Ranyin watched the little green creature disappear into another patch of grass only for it to spring again a heartbeat later. She followed it with her eyes for a moment, waiting for it to do something more interesting. Instead it clung to another blade, and remained perfectly still her ears flicked once before a small, unimpressed huff escaped her nose.

There were too many new things pressing at her senses to spend all day staring at an insect, the smells alone seemed endless and every breeze carried something different. The world was so much larger than she'd imagined, and she'd barely taken a dozen steps into it. Almost unconsciously, her gaze drifted back toward the den.

Their mother still hadn't moved. Ranyin stood there for a long moment waiting for something. A voice, a sigh; anything that might suggest she'd noticed they were inching farther and farther from the place they were supposed to stay.

But surprise surprise; nothing came.

An ache settled in her chest, one she'd grown used to carrying but never understood. She swallowed it down before it had the chance to become anything else, forcing her attention away from the den. ...Guess we're allowed she wasn't entirely convinced that was true, but if their mother cared enough to stop them, she would have done so already.

Turning back to Tai she gave a small flick of her tail toward the trees beyond the clearing. C'mon

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