Days like today were some of my favorite. Spending time with my father was wonderful. He had so much to share with me, so much wisdom he had gained throughout his years. Though he had only been the named alpha of the pack for a year now, he had really led us ever since I was born. That was when MoonGlow had first left. She’d come back a couple times, but would depart against shortly thereafter. I was sad to admit to myself that I was beginning to forget her. Her scent, what she looked like, those things that a daughter should never forget about their mother. Of course whenever I asked him to father would tell me stories about how they met, adventures they’d had, and in that way she stayed fresh in my mind. But I always felt bad asking him about her. Though I could see the happiness he felt as recalling memories of times passed with her, I could also see the pain that their separation caused him.

Doing my best to suppress such thoughts, I focused on the lessons Alcide wished to teach me today. We discovered an area where an indentation in the ground held a large amount of snow melt. I lapped at the cold liquid; it was still cold as ice, constantly being fed by a trickle of melt that dripped from a slope above. Moving on, father pointed out the entrance to a badger’s sett at the base of a tree. I noted the surroundings so that I would remember its location. As we went, I made mental notes about locations I thought I might be able to excavate into a den for myself. I was two now, and though I felt a certain responsibility to keep my father company in his den until the day when MoonGlow returned, I would also need to have a place within Spirane to call my own.

At midday we came to rest upon a flat outcropping of rock, and when I laid down my fur parted and the black undercoat drew the heat of the sun in and warmed my skin. I easily slipped into a nap, sprawled out on the rock and enjoying the spring sun. I was unsure how long I had been sleeping when I was awoken by the sound of a stranger’s howl echoing off the mountain. Lifting my head, I saw that father was already on his feet. Rolling onto my side I watched him for a moment, gauging his reaction. When he gave none, I stood up and moved to his side, looking at his face though he did not look back at me. His mind was in a far off place, and then suddenly he lifted his nose and replied. When the note died, I remained quiet for a few seconds, then asked, “May I join you?” I knew even though I did my best to conceal my excitement it would be easy for him to tell that I was eager to accompany him. He only nodded in response, and my tail wagged happily behind me as he sprung from the rock. I took off in pursuit of him, lengthening my stride so that I could travel at his side, a step behind so that my nose was even with his shoulder.

When we crossed the border, I followed my father’s lead and slowed to a jog, stopping when he did and remaining at his shoulder rather than drawing even with him. It was a sign of respect, and even though someday such affairs would be mine to head, today I was still an heir and still had much to learn. My tail rose slightly, but did not curl over my back as my father’s did. Instead, I lifted it a measured amount, so that it was at a higher position than the stranger’s, but not so high as my father’s. I glanced past the adult wolf and noticed the younger male who stood in his wake. Perhaps he, like me, was here to learn from the adult he accompanied? Tesseract, my father called him. My brow furrowed slightly – was this not the first wolf who had challenged for our family’s rights to leadership? I was curious why father was being so lenient with his presence, should he not simply chase him off? Yet again I was reminded of just how much I had to learn before I would become a suitable queen. And I was quite glad for the two years of buffer time I still had.