Birch leaned against Jacopo as he pulled her a little close, expression grim. There had been a time, not even a very long time ago, that she'd have insisted she do it all on her own. She'd have tried to tackle wyverns and the problems with Cypress with equal gusto, mucking everything up in the process. But that wasn't needed now, it wasn't right. Jacopo had clicked into the lives of her children as if he'd always been there, as if he were the piece they hadn't realized they were missing, and she was not so stubborn or foolish to think she could do any better than he - especially when it came to her middle child. They had their own strengths, and how lucky was it that those strengths coincided well with their individual weaknesses. It wouldn't be easy, but it could work - it would work - because they would do it together.

She started to speak, to thank him (and likely to suggest they enjoy the time they had before then), when the howls came. Birch wasn't far behind him as he leaned out of the tent flap, frowning. Wolves, she guessed, or maybe coyotes? She nibbled her lower lip thoughtfully. Neither were wholly worrying; as long as they weren't starving they were far more likely to avoid her and Jacopo like the plague than attack. But that was the rule for the canines the Birch had met on her homeworld, in Shaman, and in Knell. There was no telling where they were now, and the location could change everything...

"Who is that?" Jacopo asked as he quickly dressed; Birch followed suit, frowning a little at the phrasing. She was out a few seconds later, head cocked as she strained her hearing. Had he heard something else, while she was focused on the canines?

"Jacopo... are you talking about the wolves?" she asked, dropping a hand to the trusty axe at her hip as she scanned the treeline. "Or is someone else out there?"

The answer came soon enough, a big shaggy white form parted from the darkness. The creature paused, eyeing them cautiously before lifting its head to sniff. Birch put her free hand on Jacopo's arm, reassuring herself of his position as more wolves appeared.

The first creature, the biggest of the lot, snuffled and woofed. Birch shot a look in Jac's direction.