After weeks of tension, the pack finally meets the responsables that have been hiding away in their territory, when Ashlen and Shivo decide to patrol the borders of their territory.
Glawn paces around the den, ignoring the pointed look that Lannel throws at her.
She feels nervous, looking up almost every second in hopes that Ashlen and Shivo would appear in the path, the dark wolf throwing her a smile and telling her that nothing had been spotted today. Ashlen had been particularly stressed by the fact that some strangers were living in their territory, and while not as stressed, Glawn felt the same in some way, on edge all the time as she scouted or helped with the hunts.
It was difficult not to, the knowledge that there were strangers that believed themselves strong enough to simply waltz into their territory without a care, and could be anywhere, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush them? Yeah, absolutely not a good thing. Should they go find them? It was still day, but she knew that very quickly it could become night, the dusk barely a speck of time that always catches her off guard.
“Glawn, sit down, you’re gonna leave a trail in the dirt” Lannel complained, probably annoyed from watching her pace nervously. “They are gonna come back soon, don’t stress about it.”
“Oh, I know, but what if something happened?” Glawn said, her eyes fixed onto the trail where the others would come back, “What if they found the other wolves or, or some bear attacked them?”
“They will be fine, Glawn, Lead was capable of defending themself against a bear alone, they are more than capable of fencing off a bear with my brother.”
“But it’s late, Lannel, and you know Ashlen doesn’t like staying outside when it is so close to night time,” Glawn whined, refusing to look elsewhere and missing the look Lannel threw at her.
They stayed in silence for a few more minutes, Lannel simply closing his eyes and enjoying the peace while Glawn looked and hoped for Ashlen and Shivo to come back. She sighed, and continued to wait, managing to stay down for a few minutes before getting up and continuing to pace around the den, feeling too anxious to stop moving. This continued on similarly for some time, ignoring the annoyed looks her packmate threw at her once again, when the other, finally annoyed, stood up and sighed.
“Alright, okay, let’s go find them,” Lannel said, annoyed, “I bet they just took some time looking at a river, or something.”
Glawn nodded, and silently thanked the other for putting up with her, as she started to sniff around, following the old tracks the others had left behind. They walked in silence, following closely behind the tracks, trying to ignore the unease slowly filling them up. If asked, they wouldn’t be able to say exactly what caused it, simply on edge and uneasy as they progressed more and more into the deep of the territory, until they started to find more recent tracks.
Glawn paused, unsure, as she looked at the path. Something wasn’t right, but what? She looked around, trying to hear, but everything was silent. Silent.... Glawn looked up, perplexed, where were the birds? It was not normal for the animals to not be around the forest, normally singing up a racket everytime she or anyone of the pack passed by. Then, she heard it, in the distance, so low she could have missed it if she had not been paying attention. Barking was ahead, and she straightened up, fur instantly bristling, Lannel following suit once he also heard the noise.
They approached, making sure to not make any noise, until they could clearly hear Shivo’s voice, as he barked and growled at someone. Lannel tensed, and after sharing a brief look with her, they jumped forward, Glawn barely hiding her shock as she entered the clearing where the rest of her pack was. Shivo was injured, bleeding profusely from his face, standing close to Ashlen, who looked like a breath away from collapsing.
“Guys!” Shivo exclaimed, relieved at their arrival, “Oh, how glad I’m that you found us!”
Lannel nodded, briskly, and stood next to him, clearly shaken from how injured his brother seemed. Glawn took her time, checking Ashlen over, who scoffed and simply nudged her forward, hoping she could help them deal with the strangers. Shivo was.... Abrasive, to say the least, and not the best negotiator, so Glawn wasn’t that surprised that they had ended up fighting. And Ashlen didn’t know how to communicate with anyone, apparently, as she watched the other wolf look at her with hopes of resolving the problem. She straightened and stood up to the front.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, ignoring the shocked looks the wolves threw at her, “This is our territory, and we do not appreciate intruders here, specially, intruders who have been living here for weeks without showing any face.”
She took the time to examine the strangers, noting how similar to her own coloring they were, the three wolves in different hues of golden fur. They looked familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint the why.
“Glawn?!” The oldest exclaimed, stepping forward and easily ignoring the warning growls her pack gave her, “You’re alive!”
She paused, unsure on how to proceed, and looked confused back at Ashlen. She… Who were these wolves? Likely sensing her confusion the wolf called her over, ignoring the guarded looks Ashlen threw her.
