Draven stopped yet again with a huff, waiting less than patiently as Calanthe slowly caught back up to him. They hadn't even been travelling that long since they'd eaten and left the territory; how come she had to be so slow? Didn't she remember they were going out to meet up with Rose again? If they didn't get there before she did, she might think he'd told her to go to the wrong place, or that she hadn't gotten to the right place yet, and then they would have to find her before they could play - and what if she got hurt before they did?
"Come on, Cal!" he whined, dancing impatiently about on his paws. "You're taking forever! What if she beats us there?" This would all be so much easier if there wasn't the barricade of his own youth still preventing him from coming and going as he pleased - and on his own. If he didn't have to wait for anyone to wake up or stop being busy so that they could chaperone him around, he would be free to sneak away and go to Rose sometimes. Instead Rose kept having to do all the dangerous parts by coming to him, and how was that fair at all? And he wanted to see some of her forest; she'd already gotten to see his a bunch!
Maybe it was weird that he was so excited; he'd only known the girl for a few hours, and the rest of the time, when he wasn't about to go play with her - or actively playing with her - he still sometimes felt really gloomy, sometimes even so much that it could feel like he was scared. But playing with Rose helped him forget everything that was going wrong in the Crest; he figured it was because she was the only person his own age that he could play with anymore - that he even wanted to play with anymore. The sooner they got to where they were supposed to meet up, the better.
Eventually the pair did find the right place. It was a big open space, not broken up by any trees, and a little stream shallow enough for them to splash in without the water reaching their bellies in most places. There were rocks to jump around on, too, if they wanted to - none of them nearly as high as the maple tree, but at least they wouldn't get in trouble with Calanthe again for climbing around on them.
You turn me into a crumbling fool.
Rosen