Silvertip Mountain What you perceive to be the truth and what is real

Phocion smiled as the pup piped up, and lowered himself down to her level, laying on his belly to look her in the eye. "I love the stars!" he told her energetically, with a grin. "One of my old friends by the sea told me all sorts of things about stars. Would you like to hear about them?"

As he spoke engagingly to the little girl, he watched Zaria out of the corner of his eye. She was no more than a bag of bones due to this famine, but she carried herself like a warrior queen, eyes bright, sharp with ferocity and intellect. He would love to see her in her prime; that time was coming, once the large animals returned and the wolves could feast again.

The other pups had yet to emerge--shy, perhaps? He had always been boisterous in the presence of strangers, but then again, due to their frequent travel, his mother and he had often encountered strangers. Come to think of it, Zaria reminded him much of his mother in her prime. She had been young when she birthed him, and was brave and strong, just like this Silvertip female. Phocion fervently hoped Zaria did not meet the same fate.