It seemed like the place to be at the time. The quiet of a day was almost more than he could bear. The usual snapping and snarling of his family had become a constant reminder to him that things were not always what they seemed. A kind word could cut more than a cruel one and words have hate could be taken for those of affection. His slate blue eyes watched as his parents loved each other. Snarls and snaps were filled with a strange affection that he could not place. Their bites never bit and blood was never drawn. There were times one or the other mother was left in tears, but never long before those tears were lapped up by a loving tongue. Mother Despoina was harsh, occasionally mean. She provided food and protection. Her body hulky and buff, a fighter and a brawler to her bone. Mother Eleanor was slight and beautiful. Her body feminine though no one would dare call her ‘fragile’. There were curiosities about both of them. Questions that went unasked, would never be answered, but the truths of them accepted none the less. In this world, the only truth was nothing was what it seemed.

Avtandil left the strange quiet of his den and went to the silence of the grotos just outside the boundary of Iromar. He made sure to stay on the trails of the river, careful to remember his way so he could find his way back. Big paws took his puppy body into the darker shadows of the caverns. His body vanished into the darkness, only his blue eyes reflecting the light of the sun. The silence was a comforting noise to the pup and he was able to at last hear himself think. He was far more pondering than any pup should have been, but he was curious about the world around him. The mysteries at home would never be answered, but that said nothing for those abroad. A low sound and a sigh came from the young lad and he settled himself into a corner. He looked out into the world to witness it as his shifted around him.