“It’s me, Honsu!”
Honsu? But…
Oooh,she thought internally, That’s why they are familiar.
“We thought you died! You got separated from the group in that storm and no matter what, we couldn’t find you!” Honsu exclaimed, the she-wolf looking happy at her, “Is there anyone else with you? Any of our siblings?”
“Uh, no, sorry” Glawn said, awkwardly, “Only me.”
“Oh,” Honsu deflated, looking sad before shaking it off, “No matter, I’m so glad you are okay!”
“Glawn… Who are they?” Ashlen asked, looking confused at the exchange, voice rough and with a lisp as they tried to emulate as closely as possible the words to the local dialect, and failing horribly once again.
“Oh, um. These are my siblings” Glawn said, ignoring the shocked look both Lannel and Shivo threw her, “This is Honsu, and the other two behind are Clower and Aursa.”
Honsu scoffed at the looks they threw at her, and nudged Glawn, full out ignoring how tense her sister was.
“Well, let’s get going then. We have so much to tell you.”
“What?” Glawn asked, nervously.
“Well, these guys have a problem with us being here, so let’s go. You know this place, right? You must know very good places to stay!” Honsu exclaimed, throwing a despective look at her pack, “These mutts must be bad company, come on.”
“I—Honsu, I can’t leave!” Glawn said, almost horrified and irked at the way she had referred to the others, “You can’t just, just slide in and tell me what to do!”
“Why not? I’m the oldest” Honsu huffed, offended, “And they have a problem with us, so we have to leave.”
“I—” She hesitated, “It’s going to be winter soon, we could die out there without shelter!”
“We’ll make do,” Her sister said, “We surely will find something, me and Clower need to find a good place anyways.”
Glawn blinked, and looked closely at her sister, noticing how more rounded she looked, despite the almost skeleton way her fur clung to her body, and how Clower looked to the side, embarrassed, looking the same way as her sister.
“You’re pregnant!” She exclaimed, surprised, “I—We—No! We have to stay!”
She turned around, ignoring the protest of her sister.
“Ashlen, surely they can stay, right? My siblings are pregnant, can they stay for the winter, please?” She almost begged, “Please?”
“...Sure?” Ashlen said, shrugging, “It’s your family, and I know how much you miss them, of course they can stay with us for a while.”
“Guys?” She turned to look at Lannel and Shivo, who both shrugged, clearly confused, and she took that as an agreement.
“Glawn we will not stay with them!” Her sister demanded, ignoring the wary looks the rest of her siblings threw at her.
“Oh, please? You’re pregnant, and so is Clower! You need to rest, to eat, you look exhausted!”
“Glawn, no!” Honsu said.
“Honsu, we’re exhausted. And you cannot afford to stay outside,” Clower muttered, their voice low yet stern, “We should accept their offer, we are barely surviving as it is.”
Honsu’s face softened, as she looked at her sibling, and nodded, suddenly looking more tired than before.
“Yeah, okay. We'll stay.” She accepted, “Only for winter, but we’ll stay.”
Glawn nodded, and slowly started to guide her siblings back to her home, Ashlen trailing faithfully behind her.
Meanwhile, the brothers looked at each other in confusion at the resolution of the events, both having been prepared to continue fighting or simply leaving but not to the strangers that had been living in their territory to simply be invited into their home, no questions asked.
“Did you know she had sisters?” Lannel whisper yelled at Shivo, who shrugged confused, “What in the name of the Moon is this?”
“Dunno, Lan, dunno” Shivo said, before nudging his brother, “Come on, let’s just get back home. My legs are killing me.”
Glawn makes an unsettling discovery while exploring the edges of the pack territory
Content Warning: Mentions of dead baby animal.
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When Glawn manages to get out of her den, the sun is fast approaching midday, it’s unforgiving rays pelting her coat with its warmth, as she stretches and yawns widely. She had gotten back home late last night, and had woken up late, it seemed, as she peered around in search of any of her packmates.
The den was without a single soul, although it wasn’t that unusual. Everyone mostly met at dusk and at dawm, spending most of their free time exploring and hunting for supplies, enjoying the Summer while it lasted. Ashlen barely spend any time inside, all of their waking hours spent scouring the territory, always on edge. Glawn didn’t quite understand why, after all, their territory was mostly secluded, up in the mountains, far away from any clearing or thick forest with prey, nobody would want to be here.
