two roads diverged in a yellow wood

Soft humming announced his presence before anything else could. Then, it would be the cacophony of his oversized paws and unwieldy body crashing through the undergrowth. He wanted to see everything, and meet everyone. Papa had taken them on their first adventure not too long ago, but it wasn't enough. Not by a long shot. There had to be other wolves around here, papa was always talking about their great big family. All of these wolves that, if he ever needed it, would help him. That sounded awesome, and so the young firebird wanted to find them. He was eager to know what kind of family he had, and learn their names. See their faces.

Of course, he had been warned away from those who didn't share his name. The lesser mortal creatures. There were a few inhabiting the pack, and his papa wasn't sure about them quite yet. He said they might be dangerous, or.. unsavoury. Whatever that meant. Regardless, the youngster wanted to meet them too. Even if he might get in trouble.

Toddling towards a bright patch of sunlight that had broken through the vine choked canopy, the youngster continued to hum to himself. He flopped down in the warm ray of light, limbs sprawled out in every direction. A happy panting overtook him, already tuckered out from walking so far from the den. He'd already seen every inch of that place. Here, it was all new. Craning his neck, he stared at the trees high above. How did anything ever get that tall? Would he get that tall? That would be cool. Thumping his forepaws against the ground, he fixed his gaze on something else. Bright cerulean optics zeroed in on a patch of moss growing on the trunk of a tree. It looked pretty soft. He liked how dark the green colour of it was.

"speech"