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When the child woke, it was incredibly early. The chill that had settled upon him during his slumber had not lessened in any way. He was startled at first, concerned by the layers of darkness that greeted his eyes as he opened them. Very briefly, Larus entertained the hopeful thought that he was back home; he had forgotten about meeting the black-faced wolf, and was initially quite perplexed when he caught sight of her. The boy got to his feet as quietly as he could and began to wander around - not too far from Caiaphas, just enough to gather his bearings. It was very dark inside of her precious cavern. The sunlight that slid through the chasm up above was pale, shimmering... He caught himself staring at it, and with a tiny shake of his head returned to rooting around the various rocks.
Whatever had lured Caiaphas in to this place and captured her interest did not do the same for him. This place was a deep and dark maze for the petite creature. He couldn't find anything of interest among the rocks, or in the soil, or even in the walls; and he tried very hard. The smell of the rocks was pleasant; a hearty petrichor that soothed Larus more than anything else he had encountered since his arrival. Most of the stone formations were bigger than him - being either stalactites, stalagmites, or immense boulders. There were a few corridors between the rocks in places which he could squeeze in to, even tried to squeeze in to - but as soon as his shoulders touched the rocks, he knew he was too wide.
This left Larus with nothing to do. He was too afraid of leaving the cavern without his protector, and equally uncomfortable about pestering her so that they could move to some place more hospitable to him. So Larus waddled his way back to where Caiaphas slept and slumped against the smooth stone floor, tucking his limbs beneath the marshmallow that was his body, and stared at her. He studied the subtle undulation of her breathing, the flicker of her eyes behind the lids, and even the tremble of the woman's fur when air passed over it. But she didn't wake up, no matter how long he watched, waited, and willed for her to do so.
She hissed and arched her back almost instinctively -- she had entirely forgotten about her recently acquired charge. He looked miserable -- and she wondered just how long he had been there. If he had slept at all.
Her posture slackened and she recomposed herself, gathering her bearings in the murky cavern. She brought a paw to her eyes and irritably rubbed the rheumy crust from them -- and when she was done she placed her forepaw deliberately at the ground in the most huffy of manners, her cross voice suddenly filling the cavern with its sharpness. "Do you need something?"
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Sometimes her breathing matched the odd sound coming through the cavern walls. The echo of waves - which Larus couldn't identify - was soothing him, up until Caiaphas spasm-ed awake. When she reared back he did what came naturally: ducked and pulled away, tripping over his own feet in the process.
Her hissing voice had him cowering, and then phwump, her paw stomped down to bring an end to the peace and quiet. The sound reverberated through the cave, but this time Larus wasn't interested in watching it travel.
No, n.. no, I was jus'...
came his struggling retort, I was waiting.
The boy's voice was barely loud enough to hear, let alone bounce off of the walls. He squirmed in place, wanting to say what he really wanted yet too afraid. A few moments passed wherein Larus couldn't even muster up enough courage to look at the lady's stationary paw; but, gradually, his gaze began to flick between a fixed point near her toes and his own crossed paws.
I'm cold. An' its light-time, so...
Gulp.
Wha's for breffist?
He spoke and his voice was barely audible -- Caiaphas had to lean forward to hear it. She drew back her head with a blink as he finished speaking, and the silence that followed was heavy and creeping.
Caiaphas hadn't really considered she was supposed to feed him, and it was then she decided she didn't even want him anymore. With a flick of her tail, as if cementing her mercurial decision, she rose.
"There ain't no breffist here." She said flippantly, stalking towards the dark pool in the center of the cavern. It was a lie, and not a very well concealed one. She sat at the edge and hung a paw over the rise lazily, motioning for him to follow her. She peered into the circular depth, where one could see all assortment of fish residing. She had yet to figure out how to lure them to the surface, and painfully she studied them as they lurked just beyond her grasp.
Larus really liked food. This was a fact. It was a very obvious fact, judging by how portly the young boy was; even after the extended vacation away from the glacier and his family, he had remained somewhat round and squishy. To say that his hopes were dashed when Caiaphas proclaimed her hovel to be empty of any form of meat was putting it mildly. As soon as she made her announcement, Larus' mouth began to gape. He watched her stalk around the cavern with a look of absolute astonishment - and then, he did something completely out of character.
