Never knew I’d need to say goodbye…

The dappled light of morning was just starting to glow at the entrance to the den when she woke briefly, blinking sleepily for a few moments before turning to curl up tighter facing away from the faint sunlight that beckoned for her to rise. Just five more minutes. Maybe an hour. There was no rush to get up just yet, right? Her muscles were sore from a lengthy hunt the other day, just one of the many ‘perks’ of getting to be old and fragile.

Sleep was almost upon her once more when the soft voice called from outside. Cae’s ears stood to attention and a brow lifted as she was suddenly quite awake. Well, if it wasn’t that wild aspiring adventurer of hers swinging by for a visit for once. Pulling herself slowly to a standing position while her arthritic joints protested, she stretched and yawned before making her way outside. Seeing Caelestis brought a smile to her face almost immediately. When had the girl gotten so tall? It felt like not long before she’d been little enough to pick up, and now here she was almost as large as Zephyr. Hm, actually, Caelestis might be fair competition as far as muscle mass these days.

”Good morning, this is a pleasant surprise,” she greeted warmly, giving the girl an affectionate nuzzle on the cheek before asking, ”What brings you out this way? Tired of seeing the world yet?”