Sure, he'd been told to stay home, and sure, he wandered straight over the invisible line that marked the edge of their home, but c'mon. You couldn't set up camp this close to a freakin' volcano and not expect your kids to be itching to check it out. It had taken some effort to evade his dad's dogs, and one of mums snow leopards couldn't be too far behind... but when your aunty gave you a donkey, well, it made it easier to avoid leaving the worlds clearest scent trail, at least until the rest of them cottoned on.

Finally far enough away, Steig climbed down off his companions back and surveyed the road ahead, up, and up, and up... If he'd been born anywhere other than on top of a mountain, he might have been put off... but he had been born on a mountain, so this was just another day for him. Bounding forward with reckless abandon, he was intent on making it all the way to the top, and seeing what happened when he threw a rock down into the volcano. If the smell wasn't so awful, he'd probably start singing.

“Speech”

of all his siblings, Steig already worries Styrmir the most. he’s just such a wild card, always scampering off and trying to get into mischief, pushing boundaries and pressing buttons. he certainly knows how to put their parents’ companions to work; Styrmir still remembers that outing with Mother, and how her snow leopards had had to intervene before Steig ventured too far from the group. and now…now he’s crossed Heidinn territory. alone. to explore a freaking volcano. Styrmir can practically feel his whiskers turning grey already.

granted, it’s taken him a while to actually track his brother down, no doubt thanks to that donkey companion their aunt Rota had given him. but when the boy finally stumbles across said donkey waiting at the foot of the mountain, he breathes a sigh of relief and trots over to give it a reassuring pat. “don’t worry,” he murmurs, voice conspiratorial, as though the two of them are long-suffering parents, “i’ll go get him.”

he makes short work of the mountain given his familiarity with the terrain, but he still isn’t able to catch up with Steig until he’s neared the volcano’s crest. by this point he’s become rather nervous by their proximity to the volcano, and all he wants is to grab his brother and head home. “Steig!” he calls out, devouring the remaining space between them in a few bounds. “What in the Gods do you think you’re doing up here?”