The child was abruptly vaulting himself after the woman's tail. Well, not her tail specifically, that held no meaning to him. But he charged after her with all the furious intent that he could muster. But you said this is home! You said! An' if this is home, then... th-then there has to be breffist!
She did say that. Larus could clearly remember! It had stung when he had agreed, it had hurt, so there was no way he could forget. How could there be no food?! You said!
He drawled, his agitation transforming in to the whiniest sound he'd ever made; the pitch lanced through the air at Caiaphas' ears.
"Don't matter what I said." She supplied huffily, turning her muzzle in the air with affront. (In truth she thought it mattered very much what she said.) "By the looks of you, you could stand to miss a couple breffists."
She looked at the pool, which now had nothing in it save for the trembling water. Purposely she looked at Larus then, as if to silently articulate he had chased away their breakfast. But her resolve melted when she saw how deplorable he seemed -- and as fluffy and rotund as he was, she was hungry too -- and she could not imagine he would take kindly to her eating in front of him without sharing. "Fine." She caved finally with a growl, slinking back towards a secondary tunnel where somewhere in the crepuscule cavern a small cache of fish awaited.
She rounded upon him, but Larus was unafraid (that was a lie, he would've pee'd himself by now if his bladder had anything in it). He flat out ignored her as she tried to get out of her promise; she had rescued him, given him this so-called home, and that meant she was his protector! By the looks of you, you could stand to miss a couple breffists.
She snidely stabbed, to which Larus' face scrunched. The boy had heard worse insults from Jokull, so he was somewhat resistant to what the lady said. That, or he just really, really, really wanted to eat.
Larus danced around her, keeping away from her paws in case she tried to swipe at him. The sound of his clawed toes tapping against the earth was all the response Caiaphas got, until she gave in. As the woman drawled her acquiescence, Larus was struck with a wave of satisfaction. A wolfish grin set itself upon his face, although Caiaphas was already on her way towards another section of the cave, so he had to bask in his victory alone.
With a scurry, he followed after her.
So wha's for breffist?
He piped up after a moment, realizing he... Had no idea what the heck could be expected. The Sveijarn kids had transitioned to solid foods - and none with more gusto than Larus - but he didn't really know what, specifically, his parents chose to feed him.
They traveled for some time and for that length of time the only sound between them was Larus' excitable skitter, and the low sway of Caiaphas' tail. She said nothing. Her eyes were sharply fastened ahead, towards the cache she knew she was nearly upon. She could smell the salt and the rot and her jaws positively slathered with excitement.
When she came to the spot where a small plot had been dug she turned the fresh soil over with her nose, revealing two small pike corpses. She picked one up for herself and did not offer the second to Larus -- instead leaving it carelessly in the soil. Without a word she turned her back to him and started eating with vigor, uncaring if he selected his own or mewled about her.
Larus wasn't accustomed to having his wishes ignored, but at the same time he wasn't accustomed to speaking. Anytime he was around his sisters for instance, he'd stay quiet so as not to arouse their interest; and with Valtyr words weren't needed, since Larus would simply follow his brother around. Valtyr was brave, strong, and always the leader. If little Larus could channel some of those behaviors, maybe everything would be alright.
When the lady found the cache, Larus was waiting glumly beside her. Hunger had finally caught up to him and his energy levels waned (especially after his little fit). As Caiaphas pulled away with her bounty, Larus was keen enough to sniff the air as she turned, pulling the fish overhead. It didn't smell like food at all - it smelled like dirt. The boy felt the need for another corrective whining match.
She said she'd give him breffist and now she's tricking him again! As he opened his mouth, Caiaphas was dropping her meal upon the cave floor. When the first sound began to emerge from his throat ('You said--') she tore in to it, and his desire to make a scene evaporated. The boy hobbled over to her, ignorant that there was a similar meal to be had within the unearthed cache, and began to study the manner in which she ate.
You'a eatin' dirt.
He quipped from beside her. But even with this knowledge his stomach gave a mighty growl, prompting Larus to look down - not at the ground, or his paws, but at the bulbous sphere of his belly. No belly, dirt inn't breffist...
