Arrow Lake and my words are forever, my blanket, my shiver

Aurëwen’s teeth came so close to their target, but when the male’s foot flurried away, she gave a weak wriggle-and-lunge for the opposite ankle — and landed on her chin with a squeaking guffaw of sleep-addled giggles. Through the heavy, hazy veil of drowsiness, she couldn’t be exactly sure if she’d bitten Verx’s ankles before; all the same, that day of reckoning would be soon to come, and he would reckon with her... Is that how the saying went?

And then he took the marmot from her! — but all she did was squeeze her eyes shut, making the red scars writhe, and lose a grumbly whine and thwack her tail thrice upon lichens. When she opened them and peered up into that shadowy face once more, he was talking about something concerning Blodreina; a den... puppies... comfort...

Heavens, so many words!  (In actuality, they were rather few, and would’ve been easier to comprehend had she not been so sleepy. )  Her own ears feathered back, wondering if this was how others felt when she became so effusive. But it sounded as if her beloved had been tasked with something concerning his niece... but when Aure wobbled and swayed and listed up into a sit — was it Verx? Had he gotten shorter? She squinted, rubbed at her eyes, gave a cartoony shake of her head.

Yet when such an effortless task proved to be much too effortful, she gave up with a slump of shoulders. After a long, ponderous moment of thinking quite hard, she slurred, ”Hmmnn... I would say... well, just be there for hers, as you have been for mes. And perhaps start... mmm, lining her nest with feather. Mm...” Really, it felt like all the support she could give, meager as it may be, ”Oh, I am not sure! I am so... sleepy, Berx, even when I have slepts all daisy.” With that, she squinted helplessly up at the inked figure, eyes quite bleary.