[B] A Sweet Surprise! [Extraction and Acorn]

[Anhelisk]

The swamp was quiet. The early morning was starting to thrill with the buzz of cidadas and chirping of crickets and grasshoppers, and birds were busily starting their work of picking off the weak, the weary and the predeceased. It was one of Extraction's very favourite times of day, and the buck felt motivated– Temptress had consented to stay around the caves he'd been calling home for the last while, under the pretense that he needed her to guard the prey he'd hunted down for her.

Really, though, it wasn't about the prey, and was about getting some space. Sometimes, a buck needed to be alone, with only the company of his buggy-lovelies to sway him.

She'd appeared in his life like a whirlwind– swooping in, sharing in his interest, and getting closer and closer to him. He was fairly flustered, now, that it had taken so long for him to realize what her intentions were, and now that he had some time and space, he'd had the space to consider whether he was interested (he was) and whether he was willing to go forward with things (he was, perhaps even moreso).

So, he continued his little walkabout, intent on getting his morning to himself before he returned to her, with the sweet gift of honey he'd harvested earlier in tow as thanks for her patience.  

[Anhelisk]

Sometimes, Nibbles took a trip. This was one of those times. Extraction usually wasn't concerned about this– the worm could surely take care of herself– but she was tedious to track down after some time, and he couldn't waste the day searching for her if he wanted to return to Temptress' temptations.

"What are you doing, bug-a-boo?" the buck crooned, starting to walk forward– until he noticed the worm was heading full tilt towards an unusually small kiokote. "You know that you can't eat that, right, baby? Does that are still moving are not for eating."  

[Anhelisk]

The large creature continued to move forward, coming up to the doe and reaching her little arms up to tug gently at a leg.

"Oh! You stepped in something earlier," the buck said, "or on something. Nibbles is a Cave Worm– they eat carrion, mostly, but I will admit I've trained her to clean me up if I ever get something suspect on my hide or hooves."  

[Anhelisk]

After a nod at her first question, the buck blinked, looking taken aback for a moment at the doe's inference, before stopping to consider. "A... a collector? I... like to think of myself more as a friend, but I... guess I do have a fascination with all things larval or carapaced, and I did take it as fate when the Swamp sent ones that looked so perfectly like me...." Really, she did have a point about this.

"I guess I could say I get it from my grandmother?" he admitted.  

[Anhelisk]

"She certainly knows my passions, in that case," the buck responded– pausing as his new friend tensed momentarily. "Oh, don't mind Itsy-Bitsy. She's got the temperament of a foxbun and is twice as lazy," he reassured her.

"And you could say that– she's got this beautiful colony of insects– all sorts." He leaned down to nuzzle at the spider, who promptly moved to crawl up his neck like a ramp, to settle between his shoulders.  

[Anhelisk]

Extraction blinked, tilting his head as he considered her comment. Like a clutch...

...a clutch...

...a clutch. Goodness, that was a potential consequence of what he was considering, wasn't it? "You're– you're a Mare, aren't you?" he asked, suddenly intent. "Do you... do you perform blessings?"  

[Anhelisk]

"You know, I think I might. There's this doe, you see," the buck started. "She suddenly appeared and started acting like I was interesting, and nobody thinks that, so I think she might want more than just my company."

He shrugged his shoulders a little uncomfortably to help settle Itsy– she was digging into something sensitive. "I mean, I like her. And I wouldn't mind that! But if you're here, and you can bless any potential clutches she might have– with me or with anyone else... that would be for the best, now wouldn't it?

"If you wish for a tithe, I can get you some lovely wasp honey."  

[Anhelisk]

Extraction stayed quiet after Acorn's blessing. Him? Caring? That was... he was touched. The buck bowed his head, shifting to lean in and tug at the turtle shell he'd had Itsy help secure to his back. "Hrre," he bade, voice muffled as he tugged at it... and it came free. Thankfully, honey was viscous stuff, and didn't slosh... he put it down on the ground in front of the mare.

"It's not as sweet as you, but it's what I have. Thank you so much!"

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