Vanyel watched with wide eyes, gasping as he saw her tongue. He held his hands to his face and snuggled into Ascent's side, mouth open in awe.

He shrieked and flailed as he was grabbed, gasping, ”AHH- MOM!!”

He pouted and smacked her tail, ignoring her amused chortles, ”Stop scaring me and keep telling the story!!”

@Ascent

Ascent had never seen a wolf before, and the image of Comet they had formed in their mind held an odd resemblance to a catsquirrel with incredibly sharp teeth. If they ever met this Comet in person, they would, perhaps, be very surprised.

All eyes were on Carja as she began with her story. For Ascent, who had made it a habit to be observant of their surroundings at all times, this was the mark of their most undivided attention. Their eyes widened at the suspense, and they even let out a little gasp as Carja showed them the missing piece in her tongue. "Yes!" they agreed, wriggling with excitement. "Tell us more!"

@Carja

Carja giggled and nodded, ”Well... It was dark under the water. It pulled me down so far, its tentacles gripping me. It was going to eat me!”

She crossed her paws and inhaled, ”It was dark, the air was leaving my lungs. I saw it come for me and then... SNAP!”

She snapped her jaws shut, grinning.

”A massive creature, bigger than me- ten times as big as me- came out of the depths and snapped it up,” she said with a grin, ”With quick thinking I used my magic to make a bubble around my head, giving me just enough air to swim to the surface. I just barely escape with my life!”

Vanyel gasped at the snap and hid his face, shrinking back. He peered through his fingers, jaw on the floor, eyes wide.

”... Woah,” he said, utterly amazed, ”Y-you nearly died! What was that monster, mom? Was it good? Did it save you on purpose 'cause it knew how great you were?”

There were so many questions and so little time!!

@Ascent

ASCENT

Ascent's eyes--most, if not all--grew huge. "Eat you?" they breathed in awe. Carja was so big! They hadn't seen anything that came close to her size. Trees, maybe, if they had mouths? they wondered, and cast a suspicious glance at some of the ones nearby. None had tentacles, which was a relief.

Even more unbelievable was the tail of the creature who had saved Carja. Ten times her size! That-that had to be the size of the entire cave!

Well, maybe not. But it was still huge! "Did you ever see it again? Did it talk to you?" they added on to Vanyel's list of questions.

@Carja

Carja shook her head and stroked Ascent's head, chuckling, ”I haven't seen it since, and I don't know why it saved me. But I do warn you both, avoid the waters of Fornax if you can. Fornax is a cave with a massive ocean, but there's another like it with an ocean too, but that one has cliffs and beautiful beaches. But Fornax is where I encountered the first creature, and if there are more, I don't want either of you to encounter it.”

She dragged her cat-like tongue over Vanyel's head, then Ascent's, starting to groom the two of them.

”Now go to sleep, you two,” she said, pulling them closer and enveloping them within her wings, ”You've had an exciting day and need the rest, okay?”

Vanyel closed his gaping mouth and whined as Carja licked him, grumbling unhappily as he was forcibly cleaned. Ugh...

”Okay...”, he sighed, reluctant to sleep after such a story.

He snuggled into Ascent and buried himself into her feathers, purring softly and kneading her like a cat would. He curled his tail up and wrapped his wings around his sister, closing his eyes and sinking into the warmth of his family.

”Love you,” he cooed softly, yawning widely.

Unsurprisingly, he was out like a light.

@Ascent
Exit vanyel to sleep

ASCENT

Ascent nuzzled Carja's wing, closing their eyes and envisioning a massive savior living in a cave full of water. A huge fish, the size of a tree? they wondered. Or a water walker, but living deep beneath the surface...? Slowly, they drifted off to sleep, all images of the mysterious beasts replaced by peaceful darkness.

The last question in their mind before there was nothing: Did it want to help? Or was the tentacle-dragon-eater only another meal? But they would not remember it upon awakening anyway.

@Carja exit

Carja ever so gently tucked them in, giving them both gentle kisses to their heads before she curled up and set her head down too, stifling a yawn.

”Good night, my sweethearts,” she said softly, letting her eyes drift shut.

She too, fell asleep, purring softly to comfort her children as they dreamed, feeling content and right with the world.

Exit Carja