Wheeling Gull Isle book of psalms

Caracal would never forgive @Everett for naming one of the kids Tzedeq Zerach. Like, seriously. How was he ever supposed to pronounce that?

I hope it’s cool if I call you Z, he mumbled under his breath, earning a curious glance from @Manea seated nearby. Oh, just talking to myself, he said to her, flapping a hand and grinning sheepishly.

All eight puppies were growing fast. They were still a lot to handle—especially with Towhee gone now—but Caracal felt like they’d kind of hit a good rhythm again. It helped that the older ones were at an age where they could help with the younger ones a bit.

He was still a bit sleep-deprived and could feel his eyes growing heavy, so to stave off a nap, Caracal bounced to his feet and hollered, Okay, guys! Who wants to help me find Psalm? Anyone who wants to stay here can hang out with Manea, otherwise I’m going this way.

He pointed a little south of their current location and began marching that way, wondering who might fall into step behind him.

Tags for invitation and/or reference; no obligation! @Abel Elam @Anathema @Ava Macaroni @Dinah @Judah @Malakai @Saint @Simeon

Judah loved his father. He spent a lot of time with him. Daddy was always saying weird things, and mostly Judah just nodded along or pretended to understand to make him happy or proud- eager for any sort of positive reception.

Today his dad is going out to look for something, a ‘psalm’, whatever that was. His butt gives a little involuntary wiggle, but he will glance back to see where Malakai’s mind is at first. This will naturally decide how he proceeds.

Malakai still did not like his 'new siblings' but was beginning to realize they were not going away soon and so, began getting used to them, as well. He didn't trust them and had convinced himself (and @Saint certainly didn't help) that they were the product of evil. Two of them sickly. Two of black half faces and one with a red mark on her. Another, blinded in one eye. They were odd to him. Certainly made of sin and well, Kai could only pray for them that God might have mercy on their souls... or, he wouldn't. Kai was pretty uncaring of this either way. After all, God always had a plan and had his reasons. 

Kai would always be a bit pushy with his siblings, but since the arrival of these new ones, Kai was beginning to appreciate his own more. They were made of silvers and gold and beautiful. Like a paladin's shining armor and the light of God. 

Malakai snorts as he begins to exit the den, happy with any reason to leave it. Seeing Judah's quiet excitement, he nudges his twin along. Let's go. Finally Judah had sprung from the nest and Kai was content to have his twin at his side as much as he could.

It seemed only the twins felt compelled to join their father on his quest. Caracal couldn’t decide if he was bummed that more of them weren’t interested in his very cool idea or if he should be glad to have just two of the pups to himself for a little while. He decided to go with the latter, grinning cheerily at Kai and Ju (hahaha, kaiju!).

He led the duo toward the west side of the island, where the sea turtle could occasionally be seen drifting among the reefs. As they approached the surf, Caracal slowed and turned his back on the ocean, facing the two boys.

Ju, remember how we talked about befriending that monster? Well, Psalm might seem like a monster too, at first. But she’s our friend, I promise, he said, glancing over his shoulder and shading his eye as he scanned the sea. She’s kind of shy sometimes, so she might actually be afraid of us.

Judah tucks himself right between daddy and Mal as they walk. He leaves the den now, even on his own! He is a big boy. But the ocean is still a little scary in how to rolls and gathers into giant blue mountains before smashing onto the shore. When they reach the sand he picks his feet up high to keep pace with Mal.

Daddy stops them and he cranes his neck to heed the warning, nodding stiffly… but why would a monster be afraid of their family?

“She? Afwaid? Ob me?” He blinks before allowing his chest to rise a bit. Yes, Judah was a ferocious hunter! She aught to be!

“Mal! Didya hea dat?” He giggles at his twin before peeking around the left of his father and seeing… nothing but rocks on the white sand.

Malakai kept pace as his brother's side, nestled between he and their father. As excited as any puppy, Kai's head is darting around, sniffing the sandy earth and salty breeze. 

Then, he pauses as his father stops, turning around to face the twins. He spoke of this Psalm again, but who was it? Who was named after the praises of God? 

Malakai laughs at his brother's words, nudging his shoulder with his own and giving a big cheesy grin. Yea, why not? He moves to boister his brother, very much unlike he did with his other siblings, lest comparing them to the younger litter. Ya got sharp teeth, strong paws- they should be afraid!

This concept seemed rather foreign to Judah. Caracal listened in amusement as Malakai assured Judah that he was as fierce and frightening as any other wolf. He thought about pitching in his own thoughts but Malakai was doing a better job than he ever could.

Do you guys remember what a psalm is? Not the Psalm but a psalm…? Caracal playfully quizzed as he suddenly continued striding parallel with the surf, letting it swirl around his ankles.

“Yeah!” What Malakai says! His tail ticks rapidly and he frolics about in the sand. He’s so excited! Oh but-

“I be nice to monstur, Papa,” he promises his father. He didn’t want to scare the Psalm, even if it was a leviathan. He was getting kind of used to those anyway!

“Yes! Oh yes I do! I wemember Papa! Is feesh. Gwamma bwing it, Salmon!”

Malakai rides the shallow surf at his brother's side, every bit of him radiating an air of pride and comfort. Head high and nose out, sniffing the salty breeze, his tail arched up and over his backside and a strut in his steps. 

It better be nice to you. Kai murmurs into his brother's ear with a sharpness. If not, there would be no more Psalm. 

Then, he rolls his bi-colored eyes, nose crinkling at his brother with a chuckle. Nooooo, Judah, a psalm. Like songs and hymns about God. Right dad? He looks to his father with expected acclaim for being correct.

