Lost Creek Hollow this youth is stolen by broken bones

Root did not wait to jump into an explanation, though he initially found himself surprised by starting and stopping. It was as though the words she was searching for simply would not come to light in the right order, but Mordecai was patient enough to see it through. And for good reason it seemed her excitement stemmed — there would have been a time when even he would have been excited at the presence of his siblings at the borders.

But as it were, his relatives were scattered far and wide and most of them were truthfully out of sight and mind. But her reunion with her own kin stirred a thought for his, and it softened his features slightly. His gaze lingered to her sister for a moment, offering her a once-over. She seemed healthy, but so had most of the wolves that had been along their borders in the recent weeks.

"What can you do for us?" he opted to ask, perhaps sparing Root the stumbling dialogue. He was interested in hearing from this sibling of hers, and naturally curious whether or not she possessed similar attributes of her sibling.