Citizen 761 Tentatio

“Hey Muuummma? What dos you means whens yous says ssssnow?” Tentatio sat on the earthen floor of his and Momma’s home, happily digging into the packed dirt with his claws and piling it into a small mound in the center of their floor. He was still busy slapping it with his puppy paws as he looked up at his mother. Momma stood near the one dim window their home had, peering out of it to look at the sky. She had the sad eyes again, and she was twirling the towel at her waist this way and that, muttering under her breath.

Momma jumped when she heard Tentatio speak, spinning around to look down at the pup “Oh! Snow… snow is kind of… like rain, but it's very very cold. We won't be able to go outside much, and we’ll need to find a way to keep warm when we’re inside so the cold doesn't come in.” Momma’s voice was as lovely as it always was, and Tentatio closed his eyes happily as she spoke, the words washing over him but not quite sinking in.

“Mumma whats is colds?” Tentatio pulled a leaf from the floor as they talked, turning it around to view its golden and emerald colors from multiple angles. Tentatio shoved his claw into the top of his hill, sliding the leaf in like a flag. Giggling to himself, he beamed up at his mother, pointing at his little building with pride.

Momma returned his smile with a little one of her own. “Oh little one, if only you could never need to know what cold was.” Momma’s voice was strange.Tentatio would later learn the word wistful, but that wasn't in his vocabulary quite yet. Still, it sounded so quiet and sad. Why did the cold make his momma so sad?

Tentatio’s brow knit as he looked up at his momma “Is colds bads mumma?” His little head tilted at his mother, struggling to understand how something from the sky would make her sad. Only bad things made momma sad, like daddy. Daddy was bad, and so momma had made him go away.

Momma bit her lip, something she often did when she was trying to think. Tentatio was patient, patting a crumbling section of his little dirt mound flat. “Well… no, cold isn't bad by itself… but if you get too cold it can hurt you.” Momma finally said.

Tenatio didn't like that. Tenatio really was not a fan of pain in general, but something from the sky that could get into the door? That was a truly terrifying concept for the pup. “It wills hurts me momma??” He whimpered, looking over at the door with fear.

Momma’s face changed again, softening in that delightful way that meant Tenatio was about to get a cuddle. His arms flexed up instinctually, grasping for his mother as she stooped down to scoop him into her arms. “No baby, I will keep you warm.” Her voice wreathed around the young rexal as she nuzzled him. Spinning the two of them around, Momma smiled at Tenatio. “The cold won't hurt you unless you're in it for a very long time, so as long as we keep the fire going, we will be perfectly fine! If you're very very careful, you can even play in the snow.”

“Hows dos we keeps warms mumma?” Tenatio still wasn't quite convinced of the safety of his mother’s plan, but she had always been safe, safer than daddy for sure. She would know if something was good, because she knew when things were bad and made them go away.

“Well, We will get all snuggly with all those blankets you've helped me make if you want to go play, and if you're especially good, when we come back inside, we can make some cookies to warm up.” Momma’s explanation ended with a whisper, as if she was speaking of the most important of secrets. Tenatio’s attention snapped away from the idea of pain the moment she brought up treats.

“We cans has cookies?!” Tenatio’s quiet whisper was more of a scream than a whisper, but all the same momma laughed with him, twirling them around again and again as they discussed what flavors they would be able to add to their treats.

—

Tenatio struggled to keep his eyes open against the blinding white blanket that the whole world had cozied up under. It twinkled and glimmered under the sunlight, and Tenatio's eyes sparkled in response.

A breeze drifted towards him, and he was shocked at how much it hurt his nose! It was like little prickly thorns. Tenatio felt his eyes start to water, and he looked up uncertainly at Momma for comfort.

“Oh, little one, it's okay! What's wrong?” Momma said, wiping a tear from Tenatio's eye. Oh no, she must think he was crying! But he wasn't, it was just that…

“I is not sads momma, is just…. Colds?” 

Momma smiled. “It is cold! Do you still want to play outside?”

“YES!” Tenatio cried, leaping out into the white fluff. He let out a squeal of surprise at how he sunk into it, like it was a pillowy nothing - but it was Cold! It made a delightful crunchy sound under his paws, and he jumped around, giggles bubbling out of his chest. He felt his heart warm when Momma started giggling too, and the two of them just couldn’t stop.

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Tenatio’s nose hurt, and his fingers were still kind of tingly as he snuggled up next to the oven in Momma’s lap, both wrapped thoroughly in the remainder of the blankets in the house, watching cookies flatten slowly in the oven. He had enjoyed playing in the snow, so much so that neither him nor momma had realized how quickly he was getting cold. It had been a sort of mad dash to get back inside, get the oven started, and block the window and door with the heavy wet blankets they had wrapped themselves in while outside.

Even now, Tenatio wasnt entirely sure that momma felt better, as she kept rubbing his back and whispering to him, but he knew how to make it better. “Mumma? I loves yous.”

“I love you too baby.”