Unlike his sister, Faolán was perfectly content in the dark coziness of the den. It was where all his favorite people were, where safety lived. Curled against his mother and sister, he felt secure, until Eilidh began her wobbly adventure. He watched her suspiciously as she toddled, tumbling down and scrambling back up again. But then she started heading toward The Light, and unease prickled through him. He didn’t know what was out there, and he had no desire to find out.

Except… Eilidh vanished. The Light had taken her!

A string of panicked yips burst from him as he scrambled to his paws, stumbling over himself in a frantic mess. His sister! Slow though he was, he babbled desperately to his mother as he went. Maaa… baba… da… Didn’t they see what was happening?!

Nearer the den’s entrance, his cries turned into soft, fearful whimpers, terror knotting his little chest. But forward he pressed until, at last, his head popped out beside Eilidh’s.

He froze, overwhelmed, shock, horror, awe flooding him all at once. The world beyond was so bright! Strange sounds filled the air, ones he had never heard before. And yet, despite his fear, his little tail began to wag eagerly behind him.