Whisper Marsh whenever, wherever

For @Attica only. @Hecate for reference.
Backdated to June 23rd. Calm weather, noon.

It was time for one of his favorite things; pup-sitting. Never before would the boy have thought himself to care so much for the tiny being sourced from so much wrong, but with his growing maturity came the ability to recognise that Attica did not bare her mother's sins, just as he had sworn to shake off his father's. Now, he wished he could visit every day. Now, he wanted the best for her, wanted her to grow and feel loved and never suffer being lied to. And now, he would do everything within his power to make that happen.

The towser had nudged the little girl out into the sunshine after her mother had vanished deeper into the marsh, taking advantage of the break offered to her.

"I got a surprise for you, Atty," he informed her, backing up slowly to where the worn chewing stick lay, hidden by the lengthy grass. She was old enough for it now, right? He really knew nothing about this developmental period, could only faintly remember his own, but it certainly wasn't something she could choke on. Worst case scenario, she did more slobbering than chewing.

His tail curled upward and wagged, a goofy grin spreading over his face; exaggerated excitement in hopes that she would feed off of it and get hyped about her present.

Her silver brother had pulled her out of the dark den, a place that was still completely new and foreign to the black smudge. While his nudging was necessary to encourage her towards the unknown, once outside she needed no further assistance to explore. There were so many smells out here! Everything the little cub waddled past had a different smell. Her towser brother always gave her new experiences, and her fondness of him was growing because of it, especially as her pairing of senses and familiarity grew together. 

She found herself next to some scratchy brown stuff that smelled earthy and delicious, and she rubbed her small snout against it, appreciating its roughness against her whiskers. Her brother's familiar voice caught her attention (though not entirely certain what he had said) and her deep blue eyes looked around until she found his light-coloured frame. He looked excited! She should be excited, too, probably! Her tail curiously matched his actions, wagging high and fast in all its stubby glory. Attica wasn't sure what they were excited about, but anything her brother was excited about would indeed catch her attention. She perked her newly raised ears in his direction, switching her focus between him and the tall grasses that he was indicating towards. A tiny anxious whine crawled out of her throat in anticipation before her tiny pink tongue returned to its baby panting.

awww @Attica

She followed his lead just as he'd hoped, and the excitement she mirrored only heightened his own. It felt so wonderful to make another wolf this happy, and Attica nearly made such a goal a valleity as it seemed effortless to bring her mirth. Her adoration was so pure and unconditional, it almost hurt to think that she would have to grow up at all and be subjected to the frigid world. This only made him all the more determined to protect her from it, and to ensure that their relationship never fell apart to the same vices that had afflicted all of the others he had experienced within Willow Ridge.

Sven dropped his chest to the ground, spanking the ground with his big white paws as his grin split his jaws apart even wider. Holding the play bow, he wriggled backward, a soft woof beckoning Attica to come see. Just a few steps more and then over the stick and the gift was in front of him for her to discover. To make sure she knew this was it, he gave it a nudge with his black leather nose, flipping one end briefly into the air. Would she know what to do with it? He wanted to wait and see what she came up with before revealing its purpose.

Rushed. </3

At the mounted excitement from Sven, Attica was unable to stop her legs from bolting forward. Her back legs pushed harder than her front and she began her sprint was a wild rear. At her brother's wild bowing movement, she paused her sprint for a few side gallops before pausing, tail stuck straight in the air warily. He was so much bigger than her, sockdolager in comparison, it was hard to take it all in sometimes, her vision never as crystal as when things were nearer. But his bark enticed her back into play mode and she twisted and barked repeatedly at him before setting off for his surprise once more. 

The sooty female got closer to his large frame all at once, not noticing his surprise through her repetitive tiny growling barks, overtaken with excitement. She bounded to the left and then right in front of him, barking enthusiastically at the idea of whatever their play was. She had not entirely figured out how or why play was, but she did know that it lit a fire in her tiny cub belly that filled her with energy, and so she enjoyed it, no matter how abstract. Her blue eyes finally guided themselves down as Sven's nose flipped the edge of the stick up. Without hesitation, mid-bound she jumped towards the stick. Once she realized she did not know what it was, she froze above it. Her tiny nose twitched an inch closer, trying to identify what her brother's thing was. Unsureness formed itself into a little growl, as she twisted away from it. One more bound back and she looked wildly up at her brother, expecting some sort of explanation for what this mystery item was in front of him. 

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

All her twitches and jumps and expressions were adorably endearing to the yearling. He was pretty sure he'd never found anything to be this cute before. Patience was extended to the child the likes of which he had never been able to muster for anyone else, and when it became clear that she hadn't even a clue as to what to do, he did not hesitate in showing her.

His jaws wrapped around one end of the stick, and he made an exaggerated effort at gnawing it while keeping his eyes locked on her tiny face. Soft growls of rrrr, rrrr! were added in to try and drive the point home. To make it clear that she was meant to copy him, he lifted the stick a couple inches into the air and swung the free end toward her reach. Chewinf, tug of war, simply keeping it around--he really didnt care if she got the point or not, so long as she enjoyed it.

