He trots around, smelling about until he does indeed catch the scent of his sister…the best of sisters! The one who protects him from bugs! The horrid cicadas were not around at the moment, thank goodness, driven off by the rain….for now. He wondered if they would be back…the horrors!

A glance at his paws brought a wrinkle to his nose. Mud! It was so hard wanting to be clean AND all over the place at the same time. He wanted to explore, dig, and see the world no matter the weather. But…this made him dirty. Sad! What was a boy to do?

Almost completely forgetting where he was going and why, he started to wander towards a place to cleanse his feet off when he heard the voice of his sister. He perked up again, turning his head towards her direction. Immediately he burst off, legs rushing him towards the direction of her voice.

He came around the corner, a creature of strange grace, his limbs awkward at this age but once could tell he had great potential. Untapped potential. Very untapped as he swung around, tripping over his paws then and tumbling into Shuyan under the overhang. He honestly didn’t see her, but quickly he flopped over on the ground and gave her a sheepish smile.

Shuyan! I missed you! he exclaimed, rolling back towards her, rubbing his back on the ground. It felt so GOOD. It helped with an itch. Eyes opened wide. Have you ever done this, Shuyan? It gets all the itches! he proclaimed, rubbing his shoulders in with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

He realized not the little visitors traveling with him.