The moment Giggle came into his view, Bayo let out a high-pitched bark like a puppy, taking off towards Giggle excitedly. He met her halfway and excitedly nuzzled back, licking at her snout before taking off back towards the pup, coming to a stop with his whole rear end shaking with the force of his tail.

"Hiya mama," he said, his voice so full of warmth and affection that if it wasn't obvious before that Giggle was his absolute favorite thing in the entire world, it was now.

"I found her over thataway," Bayo said, gesturing with his nose in the direction of the pup's chrysalis. "She ain't got a name yet, though. Been callin' her 'pup' in th' mean time. But pup, this is my mama, Giggle!"

He turned to trot towards her, head low and tail slowing, though no less happy. He stood next to her and nudged her with his nose, both a gesture of affection and encouragement. He may have been about as observant as a blind bat, but even he could see she wasn't the most comfortable. Honestly, her shyness only served to endear her more to him.

"We caught a rabbit on th'way here, y'should've seen 'er, mama! She was all 'grr' and 'arrgh'!" he said, making a little pounce forward to demonstrate her enthusiasm, slapping his paws down on the ground.

@Giggle

Giggle briefly closed her eyes and gave the child a dip of her head, a friendly and reassuring sort of nod, at the soft "hi." "Hi," she repeated back, warm mirth in her tone. Then she looked to Bayo, listening; his story earned a short snort of laughter. "Did she, now?" Dark eyes darted back to Relic, amused. "Can I hear your growl? It sounds good," she said, her tone encouraging.

Her gaze slid back to Bayo, then, that amusement still in her expression, rump still firmly on the floor; she knew the kid looked nervous, so she was staying deliberately still, trying to seem as approachable as she could. "I didn't know you were out adopting kids these days; you better take care of this one! And it's okay you don't have a name yet," she added, back to Relic. "Some of us take awhile to find 'em. Might call you 'Scruffy' until then," and her expression was one of good-natured laughter.

Giggle's demeanor was wildly at odds with her appearance, but she didn't seem to notice, or to mind; likely, she didn't even realize it was intimidating to the poor kid. Still, Relic's silence prompted a final assurance: "We're friendly, here," she said, with another squint-smiling nod.

@Relic

The pup watched as introductions were exchanged, and felt suspicion ebb a touch as they adjusted. If Bayo cared so much for this person, where they really that bad? Nevermind they didn't know Bayo completely, they assumed they did because it was all they knew. If these fundamentals were false, there'd be nothing to base the rest of their observations on and the girl would be at a loss.

She let out a little huff in response to the nudge, a gesture at complaint more than a real one. Mild annoyance smothered by embarrassment and a little pride as the coyena talked of their hunt. She didn't actually catch anything, but she was happy to omit the end result. Giggle asked for a demonstration and she flushed a bit, taken off guard, before attempting to channel the vicious little meat eater that had snapped at those bunnies. The sound that came out was quite impressive. Not quite the original magic, but a good sample at least. They enjoyed being intimidating, though it was a little difficult when fresh from the chrysalis.

They were a bit offended about the scruffy comment, though not entirely clear on why. Wasn't a nice word, not like rabbit was. Regardless of the jokes made at their expense, it was hard to hold on to fear for long when both of the gembounds had been so gentle with them, reassuring them at what felt like every opportunity. Still not quite comfortable in the spotlight, they'd stay quiet and listen to the adults talk.

@Bayo

"Adoptin'?" Bayo said, stilling for a moment. But just a moment, because then he was even more excited than before, his entire back end going crazy. "Yeah! If she wants t' be my lil' sidekick, I'll be happy t' have her!"

He looked at her then, watching her growl for his mother, before something popped into his head. It was blurted out before he could stop it, though.

"She could call you mee-maw!" he crowed.

If Bayo could blush, he would, but he was also too busy giggling his silly head off to feel very embarrassed. Perhaps his teasing of his mother could soothe the pup too. Everyone was equal here, including equally likely to be made fun of.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding very sorry, his mouth pulled back in a doggy grin, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and everything.

"But uh, pup," he said, whirling around to face her. "Whaddya say? Wanna come with me an' be pardners?"

