Wyndelin woke with a start, certain the day before had been a dream until he realized that the only one near him was his brother Gabriel.  No signs of mother.  Wynd whimpered and sniffed at the grass for any signs that she'd returned.  Surely she'd return right?  It was probably a joke, or a… a… test!  Yea, maybe it was a test to see if they could survive the night alone and she'd come back over the horizon any minute now… yes, any minute…. yup… Any minute now… Wyndelin frowned.  She couldn't abandon them.  Not really, it just wasn't… that kind of thing didn't happen, did it?  The boy glanced again at his brother before seeking to scoot up next to the larger child, hoping to whisper in the others ear. "Gabe?  Gabe?  Gabe, when's mom going to come back?  I don't see her yet, I think we passed the test so she should be back soon right?" "Talk" "You" Think

Wynde just didn't get it, did he? She wasn't coming back. Gabriel had settled on that truth the first morning after. It was okay though, because they were both capable of taking care of themselves. He was sure they'd be just fine. The beginning was going to be hard, but they could learn to do all the things their mom had done. Everything was going to be okay. Gabriel scooted closer so that the two boys were sitting shoulder to shoulder. He needed to make him understand. If Wynde spent all of his time waiting for mom they'd get nowhere. He too liked to entertain the idea that may she was just stuck somewhere or maybe it was a test, or maybe, she was just mad at him because he wouldn't listen and she would come back when she wasn't upset. But it wasn't a good idea to just hold onto that hope and do nothing. They had to eat and they had to sleep somewhere, right? The boy sighed. He just needed to say it and get it over with. But he really didn't want to. "I'm hungry. We should look for something to eat." He poked at his brother's cheek with the tip of his nose before getting to his paws. "Come on, Wynde." "Talk" "You" Think

Comfort washed over him as Gabriel moved closer.  Even if mother wasn't here right now he knew he could trust his brother.  Gabriel would know what to do, he always did!  Even so, Wyndelin had trouble imagining life without mom and it caused the anxiety to continue roiling in his stomach.   Sunlight spilt fully over the terra as the sun broke free of the horizon, the heat of its rays stirring the air into a gentle breeze.  By now mother would be out hunting and would return soon with food… maybe, maybe she just went on a really long hunting trip?  Wynde frowned though as he remembered their mothers words.  He knew what she said but he still couldn't take the words at face value.  There had to be a trick, some sort of secret meaning he just didn't understand yet. "I'm hungry. We should look for something to eat." Gabriel gently touched his cheek before standing and Wyndelin slowly followed suit before the anxiety suddenly burst out of him. "How?  Gabe, how are we going to do this without her?"  She was the one that hunted.  She was the one that fed them.  "What are we going to hunt?  Bugs?!  I'm really hungry and that'd be a bajillion bugs!  I can't catch a bajillion bugs!" "Talk" "You" Think

For a moment it looked like Wynde was content to simply follow, but that moment was over and gone in an instant. How were they going to make it without her? That was a very good question. One Gabriel didn't have an answer for yet. He scrambled to come up with something. "Easy!" A lie! "What did mom bring back a lot? Rabbits! And she was tired all the time. So rabbits gotta be easy to catch. We'll just learn to catch rabbits." He'd never actually gone hunting before, but what he'd told his brother made sense to him. He half believed it himself. "And there's two of us so once we figure it out it should be easy." For good measure he said, "We might even get fat!" Maybe something funny would make Wynde less nervous. "Can you imagine us all fat, Wynde?" The boy puffed out his cheeks and pursed his lips, and then bowed his legs and waddled around so that he was facing Wyndelin. After making a few fat faces at his brother he slowly let the air out of his cheeks - which made a delightfully bubbly fart-like sound - and grinned. "Unless you want to eat bugs. I can help you catch a bajillion." "Talk" "You" Think

Wynde stared doubtfully at Gabriel when he said it would be easy. His lower lip quivered and he looked down at his paws but the more his brother spoke the more it seemed possible. Rabbits were small… and they looked pretty helpless. The didn't have hooves or horns or anything and if one adult could catch them then surely two pups could right? But… was mom catching them while she was tired or tired because she was catching them? What if they took a lot of energy to catch? "Can you imagine us all fat, Wynde?" A smile cracked across Wyndelin's face as he imagined them as fat little pups so round they had to roll everywhere! That'd almost be fun! They could bowl prairie dogs with themselves and get even fatter. Wynde looked up at his brother then burst out laughing as the other boy puffed out his cheeks and waddled around. The tears that had been forming earlier in his eyes out of sorrow quickly turned to tears of laughter when Gabe made the fart noise. Wynde wrinkled his face and stuck out his tongue. "I don't like bugs that much they taste like snot!" He licked at his nose and grinned at Gabriel. "Ok then, lets go rabbit hunting!" Wyndelin took off to the north, running several paces before suddenly screeching to a halt and glancing at Gabriel. "Uhhh… so… how do we do this again? I mean, I guess we have to find the rabbits but how are we supposed to do that?" Where did rabbits live exactly? Did they live in holes like prairie dogs or up in trees like birds? Did rabbits live in the water? No, that couldn't be right. They were pretty dry when mama brought them back. "Talk" "You" Think

