"Hm. Maybe. And play helps develop skills, I think. I'll need a lot, for what I'm planning..."

"Race to the human village?"

"In human shape. I don't have four legs."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine. So. Race?"

"Sure!" He looks at Rain Wolf. "You gonna turn two-leg?"

She considers this thorny problem, then flops on the ground in a clear 'you guys go on ahead.'

The children line up.

She'll gladly announce the start of the race with a series of howling yips.

Dewie shoots off.

Silver Wolf's fast, too, if a bit slower than Dewie - but he has endurance on his side.

Malen tries her hardest but is neither fast nor particularly good at running very long distances. Walking, sure, but there's not much cause to run on the open plains.

Dewie is fast but trips a few times.

Silver's been around longer, so probably has a big advantage.

Yup.

He skids to a stop outside the human village, then waits for his friends, bouncing a bit.

"You're good," Dewie remarks as he staggers over.

"Been doing this a while! You are too."

"How many days are you?"

"Uh. Lots? Me and Rain Wolf weren't the first, but we were around when the tribes were being formed first thing."

"I'm... fourteen I think?"

"Pretty young, then! Let us know if anyone's being mean, alright, and we'll give you pointers on beating them up, how about?"

"...Thanks. Starting was weird."

"Yeah. Always is. Where'd you start?"

"Deep in the forest. I was days before I saw the sun."