Sunbeam Lair And miles to go before I sleep

It had been seven long days since she had left her northern home. Seven days since she had seen her parents' bloodied bodies on the ground, two of many casualties in her pack's civil war. She had gone doggedly on, through spring snowfalls and sunny days, her pace slowing as she grew more tired and more hungry.

As Qamar had entered the place they called the Teekon Wilds, she wondered if she had made a huge mistake. This land was barren, ravaged by some plague of insects. She saw live locusts occasionally buzzing on the ground; she did not hesitate to chow down on the dead ones. They tasted nothing like the tang of fresh-killed moose, and were little comfort to her aching stomach, but they were better than nothing.

Trotting wearily through the taiga, she had seen up ahead a great mountain range lit in gold by the rising and setting sun, dominating the landscape below. Something deep within told her to go there, for the mountains seemed her destiny. On she went, eating locusts and small mammals, her lean frame spent from the journey. She encountered other wolves along the way, but paid them no mind, her determination to reach the crags outweighing everything else.

After meandering through the mountain foothills, she came across a cavern that smelled strongly of wolves. It seemed warm and spacious, and Qamar longed to go in and lay her head down to sleep, but she kept courteous, staying outside and waiting to encounter one who lived here.

"Is anyone around?" Qamar asked, her tired voice coming off weak and tinny. She hated the sound of it. "Is there a pack here?"