Ankyra Sound (J) web that you weave

Because ha ha ha Larus is trying to be brave. He's useless in this situation though - we need an adult!

The past few days had been difficult for Larus. He was restless and homesick, but not at all prepared for the long trek home. The boy didn't even know which direction home was; just that this place, with its salty air and big scary blue water, was not it. He had taken to sleeping outside of Caiaphas' big cave, even though the nights were growing longer and colder. It felt right to hear the wind whistling through the trees.

He had woken up early in the morning, as soon as the first light caught upon him through the canopy, and spent the early hours roaming the forest. It wasn't too unlike the glacier forest - or the copse of trees in Swiftcurrent that had housed the children initially - but the trees here were a lot bigger. So much bigger that Larus couldn't even fathom their height - he stared up at them as he wandered, hoping that he'd get a glimpse.

As his portly self departed the forest's edge, he found himself in an area that he had never been before; the forest stretched on around him, leaving him stranded and lost. And then, as the terror of his circumstances were realized in his tiny, slow brain, Larus heard a howl. He bolted towards it without pause - hoping that it was Caiaphas, or the fox (not remembering that foxes and wolves were different); or even Aktay.

When he burst from the underbrush and caught a good sight of the stranger, Larus became instantly shy. This was not one of the sisters, this was a stranger. He hiccuped a little cry of surprise, and as he shrank down to the ground, muttered a quick greeting: H-hullo.