Not feeling particularly hungry, Glawn set off to scout, following the same ritual she had been following since she had arrived at this wilderness, with no humans in sight, the instructions Ashlen had given her still clear as if it was yesterday when it was said.
Follow the river down the mountain, until you brushed against the edges of the grasslands below, had Ashlen said, as they laid together on the floor, back against back, muzzle against muzzle, and then simply follow the edge, stepping between the forest and the valley, before coming back through the mountains, see what lays beyond, what is around. That, is the job of a scout.
Of course, she now sometimes strayed more far, letting the wind guide her into stranger places with even stranger animals, the likes she didn’t remember seeing before. But it was a good change, she had decided long ago, it was a good change despite everything. She jumped between the rocks, claws providing grip against the slippery surface of rocks covered with moss, following the small stream that was near the den and that flowed down to the main river that led into the grasslands.
She paused after a few hours, laying down across a fallen log, the moss tickling her fur as she closed her eyes and took a small break. She felt some apetite, but not enough to want to eat, since the pack had fed on a carcass barely a few days ago, Shivo had been so proud, carrying the ram back home all alone.
He had improved greatly since the start of summer, all of Ashlen’s lessons finally showing results. The first tie he had finally managed to kill something bigger than a porcupine, the whole pack had celebrated, the bashful wolf showered in praise. And it was no small feat, considering that a season ago Shivo barely had been able to stalk a bird. Ashlen had crowned him an official hunter of the pack, going off about... something, Glawn couldn’t quite remember honestly. Something about wild packs? And worth? It was all blurry, she had been more preocupied with stuffing her mouth full of ram than listening Ashlen ramble about wild packs.
It was nice, how worried Ashlen was about trying to teach the pack about living in the wild. They worried immensely about the pack, constantly offering tips and suggestions, even despite half the pack barely managing to understand them. It... It was nice, Glawn decided, standing up to continue on with the scouting, it was really nice.
It is by now late afternoon, and she decides to check out only the next sector before going back home, still tired despite how much she slept. She is now approaching the place where the stream connected to the river and then diverted south, one of the last places before the mountain started levelling down and connected to the grassland. Slowing down, Glawn sniffs the air, ears standing up as she checks if anything is nearby. This place is more filled with animals, thanks to the abundance of water, and she doesn’t want to find herself face to face with a wolverine or a bear.
The coast is mostly clear, although there is a sickly sweet scent in the air. Confused, Glawn follows the track, carefully stepping around the moss covered floor, until she finds herself at the feet of a giant tree. The smell is stronger, and it is with a startle that she recognizes, finally, the scent of meat rotting. She circles around the tree, hoping to find the carcass, but it is fruitless, nothing to be found besides piles of dead twigs and leaves.
It smells like sickness, rotten meat left to the bugs, and strangely, of fur. It... It smells of wolf.
But how? It doesn’t smell like anyone in the pack, and when she looks around in the floor, she cannot find any tracks indicating where the strangers could have gone. Glawn frowns, and sniffs deeper, ignoring how the smell almost burns her nose with the intensity. There! Scratching at the dead leaves, she empties a small mound and stops, freezing in her tracks at the sight.
There is a dead pup half buried in the dirt.
She hesitates, and looks up, as if she would be now ambushed by some wolf, but the place is empty, only the sound of the rushing water filling the silence. The pup is small, very much so, fur decaying already, the scent of sickness so clear it makes her mind spin. It cannot be older than a few days, half saved from rotting faster thanks to the shade the dirt offered, but why is it here? Why is there a dead pup in their territory? She passed less than a few days ago by, and there hadn’t been any signal that this could have happened.
She buries the wolf pup again, a half stuck whine in her throat as she covers the innocent pup laying in the dirt. A pack was here, must have been here recently, and had left the pup half buried in their haste. It raised the hair on her tail the thought of a pack, having been so close to their den, without having any clue about it. It made her feel vulnerable, a hollowing and cold feeling in her chest.
She... She needed to tell Ashlen about this.
Glawn turned tail and ran back, tail tucked between her legs, jumping over the logs, paws hitting against the forest floor as she ran as fast as she could back home.
[Image Description: Timeline, the Azka Pack: Spring.
It goes: Spring ends, summer starts.
Next point says: Shivo becomes a proficient hunter, managing to kill his first deer.
Next point: Glawn finds a dead pup buried at the edge of the territory.
