Jade Fern Grove who cut off their tails with a carving knife

anyone!

His first week home had been spent in the confines of his den more or less. Gradually, he had left it, and tried to exist in the world outside its protective walls without his eyes. It was an arduous process, wrought with anxiety and a perpetual state of fear in which he was compelled to flee at the slightest provocation. Now, entering the third week, the resilience of youth was shining through the hopeless pessimism and grumpiness that characterized his old soul personality. His heart no longer drummed frantically in his breast when he stepped outside, and he was learning to depend on his ears, nose, and tactile senses. His comfort in this new life was a bud beginning to open.

The ground surrounding his den was tamped down by his paws, and he had more or less memorized that area. He navigated this with ease, albeit with slow, careful steps. Even when he could see he was notoriously clumsy, and this trait haunted him still. It was late evening as he started to press outward, to expand his 'territory'. Strangely, it was evenings and at night that he felt most at ease. The stillness of the world made it easier for him to process his surroundings. Sounds seemed louder and scents, stronger. Perhaps not so strangely, it was his plant knowledge that helped him the most to rehabilitate.

When he was a pup, before he could think or do much of anything, he had been drawn to plants, and he had interacted with them as though he had a thousand times before. He clipped them, dried them and stored them with nimble prowess. Now blind, he found he could still work with them without thought, without his eyes. In this, he took the most comfort. In this, he found a shred of normalcy to hold on to. So, as he circled further away from his den, his nose was down among the greenery, searching for herbs.

I hope you don't mind Aunt Kas! :)

Kaskara hadn't seen much of swift since his return, and had not been in his company for more than a few moments, when they had found Bazi and Allure and Swift held hostage by bears. The gash that marred his face was something she would never forget, but the loss of his eyes felt more like the loss of life than sight. Kaskara had kept away from him when they returned home, bringing food and things to Bazi and the children, but otherwise keeping to herself. It wasn't her place to ask questions or pry, even if she wanted the boy to know she loved him still.

That morning she was scouting for some food of her own, mapping the territory further in her mind, when she saw a flash of white fur ahead. Kas closed the distance between them quickly, her footsteps more sure and even on the ground. At first she thought it might be Bazi, but as she approached, it was clear the figure was Swift. She paused on the edge of the clearing and decided to clear her throat, to alert him, and then to speak. "Hey, Swift. It's Aunt Kas." She started forward, then instinct told her to remain still for a moment. Startled deer did unpredictable things, and she was sure that a blind wolf was no different. "How are you?" It was a redundant question, maybe, but she did want to know. Maybe she could help him somehow, though she was sure he was as proud as his father.

His ear turned backward, catching the sound of paws across the forest floor as debris was shuffled and twigs bent and cracked. His other senses were sharpening, compensating for the one he had loss. Even those that were not so prominent, not so commonly thought of, senses he could not describe like the awareness of the objects around him. He was beginning to feel in an enhanced way, but he still had so much adapting to do.

"I know," he answered quietly. He knew her voice, her smell, and he would in time learn their gaits. He did not lift his head nor turn to face her; neither of these mattered now when you could not see. His muzzle brushed aside a tall fern, and beneath it he discovered a small patch of mint. He brushed the black leather of his nose across it, featherlight in his touch, but found it was not suitable for picking. It was yet too young. "I'm fine," he answered. "What are you up to?"

"I know." His answer came, voice soft. Kaskara smiled and nodded, wondering if he could detect her movement in the air. She had never known a blind wolf, and although Swift was an intelligent young man, she worried about his future. It was hard to live as a wolf with a disability, especially when it came to sight. It was one of the wolf's prominent senses. Kas watched Swift move his lips over the leaves along the loamy earth, using his nose and tongue to figure out what he was dealing with. She hoped he would be okay.

"I was going to find some food. I was thinking of trying for some fish in the stream." She watched her nephew with pain her heart, wondering what on earth had possessed that bear to kidnap him and his family. What happened then? She wasn't about to ask, but she worried for his wellbeing all the same. "Would you like to join me?"