Fireheart stared across the Thunderpath, screwing his eyes up and flattening his ears as more monsters screamed past, their bitter wind dragging at his fur and whiskers.
Their eyes remain fixed on the lagoon and the river, waiting for the glint of a hull to come around the bend, straining their ears for the faintest sound of a motor.
His ears were pricked for sounds of the dogs, but for now the forest seemed to be waiting under a suffocating silence, as sinister as any howling or crashing of undergrowth.
Psychologists say that communication is the most important thing in parent-child relationships. Parents should talk to their children but at the same time they should lend an ear to what they have to say.
So perk up your ears, or better yet, call that friend you've always dreamed of living next door to, because we're about to explore the rise of friendship as a possible new cornerstone of life.