Haunted Wood we don’t gotta let him in

sometime before the attack.
@Valour

valium's words still echoed through famine's mind; he didn't belong here, not like everyone else. and with no one to remind him otherwise, he slipped quietly into a period of self-loathing. 

of course, this meant eating his emotions. what more could one expect?

famine belched and moaned from the pain of being overfilled. only after eating through an entire hare almost the same size as his body did famine realize that this wasn't the best coping mechanism.

When Valour came to check on the boy he hadn't expected this mess. Ears twitching at the belch he eyeballed Famine's bulging sides and then the discarded bones and rabbit fur his brows lifted "Holy crap how did you even fit that?" he asked sounding kind of impressed. Judging by the groan he'd say that the boy regretted gorging himself on something almost the same size as him. "what's up?" He asked figuring there had to be some reason that he ate so much. Or maybe he was just a ravenous growing boy. Who knew.

my mama? the child asked, and my papa? famine wanted to know where they were, and where they had gone? why had they left? he looked over at valour with wide, anxious eyes, hoping desperately that there might be some explanation.

because if there wasn't an explanation, then valium would be right. famine didn't want to think about how much weight the boy's insults really held.

His stomach knotted at the questions asked. Silence stretched on as he tried to figure out what to tell the kid. "Your father was a bad man. He isnt alive anymore" he said looking at Famine with sympathy though it wasn't enough to stop him from revealing the truth. Why was it him breaking this news and not Serem? Valour wasn't too keen on dealing with the fallout but what was he do except abandon Famine where he lay clearly dealing with stuff. "Your mother...she seems to have left" it was done dropped quick and fast onto the poor boy "Maybe she's looking for Connie too" he hoped it would perhaps soften the blow but Valour wasn't expecting the failure of a mother to return and if she did....if she did he'd feed her to the pack for how she's treated her children.

the child fell silent for a moment, aside from the expected belch. his stomach was starting to hurt more now; each one of valour's answers tied it into another tight knot. who? he asked. famine wanted more information about his papa, and why he'd been a bad man. was famine bad, too?

how come...not alive? he continued. the concept of death, when pertaining to wolfkind, was something that famine hadn't encountered yet. if he wasn't alive, then where was he? someone eated him? 

then connie's name was brought up, and famine couldn't help but whine. she'd become little more than a red smudge on his earliest memories. valium 'finks i don't have no family — wide eyes looked toward valour then, searching his eyes for an answer — 'cause i'm fatty?

Planting his butt firmly on the ground Valour settled down for a long and hard talk as more questions came pertaining to Vengeance. He wanted to spit on the ground, to show disgust at the resurfacing memories but....he had to remember that to Famine the dead man was his dad and not a monster that prevented sleep. "He hurt people. Especially children. One of those children fought back" the explanation was as simple as could be though he felt bitter giving Hela the cover up of being a victim. She'd enjoyed and wanted every last minute of violence and chaos that ensued in the pack but people who hurt kids wound up a rotting carcass being dragged away and abandoned by packmate, easy peasy. "then coyotes ate him" that time he seemed more hesitant to give the truth, eyes shifting down and away. He felt like shit though usually he'd have been proud to tell anyone about the fall of the lying cruel man he'd followed away from home. 

Then came a dilemma. Valium was bullying Famine. Another belch and the boy turned big round eyes on him seeking what looked like reassurance. Always having been a pretty nice guy he tried to remember what it was like to be young and grow up forgetting his own mother and sister. "You have family" he said tone surprisingly gentle for a moment "Everyone who works their butts off to keep you safe. Me. Clarence. Santi and Serem. Memory" he wasn't sure that Vanity would really take kindly to being looped into caring for more pups. The woman had her own children that she kept an eye on, the way it was supposed to be. "If you're worried about being a fatty how about you work out? Start practicing your fighting like everyone else" the suggestion was made kindly, though he was really hoping it was taken to heart because he couldn't have a kid taking an entire rabbit to himself.

why? each answer brought another question which famine hoped might make things clearer. i'm not.. no hurtin' people, and that meant this man valour was describing couldn't have been their father. famine might have asked more about the coyotes, but having convinced himself that this was someone else's father, he didn't care enough. instead, he moved on to something more important: co-yo-tes gonna eated me? 

the thought was ridiculous, right? he didn't know what a coyote was, but he knew that it couldn't eat someone like him. i'm eatin' coyotes, famine assured him. valour continued by explaining that famine really did have family, and it was much larger than valium's. his tail beat excitedly behind him as he leaned forward to ask, all mamas and papas? it sounded like a good deal, in his little mind.

a small paw slapped against his still full belly. valour mustn't have known that famine didn't understand what "fatty" or "working out" meant. still, they couldn't have been that bad because valour didn't seem worked up. okay, gordito agreed. he moved to stand up, albeit on wobbly legs, and shook his bottom to initiate play.

