Cedar Sweep we’ll find one another in that big somewhere out there

He proceeded slowly, every footstep taken with great care as he navigated into the uncharted wilderness. Often he paused to swipe a foreleg through the air, feeling for any obstacles in his path, and then he would go still, breathing and listening. Skipjack felt overwhelmed by the sheer unfamiliarity of everything, though he thought of how happy his parents would be should he find this Swordfish and bring him home. He kept going.

Every muscle in his little body went rigid at the sound of a gasp. His eyes flicked in its direction, ears thrust forward and quivering at the subsequent sound of what could only be called a sigh of relief. Skip remained frozen and tense, only his tail moving as it slowly dipped. Grandma Towhee had spent an entire afternoon posing him and explaining what each posture meant. Instinct corroborated that a lowered tail demonstrated goodwill.

Now a body hit the ground before a voice spoke. Skipjack’s ears pulled back as he tried to place it. Oh, yes, it belonged to the stranger he’d helped to feed not too long ago! The very tip of his tail began to twitch tentatively, a shy smile creeping across his face. What was her name again? Ma and Da had mentioned it a few times since then…

Auburn? he questioned in a clear, soft voice.