Judah’s astute reply hit Caracal’s funny bone hard. A loud blurt of laughter escaped him, followed by a tide of titters. Fortunately, Kai fielded his brother’s misnomer, though Caracal had to plant a fist against his lips to contain the laughter that wanted to continue pouring out of him.

Kai’s right, he squeaked when he could manage to speak, P-S-A-L-M, a sacred song or hymn. Ju, you were close, though! You’re thinking of S-A-L-M-O-N, one of the—

He glimpsed something out in the water, beyond the breakers. Caracal’s mouth clapped shut and he squinted, wondering if it was the leatherback’s shell surfacing, perhaps, or something else. He reared back a little when a great black fin cut up out of the water, followed by a burst of water vapor as an orca partially surfaced.

Holy sh—oot! he exclaimed, pointing eagerly as he yelled, Boys, look! Do you see it? Do you know what that is?

“Ohh…” something like a whimper rides his exhale, “ok. ‘Psalm’ has a silent ‘P’,” his lips twist, feeling a little embarrassed that it is something he should have known already if he had been paying more attention like Malakai.

His father’s exclaim broke the quiet and Judah found himself stumbling backwards, screeching and burrowing himself behind Caracal and Mal.

“DADDY!” he cries as a slap and a cut of fin perforates the blue just off shore.

Kai snickers under his breath as their father goes wild with a laughter, only then to explain to Judah the meaning of the world. Maybe if he had not been locked up in the den for so long, he would have known too. Malakai's world revolved around God. He was to put him before all others. Of course Malakai would know. 

Then, their father cried out with an excitement, eyes to the ocean. Judah jumped, hiding behind them. Kai squared himself in front of Judah, lip quivering in a snarl as he scanned the waters to see what was the matter. What was that thing? OK. This one Kai definitely was stumped on. 

Food?? If they were not wolf, they were food, right? So far anything else he had seen other then another wolf, had been presented to him to try and eat as he had transitioned from milk, regurgitated food and then knawing on meat all his own. Fish, crab, clam, rabbit, gopher... But this creature was way bigger then any of those.

The contrast in the twins’ reactions amused him even as Caracal turned his upper body to sling a comforting arm over Judah’s shoulder. He tugged the pup’s quivering body closer to his own, feeling that fear was actually a responsible reaction here.

It’s a blackfish! They’re like dolphins but even bigger, he said in an awed voice as the orca sank back out of sight. I’ve heard some refer to them as the wolves of the sea, he excitedly shared with his boys. So it’s a friend, not food. On that note, though, stay well clear of the water if you ever see one…

He nudged his sons further back from the surf, just to be extra cautious. Caracal had also heard they sometimes threw themselves onto the beach to catch prey. Both he and the pups were small enough to be mistaken for fish food, he supposed, and while the creature amazed him, he didn’t feel like getting eaten today.

Psalm definitely won’t be around if that guy’s out and about, he thought aloud, glancing over his shoulder to see the whale surface for a breath a bit further out at sea. They’re the apex predator out there, like we are here on land. And just like we have bears and mountain lions to compete with, they have sharks and stuff.

He paused in his National Geographic spiel to look at his sons’ faces and answer any questions they might want to shoot at him.

He clutches his father’s side fiercely, hide shaking, legs buckling, haunted by the sheer size of the blackfish. The ocean is a terrifying place if such things lurked beneath the depths. Malakai is swift to take up defense, but neither his brother’s courage nor his father’s calm could soothe him.

“C-can we go h-home now?” He asks Caracal with a fear-stricken tremble.

Not food then, but an equal, an adversary even. He listened to his father as he explained and ushered them back, yet all the while Malakai's eyes were focused on the horizon over the water, waiting for a moment when the wolf of the sea would emerge again. Malakai wondered what he was doing under the water where they lived. Kai still had not quite wrapped his mind around creatures living under the water for long periods of time. How did they breath? Did they not get tired? Where was their den? Did they not sleep? 

His dad was continuing on. The blackfish was like wolf. The sharks were like bears or lions. Which, of course, Kai had never before seen either. But he knew he was a predator- he knew that much at least. He ate other animals, which were prey. Malakai decided then, if he went in the water, the blackfish would eat him but if the blackfish went on land, Malakai would eat him. 

Unlike his brother, Kai's tail stood out rigid, limbs locked in place. Finally, he tore his eyes away from the ocean and swept it between his brother and father. Your safe here on land, right dad? But we can go back if you want to.

He’d hoped his little spiel might put Judah at ease, though that wasn’t the case. Caracal gazed down at the young man clutching at him in abject terror. He gave Judah a tighter squeeze, nodding, though before he could reply, Malakai spoke.

Yes, we’re safe here, he firmly reassured, but we can head home. We’ll come back and find Psalm another time.

Nudging Judah toward the island’s interior, he let go of him and glanced between the boys before declaring, Last one to the den’s a moldy pile of manatee dung!

His fear was a prison of his own making, and yet he didn’t know how to unshackle himself. Was it faith in God that armed his father and brother with such courage? He didn’t want to be terrified all the time. He could take no joy in discovery when monsters out there wanted to eat his toes and pick at their teeth with his bones.

He yelps and churns at the sand with his small gray feet, high-tailing it to the den. The only thing worse than being a coward was being a moldy pile of manatee dung.

Malakai dashed off with a growling bark, chasing after his brother back towards the den. Malakai didn't know what a manatee was quite frankly, but he had no interest in being dubbed its poop for loosing the race!