Next point: Ashlen gets injured; Ashlen gets into a fight with a bear, resulting in a injury that leaves them forced to rest for the rest of the season.
Next point says: Glawn takes leadership while Ashlen heals, making Lannel start searching for herbs to help.
Final point reads: Summer ends, Fall starts. End ID]
A little timeline of what the pack has been up to in their first spring! The idea from the pack timelines comes from @thesanctuarypack, so go check their timelines out!!
Born from a very big family, Glawn used to live without any worry in a sanctuary. Part from a breeding repopulation project, Glawn spent most of her life used to humans, life contained within the walls that formed the pen where she lived with her family.
Used to being surrounded by lots of other wolves, all of glawn’s family had been bred in captivity, with the exception of Glawn’s father, who had been a rescue. Although a little cramped place, Glawn lived happily in the sanctuary until she reached adulthood.
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Once Glawn became an adult, the humans started to act weird. They would slowly stop appearing around the pen, food already there when they left their den, everything already cleaned, and so on. Puzzled, Glawn’s family continued on with their lives, trying to not show the unease that it was filling them.
Every day was the same here, so this change was abrupt and out of the normal for them, causing them unneeded stress. The only wolf who managed to keep their cool was Glawn’s father, who had never managed to completely relax around the humans. Her father commented to her that this was a good change, as they walked around the perimeter in uncomfortable silence.
“This,” he had said, looking for the first time relaxed, “This could mean something good Glawn, do not fear change or it will always catch you off guard”
Life continued, as normal as it could be when the food stopped being brought dead and live prey slowly started being introduced, as humans fully stopped entering their territory, as they heard more and more sounds just outside their walls. They ignored it as best as they could, adapting to these strange changes in their once static territory.
One day, the prey that appeared was weird. It smelt like what litters used to smell before, and the goat did not struggle once while it was moved or killed. They ignored it, as they did with everything before it, and ate. It was not until hours later that Glawn woke up, disoriented and dizzy in a moving crate.
The air was crisp and cold, her breath appearing before her eyes for the first time ever. She could hear her siblings waking up around her, in similar crates, but no one could find a trace of their parents. Once everyone woke up they did a headcount, noticing that half of their siblings weren’t with them. Outside their cages, everything smelled strange and new, and one of her sisters even reported seeing the ocean nearby.
It was not until hours later when Glawn and her siblings were finally freed from their cages. They stood dizzy and warily there, as they watched the humans load the cages up and leave them behind, in this strange new land. They were in a meadow, the big open sky looming above them, with no walls in sight. They huddled together, deciding to wait until all were not longer dizzy to explore around.
The first days were harsh for them, not used to the wilderness most of her siblings quickly got loads of injuries. All prey quickly left the meadow, escaping each time any of them tried to hunt. In short, everything was going bad.
And it got worse when the worst of winter hit, blizzards hitting hard in the middle of them trying to leave the meadow in search of good places to live. The storm did not let up, worsening with every second they spent outside. In the middle of this Glawn was accidentally left behind, lost in the middle of the blizzard as she tried to find her siblings. Lost and cold, she wandered until she found an abandoned fox den, crawling into it, in search of warmth and safety from the blizzard outside.
She hunkered down there until steps from outside woke her up from her napping. She watched as another wolf entered the den, shivering as their black shape stopped dead blank when seeing her. Glawn wasn’t averse to sharing and invited the other in. They spent the entire night huddled together, sharing warmth as the blizzard raged outside.
Come morning, the two got outside, taking in the frozen place they were in. Snow extended as far as their eyes could tell, the sun barely shining between the dense clouds that covered the skies.
Ashlen, as the other wolf introduced themself, reminded Glawn achingly of her father. With a dark coat covered in silver hairs, blue eyes, and the walk of a predator, one didn’t have any doubt this was a truly wild animal of these lands. Ashlen smelled like ice and wilderness, something that awakened an old instinct inside Glawn. Ashlen looked like a true wild wolf, walking with the same posture her dad had all of his life.
At the invitation to join them, Glawn didn’t hesitate a single second before accepting, knowing that if she joined them only then she would survive. Glawn was fast, but she lacked all knowledge needed to survive in the wilderness. She was determined to find her siblings again, but maybe, for now, she could enjoy the peace with Ashlen a bit more.
