_____ Kansas was steadily spending more and more time out of the den, where, from the time of his birth, he’d been sleeping quite a bit. It seemed that all of his siblings and he liked to sleep – but, he’d been told, this was because he was a child, and that was what children did. He couldn’t wait for the time that he’d be more energetic, and could spend hours on end playing with Firefly, or perhaps Ember and Icarus. True, he was more soft-spoken than any of his siblings; and usually in their tussles, he came out last. But he didn’t mind. He still loved a good frolic, and the more time he could spend doing so, the better.
_____ Since awakening that morning, he’d been debating how to spend it before the time of his afternoon nap came about. His siblings were sleeping in, and he clambered over them to exit the den. It was a bit frightening to be alone again, but he didn’t plan on going as far as the Yawrah – perhaps just a quick jaunt around his home, poking through the places he’d not examined fully yet. The sun was hot on his back in the places it struck most through the leaves of Storm’s abundant trees – today was unusually warm. That was definitely fine with him. He suddenly heard the crashing of bushes, soft enough so that he recognized the steps as belonging to an adult. Soon enough, an alabaster form came into view, shifted and quite beautiful.
_____ He studied her, entranced by her bicolor eyes, and just, simply, by her. He continued to stare as she approached, offering a soft greeting when she was near enough to hear. “Hewo. Who’re yous?”