A lot of words to describe very little. xD

The younger Archer watched her brother intently, her blue eyes fixed on his actions in an attempt to fully comprehend what was being shown to her. His larger, lighter eyes watched her back, and she switched between those and his teeth throughout his demonstration. With his growls, she was snapped out of her learning trance and closed the final few steps of distance resting between herself and the stick in her brother's mouth. While she felt encouraged to explore the stick with her mouth, it was something she was still working out throughout her developmental stages. She leaned down to sniff curiously again at the earthy-smelling item, eying how her brother was treating it again.

When the stick was lifted closer into her reach, she startled back a couple of steps before realizing it had been under her brother's control. His enthusiasm, as always, was what gunned her to finally move forward with his wishes. She wanted to be like her big brother, and enjoy the things he enjoyed, so she craned her neck forward and opened her tiny mouth over the stick. While it wasn't what she expected -- how could it have been -- it was still a pleasant surprise. The stick pushed up her tiny jowls, comically baring her milk teeth in a baby snarl. Looking for encouragement, she copied her brother's movements and sounds. They were still peeps in comparison to her brother's deeper voice, but they still felt great in her throat. The stick didn't move much, but it tasted good, and she enjoyed how her teeth sunk into it with slight pressure. She moved around it a couple of times, improving her position and leverage, exploring the wood with her muzzle. She could be like her brother, just wait and see. 

"today"

Despite his best efforts, it was still taking time, but that wasn't to say Atty was being slow. She was cautious, observing; both very good things. Her eyes were alight with lief learning, and it felt so good to give someone so much. Even as simple as it seemed, dragging around a stick and gnawing on it, moments like these were all the same vital to the littlest Archer's growth and development. It made Sven important, necessary. It grounded him in the way he had never been able to his own elders. That, in turn, made Attica important and he was determined she always felt that way.

When at last the girl both caught on and initiated her own tussling with the present, Sven relinquished his grip to allow her free reign over the toy. His haunches found the ground and he continued to watch her with a soft, adoring smile shaping his wolfish lips. Behind him, his tail thumped the dirt at arhythmic intervals and occasionally he would lift his gaze to take in their surroundings. While she played, he would stand guardian. At least, until she commanded something else from him. Mildly, as time passed and the sun continued to sink, he wondered after Hecate and when she would be back. Would she come in time to tuck Attica in, or would the duty fall to him again?

Secretly, he hoped for the latter.

Her brother relinquished the stick fully to her to explore and adventure with. Thanks to his patient blandishment of the task, when his end dropped to the ground with a sudden thud, Attica was happy to hold onto it strongly with her small jaws with vigour. The chewing stick dwarfed her in comparison, and her tiny mouth was barely large enough to manipulate the wood, but she would only get larger and stronger each day. The stick didn't know what was coming. 

The Archer girl craned her neck backwards and tilted her muzzle to the sky to attempt in picking the stick up off of the ground but it decidedly didn't work. Instead, she would take it away for full inspection. Keeping this position, she backed up awkwardly and dragged it away from her brother to another corner of grass before her teeth could no longer hold it tight enough to keep it off the ground. It fell out of her mouth, but she was happy to hunker down where it lay and start gnawing. 

She continued this happily, chipping slivers off and soaking the wood in her saliva. Comfortable that her brother's presence was always tangible and within sight. When her tiny jaws finally tired and cramped, she realized that her eyes were getting heavy as well. She lifted herself clumsily from her new play toy and tumbled over to between her guardian's legs, brushing against him adoringly and licking him before settled to lay down underneath him. The utter comfort he brought her was enough to lull the girl into further fatigue, and she gazed tiredly up at him between his legs into his dark grey eyes, struggling to keep her lids open.

The boy got his wish. His tail thumped happily behind him as she toddled over, and his muzzled reached down to run along her spine while she wound against his legs. His forelegs slid through the grass as his chest lowered to the ground, and he cradled the tiny girl between them. The dusk was proving cool and the gusts of air that passed over them were fresh and healthy. One by one, the stars began to peek through the void of the darkening sky and he decided that out here would do well, at least until her mother came home.

His skull lifted and eyes bounced around their surroundings, ensuring that absolutely no one was nearby or approaching. Only once certain that they had privacy did Sven dare to allow his voice into the air again, soft and sweet in a way he would never suffer anyone hearing other than Attica. At first it was a hum, and then the words began to spill out at nearly a whisper, nose hovering at the back of her skull.

"You and me together we'll be," he sang in tune, the lyrics coming easily to him now that it wasn't the first few times he'd performed the lullaby. At first he had struggled to remember the songs his mother had used to usher him to sleep, and it was bittersweet to force the memories and pass them on now. There was a significant difference in making this same promises. Piety had failed to keep them, while Sven was determined to never let Attica down.

"Forever you'll see, we two can be good company. You and me. Just wait and see..."

yes sven is singing this to her because i am #1 dork