Emberwood earthquakes shake the dust behind you

"beta" = "son", pronounced "bih-tta", not like the Greek letter :P

he frowned at the boy's grumbling attitude, but said nothing, dipping his head to peer more carefully at the wound. it wasn't too terrible, but it was bleeding, and open wounds out in the wilderness, without proper care, tended to get infected. pema should take a look at the paw right away. aditya was just about to order river to come back with him this instant when the pup spoke again.

not without some sympathy in his face, aditya squatted slightly to bring himself eye-to-eye with river. "you have to go home, beta," the sentinel murmured, blinking softly. "your mother's been worried. your sister's been worried. i've been worried, too." he nodded at the paw, held aloft. "pema needs to look at your foot, but even if you weren't injured. . ."

he sighed. "i'm sorry i snapped at you, in the maplewood," he gave in, adding, "but you can't rush into things like that. you could have gotten hurt. those wolves could have been dangerous. i just want to keep you and your brother and sister safe." aditya cocked his head, rising to his full height once more. "do you understand?" he asked, the sternness in his voice gone.