Broken Antler Fen Go ahead, make my day

Thanks for the awesome teaching opportunity! :)

The conversation about home fell away as they discussed the moon and stars (well, one star in particular). Wildfire took in this knowledge like a sponge soaking up water, absorbing it. Kero mentioned her parents and she bobbed her head as if to agree with him. Fox had already spoken to her of the sun, moon and stars a few times. Surely the pup could pick her mother's brain a bit more.

But she wasn't done picking Kero's. "North, east, south, west," she repeated after him, her smile now lighting up her face. "Never eat soggy worms," she added, scrunching up her nose. "Home is..." Wildfire paused to really consider everything they had talked about over the last quarter of an hour. They were facing the direction the sun set, so... "West," she blurted unthinkingly, then shook her head and corrected herself. "No, east. Home is east. Right?"

Speaking of home, they both knew she should be heading back there. Wildfire let out a breath through her nostrils, then regarded Kero with a careful, grateful look. "Thanks for telling me about the directions, Kero," she said. She had no idea if she would ever see him again and didn't yet know whether or not she minded that, important lesson aside. "Goodbye," the youth said simply, bowing her head.

The puppy turned, although her eyes remained on him even as she began to trot. Only when she had gone several dozen yards did she face forward and really speed up, her paws carrying her back to the caldera. East, Wildfire thought, smiling to herself.