His chest still felt a little funny, and his throat was still a bit hoarse from coughing, but young Gryphon was finally on the mend, and so was his brother. He was glad - he had very vague recollections of a sister, back when they were all still nursing, who had fallen ill a lot like he and Kharnage had, only she never got better, and then one day she just wasn't there anymore. He'd been afraid that would happen to Kharnage too, that one day he'd just not be there anymore and Mother would be sad again. He was a little afraid for himself too, especially when the fever brought delirium and bad dreams. He was really glad Dragon and Lykos were both all right, anyway, even though he worried when they went away from the den all the time. Dragon had gone all the way to another pack - he heard Mother ground him to the orchard one day a while back. Gryph was worried now every time he left that he'd try it again... but at the same time he was intensely curious. He didn't remember another pack other than Imperium. What were they like? Maybe he could convince Dragon to take him to one... but no, that would be wrong, and it would put Dragon in danger besides. Even if no one got hurt they'd surely get into a lot of trouble when they returned.

Scooting out of the den, Gryphon stretched his sturdy young body, reveling in the sun that filtered through laden trees. Wow, everything had changed since he'd gotten sick. The trees were full of flowers and fruits now, and even the air itself smell thick and sweet like honey. He didn't wander too far from the den. Moving too fast still made him a little woozy, but he was tired of being stuck in the den too, and he wanted to see everything. Carefully he put his paws up on an apple tree and streeeeeeetched upwards. He was astonished to see how far he could reach; he must be almost as tall as Mother now! He hadn't thought he could possibly get up high enough in a tree to investigate all the budding fruit and buzzing bees, but this newfound height of his put a new spin on things. He stared contemplatively at a low hanging branch, wondering if he could pull himself up on it without having a coughing fit.

Finally!!! Momma had passed by and said it was okay to play with his brothers now! Except not too rough...yet. Excitedly, he barreled towards the den in the Orchard, paws drumming on the ground as he raced there. It felt like his brothers had been sick forever! He would surely be glad to finally see Gryphon out and about today. He'd been wanting to be around them, but mom kept them kinda separated in the den so he and Lykos wouldn't get sick. On the way there, he came to an abrupt stop when he came across a fresh rabbit trail. He thought for a moment, Gryphon would like something to eat right? It didn't take long for him to chase it down, although his lanky legs tripped him up once or twice, he had managed to snatch it's legs as it tried to barrel into its den. Pleased with his catch, he trotted happily the rest of the way to their den. Once his brother came into sight, he uttered a muffled bark to catch his brothers attention. "Hey Gryphon! 'ook wha I got for you!" He stopped next to him, dropping the rabbit at his feet. Licking his muzzle, he wagged his tail as he looked at his brother. "Hungry?" "Speech"

Gryphon's ears flicked towards the sound of approaching pawsteps just before the muffled bark of one of his brothers reached him. He immediately dropped back to his paws and spun so his back was to the tree. Having found the possibility of a place all his own, he was reluctant to share it even with one of his brothers. He shuffled his feet as Dragon approached. "Uhh, hey Dragon," he returned, then pricked his ears forward in interest as Dragon dropped a rabbit at his feet. "Wow, you can catch rabbits?" Envy colored his round-eyed gaze as he studied the dead rabbit. He'd been stuck in his den sick for so long, he'd clearly fallen far behind his brothers on the learning curve. He'd apparently missed out on an awful lot. "How'd you do it? Did Mom teach you how?" Man, he'd need to find someone to teach him how to hunt stuff so he could catch up with Dragon, and then he'd be able to hunt for his brothers and mom and take care of them instead of the other way around. He still felt guilty for taking up so much of his mom's time and attention. He wanted to make up for it, but he had a lot of work to do first it seemed.