//------------------------------// // Adventure: Sweet Little Tykes // Story: My Own Wings // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Sunset sat back quietly, watching as Tricky eagerly regaled his father with the tale of their battle with the King Red Eye, only slightly embellished from the child perspective. The King was an eager and avid listener, nodding along and gasping at all the right moments, only occasionally glancing towards Fox with a look that said without translators 'Did that really happen?' Fox always responded with a calm smile and nod, leaving the King to turn back to his son in amazement. "...and then Fox raced up the wall and screamed, 'You do not do that to my daughter you son of a bitch!' before driving the lightning into the beast's skull, sinking it into the weak spot on its scales left by the mana drain of the Spellstone!" Tricky finished excitedly. "It thrashed and writhed, and then fell dead, only half its tongue left to fall between its teeth from my flame!" He grinned excitedly as he finally finished bouncing around and gesticulating. "By the way...what's a bitch? That word didn't translate to our tongue." "Good question," the King murmured as he turned to Fox. "What is a bitch, exactly?" Fox chuckled nervously. "It...it's a term for the females of canine species during quickening and whelping," he explained carefully. "During that time, their emotional state is...at its most volatile. It...also has become something of a shorthand insult to refer to someone as being irrational and useless due to the evolution of language...and something of an expletive-" "Oh, like calling someone an eggbound crackshell!" the King declared in understanding. "I'm honestly surprised that didn't translate...but then again, even if it's used to mean the same thing, I suppose the origins are very different." He turned and gave Tricky a stern look. "Don't use that word unless it's part of a story you're telling. It's an Adult Word." "Got it, Dad!" Tricky agreed happily as he bounced around. "Well, we'll be heading back to the Volcano Force Point Temple to place this Spellstone," Fox spoke up calmly as he placed it into his pack. "Should we see about transferring you down to Thorntail Hollow?" "No need, Fox," the King offered warmly. "Someone must stay here to keep an eye on Walled City, and as the Gatekeeper that is my responsibility. Good luck to you all." Nodding, Fox turned to lead the way back to the Ar-Wing. As they moved, Sunset moved up beside Tricky. "Tricky..." "Yeah, Sunset?" he asked curiously. "You okay? You've been acting kinda funny ever since the fight. You didn't get hurt by the King Red Eye, did you? Or from my fire?" "No, nothing like that," Sunset insisted somewhat awkwardly. "Just...a little flustered, I guess." "Flustered?" Tricky asked in confusion. "Why?" Sunset closed her eyes as she gathered her thoughts. "Tricky...I know you're of the Gatekeeper line, and that means to keep the line from being broken you can't Bond outside your tribe, and I'm not about to be so irresponsible as to ignore that...but you saved my life back there. If not for that blast of fire, I..." She shivered as she thought about just how close she'd come to painful, violent death. "Well, that's not something I'm ever going to forget." Leaning over, she planted a gentle, swift, chaste kiss on his cheek. "So thank you." Tricky blinked in surprise, but smiled. "You're welcome! I wouldn't want to lose my best friend. But...why the talk about bonding? And why'd you put your lips on my face? Is that important?" Sunset's happy smile transformed into an irritable scowl. "Forget it!" she snapped before stomping after Fox. "But Sunset!" Tricky called out as he raced after her. "What does it mean? I don't get it! Do I taste good or something?" Fox leaned into his communicator. "Slippy, please tell me you managed to get that recorded!" he whispered softly. "Krystal would kill me for missing that if she couldn't see it for herself." "In full 4D definition," Slippy whispered back. "Tink turned the recorders on as soon as Sunset walked up to Tricky like that. Guess she's got a woman's intuition for things like that." "Don't tell Sunset it's on video, though," Fox hissed out eagerly. "Save it for when she does find her first boyfriend." Closing the comm, Fox smiled to himself. He never thought cultural differences would skew something like this...but as a result it was harmless, and absolutely adorable. It didn't take long for the group to make their way back to Volcano Force Point Temple, during which Tricky was constantly pestering Sunset about why she did what she did, Sunset kept running ahead to get away from his questions out of frustration and embarrassment, and Fox was constantly trying not to laugh about it. Once they got close enough to the Temple, it was discovered that while Sunset's magic was still enhanced from entering to the same point as when she was surrounded by lava, it did not strengthen to the point the area around her was in danger of melting from it going beyond her control. Once she began flying around and roasting Sharpclaws to vent, Fox decided to intervene and pulled Tricky aside. "Tricky," he began softly, "what Sunset did is called a kiss. In our culture, it's a very significant expression of affection...especially for a young girl like Sunset. On the one hand, I'm honestly not surprised she got a little twitterpated with you from saving her like that, since stories of the fair maiden and the gallant hero were some of her favorite bedtime stories that Krystal read her. On the other, I'm proud of her for knowing to not let herself explore that because of the responsibilities you have for your future." Tricky blinked a few times. "Oh...so that's why she was talking about Bonding..." "Exactly," Fox confirmed. "And the reason she's so flustered, embarrassed, and frustrated about it is because she bared her heart to you in a gesture she meant to deepen your friendship...and you didn't get it. She gets why - she's too smart not to - but..." He groped for how to explain this without getting Sunset more upset if she overheard. "Mom told me warm-blooded females have a lot of extra chemicals in their blood that makes thinking through emotions harder as they grew up, and not to be surprised if Sunset acted irrationally sometimes, but to always be sure to be kind and friendly with her when it happened," Tricky offered thoughtfully. "Is that what this is about?" Fox blinked in surprise. "Actually...pretty much, yeah," he allowed. "But I wouldn't put it that way to her unless you want flying lessons." Tricky gasped excitedly. "You mean Sunset can teach me how to focus my internal magic to float around like she does?" He dashed after Sunset. "Hey Sunset! Sunset! Which chemicals in your hot blood are making you act irrational right now?" Fox promptly buried his face in both hands, groaning in frustration.