aditya was going about his usual rounds that day, prowling the border. if nothing else but to keep his mind off things--well that, and it was his duty to do so. duty was the only thing keeping him grounded; these past several days had been so turbulent that fleeing seemed the best option.

but he'd promised pema he would help, and he didn't intend to break that promise. he needed to stay faithful to someone, at least.

his spirits lifted as he saw eventide prancing along with a branch, eyes glowing with mischief. it was different from his usual, guarded demeanor, and aditya smiled, trotting his way. he wondered what had happened to alter his mood so; he was joyful to see the boy the happiest he'd seemed since his father's death.

"arrey, bahadur!" aditya called out, giving the boy a playful nudge of his nose. he stared down at eventide, head tilted in curiosity. "you look like you're having fun. kya hua--what's up?"

eventide was right. it made absolutely no sense to aditya, and yet the boy's giggles were so infectious, he found himself breaking into an open-mouthed grin, laughing along with him. he nudged the stick with his nose, making it roll a few inches before halting, thoroughly unaware it was the source of all this hilarity.

"what's the stick for?" aditya asked, flopping down to the ground and surveying the boy with molten gold eyes, brimming with humor. he took the end of it in his teeth, wiggling it a little before setting it back down. "it is a very big stick," he agreed.

he cocked his head in intrigue, gazing at the stick with some solemnity. solemnity that turned out to be feigned, for then he grabbed the stick--with a rushed "catch me if you can!"--and took off at a slow lope, rolling his head back to look at eventide with a cheeky grin. he slowed to a trot after a few tail-lengths, waiting for the stubby legs to catch up.

it seemed like everything was getting back to normal, at least if he danced around the subject of his and dawn's infidelities. that was one thing he missed about childhood--the simplicity. being around grayday's litter, and pema's and aviana's newborns, as well, really brought back the joys of just being a kid. he wouldn't trade these moments for the world.

he wasn't planning on coddling a pup of a few moons by slowing up, but then life happened, as it had a tendency to at the very wrong times. looking back at eventide instead of watching where he was going, aditya stumbled over a small elevated bit of ground and tumbled over, falling to his knees in the dirt. his body hit the ground with an oomph! expelled from his chest; it took him a couple of moments to catch his breath.

"clumsy adi," he joked, rolling his head over to look at ty, who had surely caught up by now. he laughed, coughing a little before wiggling up to sit in the sphinx position, tail wagging. "i guess you did get me, in the end." no doubt little bahadur would be pleased by this turn of events, if perhaps a little sad that the game had ended so quickly.