Bayo followed Giggle, sticking close to one of her back legs. He looked up at her as she spoke, lip still wobbling, but the tears slowing.

”... I'll be more careful,” he said, and nudged Fracture, ”We'll both be.”

He jumped into the water as Giggle strode into it, sinking beneath before doggy paddling up, his legs pumping as he made his way back to an area where his legs touched, panting.

”I can swim!”, he gasped, kicking harder, struggling to stay afloat.

He quickly realized, however, that standing on his back legs gave him height, so he did that instead, picking the easier option. He toddled around the pool, a grin slowly crossing his face.

”I'm a sea-Bayo!”, he said, his front paws kicking as he swam towards Giggle, ”It's like a sea monster but way cooler!”

The water soothed his rashes enough that he managed to forget them for the time being, content to swim in circles and chase his tail, snapping at it.

”Mama?”, he asked all of a sudden, ”... Why'd you get so angry?”

Giggle had told him to kill prey quickly, but she'd ripped it apart. It scared him a little.

@Chitin

Okay, okay. Things are… things are gonna be okay.

The sound of mom's voice above them soothes them, now that she doesn't sound nearly as angry and instead sounds… calm. Confident. Like everything is gonna be okay. And that, right there, convinces Chitin that things are going to be okay, because mom is smart and knows everything from the present to the future and if she thinks things are okay? Then they must be okay.

With a shaky, trembling breath, they follow their mom to the river, still keeping close to their brother. Staying protective. Making sure that Bayo is gonna be okay, 'cause that was really scary and they just wanna make sure…

"Yeah," they agree, nudging their brother back. "I'll make sure none of those spiders sneak up on us, anymore."

If they keep close to Bayo, then nothing bad will happen to him… just like nothing bad can happen to them when mom is close.

Instead of diving into the water—not needing to wash off any venom—they stay close at the river's edge, tucking their hooves underneath them and curling up into a sitting position to watch Bayo play.

Finally, their racing heart begins to calm. Finally, they take a breath in, and everything really does seem okay.

They watch their brother and their mom with a quiet serenity, happy to see Bayo chasing at his own tail. Back to normal; even as they do wonder at Bayo's question themselves.

She'd killed the spider so violently…

@Giggle

Giggle took a deep breath, struggling to steady herself. The kids seemed... okay... ish. Swimming, or at least sitting. Unharmed. You can do this, Giggs. Make it a lesson, not a nightmare memory. C'mon. Her own urging, in her own mind and to herself, was soft--encouraging--much as she treated her children. And bones knew, she needed those kid gloves, even from herself.

"I wasn't angry, exactly," she started off, slowly. "I was scared. I was afraid you'd be hurt. It's really easy to get hurt, so you have to be careful, and it's my job to look after you. To keep you safe. And for you to look after each other. That's what family's for," she explained, voice kind, despite the faint tremor to it. "We have to look out for each other. And some things are very dangerous. Some will hurt you a lot, or even send you back to your stone or kill you. So you have to always be very careful, and-" Hell, was she going too hard on this? She wanted them... not sheltered, but not terrified of the world, either. She switched tacks as best she could. "-and be ready to fight back. Some stuff will try to hurt you, but you can kick its ass, okay? Especially together. Stick together, and nothing can stop you." She held encouragement in her tone, here: enthusiasm even, confidence. It was the best that she could do.

Except spiders, apparently--"-Once you know how to fight, at least. I can teach you that. It's not good to go around hurting stuff for no reason--not Lessers, not other Greaters. They have feelings, too. But if you're threatened, sometimes you won't have a choice, and you shouldn't feel bad about that. They made their decision," she tried to explain.

She nodded out to Bayo where he walked along the water's floor, mostly upright. "Anyway, happier topic, huh? You know there's caves just full of water? There's one," she went on, voice rougher but in a brash, forced-cheer sort of way, "with a big roaring waterfall and ice cold, clear water that lights up like diamonds. And there's a big, black swamp full of spooky fog--I think that's where Omen's from. Maybe we can see them, huh? How would a trip sound, once you're a little older-?"

Or even soon, really; it made sense to give them some worldly experience before they were fully grown.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Bayo

Bayo sank so that his head was above the water, ears down as he listened to Giggle explain. He kicked and drifted forward, bumping his head into her chest and licking at her fur, hoping to comfort like she'd done for him so many times.

”Don't worry mama,” he said, ”'Cause I'll learn to fight! An' I'll protect you an' Chitin and Enoki. 'Cause I love you lots. I'll kick their asses!!”

His tail wagged just above the water, droplets flying every which way, ”Then when I can fight an' protect y'all, we can go to these caves! Ain't nobody gonna hurt my family like that dumb spider tried to!”

He splashed through the water and made his way to shore, approaching Chitin with a huge grin on his face. He shook suddenly, spraying water all over his sibling, cackling with glee as he immediately ran away, fleeing from any retaliation. Upset seemed to shed off of him like water off a duck's back.

@Chitin