Redsand Canyon Footloose

The week following her eyes opening up hadn't been very interesting. There was a lot going on now, almost too much input for little Leo to handle, and when she wasn't staring intently at one thing or another she wedged herself against Jack Snipe and slept for long hours.

Today, having woken from another long period of stagnation, Leo was watching the adults from far away. She couldn't tell any of them apart except Towhee or Maxim, and she knew it wasn't either of them.

People came and went - with Leo keeping tabs on all of them. Someone staggered by with fresh meat; a pair of strangers were having a heated discussion and their voices dropped as they neared the den; a few hours later, a figure marched by.

Leo was tired of watching and listening. She wanted to play, or to explore, and so she waited until another shape drew close to the den and launched herself outside, directly in the figure's path with a grimace and a tiny, pitchy growl. Her feet stamped the dust and as the grit plumed around her, she sneezed.