When he spoke to his belly a snort emanated form the female, but she made no move to encourage him. In fact, the opposite occurred -- the mongrel hunched her shoulders over and deliberately turned away from him with a low grumble. This was her fish -- and she had no intention of sharing it.
She continued masticating, at this point now devouring the brittle bones of the fish. She chewed with a blind pleasure, her eyes half dreamy. Larus, still beside her, had yet to make a move for the fish -- and with a hiss she turned her wicked muzzle to him, her expression unkind. "Stupit whelp" She seethed, a gangly and thin-boned paw extended towards the pike still only half excavated from the damp earth -- "Breffist, there. Eat it or I will eat it for you.. and then you, after." With that, she turned back to her meal and wrestled the remnants of the carcass betwene her gangly limbs.
She turned an unkind eye upon him, and that was what made Larus go silent. It was a brief affair - no sooner had Caiaphas rumbled her words did the boy remove himself from her presence. He didn't want to be eaten. Why did everyone want to eat him? The big lady at home, the lynx (he assumed), and now this lady. But he didn't cry out or cringe... Essentially calling Caiaphas' bluff, although he hadn't meant to. The boy returned to the section of the soil where an old fish had been buried, and watched it with as much interest as he had shown to the half-dead bird Tuwawi had brought in to the den, that one time.
Hunger won out over his lethargy.
Positioning himself over the hole, Larus dove meekly towards the fish with his mouth open. The first attempt had him tasting dirt more than fish - and he recoiled, sputtering and licking at his lips in order to remove the dirt that had gotten stuck. He was a very particular child, apparently. After swallowing some muddied saliva, he tried again. This time his little teeth sank in to the fish near its exposed tail, and he began to pull... And pull... And pull some more, going so far as to brace his paws against the stone floor.
When the fish was finally worked free of the earth, it was an abrupt moment. Larus bowled backwards with the pike's tail gripped tightly in his mouth. The back of his head konked against the hard floor of the cave, and the fish's body lay upon his exposed belly. After a moment Larus released the tail and lay there, prone, hugging the dead fish.
As he sat there supine with his expression somewhat shocked and the fish on top of his swollen belly, she sauntered over to him. She brought her muzzle low to his and peered at him skeptically, as if ascertaining if there was any activity in his brain. She tilted her head to the side as he remained motionless -- and with a deftness that spoke well of her ability to thieve, she sought to take the fish from him and gallop wildly around him in a lofty and gayly sprung canter.
He was prone for a minute or so - and it was enough time for Caiaphas to show interest in his bounty. Larus was dazed by the bonk on the head, thus leading him to stare absently at the darkness upside-down. Then the lady made a grab for his fish. Her attempt was swift and well placed; Larus was holding the pike body close one moment, and then sinking his toes against his own belly fur the next.
But the boy hadn't let go. Caiaphas was stronger, she was quick, and began veering around him with the pike waving from her jaws. This forced Larus up. He scrambled to his feet and was half-dragged after his protector, and upon catching his paws against some jagged stones, he lost his grip on the pike. Caiaphas began striding around him with more gusto, parading with the prize.
With a deeply inhaled sigh, Larus sank against the ground once more. He didn't have the energy to chase after the dirtfish, as much as he wanted to consume it. No fair!
he squawked, 'Das my breffist! You had yous!
Hnnggg. Why was this so difficult. Why couldn't she just be nice.
Victoriously she regained her footing and trotted loftily about him with the pike held in the air like a maiden won in conquest -- her jagged muzzle aloft and besmirched by a sneer. She crowed her triumph into the cavern and it resounded with obnoxious force -- and despite his outcry she continued parading wildly about him in the most taunting manner.
Eventually she found this boring and her stamina fading she elected to trot haughtily back towards the cavern they had slept in. His cries of injustice fell blankly on her backside and it was not until she reached the mouth of their bedchamber did she slow her pace. Whirling about him like a maddened hyena she cackled between a mouthful of scales, her eyes alight with mischief. "Fhatty mustch catchzeet furst!" She yelled, her voice distorted and muffled by the pike clenched between her jaws.
With that she would begin throwing the pike in the air and catching it in the manner of her coyote brethren -- thrashing and tossing it about with a wild and cruel abandon only a coyote could know.
but my petals have fallen.
