i've gained freedom and yet... its lonesome

Imogen wasn't that far from home. The falls where the family's hut was was just a hop skip and a jump away... If you didn't count the amount of time it took to climb in and out of a canyon... And Imogen didn't. Besides she recognized the shape of Trill as the jay fluttered around above her. It was probably fine. Probably. Imogen wasn't gonna go far... But if course at her age it was much harder to really understand distance, especially when excitement and adventure were overpowering all good intentions.

The girl stopped practically every 5 steps or so to poke her snout into every crevasse in the wall or to watch every small animal scurrying out of sight. Somehow it never lost its novelty for her, even though about the only differences in holes she'd found was shape and scent. As she moved a completely new scent started to catch her attention. It was definitely a wolfy smell, but not one she recognized. What if it was the big bad flower stealers again? Never mind the scent was completely foreign to her meaning it couldn't have been the pack that had left their stink all over Norad in the aftermath of the raid, realizing that would require more critical thinking than her excited mind could manage right now. So when a form finally came into view, a pup around her own age, even if quite a bit bigger than herself already, poking around at a purple flower covered bush Imogen's suspicions were confirmed!

"Back to steal more flowers are ya?" Not that he could, the canyon wasn't owned by anyone but Imogen had been itching to defend her family since that day. She was doing a terrible job. Her words might have been harsh if her face hadn't broken out into a wide grin and her tone been more playful than threatening. For a moment she stood rod still, legs wide and tail straight up behind her, then she dropped into a play bow and with a teasing growl started bouncing from side to side, hoping she and this other kid were about to play some kind of game. Truely Norad's staunchest defender.