The Wall Heed my inferno

There was something familiar about the fish she ate--although it was almost frozen solid and she had to scrape off small pieces with her teeth, it had a faded, sweet taste. It reminded her of some of the fish that her mother would bring her back at home when she was a puppy. That was when the pack was having better times. The fish lived in a river at the edges of their territory. They called them dull-scales and revered them for their commonness and delicious taste. The pack that lived on the other side of the river would often join in too on those days of fishing, and they would form a silent peace treaty, playing together in the water and filling their bellies with fish as though they were not two packs but one. That was before the metal-jaws came.

A kind voice startled Luma from her thoughts, and as she raised her head from her fish, she noticed a black wolf standing a respectful distance away from her. She could smell that the wolf was female, and although she had the scent of others on her, she didn’t smell like the local pack. She must have been another loner.  The black she-wolf had greeted her kindly, introducing herself as Asterr. She didn’t seem to mean any harm, and she certainly didn’t seem interested in the girl’s fish. Realizing she was probably staring, Luma rose and smiled. “Hi,” she replied softly, keeping her tail relaxed and non-threatening, “I didn’t expect anyone else to be up here either. My name is Luma.”  She found herself suddenly gleeful on the inside with her new found company and realized she hadn’t spoken to another of her kind since she left her old pack.