Flycatcher Downs Though I am old with wandering

Whip had not wanted to go on this little adventure in the slightest, but after his recent antics (and his parent's insistence), the boy felt he had no other choice. So begrudgingly, Whip accompanied his mother and brother north to see his sister -- whom he had yet to meet because of his reserved and quiet nature. He didn't much care to visit distant family, sibling or otherwise, but this was the first time Whip had ever been beyond the Caldera. The outside world was a frightening, yet exciting place. For a boy who had felt little more than numb for as long as he could remember, the trip was an unlikely but welcome change of pace.

He stayed close behind his mother, speaking only to stop the party to marvel at the strange things they passed. The curiosity of childhood had not quite been spent.

They kept a consistent pace and avoided the lands claimed by other packs like the plague -- that is, until their mother bid the boys to stop. Whip made no complaints and gingerly settled into the ground with his two, scabbing forelimbs outstretched before him. The flesh was healing, yet the pain of his self-harm remained. Despite the pain of extended travel, Whip's curiosity eventually got the better of him. When their mother was no longer in Whip's frame of vision, he looked to his brother Gannet and asked, "Are we gonna follow her, or what?" as he began to rise in blatant disregard of his mother's command.