Ocean's Breath Plateau sunny days that i thought would never end

Katmai had slept for a very long time, curled up against his mother and father.

It was strange to be back home. First and foremost because it wasn't exactly home to him — he'd spent precious little time here before setting off to find his father, and that "cousin" he'd never gotten the chance to meet. But it smelled like home; like his mother and father and siblings. And it sounded like home, save for the distant crash of the waves and the much more present cry of the gulls.

Still. It was hard to trust in the peace and safety that it seemed to promise, even if the presence of his family was far more interesting to focus on. He was grateful, then, when he was given no time at all to stew in his worries. Instead, there was Kitimat and dadaji.

"Good morning," he yawned, while his father startled awake much more sharply behind him. He climbed awkwardly to his paws and immediately tried to tackle his brother, unaware of the stark difference between their frames. He was sickly thin, his growth just slightly stunted by the malnutrition he'd suffered during these formative months. Doubtlessly, he would gain the height and weight he'd been lacking in quickly enough.

For the moment, the sight made Dutch sick with shame.