Alpine Lake Even children get older

Penn hadn't gone far after Fennec had left. He'd considered going to the Copse too--he had a couple of his own good byes to say, after all. But in the end, he'd decided to go the route of avoidance. Wraen would probably have said something wise and thoughtful about it that would've just made him doubt his decision and Eljay would've cried. Avery was really the only one he might've gone back for, but their good byes had already been said.

So, he'd just sorta hung out. He'd amused himself for a little while by chewing on a stick, and then he'd tossed it aside and taken a nap. By the time he heard Fennec calling for him, he'd been nearing the beginning of his second hour of wading around in the shallows of the lake, trying to catch a fish to snack on. Unfortunately, he hadn't had any luck, so he had nothing to bring when he answered her call. But, he was so relieved and excited to hear from her that he probably would've just left any catch he made behind anyway.

"I've been ready for like nine hours," Penn replied, trying to sound exasperated through his smile, "You're the one who had to run errands." He couldn't tell by her demeanor how her conversations had gone down. He thought about asking, but immediately dismissed the idea. She'd talk if she wanted to. And honestly, if it had gone badly, he didn't want to hear about it and let it bring them down.