grownups need not apply

Sirius made his way past the Fern Gully on his way back home. A string of rabbits tied together tossed over his back. Marshal road shotgun on his shoulders, one talon upon the string to keep them in place. Bast was somewhere in the tall grass, her smaller frame lost to the flowers. He was in high moods after a successful hunt, and was eager to bring home breakfast to his pregnant wife.

He would have strolled on by a fair distance from the pup and been nonthewiser if the snow leopard hadn’t let out a soft chuff in the distance, warning him. He turned towards his companion, weary of what she was reacting to, and trotted towards her. He found her standing a short distance from a small stone crevice, the scent of old squirrel and young pup mixing together. “What have you found, Bast. another addition to lunch?” he teased. His nose was already telling him there was a child hidden in the rocks, and by the scents around him, he didn’t think the parents had been around for a few days. How strange.