Okay, so nice wasn't in her repertoire, but dirtfish tossing was.
Hey!
He chirruped as he got to his feet, bounding after Caiaphas as she sauntered all over the place. The fish went up, and Larus followed it with his eyes; the fish went down and the boy's face got more expectant by the moment, until... Caiaphas caught upon it and began shaking it around. He ducked beneath her chin, waddled around to the opposite side, and raised up on his hind legs to try and catch hold of the fish. But it was out of his range indefinitely.
What-
jump, miss.
Are you-
jump, miss, stumble.
What are you doing! Das for me! Givitback!
Jump, miss, flail, and he was on the ground again, letting gravity have its way with his bally of a belly. Larus was hungry and adamant about getting his munch on, but it wasn't worth all of this movement. Ugh.
She continued for a few steps with halfhearted ambition, casting a sly eye to him to see if he was following her or engaging her at all. He was not. Her posture sagged and she huffed between clenched teeth, stopping just in front of him with the fish held aloft.
This game wasn't fun if the only participant wasn't playing!
With an exasperated sigh she finally gave in -- crouching forward as if in apology to place the fish gently at Larus' feet.
But it was a ruse -- and a cruel one indeed -- once she felt she was too close she wrenched back with a shriek and a cackle and resumed her mad galloping, nearly tripping right into the circular pool of water as she did so. Her paws clacked deviously across the stone and she whirled around him like a dervish until she was panting and out of breath.
At this point her energy was spent and as much as she would like to continue her torture she found it overkill; with a huff she tossed the dirtfish in his general direction and went back to his bed to watch him, practically preening herself in good spirits.
Of course, at his expense.
but my petals have fallen.
This was his usual play style. Not playing often meant Larus could avoid the brunt of his sister's rough play. Sure, it made him a spoil sport, but... Well, to the child, there really was no downside. Larus wasn't expecting anything from the lady when he stopped playing her game. He just wanted to stop.
As she offered him the fish, Larus was stupid enough - trusting enough - to view this as a peace offering. He readied himself to pounce, but in true Caiaphas fashion... Right when he launched at the fish with his mouth ajar, the target of his desires was slipped out from underneath him. He landed with a fwump, colliding in a belly flop with the floor.
Ugh. His belly felt like it had just been punched. He rolled to one side while Caiaphas took the fish and cavorted around, dancing out of his reach. The boy was quite unhappy at this point - but the blow to his belly was enough to distract him, even when the fish was tossed his way. After a few moments he did rouse himself, and that was when he saw the fish.
He moved towards it slowly - almost lethargic - and kept his eye on Caiaphas. For all the kid knew, she was playing another trick. She moved to another section of the cave and the two wolves watched one another; then, when Larus felt that there was enough distance between them, he dove upon the fish. Teeth rendered the fish to shreds and he feasted upon the pike, sucking in fish meat as if it were jelly, until it was only bones.
She was surprised by the voracity in which he consumed it, dirt scales and all. It had not been the most pleasing of entrees but Caiaphas knew only too well the yawning sense of hunger and for her it was a most fulfilling meal. She was not aware (nor did she care) of what kind of cuisine the whelp was used to, and it did not concern her in the least that his diet may have been incredibly altered given his recent change of hands. She only watched him for now, and once he was finished she turned to him again with a satisfied growl. "Naptime." With that her brilliant eyes fell closed and a heavy sigh expelled from her tense body.
but my petals have fallen.
His belly was full. There was nothing left of the fish but a pile of loosely scattered bones, some which stuck to his whiskers. It wasn't the nourishment he was accustomed to.... But it was food. And Larus was grateful, in the manner of a wanting child that was finally sated. With his fullness came a sudden warmth, a comfort that had been missing. He was suddenly struck with the urge to yawn - and as the sensation rolled through him, so too came the awareness of just how tired he was. When Larus' eyes opened again (having squeezed shut as they were prone to do during his yawning fits) he saw Caiaphas' golden eyes drop against her paws. Naptime.
She murmured in the dark; the boy took heed of this, and after a brief waddle, plopped himself down next to some low stones. One became his pillow. He was out as soon as he closed his eyes, sprawled upon the cold stone floor like a drunken fool. And kids were all just drunken little fools, weren't they?