trust me, this is an intellect seasonal

The campfire flickered and danced, casting a pleasant orange glow across the bamboo grove as Hattori sat beside it, waiting. He had called for Kina and was waiting for the girl to make her way over here. The children were learning fast, but still took some time navigating their home, with its twists and turns he understood it was not so easy to move from A to B. But he expected his children to learn, as everyone else had who now called the maze home. He had been thinking how Kina reminded him of his mother, how their coats were similarly pale and soft, dappled with gentle splodges unlike the crisp edges of Hattori's markings. He often wondered what Kiyo would make of his family, those she hadn't yet met. Or why she hadn't returned. Of course, he respected her choices to live as she pleased, but he did find himself wondering when the night was still and quiet. The wind rattling the longer bamboo shoots

He turned slightly as he sat, hearing the sound of small paws approaching.