They moved on, Glawn following Ashlen lead as they evaded the blizzards and storms of the waning winter, until they got to the mountains. There, where abandoned caves were big enough to accommodate a full pack, with lakes nearby to drink as much as needed and trees to cover them from the worst of the climate; they settled down.Glawn didn’t know what the future could hold for her and Ashlen, but she wasn’t too worried about it, safe in the knowledge that with the dark wolf beside her, she wouldn’t be caught off guard again.
As Ashlen and Glawn settled down into their new territory, two brothers continue on their trek in finding a pack to belong to, deciding to try their luck on the mountains beyond.
Shive and Lannel are not afraid to admit they lived a sheltered life in their youth. It would be stupid to say otherwise, they both knew well their story.
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Some of Shivo’s earliest memory is warmth, white walls around him as he drank from the milk he was offered. Warm hands handling him carefully, feeding him and taking care of him until he was old enough to be able to walk. His world as a pup consisted of white walls, a fire always lit and a couple of humans taking care of him.
Of course, in that time he did not have a name for the fire nor for his caretakers; he named them warmth and parents respectively, always around his siblings and his parents taking care of him. Lannel had been a stable fixture in his life, his sibling being besides him almost all the time.
Once they were old enough to survive the cold, they were introduced to more wolves, him and all of his siblings. The pack towered over them, whining excitedly, happy to meet them. They would spend a few hours outside everyday, talking with the grown ups as they were taught about what to expect from the outside.
Life was relatively easy, not having to hunt as the humans frequently brought them carcasses before they could even get hungry. Most of their worries were about letting the older wolves check frequently on them and play around in the snow and ice cold water. The only danger they could think of was cougars, who sneaked from time to time into their enclosure; but they were always chased out inmediately, the elders not wanting a repeat of what had happened to one of their sisters before.
The humans were always there too, carrying strange black boxes everytime they went outside to see them, hanging back and always ready to offer affection if any asked.
It was... peaceful...
But life progresses, and soon they were shipped in boxes and freed in a completely new place. Shivo and Lannel were the first liberated, as the youngest from the pack, soon followed by their siblings and then the elders. The humans soon left them, the pair who had raised them giving them pats before also leaving too.
The pack tried to stay optimistic, when they realized the humans were not coming back. They tried hunting, but as all their food was brought dead already and the most hunting they ever did was chasing after the odd mouse in their enclosure, well... easy to say they weren’t doing good.
Chased off by nearby packs, the members were slowly picked off, one by one. Either by injury, predators or by famine, soon most of the wolves had died, leaving behind a couple elders, Shivo and Lannel. The brothers, not wanting to end up dead like their siblings, soon took off on their own, decided to try and find a new place to live, or at least, a pack that could take them in.
Beaten and malnourished, they found themselves in the Azka territory by Glawn in one of her scouts. Taking pity on the poor wolves, Glawn brought them to the den she shared with Ashlen, giving them some food the pair had.
When Ahslen returned, they instantly gave permission for the brothers to stay, knowing that the siblings would not survive on their own, even if spring was already here. Shivo and Lannel, not wanting to give up this golden opportunity, soon accepted.
Life was looking good again for them, and knew that together, they had little to fear.
As Ashlen and Glawn rest from their work on settling down and trying to survive, they talk and bond over their own experiences so far here in the new lands they were in.
AKA: I today bring you fluff about my pack leaders.... tomorrow? who knows....
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Ashlen huffed, shaking their head from side to side to try and dislodge all the dirt that had fallen over their head. They looked critically over the cave, trying to see how much more they would have to dig for the cave to be big enough for them and Glawn. A quick glance told them the sun was still high in the sky, some rays managing to illuminate the cave.
Getting out of the cave in progress, Ashlen shook their fur and stretched, yawning and trying to get as much dirt off their fur as possible. Making a den was hard work, but it would be worth it in the end, it would give them a secure place to live. Plus, since the mountains had a lot of caves, it was only a matter of digging a little to make more space for future companions. And, Ashlen though dryly, at least the dirt was soft and not practically frozen like their old home.
Lying down in the entrance, Ashlen settled down and closed their eyes, deciding to enjoy what little of sun was left of the day. Of course, getting practically bowled over by Glawn the instant they had started dozing off quickly got that option out of the menu.
“Glawn... why?” Ashlen whined, buried under the big pile of fur that Glawn practicaly was. The other wolf just laughed, nosing them until, groaning, Ashlen sat up and looked at her.
