Swift River above the world so high

Gone Tomorrow

Corinna's laughter mingled with Torrel's, and she playfully clicked her teeth together as his sharp teeth chewed on her soft muzzle. She had grown accustomed to her cubs' particularly sharp teeth, but she was very careful with her own aims. While his bites were accompanied by a small sting, her's would crush the tiny bones in his paw; and there was nothing he could do that would ever make Corinna want to cripple him. So she instead missed him intentionally, and only grabbed his paws or muzzle without applying pressure.

And while he might have been disappointed in her change in position, he was content enough to look up a the sky with her. The night sky was something he had probably not paid much attention too in his short foray out into the world, but he would come to know it very well. He repeated the word after her, and Cori eagerly nodded her approval. "Yes, stars," her voice was affirming, and she tilted her head so she could look at him. Green eyes lit up with curiosity as his inquiry, suggesting that the stars were other dens. Very well could be, though Corinna doubted it. They could lay there and look all they wanted to, but the night sky would always be out of reach for their kind.

"Maybe," she admitted, with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. "They light up the sky, and help you see at night." The moon was out of their eyesight currently, but eventually it would show up and Corinna would be able to show him the even bigger light. But for now all they had was the stars. That had their own enchantments. As she turned her head back to look up again, movement caught the corner of her eye, and with excitement, she wiggled her paw upwards again. "Look!" It was a slower moving shooting star, flying through a small clear patch of darkness before disappearing behind the branches. "That's a "shooting star". When you see one, you're supposed to make a wish." She explained, looking back at Torrel. Nudging his muzzle with her's, she cooed, "So what do you want, little one?"

At his mother's approval of his speech Torrel's chest puffed proudly as he gurgled merrily to himself and his blue eyes narrowed in frustration as his oversized paws (yet still tiny in comparison) batted ineffectively at these 'stars'. Or, as he now thought of them, far away dens. His mother didn't outright refuse Torrel's idea so in his eyes it must be true and he couldn't help but imagine more cubs lying out in the distance looking at his den. Yet, his brow furrowed as his Ma continued and after a moment of hesitation he shook his head, frustrated, I no see, he huffed. Dark. Though when Torrel grew his eyes would have no problem with the night, at the moment his eyes were ineffective and he was almost blind beyond a small radius around himself, for him the stars did not give him enough light at all.

In the brief silence that fell Tor pondered the mysterious Dark he now found himself in and yearned even more so for the Light, when he had left the den, just to see the new land he could smell with it's sharpened scents at night. Yet his musing was broken when he sensed his mothers excitement and eagerly his blue eyes followed her directions and fell upon a shooting, bright light. Fast! A murmur of excitement escaped him as he tried to track the star with his eyes, too slow to follow the motion clearly like his mother's eyes undoubtedly could. Dens could move? His blue eyes were wide with wonder as he watched it dart across the sky. Wiiiish! He yipped as his mother spoke of them and his excitement was still clear on his face as he turned to watch her with curiosity at the question.

The gentle nudge on his muzzle pulled him from his easily distracted thoughts and there was no hesitation as he answered. Yew! He giggled, flashing his teeth at her, Da'aah, and his tail waved erratically between his flailing backlegs as he watched his mother with a broad grin.

(This post was last modified: Jul 07, 2012, 02:00 AM by Torrel.)

Gone Tomorrow

Torrel's tiny growls of frustration hit Corinna's ears like a misplayed chord. It was not a sound she enjoyed hearing because it meant that something was wrong. Here, it was the fact that his age was inhibiting to his ability to see well. While Corinna could easily make out the distinctive shapes of the trees around her, and would be well equipped to travel at night without issue, Torrel was not. Leaning over, she licked the top of his head to comfort him. "Soon enough, you will," she tried to reassure him. Soon enough her small son would not be so small anymore, and without a doubt had inherited the Tainn's gene for size. Then he would be able to see everything.

But whatever issues he might have had with seeing did not inhibit his ability to see the shooting star. The mother looked on, not at the shooting star, but as her son, as he watched. The excitement, amazement, and sheer awe at the sight was more than clear on his face. His grin was mirrored on her own muzzle as she watched on. This is what motherhood was about. Not only did she bring his tiny life into the world, but she was able to witness his discovery of the rest of life as well.

Of course, there was the added benefit of being the center of the world, at least to a certain few. Torrel's wish came out as soon as she asked him the question, the young cub having no troubles in understanding. With a giggle, Corinna smiled at the cub, rolling off her back to her side and then stomach. On all fours now, she reached out with her forepaws to pull Torrel towards her. "I got you!" she giggled at him, tail wagging behind her. "You can play with Dad tomorrow," she reassured him, "After you sleep!" With a chuckle