
He arrived just before sunset. He knew his mother had "duties" to attend to as an ascended and that there was a chance that he would miss her if he didn't come around as soon as she would be waking up. Getting here before the sun came down guaranteed that he could at least catch her just before she felt the need to leave. As he neared the entry to the den, he saw his parents' constantly growing menagerie of pets and familiars. He fondly remembered some of the bigger and smarter ones accompanying him and his siblings when they played and hunted as they were growing up.
He ducked into the entryway and found his father with Grove Guardian in the middle of restocking the food supplies in the back. As they made eye contact, he greeted, "Hey Dad! Just passing by for a bit. Is mom still here? I need to talk to her." Smoldering Ember stopped what he was doing to welcome his son and touch horns with the young buck affectionately, then gestured to the shaded corner of the den where Sun-Cursed was just rising from her sleep.
HuniPi wrote: