Damian grew six stalks of asparagus, panting a bit afterwards. He wasn’t immediately going to pass out, but he wasn’t looking too strong at the moment either. To prove that he was ‘not overdoing it’ the prince struggled to his feet, wobbling a little.
"Need a hand?" She asked, taking a step towards him in case he did fall.
Damian reached for Catori’s arm, very gently gripping onto her to steady himself. “I told you I’d be fine.” He smiled softly, promptly reaching over and stealing copper back.
"Mmhm. And you totally look fine." Catori said sarcastically. His sudden attachment to the bird was odd, but kind of endearing.
Jasper had just finished setting up the tent. Without a word, he walked over to Damian and shooed the prince inside, ignoring his protests. He looked up at Catori, realising he owed her an explanation.
"He's so stubborn." She grumbled, watching the tent. You're one to talk.
Jasper laughed, nodding his head in agreement. “Just make sure he doesn’t try to escape the tent for me.” He rolled his eyes. “All the animals tend to bully him when he gets like this. Used to happen in the castle gardens a lot. Also tended to be when his brothers pranked him the most, but luckily we only have to watch one for one of those things now.”
Catori nodded, still watching the tent just in case. "That's good at least. If you need, I can light the fire for the food." Her eyes flickered to Jasper for just a second.
Jasper shook his head. “You’ve been dealing with his grumpiness all day. Let him dote all over you for awhile. I’ll be fine.” He smiled, picking up the carrots and asparagus.
"I find his grumpiness entertaining." Catori laughed lightly. "You sure you don't need my help?"
“Positive. Thanks, princess.” Jasper dipped his head, walking back to the carriage to find a pot to cook everything in. Damian had gotten suspiciously quiet inside the tent, but the faint sound of crunching could be heard.
((dshgsjhga that is the funniest fucking sentence i've read in a week
Catori made her way to the tent, stopping just outside of it. "Damian?"
Lmao Damian gets into a lot of trouble in this state, just a warning))
The tips of Damian’s ears turned bright red, and his cheeks changed to a rosey pink as he realized he was about to be caught. “Yes?” He turned his head, hiding Copper under his cloak. Cracker crumbs were scattered across his lap where the pudgy magpie had previously been sleeping.
"Mind if I come in? Jasper told me to come keep you company."
Damian shifted aside to make room, yawning. Copper let out a soft chirp. ”Cracker?” Which he pretended he didn’t hear, trying to discreetly slide another cracker under his cloak.
Catori ducked in, acting like she hadn't heard that, and sat down, running a hand through her hair. "You aren't asleep?"
“It’s too loud to sleep.” Damian replied, not even denying that he was tired at this point. “There’s a rabbit nearby with its little…” The prince halted, forgetting what baby rabbits were called. “Bunlits…”
((I LOOKED IT UP AND THEY'RE CALLED KITS OR KITTENS OMG
Catori's eyebrows quirked up. "Bunlits, huh? Are they at least doing alright?"
That’s adorable oml 🐰)
Damian paused to listen for another moment, abruptly starting to get to his feet. “They smell the carrots, but they want lettuce more.” He seemed to realise he couldn’t stand inside the tent and crawled outside, abandoning Copper behind him. She squawked in distain and flew to Catori’s shoulder.
"Damian, get back in here!" Catori moved to go after him, plucking Copper off her shoulder just until they got outside. "I'm about to shove some Passion Flower down his throat just to get him to stop moving." She grumbled to herself.
“They need lettuce!” Damian protested, giving Catori a big pout with wide innocent eyes. He was absolutely willing to fake innocence to go feed the rabbits, and then field mice, along with the vole, and the school of fish, and then the starlings….
"Damian, if you feed them they wont learn how to get food on their own, and they'll die." Catori said firmly. "You don't want that, do you?"
“Not if we bring them with us.” Damian got to his feet, stabilizing himself fairly quickly.
"Damian, we can't take them with us." What was that spell mom taught me? Would it even work on him?
Damian grabbed Catori’s hand with a fond smile, intertwining their fingers. “You’ll change your mind once you meet them.” He insisted, changing tactics to try and sway Tori to his side.