June 6th, 7:45am, Partly Cloudy, 65F/18C
Tomen is about 3 weeks old, so his ears have risen and he can hear, he is now also very mobile and able to leave the den on his own.
His mother had left the den, this much Tomen became aware of when he awoke to the morning sun streaming in. Not only was her warmth missing but her form as well, no longer blurry but a crisp image of a dark she wolf was what he was used to waking to. Now he had been left for periods of time before, his mother couldn't stay with him constantly and would typically return quickly smelling of food or water. Never before though had he started his day without her familiar sight or without a prompt morning feeding and he was quite hungry.
The dark pup stayed where he was for a few minutes, snuggled into the soft den that had been created for him content for her to return. As the minutes ticked by however his hunger grew and soon an audible rumble was announcing itself from his belly. In the end it was a mixture of this and curiosity that drove the pup from his spot within the comfort of the den. A strange sound was echoing around the trees, perfectly explainable as a woodpecker to an adult wolf but to Tomen it was all new.
As the sound of the bird's beak striking bark continued the only Attaya-Lyall heir approached the entrance of the den and then carried him through it. It was the first time he had been out on the open without supervision and he had neither of the typical reactions a pup might have. Tomen felt no pull to re-enter the den for safety but he also didn't feel the need to push his boundaries and wander off out of sight. Instead he was content to sit just outside of the entrance with his puppy blue eyes searching for the source of the sound. Head tilted back he craned his neck around until he finally spotted the red cap of the bird making the sound. Excited he let out an loud "Agh!" Followed by some high pitched yipping as the bird continued unconcerned about the excitement of the pup below.
You know you can't keep what you take by force
Tomen Attaya-Lyall