All Outta Bubblegum (pup training)

Okay, so he was supposed to stay in the den and focus on getting better, but he was quite sick of lying around breathing the stuffy air of the den. Or, maybe it was his nose that was stuffy. But hadn’t Paladin said he would need to get out into the fresh air to help clear his lungs?

So… it was with that excuse that he slipped after his mother a few minutes after she’d gone, and for a moment, he was almost lost, but then her voice called the litter… except him. Cai waffled for a moment, drawing in a foggy breath that ended in a violent sneeze and—bam… he could smell things. He eyed the wad of green and clear goo the sneeze had dislodged to splat against the heather at his paws, then shook himself and trotted toward his mother’s call.

He refused to miss out on a howl that had encompassed almost the whole litter. That kind of call usually meant a lesson, and he was eager to learn. So, it was with a stubborn expression that his chocolate and darker chocolate frame popped out of the mist and heather and he stared at his mother, that serious, determined, steadfast nature showing through fathomless sapphires that so reminded one of his namesake.

“I’m getting better, I think… I can smell things now, and I took my herbs before I left. I’m not missing this, Mom.”

He’d caught Artur’s question, and he’d be… be… he’d be darned… if he’d miss out on something this important.