Wheeling Gull Isle still cutting shapes

Caracal was completely alone for the first time in… well, he couldn’t remember how long it had been. He enjoyed it for all of five minutes before the quiet started to downright spook him. He scuttled from the den site down toward the lavenders, hoping he might find his wife.

She wasn’t there, so he meandered southwest toward the outcropping of rocks that stood sentinel just beyond the land bridge. The August day was warm but breezy, the sun currently tucked behind fluffy clouds. The stones were warm to the touch. Caracal slithered onto the tallest one and stretched out with a sigh. Basking was nice, though he was really up here to scan for any sign of company.

@Anathema

Click click click;

Caracal had company. Anathema trailed him at an idle pace, clicking away but making no effort to reach for her adoptive father's attention. It took some time for her to catch up to him at all; she'd been slow to notice his departure and slower to follow, sluggish under the day's warmth.

She wandered up to stare at him where he'd stopped, cocking her head to one side and clicking inquisitively. What was he doing up there?

The instant he overheard the familiar clicking, Caracal turned to see Ana approaching. She came to the foot of the outcropping and gazed up at him, her eyes inquisitive but her lips silent aside from that small, rhythmic noise she made.

He scooted to the edge of the stone, paws dangling as he peered down at her. Caracal pulled a couple of goofy faces before his expression melted into an easy grin. Ana had always struck him as a particularly taciturn child but, come to think of it, had he heard any of the four youngest speak?

Pondering this, he pushed onto all fours and climbed down to join the puppy. Perhaps she’d hoped to join him up there, though Caracal wasn’t about to take that risk if he could help it. He thought he’d try to redirect Ana’s attention elsewhere.

You wanna check out the land bridge? I think the tide’s going out, so we could walk along it, maybe even touch the mainland, oOoOo…?

Ana was never sure how to return Caracal's displays of affection. She understood in her own way that the faces he made, the activities he proposed, were his ways of showing warmth. This was foreign to the girl, who had been the least loved of her littermates on the day of their birth. She enjoyed it in the way one might enjoy the sound of a language they'll never speak.

Eager to feel more of this oddness, she clicked her agreement. Her eyes were large and watchful, faithfully following each of Caracal's movements, his changes in expression. She wouldn't move until he did.

He couldn’t tell if his words enticed her in any way. Caracal wasn’t even sure she understood them. His lips pursed as he took a seat beside her, peering speculatively at the patchwork puppy.

How come none of you guys talk, hmm? he questioned rhetorically. Do you at least understand what I’m saying?

He wondered if maybe they suffered defects from those strange first days of their lives. The thought hurt his heart, though Caracal didn’t love them any less. He had been a little bit thrown by the mysterious quartet at first, though by now he’d come to think of them as his own.

Her ears fell as she realized that Caracal did not understand. It was speech he wanted, something Anathema had never considered for herself. It just wasn't the way things were. Her littermates maintained their silence, and so too did she.

But that didn't mean she was incapable.

Ana clicked sadly, then nodded. Understand, She murmured in a stilted, underused voice, and her mouth contorted a little with the strange feel of it. Un-derstand. The darkling repeated, this time more for herself, testing her first word one more time. She watched Caracal hopefully, seeking his approval for having done this thing he'd wanted from her.

His whole face lit up when she spoke. It was quite the pleasant surprise, to say the least. He beamed at her for a solid five seconds before he registered the meaning of her single word.

Okay, good! Thank God! Would you like to take a look at the land bridge? Or we could do something else. It’s entirely up to you, Ana. Your wish is my command, Caracal insisted, sweeping into a dramatic bow.

I'm so sorry for the wait AAAA

Caracal was pleased with her. Ana broke into a rare smile, dancing on her front paws for a moment as she watched her adoptive father's excitement. It was the first time she understood that she'd done something well.

She would never forget this feeling.

Ana nodded vigorously at the very moment he spoke of the land bridge, and turned even as he was still speaking to look for it. She didn't know where it was — but it had to be somewhere at the edge of the island, so she picked a random direction and started to run.

Her smile was a treat. He was already smiling himself but it grew so large it stretched his lips and made Caracal’s cheeks ache. He hadn’t really realized how concerned he felt about the younger and much more taciturn kids until now. But it was seriously a delight to see Ana come out of her shell a bit.

She took off running and he whooped a laugh, following after her. Ana trundled in the general direction of the land bridge, though when she began to veer off course, Caracal simply sped up and shepherded her in the right direction.

It appears and disappears, sort of like magic, he breathlessly explained as they came nearer to the place where the sandbar joined the island, or a miracle. But it’s really just the tide coming and going. Still neat though, right? he questioned, looking down at her with his tongue lolling from his mouth.

No worries!