Quick clarification before we resume, the herd is NOT in the swamp just yet, they are in the marsh. So MUCH less trees and way more reeds. Still plenty of water and gators, just not to the monsters yet.
As Prince joined his family at the front of the herd, his idiotic brother resumed teasing him, as he had been doing before Prince went to help Lily.
“Pwince am su ugwy an dummeh, Duke nu knyo wai YU am bestest insted ob Duke, am su mush pwettiew dan y- OWIES!” Duke was cut off by his mother, Valor, smacking him across the back of the head.
“Huuu… Wai gib huwties to Duke? Am gud babbeh…”
“Shuddup, Secun-Bestest! Nu caww Bestest Babbeh ugwy ow dummeh!”
Although Valor called them babies, Prince had almost completely weened, but not Duke, as he kept insisting that he was “Onwy widdow babbeh”. As Duke was being reprimanded by their mother, one of Princes only surviving sisters, Star, interrupted her spoiled brothers scolding.
“Mummah, can Staw hab miwkies? Hab tummeh huwties.”
"Mmf, babbeh can hab miwkies. Buh nu take Bestest an Secun-Bestest’s Miwkies! Bestest an Secun-Bestest need miwkies fo gwow big an stwong.
Royal and Valor had a bad habit of neglecting their female foals, forgetting to feed them until they inevitably starved. The only reason Star and her twin sister Dewdrop survived was because they were born with such eye-catching colors, that Valor COULDN’T forget to feed them. Star was a sky-blue paired with an eye-melting neon yellow, while Dewdrop had a vibrant green coat and in place of a typical mane, she had a small poof of cyan fluff, like a tiny colorful afro.
“Tank yu fow miwkies, mummah.” Said Star in a gentle, soft-spoken voice as she latched on to her mother’s teat. Star and Dewdrop were smaller than Prince and Duke, since they were part of their mother’s
third litter, while Prince was part of the first. The second litter did not make it.
Prince could see the gears turning in Valor’s head as she counted to ten so she could pry Star off of her.
“Awwight Babbeh dat am enuff miwkies fo yu.” And with a loud pop, Star’s one feeding for the day was over. Prince had tried to convince Valor to let his sisters drink for longer, but it was one of the few things he couldn’t get her to change her mind on.
The herd kept going for hours on end, until eventually they all came to a stop. Prince had zoned-out, and was surprised when he bumped into Valor’s leg.
“Mummah? Wai stahp mobin?”
Prince looked up and saw the large mangroves towering over the herd. As Royal climbed up onto a large rock and faced the fluffies, the herds whispers of confusion died down.
“Dummeh fwuffies, Smawty hab found dah bestest wand, wif aww dah nummies! Dis. Am. Smawty waaaand!” And with that, the beasts of the swamp knew, their feast had begun.