There wasn't any easy way to explain the gritty details nor did he want to so Valour provided a shrug and a solemn shake of his head "Bad people usually wind up...in bad places" he said hoping that this would another thing that would be lost with Famine's smaller vocabulary. Bad people ended up dead....Valour wasn't sure it was something he should've told a small child. Especially seeing as something he'd said had made the tubby boy feel the need to state he'd done no harm. Brows furrowing he was quick to agree "You're doing just fine" and then with an alarmed look at the inquiry about if Coyotes would eat him too. How could one conversation be so difficult? "Never gonna happen" the words held enough fierce certainty that it was evident the hatred he held for the animals. Then the child gave his own declaration and he laughed instantly warming up about ten degrees, eyes shining with mirth "I bet you will one day" yeah okay, there was a little jab thrown in there about the kid's impressive eating but he didn't mean it terribly mean. Hell, if the kid grew up to hunt Coyotes and bring them to the caches Valour would be ecstatic. 

And then Famine managed to wriggle himself into the deepest parts of Valour's emotions, asking if they were all his parents. Ears shifting back he looked away swallowing down a teeny lump and shrugging again "Yeah, if you want I guess we all are" he agreed not knowing himself quite what he'd just thrown himself into the midst of. As Famine got up Valour's tail swayed at his hinds, feeling the same trickle of excitement he remembered back from his own childhood (like he wasn't still one) playing with Clay. "Pretend I'm a coyote and try to eat me!" he encouraged and crouched lower to the boy's level giving a pretend growl to get into character.

the gargoyle's attention shifted steadily away from their heavy topics to the more exciting offer of play. still unsure of what exactly a coyote was, he appreciated valour's weak impression and pounced forward with teeth bared, aiming for his shoulder.

because he was still full of food, moving quickly was difficult. still, famine managed to refrain from vomiting through the first part of their game.

With a good enough attempt for someone just done with a hefty meal the kid leaped for him. With ease he dipped away lifting a paw to try to gently bop him on the head "Gotta go faster okay? Try again. This time pretend im Valium being mean. You gonna let me talk shit?" he challenged flinching for a moment with a look of "oh shit" as he realised he just cursed and just as quickly deciding he'd hear it somewhere else eventually and crouching back down his tail wagging. It felt really good to be showing to someone how to stick up for himself though he was also somewhat proud of Valium of being intimidating enough to have Famine such a wreck. That was definitely a good way to keep the alpha pup title for sure and show his worth.

oh, fuck; he was gonna vomit. 

famine's mouth was watering an unusual amount; slobber dripped from either corner of his lips, but he continued with their game anyway because of valium's introduction. no! the child laughed, no shit!

he realized that he was still too short to take valour's back. instead, famine went for the skin between arm and chest, hoping to pinch his teeth onto the sensitive skin.

Fascinated he watched a particularly long strand of drool sway from Famine's lips never dripping to the ground. The peal of laughter and the curse word combined did him in and he laughed himself, fully charmed by Famine's antics. As such when the kid leaped for him he was caught off guard and teeny fangs pinched down around what was almost his armpit. Hissing in a breath of pain he tensed up and lowering his maw went to grip Famine's scruff where he'd just grab him and gently yoink away to detach his dangerous little teeth. If succesful he'd praise famine by saying "Good. That's good" and raising his tail up high, eyes narrowing with a sharp gleam as he bared his teeth "Again but this time meaner! You really wanna scare a bad guy in a fight even if it's a packmate" he was gentle with his instruction but he wanted to see Famine really show effort. Of course he also didn't know that the poor child was desperately trying not to vomit, if he had he'd probably have ended it to be safe.

getting closer! 

valour carefully removed famine from his prior holding place, implying that he'd done something wrong. this was how most of the fights he'd gotten into went, so why would this be any different? though he didn't understand, he trusted valour's word.

this time, famine actually heaved (nothing came from it), and lunged for his opponent's face instead. daggers were pointed for valour's snout, hoping to snag both nose and mouth in one bite.

The retch beforehand was not missed that time and Valour wheeled back just in time, for Famine's small fangs clipped his lip. Blood welled up on the clean wound and he licked his maw, wagging his tail and flattening his ears back dropping his belly to the ground to show he was done. A nearly vomiting child was not something he wanted coming near him but he was proud of the basic skill Famine showed, an eye for where he could get to on an opponent for sure. "That was good, take a break okay? Let all that food settle down a bit" he flashed a smile, feeling in a much better mood after rough housing with Famine "Next time Valium tries to pick on you don't let him" that was the only advice he had. The way he had learned was through the constant fighting to rise to the top against Hela but fighting off a bully would do the same thing he supposed.

their game ended with not a moment to spare. famine heaved up the rabbit's second half with valour's warning as background noise, then nodded his head enthusiastically with the mention of valium. next time they met, things would have to go differently.. whatever that entailed.

famine was ready for sleep, as one might expect. he walked several steps away from the waste pile and settled into fetal position, not caring whether valour stayed or went.

Turning away from the gross scene he backed further away to avoid chunks spraying his paws. Recovering with enthusiasm that had Valour's tail wagging it would seem their lesson had tuckered the child out. Quietly he turned and made his way toward the borders to patrol musing over the different personalities each child had.