Meadowlark Prairie Why are you keeping this curiosity door closed?

She regarded his answer coolly, clearly uninterested in his stubborn response. At once, the boy was enraptured; he'd have faced a bat on the ear by his mother's paw should he dare speak to her in such a bold manner. If this one let him bark his defiance at her, what else might she allow without punishment?

Venamis watched her turn away from him, frosted gaze lingering on the awkward curve of a mangled forepaw that gave her a hobbled gait that he hadn't paid attention to before. He stared at her, both curious and ready to push boundaries, and the decision to follow and test her patience was something that came naturally.

He didn't need his dull family, anyway. Far more interesting things awaited in whatever part of the world Maegi had come from.