[P] Dreaming of the Outside

[Dagon Knight]

The house was quiet, warm and contented, Every now and then sighing as the timbers cooled and settled.  As spring grew later, the days were getting hotter, but the nights were still blessedly cool, sometimes even requiring a fire.  Tonight the evening was moonless and clear, stars filling the world with a pale silvery light.  Leaves whispered and chittered amongst themselves, and those cool gusts dodged between them.  In every aspect, the night represent peace and repose. 

Of course, Dagon was oblivious to all of this, lodged as his muzzle was beneath the armpit of his brother Tokhaka.  In all fairness though, someone had carelessly draped their back leg across his rump.  In fact, the nest of puppies was a hard one to decipher, all of the bodies piled tightly together in a jumble of limbs.  Something wasn’t right though.  Dagon opened bleary eyes, his body prodding him dully that things needed to happen, but not quite able to convey the urgency of matters.  Dagon’s body wriggled, unwillingly, free of the mass, muted grunts and whines of protest and indignation following Dagon as he extricated himself.  Still moving more on instinct than conscious thought, and dopey with sleep.  Dagon found the edge of the puppy nest and fell out, and onto the floor with the ungraceful thump seldom heard of outside of a comic tale.  It was cold here, but Dagon was tired, and for a moment, sleep overtook him.

Unfortunately though, his body was growing more insistent and wasn’t going to let him be in peace.  Dagon whimpered softly in consternation at this intrusion on his night-time relax, but his body dragged him towards the stairs.

Dagon had made it outside and into the sunshine, usually he was accompanied by one of his parents, but their absence didn’t seem strange, nor did the fact that the only scents that filled the world were those of the warm room he’d so recently left.  Still heavy with sleep, Dagon slowly moved to the roots of a familiar tree.  Wriggling his butt and squatting, raising a foot in some distant concession to masculinity and…

“Dagon” The voice spoke softly, but it was impossible to mistake his dad.  Dagon would find him in a minute, but he just had to pee.

Dagon relaxed.  The relief was instant, and with that relief his head lowered again, and the squat turned into a sit.

“Dagon.”

The pup felt strong and familiar hands curl around him.  Dagon’s deep blue eyes opened, and confusion made him uncertain, for an instant his body reacted, his heart beginning to pound.  Where was he? Where had the tree gone? Why was his butt wet?  Still new to forming words, Dagon temporarily lost the power of speech, his brain trying to figure out what had happened.

[Cedric Stryder]

Through This Magnifying Glass - I See A Thousand Fingerprints - On The Surface Of Who I Am 

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OOC: stuff here

As many children as Cedric had, this litter was the first for him to feel like a complete father. His daughters had the luck of being raised by Minerva for the first sections of their lives; with Cedric being dragged into sudden duties and not having time to compensate that to look after them. He'd not done the night shifts or the feeds, the things that kept a new parent awake much of the night to ensure the young toddlers weren't doing anything dangerous. With Freddy Cedric had experienced some of those duties, but the tiny boy had been so out of it that most nights he'd be hiding away and sleeping on his own. 

So this felt fresh and new, exciting and challenging, making Cedric not mind the amount of nights he would have to wake up to check on all the pups. Between him and Kai, or Parzival if the lion could be motivated to wake up, they had it covered. The Lune had always been a light sleeper anyway, so keeping one ear working all night long wasn't taking much from his routine, especially when the pack was finally experiencing some peace. 

He heard the light footsteps shuffling down the hallway, opening his eyes to the dark room and uncurling himself from around Kai. Cedric stepped quietly and towards the pup's room, but didn't even make it there before he saw one little pup come crawling out. Walking with their head drooped still in sleep before almost completely giving up on their quest as they dropped back into sleep. The father had to get closer to determine which pup it was, smiling softly as he then recognised Dagon's dark coat. The thought of why his son was out of the cuddle pile didn't last long before he could smell something strong and odd. Odd, but familiar, as Cedric crouched down to wake up the boy and remove him from the growing puddle. "Dagon." He whispered quietly, repeating it again to finally see his son wake up. Still very heavy with sleep though. 

With a soft chuckle, Cedric tucked Dagon to his stomach and slowly went down the stairs to find some water, they'd need to clean the poor boy up. "A bit too sleepy? It's okay, we'll clean you up so you can go back and rest."

[Dagon Knight]

As the adrenaline chased sleep away, Dagon began to understand what had happened, and he whimpered ashamedly, knowing he was supposed to go outside.  What made it worse is that dad had been the one to find him.  Although, snuggled as he was against Cedric, it was hard to be disappointed.  Was there anyone as big as his dad? He towered above even Tokhaka and Parzival. 

Sorry Dagon signalled, his body showing all the signs of contrition.

Tucked as he was against his dad, Dagon nuzzled against the finer fur of Cedric’s stomach, quieted contented chuffs escaping the pup as he did.  He felt safe, and he felt happy, his dad was amazing. 

”Not tired!” Dagon said in the way of countless pups before him.  Excitement was in him now, his dad was up and so was he.  ”Play?! Story?” As Dagon asked the questions, his rump wriggled as he tried to wag his tail.  Dagon was no exception to the strange phenomena of a pup heavy with sleep bursting into activity, before once again collapsing back into slumber. 

As they moved down the stairs, Dagon surveyed the house that was his world, from the safety of Cedric’s embrace.  It still felt strange to be away from his brother’s and sisters, and Dagon didn’t think he’d enjoy it that much if it wasn’t for dad.  Having Cedric all to himself made Dagon feel very important, and having already forgotten the reason that had got Cedric up in the first place, he felt no sense of remorse.  Finally, a thought came to Dagon, one he was surprised he’d not uttered before.  If he'd been able to reach, Dagon would have doubtless started licking his dad’s mouth, as it was he used the word, perhaps a little too loud for the time of night.

”Food?!”

Dagon never passed up a meal.  He loved his food, and while he was no doubt one of the plumper puppies, his paws were large and clearly would require some filling.  So Dagon beamed happily, his tongue lolling and his ears still a little crooked, looked up at Cedric.  Deep blue eyes, clear and piercing, looking forever hopeful.