He'd called her mother, though he'd only seen her in passing. Claimed it, claimed her will as his meaning for life - but he had not stood before her and spoken to her. The boy was nearly a man, eleven months but nearly twelve. Full height but still time to grow, both mentally and physically. He had caught her scent on today of all days, drifting across the land - he recognized it from when it clung to his mothers' pelts.

Today was the day he would seek her out for himself, eyes on fire and ready to learn. The cold night air soothed his thick pelt, wind picking its way around his legs and curling his already-very-curly fur. His thin, long ears swiveled for sound as the soft tissue at the end of his arched snout wiggled with each inhale, sending soft billows of mist with each exhale. The year was growing cold as it had been at his birth, and how he enjoyed it!

But he couldn't focus on the weather now. No, there were far bigger fish to fry.

Chinensis, his voice rang out as her scent hit critical. She had to be near enough to hear him now, had to be close enough. There were no other close scents, nor could he hear any others or even see any others - he was confidence in their isolation at this time. He scanned the shadows for her. Chinensis,... Red mother. Teach me. A gentle demand, one some might take as dangerous, but he was stubborn in his resolve to learn from every source he could. A fire in his heart rumbled to life as he searched for the bespeckled woman, whose facial markings almost mirrored his own, albeit at a much softer shade.

OOC

Dialogue - Thought