Malina watched with a mix of pride and pleasure as some of the tension in the little pup ebbed away, her grin widening as she noticed the beating of his tail. His shaking seemed to disappear, and her own white tipped banner thumped against the sandy ground. She listened patiently through the pup’s stuttering speech, tipping her head slightly. ”Salali,” she tested gently, ”that’s lovely. Little Salali the squirrel,” she mused. She watched, tickled pink with delight, as the pup dragged himself a little ways closer to her, small back feet splayed out behind him.

The slender she-wolf mimicked his body movement, lowering her head to rest on her paws. What a sweet little thing! She was entranced by his differently colored eyes, thinking of the older sister she’d never met. Caspian told her that Katia had two different colored eyes - one was a replica of his own bright emerald, and the other was Sophie’s (Katia’s mother) rich chocolate. She’d never seen anyone with two different colored eyes, but she could only assume that they would be as lovely as this little boy’s. She laid there in content silence for a short while, whiskey eyes occasionally shifting from the nature around her and then to Salali, not wanting to make him more nervous but not wanting to take her eyes off of him. How rarely did she ever meet company that wasn’t kin?

Finally, the kalak broke the silence, turning her attention back to the boy. ”I’m from a big family, a clan, really, far from here. My da took me there after my mama died, and then we came back only a little while ago.” It was a little personal, maybe more than one would or should share, but normal social interaction wasn’t Malina’s path of study. ”I hate to be forward,” she offered a few moments later, ”but why are you alone little Salali?” she asked, tipping her head to the side.