Phoenix Maplewood look around, leaves are brown

Shale snorted as he spoke of fights and tail. Same old Murdock. And yet, things were different now. Times had changed. He had not seen his brother in--god, how many seasons had it been? He didn't know what had happened to Murdock between then and now. He had no notion of the good times, the bad times, everything in-between. . .

"Probably not. I left for good the summer before last." His chest felt tight as he looked for words to continue. He often wondered if fate would have been kinder to him had he not left Sameth. But he felt a little lighter as Murdock spoke again. Spot! "No, I haven't," Shale said, a faint note of excitement in his voice. "Have you? Or. . .or Grayday?"

So he did have a pack; whether or not he was leader of it was inconsequential, for now. Shale supposed he needed somewhere to stay throughout the winter, though, like a typical northerner, he was made of hardy stuff. The connection with others, though, was something he could only gain from a pack. He said nothing in response to that, merely nodding.