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"Run, Papa! Leave the smelly, furry, moldy toes and ruuuuun from them! Use your elbows!!" Cygnus let out a barrel of a laugh himself, hopping over bushes, teasing around Aidan to let him run ahead of him here, and behind him there, and beside him again.

The beautiful thing about it was that Grinch could snarl and not have to stop himself. So he snarled, "The nasty paws will have you for dinner!"

"Ugh, he's fast!" Cygnus looked around, then perked up. The river! "The river, Aidan! Moldy toes can't possibly want to get clean in the water!" And with that he leapt onto a rock in the river.

"You underestimate the power of---wait, no! Aidan, stop!" With an extra leap, Grinch took off to try to land in front of or on Aidan to prevent him from following after the spider lion. No way he was going to be able to make the jump! --- But was Grinch going to be able to stop Aidan if he was going for it?

Well, he'd missed snatching up the cub, but it took no time for him to peek in and jump to swim after him, then paddle Aidan to the bank, dropping him off in the mud, "You breathing?" He demanded, reaching down to lick Aidan's tummy and back from all the excess water.

Cygnus hadn't even had time to think about what was going on, but now that he realized it, he was about ready to panic. He leapt from the rock to the bank, splashing up the edges of the water as he did so, "Is he ok? I didn't know he'd fall. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. Is he ok? Are you ok? Did I kill him? He's ok, right? I didn't know he would miss it. I didn't know he couldn't swim is he---"

"Shutup!"

"Yeah, ok, don't crowd me," Grinch muttered as Aidan's paws wrapped around his nose, he licked him several more times, some ancient memory coming up about how that had been good for him when he was---well. He never had been, but, if he HAD been---anyway, he Aidan had water that needed to get cleaned off. Yes, that was it, all practical, had nothing to do with comforting the cub.

Eventually, Grinch picked Aidan up, giving Cygnus Araña a warning shot as he did so, and took him under some dry bushes to finally get some rest for the night.

"...but, I'm sorry. And Valcor says he's happy Aidan's ok too." Cygnus said, taking a step forward, and then several steps back as the older, stronger lion growled at him. Cygnus frowned, turned around, and leapt into a tree to rest for the night, "We'll find Harmony, and it'll all be better." He said, "Valcor has a good memory for these things."

Grinch rolled his eyes. Schizophrenic lions who thought spiders talked and over eager cubs taking him far from home. What next?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Indeed, it was the following day before the lions woke to start their journey again. Grinch and Cygnus went out together to go hunting, and were now enjoying their meal with Aidan.

Until Grinch let out a yelp. He frowned at Cygnus, "What is that there? What is in your hair? What is crawling on the ground? Crawling 'round and 'round!?!"

"Lions of the little world." Cygnus replied, completely nonplussed by Grinch's demands, "They must eat too."

"I did not invite spiders to this feast, and since when did they drink the blood of such a beast?" Grinch demanded.

Cygnus wrinkled his nose in annoyance, "Since they didn't have a home from getting eaten by monsters and can't make webs to catch their own. And why are you speaking like that?"

"I will not eat with spiders! I cannot believe they live in your furs!" Grinch growled and turned to stalk off, picking up Aidan as he did, "Let us eat fish. That's a good enough dish." He mumbled, and went up to the edge of the water to try to slap a fish out for the cub.

Grinch froze as Aidan went to go pounce on the fish, watching in a look that said he didn't know whether to be annoyed and disgusted or if he should be amused and growing fond of the little tyke.

Amusement won out (though let's not admit fondness) when Aidan looked up at him all dripping wet, innocence and pride in his eyes and stance, "Well done." Grinch murmured, then turned into the water to whack out a fish for himself.

The fish flew over Grinch's head, smacked into a treebranch above him, then smacked him on the nose, finally ending up in his mouth. Grinch stood there a moment, a look of surprised irritation on his face before turning in to settle down with it.


"If you two are pros at fishing, why did we go after this beast?" Cygnus asked from his secluded position. Amusement was in his own voice.

He was completely ignored by Grinch.

Grinch glared and made warning sounds in his throat and even told Aidan to be careful, he could get hurt, while the cub draaaagged that fish over. But he didn't interfere. Instead, he lowered himself to the ground and ate moodily, eyes glaring in a death-promise at Cygnus should the cub get hurt, and maw chewing with a downfaced frown in something that could be called a sulk.

"Me? Share? Thank you, you prove to be too kind! -- Stay away from the cub." Cygnus Araña very gratefully accepted Aidan's offer, reaching over to cut open the fish, and cut a tiny piece off for himself. He spoke the last sentence out of the side of his mouth, muttering quietly. The spider that had been on his nose scurried off behind him somewhere. The other spiders on the ground, some of which had come close to the cub, now scurried to a side of the beast to eat well away from him.

"Mmm, wow, Aidan, you sure do pick out the best fish! This is very, very good. How did you get so smart to choose such goodness?" Cygnus asked, looking every bit as if that fish was the best tasting thing he had had in his entire life.

"Yeah, whatever," Grinch muttered from where he was, "and you're the best cub around. Now hurry."

"You certainly are a lucky one." Cygnus answered, chuckling a little, mouth half-crooked as he smiled at Aidan, "to have such a good papa." He couldn't quite manage to fake the same enthusiasm in his voice. "I'll bet he'll lead you best always."

Grinch rolled his eyes, but looked conflicted about something now.