Gabriel was really hoping their rabbit hunting would go well. He didn't really like eating bugs either. His brother was right, they didn't taste very good. It was kind of fun to feel them crawl around in his mouth and let them wiggle out, but that was where the fun ended. "I don't like the way the long-legged ones get stuck in my teeth." The legs would wedge themselves in good and tight and then it would be hours before he got them out. In the meantime he'd just feel them. They'd sit against his gums, feeling all leggy and gross. His attempt at lightening the mood seemed to work. Wynde took the lead and darted ahead. Instead of racing to catch up Gabriel ambled along after. He wanted a chance to think a little bit...which he didn't get because after a few paces his brother skidded to a standstill and peppered him with questions. The boy resisted the urge to sigh. And panic. Suggesting they catch rabbits was a lot easier than actually catching rabbits. He waited to answer until he was once again beside his brother. The pause gave him just enough time to come up with something. Speaking with confidence he didn't feel, Gabriel said, "We just gotta find where they live. And...um..." Where did rabbits live exactly? He'd never seen one climb a tree so somewhere on the ground, probably. Suddenly he had an idea. "We know what they smell; we'll follow our noses right to where they live and then we'll wait and catch them!" He was sure it would work. Eventually the rabbits would have to come out or go inside. "Talk" "You" Think

Wyndelin nodded eagerly.  He didn't like the way the long-legged bugs got stuck in his teeth and tickled his throat.  Worms were ok though, he didn't mind worms much or moths but everything else was gross.  Course, nothing could beat a nice piece of warm meat.  Wynd's tongue traced his teeth.  The meat mom brought was always soft and easy to eat but he'd been practicing on bones and sticks and he was sure he could eat a rabbit by himself.   Of course, they had to find one first. Wynde nodded eagerly as Gabriel mentioned using their noses. "Good idea brother!" Wynelin immediately stuck his nose to the ground and began to sniff everywhere.  He wasn't for sure where rabbits lived but if he could find their scent then he could track it to wherever it live and then they could ambush it.  Wyndelin sniffed… and sniffed some more… aaaand then some more.  He sniffed for whatever felt like forever until suddenly he caught the scent of a rabbit, a strong scent.  Wyndelin sniffed again at the little pellets of rabbit poop, tail wagging as he bounced happily, screeching at the top of his lungs. "GABRIEL!  GABE!  I found poop!  I found rabbit poop!" Yea, he was awesome!  Master hunter!  He found poop and that meant…  Wyndelin pranced around the droppings, brow furrowing.  Ok, he found the scent so now… now they had to track it.  He kept sniffing around unsure where to go.  The scent went to the east and to the west so the rabbit had to have come from one direction, stopped to crap, then gone in the other but… but he couldn't tell which.  Wynde looked to his brother. "Ok, what now?" Gabriel always had the answers! "Talk" "You" Think

Once again Wyndelin took the lead and Gabriel settled into following so he could think. Normally he'd be right up there with his brother trying to make a game out of it but he really was worried their situation. This was a big problem, the biggest problem he'd ever had, and it wasn't like he could run to mom if something went wrong. That was a really scary thought. His brother's sudden screech startled the boy out of his thoughts and made him frizz up like a dandelion. ...Poop? OH! The rabbits! "Oooo, goody!" He sprang forward a step before something occurred to him and he froze with one forepaw in the air. "Wait, is it new poop or old poop?" They couldn't follow old poop. The way Wynde was sniffing around made him think it was new poop. "It's new, isn't it? That's good!" He pranced over and squinted down at the pellets, his gaze occasionally darted to Wynde as he pointed out the trails. "Okay, what now?" His squinting turned into frowning. "Well," he said smartly, "We can either split up OR we can check 'em out one at a time." "Talk" "You" Think

"Smells fresh to me!" Wyndelin the mighty poop finder! The boy was tickled with himself. Maybe Gabriel was right, this hunting stuff wasn't to hard, maybe they could make it til mom came back… if she came back. Wynde couldn't help but hope however, deep down the reality of their situation continued to stir and grow in the pit of his gut. Wynd glanced at Gabe as the boy listed some options. They'd cover more ground if they split up but Wyndelin shuddered at the thought of being separated from his brother as well. He didn't want to be alone! "Let's check them out one at a time!" He didn't want to let on that he was scared to be on his own so he quickly followed up with the best reason he could. "I mean, you said it'd take both of us to catch one right? We should definitely stay together." Wynde put his nose to the ground and furrowed his brow as he circled about two feet around the droppings trying to gauge some sort of timeframe. "Uhh…. lets go this way!" Wyndelin started off to the East, trotting along. "So, any thoughts on how we catch these things? I don't think they fly, they don't have wings so they must be on the ground like us, right?" "Talk" "You" Think