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Shadow sniffed around the trees excitedly, barely staying still long enough for anything to really register. He had finally escaped his parents notice and was out exploring on his own for the first time. He nosed a flower and licked it when he saw it bend. Deciding it wasn't to his liking, he pressed on. It never occured to him that he might get lost or that he would never find his way back, he was too excited for that. When he thought he was far enough away to make noise without his parents noticing, he tried out a howl, which came out as a small and squeaky whistle, unlike his father's strong and melodious tune. He was disapointed but soon lost intrest when he saw a few robins twittering and hopping from branch to branch. He kept his head up, his eyes never leaving them, and followed them, tripping many times.

Shadow jumped when he heard a sudden shrill noise and he ran for cover from a nearby tree. After a few moments of silence, he mustered up his courage and padded closer. He was surprised to see it was a small pup, like himself. Female. He puffed up his fur, like he had seen his parents done, to make himself look fearsome. It only made him look like a giant cotton ball but he couldn't see himself and didn't notice. He hoped she didn't notice that he had run away before, especially because she was a girl. Trying to sound brave, he asked, "Who are you?"

He wasn't sure if he felt happy or worried that he looked so fearsome. It was hard to keep himself stiff and pretty soon, his fur lowered again, ruffled a bit. "Y-You're crying?!" he asked, shocked. He flattened his ears and padded back and forth. What would his parents say if they found out he had made a girl cry? "I'm sorr--" he started, but stopped. "Kill you?" he asked. After a while, he said, "Don't worry, I won't." when he realized she really did believe him to be some kind of monster. He nosed her side, hoping she would stop crying soon so that if someone came by they wouldn't see the tears on her face and think it was his fault. Because it wasn't. Right?

"Like 'them'?" he asked, confused. "Like who?" He was surprised when she came closer to him and leaned against him, even. He backed away slowly, not wanting to make her cry again but not used to her prescence, either. He was starting to get nervous, and worried, too. What was she talking about? "I won't leave you," he said, grasping at anything he hoped would make her stop crying and coming closer. "Where are your parents anyways?" he asked, now that she brought it up.

Shadow could only stare, shocked. He had heard about the word death, of course, and it's meaning. He knew that others were sad when one died, but the possiblity of it, the fact that it was actually real, had never occured to him, especially the death of ones family, the ones you've been with your whole life. He padded closer and after a moments thought, laid down next to her, nuzzling her muzzle. "It's alright," he said softly, the way his parents had when he lost his favorite bone to play with. "I'll protect you." he told her, although his paws were trembling at the thought. They didn't sound as sincere, as if they were words he just said to make her feel better. Not wanting to stay too long on the subject of death and misery, he got up and snagged a nearby flower, plopping down in front of her and brushing it's petals across her nose.

He smiled, glad that the flower helped make her feel better. He soon forgot the conversation before and continued to tickle her with it, starting to laugh. He headbutted her back, dropping the flower, not wanting to be out-done, and pounced on her before replying with a, "My name's Shadow!" His tail thumped on the ground in playfull challenge and he pawed at her sides. The thought of his parents, siblings, and dangers were completly erased from his mind as their play-fighting wore on. He got off of her after a while and sniffed around frantically, excited. "Want to go explore?" he asked her, wagging his tail.

He tilted his head a bit when she stopped and folded her ears back. Would she say no? He wagged his tail when she finally told him she'd come and he said, "Alright." before setting off. He puffed out his tail and walked straight, his legs slightly stiff. He was trying to show off and to top it all, he was attempting to sound intelligent, too, by describing some things they passed by in the forest. What he didn't realize, was that many things he said was wrong, such as the supposed praying mantis that was really a grasshopper and the mushroom cap that he said was a turtle's shell. When they reached a stream, he leaned down and took a sip, feeling proud of himself.

"Um... well, I'm not sure actually." he said, laughing nervously. This was his first time in the forest, after all. His parents usually kept him in the fields, where they could keep watch on him and his siblings better. "Any place you'd like to go?" he asked, hoping she would pick a place he knew. He realized that his parents were probably far away by now but he wasn't worried. Not yet at least. He figured he could just walk back the way he came from, around the tree with the moss, past the brown fungi, and so forth. Plus, he was still intrested in explorning and he flicked his ears, trying to locate an intresting sound.