Meeting Danuoc

"Are you. Sure it's safe out here?" A bit of shyll tickled Asuka's nose, earning a sneeze. "Mom always said that if I went into the long grass, a lythersnitch would snatch me up." it was hard to see his companions' tails bobbing over the top of the weeds.
Out of the city and into the plains, nobody was taking care of the plants. They grew wild, and tall, and itchy. He was used to solid pavement or cobblestone under his paws, and while his friends bounded ahead he was left to carefully pick his way through so as not to turn an ankle. ...If his mom knew, she'd blow a gasket. And probably not let him out again for a month. ...but the Yamanashis seemed perfectly at home here.

---

"Safe enough!" Chiyo chirped back, prancing along through the long grass. "Where the lythersnitches hang out is further away, where the grass covers up even the adults. Try to stay close, it's hard to see."

Just ahead of Asuka, Masatoshi followed with his nose to the ground, following his sister's scent instead of tracking her by sight. Shyl towered over them and his growing frill covered his face in a haphazard mess. Better to use his nose. "We come out here all the time, we've never had problems." he said.

---

"How do you keep from stumbling?" a swish of his tail sent the shyll rattling. He dared a hop, landing closer to Toshi's tail so he could stay close. He hoped he wasn't whining like Akihisa did. It was just... Nerve-wracking being in such a unfamiliar environment. ...And yet some ketucari lived out here, hunting for their food or farming quald and pinchiepollies. The way his mom made it sound, they should have all died from lythersnitch attacks or bug bites or whatever. Or allergic reactions to shyll pollen. ... nevermind that the city wasn't really built for ketucari to navigate.

---

"Using my tail." Toshi turned to look back at Asuka, tossing his feathers from his eyes. Once he was sure of where his friend was he took off again, bouncing between some separated stems and counter balancing his landing as best he could. Chiyo slithered ahead, pushing under some fronds.

"I stay low." She explained. "Being sure of where your paws are going is key."
Somewhere above them, wings fluttered, a startled shrike squawking a warning and scampering away from the ketucari. "Keep your ears sharp, and your nose working. Out here though we're in more danger from qualds or quarrylope than snitches."

"Or pollen." Toshi added, reproachfully, and glowered at a blessedly closed flower-head where the shrike had fled from.

Chiyo nodded her aggreement, not that the boys could see her: "Or Danuoc."

---

...It clearly was the sort of thing that you got better at if you practiced. It was hard to see his friends with the shyll, but he tried to do what they did. Took their advice. It felt strange, but it helped.

When the shrike called, he jumped, only relaxing when Toshi and Chiyo didn't show any sign of distress. "...Danuoc might come out here?" he lashed his tail. "...is it true she drowns ketucari who don't go to bed on time like Mom says...?"

---

"I don't think she cares much about us going to bed." Toshi brushed his tail across Asuka's withers and shot him a confident grin. "That's a cub-story to make us behave. She's got bigger things to worry about, like overhunting and droughts. Your mom really should start explaining real things to you by now."

Chiyo pushed into a clearing, froze, and called back to Asuka: "You could ask her yourself if you wanted."

---

"...I think she still thinks I'm a newborn." Asuka snorted, swallowing as Toshi's tail swiped across his back. That confident grin kept making him feel weird and he wasn't sure what to do about it. "She thinks you can die from shyll pollen."

Then Chiyo spoke, and he had bigger things to worry about than just how Toshi made him feel warm and funny. "Wait, do you mean...?" his still-fluffy cub feathers fluffed, and he slunk forward, belly low to the ground, to get a look.

Danuoc was big. Bigger than he expected. As big as a house, maybe. The sunlight glinted off her scales as she basked.

"What... what should we do?" he squeaked.

---

At his sister's suggestion, Toshi tried to peer through his bangs. And there she was, sunbathing in a clearing where the shyll gave way to meadow flowers. She lifted her head and blinked at the trio.
"Follow my lead," Toshi whispered definitely too loudly to Asuka, "Hello Miss Danuoc." Toshi took the lead, stepping in front of Asuka to guard his friend. Chiyo clamped her mouth shut, already deciding to let her brother dig his own grave.

Her expression remained neutral, almost carefully so. "Little cubs," she sniffed at them, "What are you doing out here without your parents?"

"We wanted to hunt some pinchies, Ma'am." Toshi dipped his head. "If... That's okay, we mean."

Her expression did not change, but her eyes seemed to brighten.

---

Asuka kept himself low to the ground, practically glued to Toshi's heel. Was this really a goddess...? Were they really talking to a goddess? ... Just one of her paws was big enough to crush them, if she wanted. And her jaws...
"We... Really don't want to cause any trouble." he tried. "I... I... I promise." he swallowed. Of course his stammer was acting up...

---

For a long moment silence hung over them, while Danuoc made a show of deliberating her decision. "Pinchies hmm?' she said finally, lifting a paw to her chin. "Down by the river then? Not worried I'll drown you for not going to bed on time?" She Winked at Asuka.

Toshi tossed his head back to try to get his bangs out of his eyes, glowering at her. "Please don't try to scare my friend." He said seriously.
Chiyo bit down a laugh, and Danuoc blinked in surprise before laughing.

"Fine fine, you kids win. Tell you what. You bring me one of those pinchies to eat when you're done, and I'll give you something special."

---

Danuoc Winked at him and Asuka felt his heart jump into his throat. There was a playfulness to her tone, but she'd been listening to them...?

Toshi spoke up and his heart hammered even harder. Would Danuoc just eat them for speaking out of turn? He tried to find his voice, but before he could, the goddess was... Laughing?

"Ah... thank you..." he tried, pressing himself close against Toshi's flank. He didn't like the sound of "something special", but... As long as they were getting out of this with their lives.