Totoka River Bumpy Start

Glad I spotted this. I received the tag a while ago back when you must have saved it in the drafts (it just said the thread did not exist), but it did not re-tag me now that it was posted lol.

His respite from the caldera had taken him a bit further than he had intended, but perhaps he needed the time to wander. Perhaps he had no need to go back. Whatever had happened there was their business, and he had at least confirmed that Peregrine was unharmed. The more he let his mind drift there, the more sour it was becoming, and so, Luke was making a strong effort to shrug it off and go about his business. He would visit Lasher soon, and had a date on the horizon with the chocolate she-wolf from the rise. These were the things he needed to keep in the front of his mind.

To help him along, he threw back his head sang as he strolled. "And I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day and it's all your state of mind. At the end of the day, you've just got to say it's all right." With each note, he felt his mood brighten, and he went on singing until his gaze caught sight of another wolf digging at the shore of the river. "Hey!" he called, tail wagging as started to bound over...

...but just then a wild bear appeared between them! With two cubs trailing behind it. Luke froze in his tracks. The other wolf made a quick exit, knowing all to well that mother bears were not to be trifled with. Luke too, turned and made his own exit. And so, the two wolves never met at all.

Oh well.