Hideaway Strath That perfect moment, the last tear you shed

Mom's excitement was tangible, but rather than join Thyme at the front of their parade, Turmeric stayed decidedly back, in the rear, where dad was. Now and again he exchanged a bright-eyed glance with his brother. Now and again he sought to exchange one with his sister, too. The world was big and bright and better, even than the little patch outside their den, with so many sights and smells! Every flower and rock begged to be inspected, and every new sight weaselled its way into his growing mind and filled his brain with questions of what, how, and why. He had no answers, of course, nor did he have any words to find them - but they would come, with learning and time.

So distracted by the natural world, he failed to realize he had turned around and, dragging along a peculiar stick to study a little further, missed just how many had gathered around them, until his butt made direct collision with his dad, and he turned around with particular interest to see what had made them stop.

His eyes grew wide. Who were these wolves? Thyme made quick work of slapping down to play, and Mulberry peeked out from between dad's legs. Turmeric's eyes roved the scene and he skipped a beat forward with a quiver in his step. A little bit uncertain. He looked back to mom and dad, as Thyme had done, to seek their approval - and nothing seemed amiss.

So with a quirk of his lips, Turmeric stole another step forward, then another, until he'd bypassed all the other pups entirely, and rather scooted himself to the strangest looking one - and one he scantly recognized, from that hazy day they moved from the dark cave to the brighter den. The new faces, he was curious about - but even more, in the strange object she had brought along with her. Turmeric had never seen anything quite like the contraption she carried, and when he got close enough he threw his stick before her paws like some form of peace offering and looked up at her with big eyes, before turning back to her instrument with curious wonder and the reach of a paw.