Kansas was in love with spring. He'd made it through wintertime, a season he'd also loved; but it was time for a change. He today was the warmest day of the season thus far, and he'd spent the entire morning exploring. Phoenix had allowed him to leave home and go wherever he wished because of the beauty the day offered. But he didn't wish to wander far. He was too afraid of getting lost. The young boy was terrified of losing his way, because of the stories he'd heard about lost children and the awful things that happened to them.

So, he opted to only cross the borders of Storm. He made his way through the forest, with the idea of finding the creek he'd "skated" upon only a short while ago with Moon and seeing how it looked now. But instead of coming across the creek, the trees thinned, and he found himself in a very small, very pretty little meadow. The pale child grinned as he cautiously trotted into the soft grass. His unease faded significantly, his tail rising from its position between his legs and wagging just the smallest of wags. A flower rose from the earth a few feet ahead, its pink petals swaying innocently in the soft, calm breeze. Kansas approached it curiously, making a small circle around it. He brought his nose to its face, wanting to give it a little kiss like he did with Firefly that made her scream. Maybe the flower wouldn't scream in horror as his twin sister did.

But as his muzzle came in contact with the yellow "nose" of the flower, his own nostrils were suddenly filled with a strange yellow, itchy powder. His face screwed up, and he let out a huge, Eh-EHCHOO! But he wasn't done. No, Kansas stepped a few inches back, his face lifting into the air; he sniffed a few times, then sneezed again. And again. He couldn't stop. And as he sneezed, his tummy began to hurt, because he just wasn't sure what was wrong with him, or why the flower had done this mean thing to him.

He continued sneezing uncontrollably, the force of the sneezes rocking his skinny little body back and forth. He did not hear the approach of the young wolf. Her presence became apparent to him only after she'd spoken. And that scared him! It scared him so badly that he didn't sneeze for several seconds. He had noticed that her voice was different, much different than his, and that was part of the surprise. He gazed curiously at her, noting how she looked almost exactly like Ember. But it wasn't Ember. This girl smelled differently and certainly talked differently.

Stifling another sneeze, Kansas eyed her cautiously. He liked that she'd come to him and spoken, rather than him having to approach her. Greeting others on his own terms was challenging. I, eh—HIC—I tink so ACHOO. He sniffled pitifully, his eyes watering from all the sneezes. He felt like he'd regurgitated through every orifice. Nasty. And now the little girl probably thought he was crying! Wh-who e'you? An' why... why you talk diff'rent from me? He almost said, Why do you talk so funny? but Daddy would say that was not polite.