She nurtured him alongside her brood of mewling cubs, tending to the shivering orphan with all the compassion of his absent mother. When he cried for food, she allowed him to feast. When he yowled in pain, she tended to his wounds. When the frost of the night kept him awake, she huddled close to him to protect him and his dreams. As far as he knew, this was his true mother, a creature willing to protect him when his true kin did not, a mission she would pay dearly for.

She had always kept him aware that he was different than her other cubs, forcing the child to walk upon two legs and to make use of his nimble fingers. A frustrating road it was to learn the techniques of his unique form, but the boy mastered them nonetheless. Soon he began to experiment, finding his hunting capabilities to be much more sophisticated than his adoptive brothers and sisters. Not only could he leap onto his prey and use his hands to grasp and pull his quarry to the ground, he could create tools that could pierce hide and snare small animals. The child was overtaken by curiosity, his thoughts questioning if he belonged with such creatures. But who then would he reside with? Certainly not his own kind. They had abandoned him, leaving a poor babe to shiver and die in the icy wind. The boy needed answers, and nothing would impede that goal.

He had little in the way of belongings, so it was a minor task to gather them. The true test came when it came time to say farewell. She pleaded with him not to go, constantly tugging at the hides that he wore in an effort to pull him back home. But both mother and child knew that nothing could be done, and that it was to benefit both of their lives. Quietly trudging into the icy wind, the boy set off into the unknown. He felt something wet upon his cheek. Was this how his form prepared for a long journey? He decided to stick with that assumption, rather than the undeniable truth welling in his heart. This was his journey, and nothing would stand in the way of him and his true identity.