Shadeheart trotted through the woods at a quick pace, oblivious to her being followed. The sun was going down and she knew she had to be home before dark, or her pups might worry. She walked a long time through the forest, over hills and rocks and fallen trees. She came to an abandoned bungalow. The roof was caving in and trees were growing up through the middle of what had once been the kitchen. She dropped her grouse and called out to her pups.
"Mama!" They cried, bounding out of the shack and coming to nuzzle her face. There were two of them. One, the she-pup, was silver-coated and catlike. The other was a he-wolf, red-furred like his mother.
"I thought you would never come home." The silver pup lamented as she licked her mother's face.
"Don't say such things, Rain." Shadeheart admonished, "I will always come home to you."
"I saw a weasel today!" The red pup boasted, puffing out his chest. "I chased him into the forest!"
"You are a very brave young he-wolf, Robin." Shadeheart praised, "Now eat, you two, before the vultures get it."
The two pups happily dug into their meal. Shadeheart lay down a ways away, eating nothing herself. It would be another long night.
