The haze of heat had draped across me once more, and my body had retreated from it into a half sleep that let semi-formed dreams dance behind my lids. Vortigern and I tussled in a flirtatious mock-fight, and then all at once we were hunting together - our wresting now presented in the form of bringing down an elk together. Somewhere nearby I knew our daughters were watching, learning, Vhagar in particular almost unable to keep herself from joining the fray. Once again the vision transformed, and the four of us were near exhausted from a game of chase, before we finally flopped down in a pile of gray and white bodies, accents of red and mahogany being the only identifying marks that separated one body from another. In reality, a content sigh slipped through my lips - life was good.

To some degree I had given myself up to these dreams, and the opportunity to ignore the heat of the day to the best of my abilities. But my outer awareness never fully waned. My ears pricked forward from their previously relaxed position out to the sides. Some small part of me sensed eyes upon me, but before I could come fully conscious and acknowledge that inkling, a wolf announced themselves to me. I did not startle, instead coming awake and lifting my head from the ground, gaze fixating on the source of the call almost immediately. There was a poise to my movements, my body refusing to betray the fact that I had been more asleep than I should have allowed myself to be. For a moment I simply observed the white wolf standing beyond the borders, my head tilting inquisitively as I noticed the piebald markings that adorned his face. A newcomer - certainly no wolf I had met before.

It was only a handful of seconds after his call to me had broken the air that I responded with a low greeting bark of my own. My bodice lifted from the cool stone, and I almost immediately regretted it. I knew that my duty was to go to this wolf, to greet him and discover what had brought him to the boundary of Spirane this day. But I was also reluctant to give up the slight reprieve from the sun that I had here. As I stretched the sleep from my limbs, I decided to do things a bit differently today than I typically would when meeting a stranger upon Spirane's borders. I bark-howled to him once more, an inviting tone in my voice. "Join me, stranger - no wolf with a coat like yours should have to endure the sun at midday," I called to him with a smile, remaining upright upon all four limbs despite how the coolness of the stone beckoned me to return to it. In a bit, I thought to myself.