Pagan’s hopeful curiosity started to drain the further he went from the mouth of the den. The woman who summoned him was close, but not close enough for him to skirt back into the darkness. Her tone of voice and demeanor were confusing to him. He had not experienced much attention directed at him, nor attention that was so conflicting. Still, he obeyed her commands, stepping still closer so she could continue her inspection of her. His own ears were perked at her, flickering whenever and spoke to him. She lowered herself to his level and the pup’s nose went forward to sniff at the air between them. Her poise and power warned him not to intrude too far into her personal space. It did not stop him from being curious though.

Cogitesne? He knew that word. His mother had spoken to them in Latin, ensuring he and his sister would grow to be bi-lingual. However, he did not understand. Not only was he still too young to grasp complex ideas through words, but he had not experienced enough in the world to know how it worked. He could feel there was so much missing in his consciousness and answers to questions he had not even thought to ask yet. Ava could not possibly know how desperately he wanted to be able to answer ‘yes’, but it would be a lie on his tongue. He tilted his head, trying to understand. No one explained to him where puppies came from, and he had never known his father. Only mother, grandsire, and cousins. To answer Ava’s question he shook his head. Willed? He asked curiously, his voice gripping onto the word. If he had been created through some force or power beyond them, or beyond any of them there was a chance he could find that power and know it, possibly use it. He could find the parts of his life he was missing and build strength in himself from the shaky ground on which he currently stood.