[GG] Hootin' and Hauntin'

It was just a small and inconspicuous bite. A teensy little sampling of an innocent kid’s ether. Nobody had to know, especially not a kit comfortably nestled within the folds of a large beanbag, sleeping, unaware.

Being a kit at the den was hard with how many kits were running out and about and making a ruckus at all hours of the day! Sleeping was entirely a gamble, even at night. You had some older folk wager their acorns and pinecones on how many hours it took before you heard someone screaming, because it was entirely random if you could manage to sleep an even eight hours or get spurred awake by some distressed folk crying, or energetic folk play fighting and thumping anything, even themselves, against a wall.

It wasn’t too different outside of the sleeping quarters. It was an introvert’s worst nightmare. Youngins going up to random folk asking to play, running up to them with the classic play bow. Then, if you were unlucky, you could get caught in the middle of kits tossing toys around– even the hard ones with corners– like they were just harmless little snowballs… And the toys remained there as long as a den mother or adult volunteer didn’t come across it.

You haven’t truly lived in the den until you unknowingly step on a lego block and healed from the emotional damage.

It was the middle of the evening. After a very eventful day of swapping all of their delicious candy for exclusively candy corn (and getting swamped by most candy corn-hating kits), Monta slithered on through the halls of the den.

Sleep… Would be nice for them, if they could afford it. But the least they could do was find a suitable spot for a nap.

Dragging with them a huge bag of assorted candy corn, Monta continued. It didn’t take long for them to find their golden seat. One of the few better sleeping accommodations that weren’t in the sleeping quarters. A large bean bag was set off to the side in a somewhat unoccupied play room. If it weren’t for the potential sleep-deprivation Monta would wholeheartedly believe it was shining and sparkling against the lamplight.

Monta spared little time to claim their spot. Dodging toys and colorful building blocks in the way of their slithering trail, they eased their way towards the bean bag. And within seconds, they had leaped into the wobbly folds in the bag, face-first of course. They hoisted their bounty of candy corn to the side, very lazily hidden by the bag (because, let’s face it, no folk’s probably going to steal a mountain of candy corn).

The kit rolled onto their back. They melted into their little rest spot with grace. Like a noodle in a bowl of soup. With the room being nearly empty and the little occupants preoccupied with other tasks, it didn’t take long for Monta to lull themselves into a state of sleep, despite them originally intending to take a short nap after their candy escapade. Little did they know, there was a red kit, eyes gradiented, looking for just a little sip of ether…