Swiftcurrent Creek Here's lookin at you, kid

Mummy wasn't here. Mummy had left. He was old enough to recognize her absence and yet young enough to not understand it; Larus' entire world revolved around his mother. So when a figure arrived at the den and promptly chose to stay outside, the pup grew flustered. Why was mummy out there and not in here? Did she not want to visit him? Had he done something bad? The boy wasn't usually the bold one of the bunch — that was Valtyr, or sometimes Jokull, who were both big adventurers already — but Larus was desperate to affirm his mother's love. He lurched to his feet and with a handful of wobbly steps, poked his head out of the den mouth. "Muuu," he moaned, "Mama?" he squealed upon recognizing the stranger's scent as like mother (female). The boy thrust himself in to action with an eagerness usually reserved for his more rambunctious siblings, and then.. Promptly tripped over his own feet, causing little Larus to plop down on his "mother's" tail.