Hideaway Strath More today than yesterday

Fig had been afraid at first. He'd never gone so far away from their happy little den before, and never had he stepped on ground that wasn't saturated with the familiar scents of his family and pack. He might not have known who all of the scents belonged to, but it had still always been a comfort to him. Out here, he was surrounded by newness every where he looked, and so he had stuck very close to Phox and Towhee, at first anyway.

Little by little, his confidence had grown and soon enough, he was darting here and there, inspecting things and giggling and periodically nudging Fenn back in the right direction or helping her avoid things like the good little seeing eye brother he was. He flopped onto his bum when they finally stopped, looking tired but happy as he panted heavily and looked about. "Cool!" the boy chirped, not even wondering about the why. There was no one else in the pack he would miss had it even occurred to him that this meant they wouldn't be together anymore. So long as he had his big wolves and his less-cute-than-him sister, he was content.

Someone else wasn't, though. Fig's ears perked as he heard her breathing shift subtly and he turned to peer at his mother (DID IT!). She looked odd. By the time he stood to go to her, her breathing had sped up and she had crumpled to the ground. With a frightened cry, Fig darted towards her and tried to find her face so he could shower it with the magic healing power of his nervous kisses, whimpering all the while with his tail tucked beneath his little bum.