“You looked so peaceful! I wanted to surprise you!”
“...yes... surprise... yay...” Ashlen yawned “Did you find anything? I’m dying from hunger”
“I saw some rabbits but they ran away before I could get even close” Glawn sighed, resting her head on her paws “How is the cave going?”
Ashlen shrugged, laying down besides Glawn “Going fine, I think if we both work together we could have it finished before the Sun meets the Moon”
Nodding, Glawn rested her head over the neck of the other, enjoying the peace of the mountains. Slowly dozing off, Ashlen closed their eyes and sighed.
“You know? I never before digged a cave, is that weird?” Glawn commented, her gaze distant and faraway. Ashlen’s tail thumped, showing they were listening, their weight a comfort at their side “Everything was easy in my old home, especially since we were a lot of wolves... Counting me, we were easily 20 If i remember correctly.”
“Why so many?” Ashlen’s gruff voice asked, their eyes still closed as they enjoyed the sun.
“Well... I think it’s because resources were abundant, you know? Winter was never a worry for us, since the humans used to provide everything we ever needed” Glawn sighed “Every litter was taken by the humans for a few hours, and anytime we got sick they took care of it... Is it bad that I miss it?”
Ashlen lifted their head, rubbing it agaisnt Glawn’s, trying to bring some comfort. “I don’t think so... It was your home, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah but... Humans were there taking care of us. That isn’t something wolves are supposed to miss, as far as I know” Glawn digged her claws into the ground, frustrated over her longing.
“But it was for a long time your home, it doesn’t change it. Sure, humans were there, but so were your parents, and your siblings and everyone you knew” Ashlen yawned, their voice almost indifferent “Must be shocking to be in a place so weird”
“hmm... Not really, fortunately. Is that strange? I am so unfamiliar with these lands, but the moment I was left here it was as if... a weight was lifted off me”
“No, I get it.” Ashlen looked intensively at their paws, as if looking at something else “Even if they try their best, humans always put us in our guards... There is something unsettling about not being able to see the horizon”
Glawn looked at Ashlen in surprise, cocking her head in wonder.
“Wait, you have been with humans?! I was so sure you were wild!” Glawn flinched as she saw Ashlen snarl at her, growling deeply.
“Make no mistake. I am wild, I was not born within those... those... horrid places” Ashlen shook their head, as if trying to disperse the memory “I was brought to a human place because of my bad luck...”
“I’m... I’m not sure I follow?”
“I was hit by one of those big monsters they have” Ashlen answered, rolling their eyes before pointing at the middle of their side “About here, I was hit in fact”
Glawn stared in amazement, surprised at how she hadn’t noticed before. Now that she looked, Ashlen did breath a bit weirdly, and in the cold they flinched sometimes when walking. It was so obvious now in hindsight! She mentally reprimanded herself, and nosed at Ashlen side in wonder. How strong must this wolf be, she thought to herself, to survive such a lethal fate!
“I spent many full moons with them in fact, and I’m still sure it was the time spent alone there that caused me to go almost gray” Ashlen commented dryly “They did manage to cure me, so I guess I shouldn’t be so bitter over it. Thanks to them I’m still alive”
“And my thanks have” Glawn whispered gratefully, rubbing her head agaisnt Ashlen’s, unable to imagine where she could be without her reliable companion.
Flustered, Ashlen whined and bumped their heads together “Don’t be like that. I’m sure you would have been just fine without me. It’s me that should be grateful you are here. You are the first wolf I’ve managed to find that has been able to understand me”
“Well, your words are sometimes a little strange but I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t be able to understand you”
“Tell that to all the packs and wolves that have been kicking my ass since I arrived here” Ashlen snorted “Make no mistake, I am as new to these lands as you. My last home was very far away from here, and it’s a bit obvious in hindsight...”
“Yeah, it not all the times you see a gray wolf”
“Excuse you! I am perfectly black, thank you very much!” Ashlen bristled angry at the teasing.
“Please Ashlen, I’m surprised you aren’t the same white as the tip of your tail!” Glawn laughed at them, brightly and very loudly.
Glawn was glad to be here, laughing her tail off at the expense of Ashlen. She missed her siblings, but for now, with the Sun blazing over them, the beginnings of their home behind them and the grounding weight of her companion besides her, she was satisfied.
She looked over the valley their cave stood, the snow slowly melting and grass finally peaking between the white clumps.
