crepuscular critters
atoll
12-17-2024, 06:36 PM
Well, he usually liked to be the one bossing others around, but this far out of Raider territory (and outside of the hierarchy of his siblings), he was more like a fish out of water. Atoll was a perceptive child, much to the chagrin of those around him, and he could sense Davey's irritation pouring off of him in waves... but still, the older boy threw him a bone. Instead of bristling at the instructions (which meant getting even muckier and even dirtier, but Atoll would suffer it to impress him), he got right to work. He tried not to seem too impressed at Davey's axe. The boy didn't like fighting even a lick, but he awfully did love treasures and baubles.
Atoll gathered the cut grasses left behind by the axe's swing into a big pile. They crunched together but didn't totally disintegrate, although he could tell by how they felt that they'd break off into little pieces in his fur if he laid in it. No biggie. No biggie. This was like him and Kaira setting up the hideout for the first time... except Davey was him and he was Kaira, doing the dirty work. Maybe it was kind of a fitting punishment. Atoll looked up at the sky for another long moment, admiring how wide open it was out further out here. No mist from the moors or trees from the estuary to block his view: just clear, starry night. He sighed dreamily before beginning to drag more grasses into the center of the pile.
This place was awfully pretty, even if it was terribly muddy right now. He imagined it in winter, each little pool surrounding the lake frozen solid. Would the fish darting within freeze, too? Hey, what happened to those fish, anyway? Atoll felt the question bubbling up but he squashed it down. No, he had to be cool! "Is this enough?" he asked, pointing his nose toward a mound of grasses about 1.5 Daveys big. Maybe it was too much? While he usually wanted to poke and prod, he found himself wanting more to win the prize of Davey's positive attention. His siblings were boring! Hanging out with the big pups was way more fun. If he made himself useful enough, maybe he'd let him stick around.
coding by xarae
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