[ s ] How To Train Your Shuppy (Or Not)

[rexcorvus]

It began, as most things did, with Fierce falling into a hole.

The hole was Breakwater's fault, of course. All of the sand surrounding the Crescent Bay tribe was littered with holes dug from various little shuppy paws, and though Fierce Warrior had done his due diligence in attempting to prevent this from happening, he had failed.

Quite miserably.

Fish Eye, with whom Fierce now shared a trio of lovely children, had no qualms about the holes - at least, not that Fierce knew of - but he thought he had seen an amused look on her face the third time he tripped into one of Breakwater's digging patches. Sea Dragon, on the other hand - Fierce's newest daughter - had burst into shameless laughter and had to step away for a moment before coming back to rescue him.

"This will be the last time," Fierce grumbled to himself, as she dug at the watery sand around him with her hooves. He pushed one leg up, and then another, and then finally all four hooves were firmly on the ground. Mostly. The sand was sludgy and uncomfortable, the tide rolling up to playfully nip at his and Sea Dragon's hooves before splashing away with a merry sounding wave. Overhead, the sky was overcast, threatening rain - or possibly a thunderstorm.

Breakwater, the little devil, was gamboling along the beach with another shuppy, this one unfamiliar. Fierce gave them both a narrow eyed look, wondering where the friend had come from, and then decided he didn't want to know, giving a shake that sent the sand on his back trembling down his spine and flying off around him. Sea Dragon tossed her own head, long hair cascading over a shoulder.

"They're so cute," she said, to which she received a long look from Fierce. He stepped over to the pair of shuppies, peering down over them in what he hoped was an intimidating way. It had worked before on other kin, at the very least, and some of his familiars - though he thought that they now knew him well enough to not be fooled by his mannerisms anymore. The wolves especially did not scare easily, and in fact Fierce would have thought them to be laughing at him if they could laugh. He was suspicious of those bright eyes and cocked heads.

Breakwater, of course, just ran off, making screeching noises. But the new one tilted its long snout backwards to stare up at Fierce, its tail wagging across the sand and cutting long grooves in it. It seemed...less agitating than Breakwater. More inclined to niceties. And, in fact, when Fierce gave another tentative step forward, it came ambling to meet him. Fierce tilted his head down, and for the briefest of moments, their noses touched in a single point of affection. Beside Fierce, his daughter leaned into his side, her head resting against the side of his.

Then Breakwater came howling back across the sand, barreling into him, and the moment was gone, along with Fierce, who was trampled beneath the somersaulting shuppies.


[ wc: 508 ]