Morning's Light

The hour was early but that didn't matter to the boy; he didn't consider the terror that would burst in to existence in his mother's heart, either. Many aspects of life were still distant from him - but that was how children survived. Jacques was a playful thing. He was innocent, and hungry to learn about the odd things outside of the den. While not an outright ambitious boy, he was quite advantageous as his body grew bigger and stronger. Jacques had begun leaving the den during his mother's restful hours, often on his own and without any form of supervision. It was a terribly dangerous thing for a child to do, but Jacques was oblivious to the dark nature of the world. He just wanted to extend his grasp of understanding; although perhaps not in those terms. As soon as the morning light had begun filtering through the den's mouth, he had awakened. His violet gaze locked upon the spiralling dust as it danced up towards the light, and the boy eagerly rose to his paws to follow it.



It was chilly outside, but Jacques was not mindful of the cold. He plodded along with his eager, reaching steps - his legs often going too fast for his body, resulting in a stumble or a fall. A number of these moments occurred, but like any bouncing baby boy, Jacques just got right back up again with a solemn little chirp, and kept moving. This continued for a solid twenty minutes, and the majority of the time Jacques tumbled in circles. He managed to make it to the edge of the world, which was a big feat for the child (although he was not aware it was just a small stream, a safe little nook of water that pulsed by him). Maman had showed it to them a few times, and every time Jacques was amazed by the colors - by the movement of the water, the feeling of the fluid as his paws touched the surface; it was all very magical.



On this fine morning Jacques was still half-asleep. The cold of the water was a shock to his system, and brought about a myriad of squawks and whines as he stumbled in reverse, and then plopped his rear down upon the grass. His noises would have been enough to alert a passing predator - but to his glee, it was not a predator that found him, but his mother. "Jacques, playing without me? And here I thought I was your favorite?" She cooed, with an affectionate little nudge, and he let out a little giggle. "Mama!" he chortled happily, with an accompanied lifting of his forelimbs - perhaps he was trying to hug her? - and then he lost his balance, and rolled on to his back like a fat and fluffy egg.