Small wonders

Sulfur had noticed the difference in how eager his siblings had been to explore their expanded world while he had hung back. He was less certain, clinging to the safety of their father and the comfort of the den. Surely something the others noticed too. All of them had barreled past him and that had only made Sul want to keep even closer to Ignis… but that wasn't what he was supposed to do… otherwise his siblings would have too.

They were all in the den, asleep, save for Sulfur after a day of exploring. The dark forces boy had laid there, but sleep would not come. He kept thinking about that day, watching his siblings play, feeling saddened. Maybe… maybe he had just been too afraid to join them. Those feelings made him sad. He didn’t want to be the odd one out.

Unable to tell if they were asleep by their breathing, Sulfur sat up and watched his family lay there. Finally satisfied no one would notice him, the dark boy slipped from the den.

The smell of the ocean and dark expanse of the sky greeted him, and, for a long moment Sul hesitated at the mouth of the den. The world was so big… and he was small… but his siblings could enjoy it. Shouldn’t he be able to?

He stepped onto the sand. No longer warned from the sun, it was cool under his paws. Bright red eyes flicked down the beach, toward the sparkling water. It was mysterious, and pretty, and it made so much noise as it crashed on the shore and went back out. It seemed further away than it had been earlier - low tide - and drawn toward the water Sulfur began to pick his way along the beach.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad, he thought. The sounds and sights were not as many now. He stepped onto the damp sand, wiggling his toes as he pressed down into it harder. Huh… that was fun! His tail began to flick back and forth as he pounced forward and planted his forepaws down into the sand again, the natural nature of a child experiencing things for the first time lighting up his features. It was okay… he probably just got overwhelmed seeing how good his siblings took to things! He could do this! Sulfur would grin, spinning around as he continued to play with the damp sand.