@Giggle

"Impressive!" Giggle barked, sitting upright with widened eyes. She was only overacting a little for their benefit, in the faintly-amused, only-slightly-condescending way that parents sometimes do. But then she was back to equals, giving Relic a firm nod. "Maybe we can call you Roar. You can root out the rats from all the rocks for us, here!"

Then Bayo was talking, and--easygoing--she turned to listen, one hind paw lifting to scratch dander from behind her ear. She paused, squinting, foot midair as Bayo hit her with another of what she'd come to think of as his 'other words.'

Sometimes, Giggle wondered where Bayo's soul had come from. It was a constant source of amusement for her, and she loved him for it, but sometimes half of what he said she didn't understand. It wasn't that she minded--everyone she'd ever met had sort of come with their own little bits and pieces of knowledge, which the old hyena'd sort of attributed to knowledge taken from the world of spirits. Past lives, whispers of the dead--that sort of thing. It was just another unique piece of her son, and one she cherished like all the rest of his aspects.

But sometimes, he just busted out something like "Mee-Maw" and she had to do a double-take, peering at him for a moment, wondering just what the hell this one meant.

Or, for that matter, "Pardner."

From the context, it sounded like terms of endearment, and Giggle gave an amused snort, as she always did--she'd long since stopped questioning him. "Call me whatever you like," she agreed, "as long as it isn't 'old.'"

So far as she was concerned, she was still in the prime of her life, and if the kids wanted to have an adventure she'd better be invited along.

Not that she'd necessarily accept. There was a lot of napping to be done, these days.

But it was the thought that counted-!

More solemnly, and a little more quietly, she gave Bayo a subtle nod and added, "Let me know if you want a reading for her, at any point." She assumed he'd understand: it was part just a general offer she gave to anyone passing through, but also an important little rite for Bonebound hatchlings. Getting a grasp of their potential futures had become sort of a tradition. She wasn't sure if he wanted to truly invite Relic to the family, yet, but her offer wasn't really contingent on that, anyway.

It was just there, if they wanted it--oh, and that reminded her. She looked to Relic again, still that bit more serious. "I have a den not far from here, with some water--it isn't great, but you won't die from drinking it--and usually a little bit of food. If you ever need a place to stay you're welcome to come here and call for me. If I don't hear you my familiar probably will, all right-? That means, you always have a safe place to stay, and food and water, if you need it."

Hospitality offer complete, she looked to her son again, and wondered just what these two would be getting up to--the mischief in him, the unwitting tendnecy to dance headlong toward danger, sometimes worried her. But so far, he'd always come out of everything (mostly) all right.

@Relic

As the adults talked, some words flew other their little head. Though more competent at talk than your average pup, they weren’t a kid genius, not yet at least. Whatever was directed clearly at them they’d make an effort to translate, but their collective teasing was mostly lost on her. The word ‘adopting’ was one of these words, but using the power of context clues they gleaned that it might be a positive, at least by the way Bayo’s rear end wiggled when Giggle brought it up. A strange habit on his part she thought. If your tail wagged that much wouldn’t it just get in the way?

Giggle’s reaction to her truly fearsome growl was exactly what they had been looking for, her overreaction lost on the pup. They’d take the compliment without thinking much about the delivery. The suggestion sounded nice though, they didn’t know what rats were but if they’d gladly take the offer if they were anything like rabbits.

The two giggled over a title, “mee-maw.” The pup didn’t get the joke, but let a few of their own snickers into Bayo’s cacophony. They then spoke briefly to eachother in a quieter tone, and they couldn’t quite make out the subject of conversation. But it didn’t bother them much, not then at least.

Bayo whirled around again, asking her to come with him, as a ‘pardner’, whatever that meant. They looked to the left in thought, more imagining what that would look like, less considering pros and cons. They had already made their descision. “If there’s more rabbits.” A fair deal they thought.

Giggle spoke to them once more, about a den they could stay in if they chose. She sprinkled in another word she didn’t understand, a ‘familiar’, but the rest of it was easy to grasp. They nodded sternly, in response to her serious tone. They hadn’t learnt their pleases an thank yous, so this was the best the other hyena was going to get.

