Redhawk Caldera Once upon a time

His response seemed to please her, so Elwood's tail swayed behind him as he watched Wildfire turn and make her way back through the log. He didn't know much about the way a child's mind worked, but was intrigued by the actions of the little firebird and her siblings. He gathered the hoof carefully in his mouth and prowled around the fallen tree trunk, meeting Wildfire on the other side and then beginning to lead the way back to her parents' den.

With her play object in his mouth, it wasn't possible for him to make conversation -- though he knew that her responses would be limited to babbling, he still liked speaking to Wildfire as though she were an adult. Despite his limited knowledge, he assumed that the more exposure the kids got to language, the easier the transition to speech would be. Instead of talking, he tilted his ears towards her to listen to the soft padding of her feet against the ground, until they approached the homestead.

He stopped a few feet from the den, glancing at Wildfire and waiting to follow her lead; he wasn't sure what she would do with the flowers, or where she would instruct him to place the hoof.