Clearwater Tarn Take it apart to figure out how it works

Valentin was a good boy. When his mumma told him to wait, he did, worrying the pinecone the big dark had bought him. Not the yellow eyed one, but the one with one eye. Neither of them ever said much to him, but his mumma seemed happier when they came around so he was happy to greet them with tail thumps and whiny growls... not that it seemed to be enough to entice them to stay for long. So the boy sighed and stretched in the sun, close to the den he shared with his mother. Safe, without a worry in the world.

It was only when the pressure between his jaws seemed to lessen that he realised something might be off. He had been convinced that his getting bigger was why the pinecone seemed smaller... thinner... He opened his mouth, rolling his tongue along the roof of his mouth until what was trapped there fell free and he found himself looking at two separate pieces of the pinecone. He couldn't help the bad feeling that bubbled up from the bottom of his stomach, lip trembling as he tried to fathom a life without his second favourite thing (his first being his mother of course). All the boy could do was cry. It was broken.

How could the pale mother not run to the sound of her son's cries?

Frantically she turned back around and made her way to the sight of their den. Panic seeped through her bones at his cries. When she arrived, he was all alone in the sunshine. Brown eyes scanned the scene as she closed the distance. The mother would aim to plant soft kisses to his crown with the occasional 'Shhh'. It was when her eyes looked towards the ground that she realized what was wrong. A gift that the one-eyed Archer had brought seemed to finally give out.

She was both relieved and worried. Relieved for no actual harm had come but worried what she could do to possibly soothe his feelings over the pinecone. What happened? The mother asked softly as she lowered herself to the ground. She doubted there was a way to patch the pinecone back together. Would her son settle for another one? Could she perhaps give Odin a decoy pinecone to bring her son in order to replace this one?

# C W T

Watching Lenae’s daughter was easy. He had always viewed the tawny female as an older sister, or an aunt, so he had no quarrels with keeping an eye on the little troublemaker. But Valentine… he was different. This was Cyril’s little brother; his own flesh and blood. Well, at least half of him. He knew he needed to take care of the boy and do everything possible for him, even if it made him uncomfortable and a little uneasy. Mostly because he didn’t want to mess it up, or upset his mother. Was he still bitter about the whole Piety-Lorcán situation? Yes, of course. He had feared for the worst when he had found out that his mother had chosen another mate so soon after his father’s death. He had not trusted the strange male—and for good reason. It didn’t take long for the agouti to disappear after Piety was pregnant, and he would not be warmly received if he ever decided to return to the Tarn.

The shrill sound coming from the den had caused the ebony yearling to spring into action as well. He was not surprised to see that his mother had arrived first; she had always kept a watchful eye on Cyril when he had been younger. His shoulders sagged with relief when he realized what the boy had been sobbing over: a broken pinecone. That was replaceable, but a broken Valentin? Not so much. He took a few steps back, his yellow eyes surveying the area before plucking another over-sized pinecone from the ground. He tossed it in the direction of the sobbing boy, aiming for his creamy, oversized paws.

His mother's touch wasn't really enough to quell his ungodly screeching. He wasn't exactly sure how to convey his distress, so all he could do was move to nudge the broken bits of pinecone and wail louder. Unfortunately for both boys involved, he moved at precisely the same moment Cyril unleashed a replacement from his jaws. The pinecone, (far more impressive than it's predecessor), hit the boy squarely between the ears. His wailing ceased momentarily, wide eyes blinking as his young brain tried to catch up. His bleary eyes barely registered the reminants of the old pinecone beneath the shiny new replacement, terror quickly replaced with awe. "Wassat?!" Wide eyes darted from his mother to his brother and back to the pinecone, a tentative paw reaching out to test and see if it was nearly as sturdy as it looked. "Lookit wassat!" IT WAS MAGIC!