a little alone time. “Hey girls,” he murmurs through the opening and drops the squirrel hide nearby. “I’ve got something for you.”

Her father is outside the den. Airi ignores him at first, but with the prospect of a gift, she steps outside, blinking at him, then the thing he bore. Airi squinted, looking up towards her father with a lip curled in disgust — a typical look for the eldest daughter. Sorehanandesuka?

With her world still as small as it was, she valued any and all company. Through them she could expand her knowledge, for which she thirsted greater than anything else. Above all she worshipped her parents, who in her eyes could do no wrong and were the wisest and most intelligent creatures alive.

So when her father arrived, and with a gift no less, she dove to the mouth of the den, tail wagging. She cast a look over her shoulder at her sisters and found Airi beside her, though the other hatchling was less enthusiastic about... whatever Ukko had brought. Quiet but excited, she awaited the answer to the question her sister had asked.

Airi and Shiori are the two interested in enough in what he has brought and so he smiles, wagging his tail a few times, and lowering to the ground so he is better at their level. Every chance he gets to spend time with the girls, he’ll snatch right up, and tonight is no different. However, when Airi speaks, he blinks a few times and realizes the barrier between them. Asterr is teaching them things they should know but that includes a whole other language that is unfamiliar to him. He frowns, though he takes the gesture and explains anyway.

“A toy for you to play with. Tug of war, that kind of thing,” he tries to explain but his experience with children left him hopeless. “Here,” he says as he picks up one end of the hide and playfully growls with a little wiggle of what holds in his grasp.

Tug of war. She did not recognize the name, but when her father began to shake the pelt she lights up. She had played this game before (although sometimes it wasn't a game, but her asserting her claim to her sisters), but never with someone as large and powerful as Ukko. Airi pounced on the hide, taking it in her thorny teeth, pulling furiously with playful, fierce growls.

Shiori lit up at the explanation. Kaori had proved a poor playmate when it came to more tactile play, it was far more difficult to convince her to wrestle than she would like. This new toy would provide ample opportunity for the kind of play-hunting and fighting that she was, on occassion, interested in. When her father shook the pelt, Shiori's tail began wagging in earnest, though she waited until a few moments after Airi had a grip on it to attack. Giggling, she leapt forward as well, finding a spot to grip next to her sister and tugging.

Airi picks up on what she’s meant to do quickly, taking the hide and shaking it back and forth to get it away. At first, Ukko thinks Shiori might take an end so that he can let go but she becomes a little more daring and sizes up next to her sister to tug against him. A smile creeps upon his features and he thumps his tail while he readjusts his posture on the ground. He braces his feet on either side of him and tugs back—enough that he drags both of them a few inches—before he gives a little slack and lets himself be pulled forward by his girls.

Her eyes shifted towards her sister, who had the audacity to grab her side of the pelt. Airi snarled at Shiori, kicking out with her back leg, intent on getting her off so that she could fight HaHa all by herself. She was strong enough to. She didn't need anyone's help, especially not her sister's.

Where Shiori had seen this as an opportunity to play with her sister and her father, Airi clearly didn't. However, Shiori was now bigger by a wide enough margin that Airi's blows were less effective. Less, but still upsetting, and though she did not let go of the toy, she whined and cast her father an entreating look. She wanted to play as well, and she didn't want Airi to bully her out of it.

Ukko frowns when he sees Airi fight back against her sister and instead of throwing threats his way, sends them toward Shiori. The bigger girl doesn’t necessarily fight back, withstanding the lashes she receives, whining and looking toward him for help. His ears flatten against his head, uncertain what to do to better evenly match themselves with the squirrel head. In the best way he’s able, he jerks his head to suggest Shiori a little closer to turn the game against the other.

Everytime her father moved closer to her sister, attempting to bring her into the game, Airi's snarls increased in volume and darkened in tone. This prize was to be fought out between her and father now, and she would claim it. If Shiori wanted it so badly, she would have to fight for it after she tore it from Ukko's maw. Until then, Airi shooed her sister away, wishing then she had sharper claws.