The world always surprised him with how big it was. From the first time light touched his eyes Jude wandered in a state of perpetual bafflement, pressed against the side of his mother or brother just to make sure they would not get swallowed up by the vastness of it. His first winter storms had been rendered all the more impressive because they were the only ones he had seen so far. The fury of the elements had made him tremble and hide away against Byron's steady shoulder, his tiny heart racing so fast that he was sure it would escape if he opened his mouth. But though he feared it, though he quailed in the face of the raging elements, there was a beauty to the violence that he both admired and detested, an allure in the presence of potential disaster that suggested how dangerous it would be to love it too deeply.

On unsteady legs he roamed the windswept sand in the wake of his family, listening and learning without really saying much. Words did not come easily to the young fawn, but his eyes spoke volumes of his impressions whenever they came across something new. Fear always came first, hesitancy in the face of the unknown that only gradually caved in to curiosity, once his brother had tested it out and proved it to be real, safe (well...) and alright. Only when the questions started to form did his tender heart reach out to it, enveloping in within fragile arms to love and explore...

But oh, how he loved the things once he learned to trust them.

This day was no different, but there was something new going on with Mama. There was a determination to her step as she lead them on that he had not seen before, and a flickering something in her eyes not entirely unlike the flashing lights of the storm, or perhaps the big fire that burned in the distance, illuminating the night from far away. As usual Jude said nothing when she stepped away from them and reared up, calling loud and clear for others to come (others? What others could there be, when the world consisted of the three of them...). He was quiet, but he watched her with wide eyes, absorbing every thing she said and did as though his life depended on what would come next.

And perhaps it did.