@Bayo

"I can' call you old!" Bayo said, pouting. "That'd be an insult. An' yer my ma, I can' do that."

He looked back at Relic at her agreement, grinning happily. Great! He had someone to follow him around, someone who could keep him company as he played lone ranger.

"A bone readin'... Well if she's gonna follow me 'round, then she's a part of the Bonebound. As per tradition, she ought to get one, right?" he asked, tilting his head. "So yeah! Let's go on an' read the bones!"

Bayo ducked his head and tugged his bag free from the harness Attikias had made him, dumping out a pile of bones onto the ground. He rifled through them, sniffing at each one, before picking up a familiar jawbone in his jaws. The one he'd taken all those cycles ago with permission from Giggle herself.

He put all the rest back and nosed it towards his mother before looking up expectantly, ears perked forward. "Can you use this one? I got a feelin', y'see, that this bone in particular might tell some things about the pup."

It meant a lot to him, this particular bone. Canine in appearance, it was basically representative of his mother when she wasn't around. He asked it for advice often and it hadn't lead him wrong so far.

@Giggle

(For reference what the bone means if that matters ghsjgksg

Funny bone - A mandible of a canine creature, named after his mother. It was taken from the bone pit she reads from and he uses it as his guiding bone or his guiding light. It reminds him of her and he uses it to 'lead the way', sort of.)

Giggle returned the cub's stern nod with one of her own, albeit softened with warm approval. Then she looked to Bayo, snorting.

"Is that what you think? Then I haven't taught you well, pup," she answered, gentle teasing in her tone. "Old means wise, and powerful! -A little scarred-up, maybe!" She laughed, a short, harsh cackle. But then she sobered--at the mention of the Bonebound--glancing between Bayo and Relic.

Do we even really exist, anymore? she wondered. For the longest time, they'd just been an echo of the past, the name a ghost, very much "old" by anyone's definition. Ever since-... well, ever since Aza'zel had died, it felt like they'd just been trying to recreate the past. Inevitably the family members seemed to drift apart, to wander off their own ways, often caught up in their various fears and worries. And Giggle, though she offered, rarely saw them come for advice anymore. There'd been no gathering in many cycles, no children brought-

She shook her head gently, as if to chase the thought away. Her tone came kind, soft, despite the innate harshness of her voice. "Anyone can have a reading. She'd be welcome to join, of course, but maybe leave that decision for when she can decide for herself," she suggested. "But until then, of course we can treat her like family."

She nodded down to Relic--she was aware, by now, that the cub's speech was not yet fully comprehensive, so she did her best to simplify. "I can see the future, by reading through the bones, with magic," she told her. "Would you like that--to see what's ahead, for you?" Relic might not; or might not even understand but... it seemed best to ask.

@Relic

“Reading? Wussat?” They blinked, suddenly curious. There was talk of bones, and they wondered if they’d be allowed to gnaw on some. Bones clattered on the ground as Bayo rifled through his bag. Why did he need so many? Surely he wouldn’t have much use for them, being as old as they were. He pulled a particular one, the pup didn’t know what it was but looking at it drew an uncomfortable familiarity. She ran her tongue over her lower teeth as she looked at the jawbone, a bit unnerved.

Giggle elaborated on the process, and their eyes sparkled with interest. What’s ahead. Did she mean what was going to happen next for them? Would they be able to know? Was a successful rabbit hunt in their future?

They nodded, tail wagging fiercely, though not nearly as much as Bayo’s could.

@Bayo

Bayo frowned, eyes narrowing in concentration. "Then... aren't you old? You said you didn't want to be called that, but you're everything you said."

He noticed her sober but didn't know why. Instead he looked to Relic, smiling gently. "Family. Yeah, you're right."

He puffed out his chest and squared his stance before trotting towards the bone pit, his tail wagging and his grin unmistakable. "Let's go then! We have a reading to get to!"

His energy could not be contained, so he ended up bolting to the bone pit with a cackle so similar to his mother's it was uncanny. But that was just a hyena, really.

@Giggle