Stavanger Bay When the sun is high

The wolf-child stopped suddenly on the dark sand and turned about in response to a sound from another, one that rose above the constant din of wave on shore. Overhead, a gull cried loudly, stealing the girl's attention for a second before she fixated on Doe. She was unused to these noisy birds. The Keep was full of ravens and crows and owls, but gulls rarely went there. Here on the open shore, gulls and albatrosses abounded, pelicans occasionally surfaced, and the rare bald eagle skimmed the waves. She was unfamiliar with them all, and they invariably drew her attention whenever they appeared.

But now it was on Doe, and she inspected the woman with a quiet, shy scrutiny, as if searching for any sign of ill will. In the Keep, Prialux approached all adults openly and readily, just as she had Murgash. That was comfort taking the reins. The bay, however, was an unfamiliar place, and these were unfamiliar wolves. Here, timidity reigned supreme within little Lux, who seated herself on the cold sand and drooped her head a little lower in bashful deference.

Nevertheless, shy as she may be with strangers when she was nowhere near home, Prialux was still an outgoing and desperately social child, so she called out, "hi!" in just as sprightly a tone as she always did, her voice not matching her appearance at all.