One morning young Kenji got into an argument with his parents and declared that he was running away from home. His parents decided to play along and helped him pack everything he thought he would need into his backpack, and waved goodbye from the front door, sure that he would be back for lunch. Lunchtime came and passed with no sign of Kenji, and with the afternoon slipping away his parents began to worry. What if he had suffered an accident, or been attacked by wild animals in the woods, or worse, joined the circus and become a clown - how could they live with the shame of their only son becoming a clown?
Deciding they had waited long enough they set out to find their son. They checked with all his friends and talked to the neighbours but no one knew where he was. They checked with the circus too, but the ringmaster told them he had not recruited any new clowns, so with the cold winter day drawing to a close they resolved to search the woods that night. After a couple of hours of working their way deeper into the forest, shouting Kenji's name every few minutes the only light left came from the torch they carried and the full moon filtered through the trees. Kenji's parents were exhausted and ready to head home until dawn when they heard a faint cry in response to their shouts. Reinvigorated, they charged off in the direction of the cry, certain they had finally found their lost son. After stumbling and sliding down a steep bank they reached the source of the cries, only to find themselves face-to-face with a wolf and her cubs. Realising their mistake, they were backing off when a loud growl from behind froze them in their tracks. Turning slowly, the found the rest of the pack had arrived, with a hungry look in their eyes. "Run!" Kenji's Dad yelled, and they started to scramble back up the bank, but they were exhausted and the wolves had no trouble catching and eating them.
Kenji enjoyed his new career as the apprentice lion tamer, and spent many years with the circus before returning home to stake his claim to the Dragon throne, plunging the realms into battle.
I am entering for Battle Realms + Winter of the Wolf, in case you had not worked it out.