Duskfire Glacier hebamme

Veteran (perhaps accompanied by his sister?) had been tailing Mama at a distance, not because he hadn't understood her instructions, but because he didn't accept them. This was Not Okay with him. 

First, Mama dragged him out of his cozy, snuggly little den to some strange, new, bright, hot place and she growled at him when he tried to go back home. Then she stopped giving him milk! And then, to top it all off, she said she was going away for a long, long time! (Her exact words were, "I'll be back before you know it!" but Veteran could read between the lines, and he wasn't buying it).

Veteran caught up to his mother without exactly realizing it, given that she had stopped for some reason. Oh, no! The reason was a stranger! Veteran's little puppy hackles rose. Of all the things that had been thrown at him recently, strangers were by far his least favorite. Veteran growled, no doubt attracting the attention of the conversing adults. 

"Who," he emitted sulkily. So far, he had yet to ask any of his questions in that cute, curious, puppyish way. Instead, he voiced all of his questions as flat statements, churlishly dragging his feet to learn anything new. He hated learning new things, because new things were the worst. He infinitely preferred old things.