My tail began to wave back and forth across the stone floor that I laid upon, mahogany eyes shifting between each of the pups as their excitement at the prospect of visiting a bear cave built. While the ostensible destination was a bear cave, the likelihood of actually encountering a bear was slim. Fortunately it was late enough in spring that any bears who had hibernated on the mountains had already vacated their winter accommodations and headed to lower altitudes in search of food to fill their bellies. But that was something for the pups to learn along the way. I smiled as Swifttalon licked at my face and Melee bounced on her paws with anticipation. Eldrax was quick to encourage that they get going, and when all three pups were positively chomping at the bit to get going I laughed lightly and joined them, long legs striding to lead the way.

They jested about the possibility of chasing a bear, and I chuckled. "They may not look it, but a bear can run pretty fast. But when you're full grown you'll be able to outpace them easy." They danced around my paws as we set off, and I smiled down at them. Of course their excitement had them bursting at the seams, and before long the girls were burning off that energy by running up ahead. Their brother lingered behind, however, taking up a rear guard position. I glanced back at him occasionally, thinking he was growing up to be a fine young gentleman already, even if he did like to tease his sisters every once in a while. He reminded me of his father a great deal, and my heart swelled with pride.

My ears pricked forward at the sound of a sneeze, gaze lifting to up ahead just in time to see Melee knocked onto her rear end. Laughter was quick to follow, and I shook my head lightly in amusement as I reached the pair. Lowering my head, I too took a quick sniff of the flowers that Swifttalon had found, winking my approval to her before continuing on. Eldrax was quick to answer his sisters' queries as to whether we were nearly to the cave, moving my lowered head to nudge him with my muzzle. "Nearly, just a bit further." To which her grandson responded by running ahead and discovering the mouth of the cave. Anticipating the girls' coming excitement, I took up a jog and reached the entrance to the cave with them.

Eldrax stood next to a paw print left in the dirt, asking if I thought it was recent. "If you look closely, you can see the cracks in the sides of the print. The bear left the cave when the soil was a bit muddy, but now its dried and cracked. He probably left here a week or two ago, heading for lower ground to fill his empty belly with grass and fish." I waited a moment to see if any of them had questions, then turned to the yawning mouth of the cave and the looming darkness within. "Shall we?" I asked with a smile, looking down at the children and then moving inside the cave. It wasn't overly deep, so a little light seeped in from outside. It was, for the most part, like a giant version of a wolf's den, but the smells and bedding materials were a bit different. I walked deeper into the cave, letting the children explore and discover at their will, ready to answer any questions they might have.