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Chomp.
And another; chomp.
“Can someone wrangle the gremlin, please?”
Dewdrop was in one of his moods, where anything and anyone was at the mercy of his fangs: ritual candles, bars of soap, pillows, and especially the arms of ghouls. Something about the summertime really set him off and turned him into a primal, terrorizing little devil, much at the expense of others’ flesh. He already enjoyed a good chomp as a sign of affection, but not everyone in the Ministry was fond of it. In fact, it had gotten him into trouble many a time, to the point where multiple ghouls jokingly suggested they put him on a leash during the hot months.
Dew was not a fan of this suggestion, preferring to redirect his energy only on his kin as a compromise.
Aether was his target today. He had stalked him from across the common room during breakfast, eyeing him up like a predator to prey. When his back was turned, Dew pounced. He had latched on to Aether, chomping him on the arm before gnawing on one of his thick horns.
Now, Aether only sighed, swatting in vain to try and dislodge the fire ghoul. The scraping of fangs against his horn didn’t hurt so much as it sent a piercing noise straight through his skull.
“Dew,” he said, exasperated.
The gnawing paused. “What,” Dew questioned, moving to the other horn. Chomp.
“Can you stop,” he deadpanned. Aether shook his head to punctuate his request.
“Why? You’re tasty.”
Aether backed up to the kitchen island, depositing Dew’s butt on the counter. Still, he continued to pull Aether’s horn to his mouth, now chittering his front teeth at the tip.
“Dew, let go, please.”
Bite bite bite. “No.”
Aether craned his neck to catch someone, anyone’s eye. “Would anyone care to detach this demon from my head?”
Swiss snorted from where he was bent over in the fridge. “I’ve got you, big guy.” He rummaged for a few more seconds, pulling something rectangular from the bottom drawer. He hid it behind his back and slunk behind Dew. The fire ghoul’s ears twitched at his presence, one turning to tune into Swiss’ movements.
“Hey little spitfire,” Swiss sing-songed, leaning close.
Bite. “What do you want?” Bite bite bite.
“Care to make a trade?”
Dew’s ear twitched again, shaking off Swiss’ breath. The multi-ghoul pulled the package out from behind his back and waved it in front of Dew’s face. It was a giant block of cheese—sharp cheddar to be exact. Arguably the ghoul’s favorite. Dew’s pupil’s blew wide and his tail thumped against the counter. He removed his mouth from the quintessence ghoul’s horn and stared at the delicious package.
Swiss chuckled. “You’re like a kit with candy.” Dew licked his lips as if illustrating the thought.
“Come on . . .” Swiss dangled the cheese teasingly, baiting him like a fish. Thankfully, to Aether’s relief, Dew lunged for the package, snatching it out of Swiss’ grip. Claws tore at the wrapping impatiently, ravenously.
Chomp.
Dew sunk his fangs into the block, tearing off a hunk and chewing it happily. Aether took his opportunity to reclaim his spot at the kitchen table, finally escaping from the fire ghoul’s grasp. Absentmindedly, he ran a hand over his horns to assess Dew’s damage.
Cumulus leaned over to inspect too, curious. Her face scrunched up in a pained but amused expression.
“Um, Aethe—?”
“Lucifer, Dewdrop, I think you took a chunk out of me.” His left horn was noticeably less pointy than before—and he was sure the season would yield many more loving teeth-shaped marks.
Nibble nibble.
“Love you too,” Dew mumbled through a mouth full of cheese.