Hushed Willows Linger

"Dead?" he repeated, his voice light and curious, though his inflection had mostly been posed rhetorically. He was partway disappointed that she had actually woken him up by accident, but he was amused nonetheless, so felt no ire towards her mistake. He leaned back on one elbow, relaxing further now that he was aware no "alpha on duty" was required. He watched, with a lazy expression, as she nudged her meal towards him in offering. His tail thumped quietly on the ground in appreciation, but shook his head in polite refusal. "Quite the little huntress," he remarked fondly, hooded eyes appraising the small clay wolf. "I will not take your prize."

She would be an ideal caretaker for young. She was fit, and sexually mature, he noticed; a natural thing for him to ponder. Her children might be small, but they would be healthy and quick, if nothing else. And she would be an excellent provider for them, as she was turning out now. He blinked languidly, then said: "tell me where you come from, Kunik."