His siblings were all so... energetic. Salem coughed at the cloud of dirt that Hawthorne shook off his pelt, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Of course we are. That's what momma said." He turned towards his mother as she confirmed that, yes, they were going all the way to the top-- and he gave his brother a triumphant grin for knowing something that he didn't. Though, there still remained the question of where his sister Thistle had gotten off to. She was always running around and exploring, doing one thing or another. It made his head spin to think about. He was content with these more structured adventures, and sticking close to the den and his mother all the other times. He supposed, in that way, he was different from his family.

Salem blinked as Thistle seemed to appear out of nowhere, bumbling into sight before them and spitting out a pebble at his paws. Despite the absurdity of the action, the boy gave her a genuine smile. These pebbles were important to her, for whatever reason, and he had never been one to rain on anyone's parade. "Thanks, Thistle." His voice was warm, a bit gravelly, higher pitched in his youth. It was, however, quite full for one his age. He looked around at his gathered family members and hoped that his father would be making an appearance too. Perhaps it was looks or build but he felt a strong connection with Alistair despite the male not being entirely present in their lives. Salem couldn't blame him, though. His father was a very busy and very important man in the forest, so he'd been told.

To his quiet delight, however, Alistair appeared shortly after. Salem pressed his nose into the underside of his father's jaw as the male bent down to greet him. "Dad, I don't cause trouble!" He said earnestly, his large, pointed ears pressing back against his skull. In fact, it was more likely that Hawthorne and Thistle made up all of the trouble. It wasn't fair that he was lumped in with the lot of them! He huffed under his breath before turning towards the trail leading past the den and up the mountain. They'd grown up here, they were used to the rocks and the inclines, but he supposed it made sense that his father wouldn't be very good at mountain climbing.

"Will it be really cold up there? I'm sure we can all keep each other warm. Salem said, before bounding forward up the trail. Though he preferred the safety of the densite, he had no shortage of energy. It was going to be a very grand adventure!
Salem
some speak of the future