It has been two years since my mother and pack mates left me stranded in this beautiful place, two years since I last saw Mortz, Rhoedias, Silvertongue, and the pair's young pup. I miss them, the ones who showed me there was more than cruelty in the world, the ones who taught me to stand on my own. Only a year has passed since I decided to follow Ra's, having been quite taken with him since we met, his very presence enough to make me feel like I am worthy of love. My mother really did something to my self-image, and I am not quite sure how to get over this. Ra's has become my whole being, my world, and soon I hope we can make such a thing concrete. Many would argue that I am too young to take a mate, that even when I am of age, I should wait. But, when it feels so good to be around him, it is hard to not want such a bond to be shared between us. I have grown in his light, my spirit lifted by his very presence until I can't tell if it is my own confidence or his. So, this is why I am back in the woods, to discover more about myself. I know there are dangers, in traveling alone, there have been rumors of wolves attacking in cold blood. The thought alone is enough to cause a frightened shiver to creep up my spine, the fur there always rising to a point.

I don't understand why anyone would want to hurt another, why it is necessary to create such chaos in the world. It's hazardous enough, what with mother's abandoning their young, fathers just up and leaving their mates? I will never understand it, not with how I feel about my Ra's. He takes all the bad feelings away and chases away the haunting images of their ghosts. I am safe and complete with him, and I cannot fathom why I feel this way about him - though it is not something I have worked up the courage (or the bond) to talk about with others. I have few friends, Everchime, Mortz, and Ra's - who keeps popping up in my mind. I smile, those dark navy eyes searching for a sign of life within the now leaf-less patch of woods. A flick of movement and my gaze darts to catch the slash of white that moves through the trees ahead, suddenly my white dainty paws move toward this flash, tail lifting to a neutral position. I give a short friendly bark, the squirrels and birds scattering as they too hear this alarm. My curiosity about her was unmistakable, and I kept my naturally friendly air about me. I hope I make a friend today.

"Talking" Thinking