you were a child, crawlin' on your knees toward it , The cool autumn morning found Herne wandering Threar's territory not far from the den. His other siblings seemed to be sleeping at the moment, along with their parents, but the dark sky was lightening to the east and Herne was eager to see a proper sunrise. The air was cool and it had a bit of a bite to it, promising that winter would come soon, but Herne was unworried about the changing of seasons. He had never experienced a winter - he had known only spring, summer, and autumn thus far, and hardly remembered the early days of spring, which had held the same cold temperatures. There wasn't much insulation on Herne's thin frame to keep him warm, and he found himself shivering a little as he sat, tail wrapped easily around his paws. His legs were as gangly as ever, but he had begun to put some muscle onto his frame, and he was growing outwards a little even as he grew upwards. He still was not large for a pup of his age, but he was growing stronger, and that was what really mattered. He found that with each day that passed, he could walk a little further and explore a little more. His endurance was increasing slowly, and as long as he was getting stronger, he didn't really have to worry about how long it was taking. Strength would come with time. The horizon was slowly growing brighter, and colors began to stretch from the east, painting the sky a variety of colors. With every second that passed, Herne found himself growing steadily more distracted by the beauty of the sunrise. The world outside his den never ceased surprising him. It seemed to have a never ending supply of beauty, didn't it? "Speech"

If anyone had considered Herne to be an awkward looking pup then they clearly hadn't taken a look as Aslan as he had grown. There had definitely been times that he looked a little out of proportion, certainly before the growth spurts had really begun the large paws that hinted at the size to come looked ridiculous upon the child. Such stages had fortunately been left behind him now, there was still certainly room left for growth, not that he really needed to grow any taller at all, a rather lanky boy surely all that could be left was to fill out? Somehow of course this was not the case. He had awoken to find a chill at his side in the space his brother had previously occupied. For a moment Aslan assumed perhaps he had stretched out in his sleep and driven his brother to seek comfort elsewhere though lifting his head the chocolate coloured boy would find there was no sign of Herne within the den. A strange scenario, it was still somewhat early and he didn't normally head out on his own. Curious he would carefully rise and make his way to the entrance, stretching before heading outside into the brisk morning air. It wouldn't take him too long to find the smaller Destruction, his fiery toned eyes pointed towards the sky and it seemed oblivious to the rest of the world around him. "Morning Herne." He called out before reaching his brother's side. "What are you up to you?"

Herne had not heard his brother's approach; it wasn't until the other spoke that the youngster realized that Aslan was nearby. Jumping a little, Herne turned his gaze towards his brother, wagging his tail in greeting. "Morning!" His voice was happy as he addressed his brother, and Herne settled back more comfortable on his haunches. There were no other pups in the pack at the moment, which meant that the only young children that Herne had really interacted with were his siblings. Unlike Aslan, Herne had largely been content to stay close to home and he hadn't really wandered enough that he had met any strangers. Ears twitching slightly, Herne offered his brother a slight smile. "I'm watching, mostly." He was still a little surprised by how interesting and wondrous the world outside the den could be. It seemed to have unending surprises; maybe if he explored every inch of the world, it would cease to surprise him so, but Herne almost doubted that. Even if he'd seen every bit of land there was to see, surely there would be a few surprises left. "What about you?" Turning his attention from the world around him to Aslan, Herne pricked his ears attentively towards his larger brother. What had brought the other male out at such an early hour? "Speech"