Early morning struck, and the sun could be felt against the warm earth that Sos had napped on. It soaked into his darkening coat and brought a smile that curled his features upward. Both of his baby blue eyes were closed, avoiding the bright light that shone against their lids. The nap had lasted little more than half an hour when the sound of a bird pulled the pup from his slumber and back into the brilliant shades of the real world. Sos blinked tiredly for a moment or two before he pushed himself up onto his elbows and parted his lips to pant. The warmth had soaked into the marrow of his frame, he could feel it. It was difficult to shake the tiredness from his figure, so he forced himself to stand and move toward the shadows of a large tree. The trunk of the figure stretched upward and reached out overhead to shield the area from most of the heat.
 
Once he was pressed against the trunk of the structure, Sos lowered himself to his rear and peered up at the dappling of glittering sunlight against the dark leaves of the trees. The boy searched for signs of life up there, but he found it difficult to focus on any one thing when the breeze was pulling at the foliage. It almost seemed as though every tree was writhing softly. A large bird flew to the lowest hanging branch and bobbed along the stick with a fluid grace. Sos was intrigued by the creature that seemed to maintain balance of that nature. The young bear had trouble shaking his coat without toppling to his side.
 
The bird tweeted and turned its head sharply to peer down at the young boy. Sos yapped in response, watching as the dark-winged thing took immediate flight and vanished into the reaches of some other tree in the distance. Sad that he had lost his interest, Sos looked back toward the mouth of the den with a curious expression. Tunerk had been little fun lately, as she had spent most of her time sleeping. The boy was eager to experience anything that was different from the standard monotony of his days, so he found himself roused far easier. For a moment, the polar youth wondered if he could make enough of a fuss to rouse Tunerk from her nap.

It was foolish to imagine that the boy would experience much of any sort of solitary existence. Though he was quiet and preferred to explore on his own, there was a group of wolves who were dedicated to protecting him and his siblings, as well as showing him that family was the most important thing. Still far too young to understand the concept of loyalty to family or the thought that he should want only to serve them dutifully, Sos regarded them all with a curious – albeit quiet – nature. They never seemed to make him feel any amount of discomfort, save for the moment his mother had snapped at his uncle. They were watchful and kind, protective of the pups, and Sos had grown so used to their presence that he could not imagine what his life would have been like without them there.

When the female Tahani appeared before him, the boy turned sharply and drew his ears forward to meet her words. She spoke in a tongue that was ingrained in the marrow of his bones. The boy knew enough of it to understand that she was requesting him to tell her what his plans were. Sos dipped his head slightly and smiled to the pale woman. The young bear then drew his crown upward and locked his eyes with her own. There was a stern expression on his youthful face; one that spoke of an age beyond his years. “Dark birds,” he told her in the native tongue, stumbling slightly over the phrasing. Then, Sos peered at her with an intense expectancy and waited to see if she should inquire more.

Tahani smiled at him, allowing for the boy to feel as though he had done something well. His tail thumped against the earth twice before it wiggled to a halt and left him with perked ears and an attentive expression. It was then that the young bear was blessed with the knowledge of what the birds were, and what they were capable of. In that moment, Sos found himself fully entranced by the creatures that he had seen fluttering about overhead. There had never been a moment in which he had imagined they could cause him any sort of harm, but that they were dark guardians over him. Their wings had stretched and cast a shadow on the earth below, and the beady red of their eyes had sought his own for a fleeting moment in which he felt that he understood. To hear what they were called and that they could learn to speak their tongue had sparked an idea within the boy.

“Mmm,” he mused softly and seriously. Then, the bear turned his attention to the high boughs of the trees and he nodded his head. “Dey will talk to me,” he told her in a matter of fact tone of voice. There was little room left for doubt when the child spoke that way. Though he was young, there seemed to be a spirit within him that had wandered the earth for many years. It was as though he knew things without ever having learned them; he discovered and then accepted without much question, but did so only so that he might be closer with the ground that he walked upon. This convergence with the world was uncommon, but he did not know just how special he was.

When his aunt inquired about his siblings, Sos brought his full attention back to her and then craned his neck to peer into the dark mouth of their family den. “Seepin... Tu seeps a lot,” he told her in a soft voice. Though Sos felt like it meant he did not get to play with his sister as often as he would have liked, it also granted him time to venture on his own. There was a sweet smile that curled the boy's lips as he attempted to make out the muddled shape of his siblings within the den. Though he could not see them well enough, he knew that they were safely guarded by the form of their mother. In this, he felt at ease. Fixing his gaze on Tahani, Sos canted his head to the side and opted to inquire more about the ravens.

“D'raven can stay wit wolves?”

There were many ways in which the young bear was like his uncle. They shared a similar headstrong approach, and carried a serious countenance about them in most scenarios. While the young boy was not aware of the mental comparisons that were made, that was probably for the best. Sos was special; he was a child of the world. The entire breath of all things had been poured into his blood and bones to carefully craft a creature that walked and spoke for the life of earth, and that could be compared to no one. Still, he was young and full of room for growth; it only made sense that his family should associate many of his actions and behaviors to be similar to one of their own. He shared the blood that they shared, after all, but time would show that the young Sos was very different from Siarut. He was a shaman, birthed for one purpose. When the bear found his own purpose, the others would see it within him as well.

Turning his head back to the skies to peer at the black-winged scavengers, the child felt a swelling of appreciation for them. At his aunt's description of the birds of shadow, he felt a somber sense wash over him. Ah, the dark birds were magnificent creatures, then. A kinship had been struck between the young bear and the ravens; he had found a sense of companionship in his first creature that did not share the blood of the wolf. This was a pivotal moment for the young man, though it would take him many months more before he realized it. The ravens were a sign of all that there was to his world. The beating hearts of many living creatures surrounded him, and he was destined to feel them all.

“Dey'r good,” he told Tahani with a short nod. “Dey'r friend to me.”

Yes, Sos would have agreed that the ravens were good friends if only he hadn't just met them and discovered what they were. Still, there was a reverence in him for the living that was soul-deep. Though he was a predator, and he ate other creatures that trekked across their land, he felt a great deal of respect for those things that he could not fully understand and even for the things that he could. All living creatures were a blessing to the world. The young bear was one of those blessings. While he could not understand his connection to the earthen spirits, Sos was nonetheless a reverent child when it came to the life that surrounded him. In all the years the earth had seen the wolf walk upon it, it had been a long time since there had been one quite like the pale boy. It would be a long time after before it would see one again.

The request for Sos to play a game was met with a soft smile and a wavering tail. He met the gaze of his family and nodded his head to her, knowing that whatever she had in store for him would be astoundingly fun. For a moment, he glanced toward the mouth of their den and wondered if his brother or sister would have liked to join. Knowing that it was best they got all the rest they wanted to avoid feeling cranky, he pushed the thought aside and followed Tahani to the makeshift toys that had been granted to them. There, the two of them spent the remainder of their time playing games and chatting softly. The dark ravens fluttered wings overhead and whispered secrets to the limbs of the trees that flowed down into the very earth itself.