Quietly I laid in wait, watching Ceal through the blades of grass that hid my face as she crept up on our quarry. I was doing my very best to focus on the bunny, but something was itching at the back of my mind. The strange feeling caused a slight tug in my chest, and I thought maybe somewhat was wrong with me. I was sure this was not what it felt like to be sick. No, this was a good feeling in some ways, just strange at the same time. My ears flicked backwards as I tried to ignore the pulling sensation. When Ceal yipped out I remained where I was for a moment longer, than burst forward with all the speed my long legs gave me. We gave chase, running back and forth and pouncing at the bunny but never truly trying to catch it – for that would end the fun! But then it escaped us, diving into a second entry to its burrow that we had not known about. Panting, I slowed to a high stepping trot, dancing around Ceal happily. I loved my sister, she was my best friend.

The adrenaline of the chase had muted the somewhat uncomfortable feeling I had had earlier. But when his howl carried to them from the borders, the emotion returned tenfold. I stood, frozen on the spot and ears pressed forward as my eyes looked in the direction that the call had come from. Of course I could not hope to see him from such a distance, but I was suddenly reminded of the constant, dull reminder that I wanted to see him. Another howl rang out – Ramiel! My tail wagged excitedly and then Ceal burst with her exclamations of excitement. My eyes grew wide at her statement. Surely she did not mean that the boy she had been meeting with was not my Meryl? Ceal turned and dashed away, but I remained rooted to the spot, dumbfounded by the possibility. Taking a breath, I lifted my nose to the sky and called out, telling Father that I was going to meet the wolf upon our borders, that Ramiel, Ceal, and I would handle it. Dropping my snout, I could hardly contain myself when I burst forward, galloping towards the borders.

From time to time I had thought about him, missed him even though I barely knew him. Though I tried to suppress the constant thought of him, I had given in to the fact that Meryl had imprinted on me. It had been a realization that had baffled me to a certain extent, but now I had accepted it. When I reached the borders, Ramiel was standing there and Ceal had already launched forward to embrace Meryl. The unwanted sting of jealous tore through me and I had to restrain myself from rushing Ceal and knocking her away from him. She was my sister! I could not do such a thing! To distract myself, I greeted Ramiel, bumping my shoulder against him and nosing his neck happily. Shuffling slightly I settled with standing next to my cousin, unsure if I should greet Meryl the way that I so wanted to. We had touched so briefly when I had left Diveen and it had been a wounderous feeling; but as much as I wanted to have a firsthand recollection of that sensation, I knew that among this group I should be the composed one.

“Meryl, it is so good to see you again,” I said, my voice softer than normal as I publicly acknowledged the fact that we already knew one another. I wasn’t sure what Ceal would think of that. “Meryl this is Ramiel, our cousin,” I looked to Ramiel again, smiling at him. For some reason I felt reassured to be standing next to him, drawing on the boys ever present confidence to bolster my own. My brows furrowed slightly when I caught his eyes – something did not seem quite right. I cocked my head lightly to the side, but decided it was a matter for a different time, and then returned by gaze to Meryl. Oh how I wanted to jump across the distance between us and greet him properly. Instead, my tail lifted to wave as a banner of my significance in the pack, and it wagged to show my happiness. I looked back and forth between Meryl and Ceal, my gaze always lingering a moment longer on Meryl. If I knew my sister – and I knew her quite well – her stories about Meryl had been laden with the affection she felt for him. But Meryl…Meryl was mine, one of my painted boys. He, my painted shaman, the one who held my soul. And Leo, my painted warrior, who perplexed and challenged me beyond belief. But the fact was this – Meryl was mine. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing him with my sister. Searching eyes locked on Meryl; my pools were filled with delight at his being here, but mingled with the confusion of the relationship between him and my sister.