Sneezies and sniffles

Jiro was feeling sheltered. Not that he hadn’t been allowed to roam other lands before his first birthday, but after meeting non-familial wolves, he was beginning to wonder what else he didn’t know. Each day he would venture a bit farther, stay a bit later, until he was eventually spending a few days away from the maze at a time. With the change of seasons bringing rains and chilly breezes, he noticed with it the sudden bloom of late season flowers and clouds of pollen.

His own sneezes would alert others to his presence as he walked along the sloping falls and creek. Nostrils dripping slightly and his eyes feeling itchy the further he wandered through the territory, he wondered if maybe it were the reeds that grew along the water. Turning east through the cedars, he moves away from the water and toward a flowery meadow hidden within the grove.

Paws knock the flowers about, pollen rising into the air, further making his nose itch. As one more big sneeze leaves him, he gives his whole body a shake and a throat clearing cough. Rubbing his eyes with a paw, he blinks away pollen and dust to see a small winged wolf not far away. The other boy didn’t look any better than he was feeling either. ”You getting the worst of it too?” Jiro calls out in his stilted common tongue, approaching the stranger with puffy eyes and lazy grin.