The more time that passed, the clearer Hal's head seemed to get. The food being absorbed in his belly gave him strength as he felt his legs stop shaking and the fog that seemed to cover his thoughts faded. But it wasn't enough to allow him to completely trust the youngster in front of him. Hackles still raised and growl still oozing from his mouth, the pup still tried to get his point across that he wanted to be left alone. But the other refused to go away. The russet wolf was on edge and depending on the actions of the stranger he could either fight or run away. He croutched low to the ground and watched the darker male carefully.

He spoke, answering Halycon's question and also stating that it had been his parents who had killed the burro. He snorted, as if to re-establish that he had claimed the food as his own and it didn't really matter who had hunted it down. But now that he had mentioned it... there was a scent on the dead animal that the pup hadn't recognized before. That was probably the adult wolves... maybe it really wasn't all his. But that wasn't going to stop him from eating the remaining meat. Finally, a name was given.

"Ame." Halcyon said, testing the name on his tongue. Something seemed to change in the child. Now that there was a name to the face, he could see a little more clearly that Ame really did not appear to be threatening him. He stood several feet away and hadn't moved an inch closer. This wolf was nothing like the others. They would have already beaten and chased Hal away. Nothing was said for a few minutes. Finally, the loner boy loosened his tense muscles and stood up. There was still some trust in his heart and he felt that Ame was sincere.

"My name is Halcyon, or Hal. My brothers used to call me that..." He paused for a moment as he allowed the painful memories to fade away again. Then he looked at Ame and gave a small wag of his tail as he lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry for my rudeness before. Please... help me." It was almost as if all the energy he had just gained had left him as the adrenaline of the situation vanished. He fell down, not unconscious, but very weak and in desperate need for a good friend.