Nova Peak a lesson to be learned

Anyone!

In his first two months of life, Swift had made it quite clear to those around him that he was a clumsy, haphazard boy, and that was not about to change anytime soon. When his coat got wet, it was still possible to smell skunk on him, a reminder of one such occasion when he found trouble. But trouble also had a way of finding him even when he was not being bold and brazen, as was the case when a wasp sneaked out of a decaying log and stung his snout.

He was, as he often was, the first one out of the den. By now, the pups were able to travel further from the den and soon would move to a rendezvous site, and Swift made full use of his freedom. He headed toward the Bitcurrent, nosing around the grasses and shrubs, gathering a few plants as he came across them. He still did not truly understand his affinity for them, or why he sought certain ones when he was hurt, but he was starting to recognize that he did. His two minds were becoming one.

He rounded a corner, with about a half dozen plants in his mouth, and there he came face to face with a bobcat and her kits, and laid beside them a freshly killed rabbit. His fur bristled, and his muzzle wrinkled into a snarl, his clenched teeth crushing the plants he held. He did not know what he was getting himself into, and took a stiff step forward. Chest puffed out and head high, a perfect portrait of a threat to the mother and her children.

She hissed and swatted at him. Her warning. The only one she'd give.