🌱 The Day Uno Arrived
The forest was unusually quiet.
Tank stood just outside the den, pacing.
One step forward. Two steps back. Stop. Listen.
“Tank,” JJ said gently, pressing a paw to Tank’s side, “she’s okay.”
Tank nodded. Then nodded again. Then stopped nodding and stared at the ground.
“I know,” Tank said. “I just… don’t know how to stand still when something important is happening.”
Inside, Lexus rested. Strong. Focused. Calm in a way that made the forest itself seem to breathe slower.
JJ stayed close to Tank, saying nothing now — just being there. Sometimes that was the best kind of help.
Then, softly, a sound.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just new.
Tank froze.
JJ smiled.
A moment later, Lexus stepped forward, eyes bright, tired, proud.
And there — small, gray and white, wiggling with curiosity before he even understood the world — was Uno.
Tank didn’t move.
JJ nudged him. “Go on.”
Tank stepped closer, lowering himself carefully, as if afraid he might tip the moment over.
Uno blinked.
Stretched.
Let out a tiny sound that sounded like it had opinions already.
Tank laughed — a quiet, surprised laugh.
“He’s… busy,” Tank said.
JJ chuckled. “He gets that from you.”
Lexus watched them both, steady and knowing.
Uno tried to stand.
Fell.
Tried again.
Tank leaned closer. “Easy,” he whispered, not realizing he’d said it out loud.
Uno wobbled, then sat, tail twitching as if the world was already too interesting to wait for.
JJ looked at Tank. “You’re going to have your paws full.”
Tank nodded, eyes never leaving Uno.
“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m ready.”
The forest shifted — not loudly, not suddenly — but in the way it does when something important takes root.
Uno had arrived.
And nothing would be quite the same again.