At first the boy had figured his siblings were playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek, and had simply neglected to tell him he was ?it.? But as time had gone on and Taddeo had been unable to locate his sisters, they had neglected to return at all, despite him loudly declaring at one point that he had given up and they could come out of hiding. That, he had been sure, would bring them out; triumphant grins upon their faces. He had been willing to conceit defeat if only they would stop hiding. That had not happened as it was, and as it turned out there were many more things he would be willing to give up if only they hadn?t hidden themselves away in the first place.
He had been tempted to go off in search of them, but the boy was reluctant to leave his mother alone. Had Valerius still been around he might have been more willing to venture out; despite his age he could tell Emer was taking their loss pretty hard and wasn?t willing to risk losing her as well. Why that thought had never crossed his sister?s minds, he did not know.
The earthy boy was out at the moment, stalking around the edges of the lake, all senses on alert. He was not an exceptional hunter but Emer?s condition had forced him to learn at what was probably a faster pace than for most. Topaz orbs were locked on a small form, a water vole. Hardly a meal but the lake wasn?t exactly abound with prey; Taddeo might have considered fish if his other endeavors hadn?t ended with him soaked to the bone and still hungry.
A vaguely familiar call echoed inside his head and Taddeo lifted his head suddenly, gazing off into the distance. He remained like that for a moment before a familiar form rose from her den and went off to answer it. The vole forgotten, the child turned to follow, cream paws carrying him after his mother. As he arrived after his mother, the child stayed a few paw steps back, watching with some hesitation as his mother rushed forwards to embrace the chocolate male.
"Speech"
